Water Lounge and Raw Bar

Dear Trish and Juliette @ the Water Lounge.
Thank you for being truly amazing hostesses and for truly making an average night out into an absolutely magnificent night to remember.
All that my friend, Gail, had said was true. You two were pretty much were hostesses of the year, best of the best. I congratulate you on a good run.
I still have a copy of your updated menu with «mandel’s caipirinha». I shall cherish it for as long as I live.
And now that the Water Bar is DEFINITELY closed (I came by on at least 3 different occasions and was in denial each time) if you want my *perfected* recipe for Mandel’s Caipirinhas, it’s fine grain sugar on the bottom of the glass (about 3 tbsp); one whole lime, quartered and muddled to melt the sugar, optional dash of lemon juice, ice cubes (not crushed), pour shot of cachaca over, cut with club soda.
Take care, Trish and Juliette. And thanks again for being awesome.

I so so so wanted to love this place. I read all about the $ 1 Oysters and decided to give it a shot.
First I thought the place would be larger but it wasn’t busy at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night. We were able to grab a table by the turntables and TV showing Kung Fu Theatre. Our waitress/​bartender came over with menus and then gave us some time to decide on what we wanted. We decided on some drinks and a dozen oysters. (I knew when she questioned «A Dozen?» I should have rethought my decision) We tried 6 of each type they offered and I have to say they were good but not amazing. The amazing part? The bill came for two drinks and a dozen oysters = $ 49.94? Really?
The place was cold, loud, hard stools and not at all what I expected. $ 50 before tip for oysters and a couple of drinks is out of line. The service and food were okay. All said we will not be returning to Water Lounge.

Dear Trish and Juliette @ the Water Lounge,
Thank you for making my friend’s and my Thursday night truly epic.
1) For the amazing, super fresh $ 1 kumamoto and beausoleil oysters (Happy hour starting at 9pm, but letting us enjoy them at 8:45pm).
2) For replacing the drink I couldn’t truly enjoy (Gin Martini that might have paired well with the oysters) full heartidly! Thank you, Trish, for being so understanding!
3) For the Orange Blossom (name.?) cocktail you replaced my drink with. I asked for «refreshing, sweet… but not too sweet», and you TOTALLY hit the spot.
4) For being as excited as my friend was about drink ingredients of that special drink… the one with the Cachaca.
Thank you for being such cool, sweet, and friendly bartenders!
Also, I must say… after having ventured here AFTER some drinks at Ben and Nick’s, I was slightly wary that this place MIGHT be kinda «pompous» due to your incredibly posh and chic décor (water influenced), but I was truly proved incorrect by the incredible chill and welcoming service.
Thank you. For the 5-​star experience =)

I almost gave this three stars, but it’s gets four cause it’s unique and the bartender is one of the friendliest on the planet. She made great cocktails and the fresh seafood is great. Note, some of the menu items are not available Sunday night, as they say they can’t buy fresh seafood on the weekend.
A nice place for a date, before going to a show.

I skipped the oysters at Water Lounge after I practically OD’d on oysters with Bill B. and Brittany D. before DYL at B Restaurant the previous night. I split the spicy tuna poke with a friend instead. The spicy tuna poke arrived in a martini glass, with cucumbers, ginger and sesame seeds. We used clear chopsticks to fish out the fish, and forks when that didn’t work.
I followed the spicy tuna poke with the pork tacos. My kingdom (Okay, my AC Transit pass!) to anyone who can explain how chopsticks pair with tacos. My friend ordered a salad. They forgot the lemon wedges for my friend’s salad, which, apparently, completes the salad. Our server recognized my friend’s need for lemons and brought the lemons right over.
Our server also helped us with the proper wine and food pairing. We ordered a glass of white wine each. Each had a name I couldn’t pronounce and won’t likely remember unless under hypnosis. Our server promptly brought me a comparable varietal after the muscato I originally selected turned out to be stale. Later, we drank expensive bubbles at fourteen dollars per flute.
Water can be affordable, provided you order a five dollar appetizer, a six dollar glass of wine and the tacos. Let the wine and the DJ spinning beats in the corner get to your head, and suddenly you are easily blowing forty dollars a head. Boy, did those oysters look amazing all propped up on those ice chips!

Lured in by the proclamation of $ 1 happy hour oysters by fellow Unilocalers and since my better half had been buggin’ for the mollusk all week long. I figured a visit around 5:30 on a Friday nite was in order before the mad rush of hipsters and friday niters. Much to our surprise they kinda open around 6:00 and even when we left around 8:00 the place was only half full. Actually, secretly I want to keep this place to myself, as any more popularity would detract from this place…
What I mean it had a vibe of casualness complimented by a nice blend locals. That is all they way from the power couple on a date to the guy that made a stop from the local grocery for a PBR. So shhhh.
On to the goodies. We had a signature Orange concoction that the barkeep recommended/​invented, refreshing and divine as advertised. Also had a couple of heffy to chase, that was perfectly complemented by the dozen half shells we gobbled up. Deciding to skip the whole dinner scene down the block and since we were enjoying the vibe of the place we completed our gastronomic taste test with four of their yummy fish tacos and a basket of salt and pepper fries. No survivors on the fries as they of the twice fried variety, creamy/​dreamy on the inside with a nice crispness on the outside.
I would have thrown them the extra star if barkeep/​waitress/​bus had some help, but how much can one woman do? But then again the lack of, actually lended itself to the cool casual rift that this place is. Didn’t I say I want to keep this place to myself?
Cheers

I really love that Water is on college avenue. The bar tender is wonderful, feel free to ask her to make something for you instead of ordering something on your own. Her choice is always right on. The music is great — we’ve had long discussions on musicians and music there. I’ve only had food there once — but it was fresh and good!
Most of what I love is that on a street of relatively funky bars — this place is beautiful and chic and a place to take my fussy friends within walking distance of our house!

+ played the entire Off The Wall LP through the speakers.
+ played Star Wars on all of the televisions over the bar.
+ ambiance is great.
— ventilation: there is none. it’s hotter than Satan’s pukengkeng in here.
We only had drinks at this place, so I can’t comment on the food.
I want to like this place a lot, but damn, get some fresh air in there! I’ll probably be back in the winter.

As far as I know, this is the singular stop in Rockridge for oysters. Despite their neighborhood oyster monopoly, they offer $ 1 oysters* during happy hour and — AND — the oysters are outstanding!
A group of 5 of us also sampled from their drink menu ($ 10 ea) and a few of their small and larger plates. The salt and pepper fries were more fries for more money than what I would have found perfect. They are good but not my favorite in the neighborhood. The tofu sliders (I tried) and traditional beef sliders (others tried) were innovative in their own way, and quite tasty.
They were playing «Let the Right one In» on the big screen and I was really enjoying the mix of music, even though the DJ hadn’t shown up yet and it was just the oyster guy and an iPod. Also, we received very friendly service all night, even as the crowd in the place and our own party grew.
Though I can find little difference between the existing Water and the preexisting Pearl (
), now defunct, I will say that Water feels like a better value on food. Drinks still strike me as overpriced, but you can hit the middle road with a very intriguing high-​end Belgian or Belgian-​like Japanese beer served in a wine glass. For similiarly priced drinks with comparable ambiance and mixology in Rockridge, I am still preferring preferring A Cote, Wood Tavern and Garibaldi’s, and to a lesser extent Soi Four. But these places do not have $ 1 oysters or creepy foreign vampire flicks and a DJ.
*A friend at the table was curious if there were other spots that had $ 1 oysters in Oakland. All I could think of was B Restaurant and Lukas. Help me out here.

The many faces of Water — a chill, fresh, sweet and hot bar in the chic Rockridge district of Oakland.
* Bing Shui (ice water-​Chinese) — Chill like bing shui. A great place to hook up with friends in this intimate establishment with understated artwork and laid back lighting. Dropped in with Linda C. to chill and ended up say whatsup to so many new friends. Carl — thanks for offering to buy us a drink, you are more than cool –you are bing.
* Agua Dulce y Fresca — Swuheeeeet and fresh. Siggy, the bartend «womans» the well stock bar and keeps things fresh and folks happy with her spirits and sweetness. Then there was Christen, Ellen C.‘s roomie, nice meeting you.
* Aqua Caliente — Hot Hot Hot — Yeah this place is hot and the DJs Ellen, Dion, and Juan keeps it that way, spinning a mix of hip hop, R&B, Soul, disco and other tunes that keeps Water all the way live; their music is bing, dulce, fresco AND caliente. Tapping and bopping to the music you can chill with your friends or make new friends at Water. Thanks DJ Ellen for the great mix and the dedication!!!
Next time? I’ll come in a little earlier and have some of the famous eats.

I walked in with a drunken swagger and asked for a beer and the best bourbon they have «neat». The bartender leans in and says, «The BEST bourbon we have is $ 25».
This is one of those times when a guy has to either «sack up» or go home. I’m not the kind of person to hum and haw and change my order to the fourth best bourbon, I play it cool. I just smiled and said «That’s OK»
The bourbon was excellent! The guy showed me the bottle, it was a super rare Michters single barrel 25 year old. He said they only made 150 bottles of it. While it was very good it wasn’t three times as good as my regular single barrel Jack. They served it to me in a brandy snifter which made me feel like a bit of a tool but it probably did add some sensory pleasure.
I’m not much into lounges but the people I was out drinking with wanted to pop in here. This place is obviously trying to be one of those chic obnoxious ultra lounges that are popping up all over the city but they somehow get it wrong, which is a good thing. Maybe it’s just because it’s in Oakland but the staff and the Patrons were friendly and not the douchie Marina types that would be in a place like this in SF.
One thing though, watch out for those spring activated stools. I dropped my jacket and tried to slip off the front to grab it and the stool popped up and nailed me right in the junk. I thought I was going to throw up.

Are we talking about the same place here? If my Sazerac hadn’t come in a martini glass it’d be th_​_​_​is close to 5 stars. Shield’s up now, I’m poised for attack!
«Really, Ligaya?! All the LED lights and projected movies… it’s trying too hard to be urban chic for Rockridge.»
*Shrug* It’s clean, trendy and serves up two buck Olympias alongside Chopin Vodka. I’m not complaining.
«Yeah, but they still can’t decide if they’re catering to the hipsters or the oldies.»
So they have a mixed crowd. We are in Oakland, remember?
«Well, Pearl was far superior.»
I didn’t live here then. Nor am I coming to this brilliantly outfitted bar for food, I’ll take a concoction with one of those dozens of bottles I’ve never seen before.”
«The staff has no personality.»
Wait, what?! Have you tried talking to them? Shady owner? Humble and in it for the love of the art, more like it. Have you seen the aromatic elixirs he brews up? Check out the eye droppers at the end of the counter. But don’t take my seat!

A friend and I went here on a whim, as we’re always up to try a new place. The outside looked modern and cool, and the wine list was unique.
When we entered we were greeted with a bar and 4 picnic-​like tables in front of us, and a lounge area to our left. As we got settled at the bar, I immediately noticed the odd bar stools. The height adjusted to your weight as you sat on it, and it oddly reminded me of my chair in my office. The last thing I wanted to think about was work.
After getting comfortable, I started to take in my surroundings. Slow, electronic music flooded the room and a unrecognizable silent film was projected on the front wall of the lounge area. The combination could only be described as creepy.
It took a while before we got a bartender’s attention, as the oyster bar server was engrossed in raw bar. Once we did get his attention, he stopped mid-​conversation with us to greet/​chat with new customers that just arrived. Wish we’d been that lucky.
Anyway, the music changed a bit later and helped change the vibe, and I did appreciate the Georgian wine I had. If I want it again, tho, I’ll be more inclined to buy a bottle at the store than to return here.

Time was ticking and we were barely out of the door at 5:30, not a good start when you’re goal is to make it to SF’s Embarcadero for $ 1 Oysters from the other side of the bay before it ended at 6!
I remember drinking at a bar the previous night that had a sign chalked with «Happy Hour Oysters Tues-​Thurs» so I decided risk it all and bet on black. It was obviously meant to be because we found parking right across the street.
Enter… (sound of Arabian flute) … Water Lounge.
The place was completely empty. The walls were covered in art and the lighting of the place provided for that «underwater» feeling, it was chic. Absolutely loved the oysters — they were extremely fresh, the guy at the bar who shucked them was knowledgeable and friedly. He even let us try the scallop ceviche which was hella good! They also have $ 5 specials comprising of both a whiskey shot and a Pabst — hella awesome!
Now kids… the lesson learned from this experience is you can lead a horse to the water but always bet on black.

The food is better than standard bar food, and the drinks are decent. Prices are reasonable, and definitely cheaper than most SF bar prices.
The problem is that Water doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Make a choice! Cater to younger hip types or older Rockridge business types. You can’t have both.
Also, I did have one bad interaction with a bartender who wouldn’t run my girlfriend’s card for about half an hour. Annoying.
And why do they close at 1?

What was wrong with Pearl?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
At least they kept the tuna poke on the menu.

I’m surprised at the previous ho hum reviews. I was at the Rockridge Art and Wine Festival and sampled some of there AMAZING oysters at their booth. They were so good, I decided to swing by the lounge for a drink. I was impressed with the vast alcohol selection. SCORE, they had my most FAVORITEST vodka ever, but is often not present at all watering holes. I opted for a Chopin Martini. I like to judge a place by their martini. There is nothing worse than a bitter tasting martini. This place served it up P E R F E C T L Y !!! It was smooth and delish!
Then it was sustenance time… I ordered up a cod fish and chips and was going to order another plate. The bartender suggested I try just the one plate and see how that goes. I appreciated he steered me from the second plate. One plate turned out to be just enough.
I was going to order a 2^nd martini, but since everything else was good I asked for another suggestion. He offered up and absinthe cocktail saying it had a flavor of anise (black licorice), which I despise. He assured me that even black licorice haters like this drink. To my pleasant surprise it was amazing. SCORE!!!
I love a bartender that doesn’t just makes great drinks, but they know their drinks and offer fab suggestions.
Bonus #1 This place is cheaper than a night in the city. Bonus #2 They have all the good shit food and drinky drinks. Bonus #3 There is parking, granted it’s street parking, but you don’t have to pay the homeless in fear of getting your car pissed on. Bonus #4 This place is CLEAN (bathroom included). I will be back FOR SURE!!!

This place doesn’t have a Rockridge vibe. It’s seems like it’d me much more at home in a truly hip urban setting. Not that my hood isn’t urban. It’s just that this is a little youthful and modern for this BART stop.
Water was empty when we went. There were more people working than eating. We were looking for some oysters and some tasty treats before going home to have dinner. Water had that. And, it was all very good. A touch expensive, but that’s not unusual in these parts.
The service was very nice and pleasant. One server took are our order. Another came to ask, «Isn’t she cute? She’s new.» I don’t know why, but it made me feel good that they were cheering each other on in a way.
A couple of months from now I expect this place to have closed down. But that’s only because no one has discovered. Not because it’s not good. That said, raw foods need to be fresh. I can’t imagine things staying fresh without a steady stream of customers demanding turnover. I doubt I’ll go back until I see this place packed every night.
Best of luck to Water!

As I was walking home from Rockridge BART on College Ave. I saw that Pearl is open again as «Water.» Glanced at the menu and saw that this was a small plate place with an oyster bar.
But, the small plates cost as much as big plates in other establishments. I had a good month in sales last month and my bonuses/​commissions from last month was a part of my 15^th paycheck so what the hell? I have just a little bit of money to burn.
I walked in and ordered a Jameson’s and ordered the poke from their «raw menu» which is sashimi and oysters. I chose the poke because it was relatively inexpensive and I didn’t want to eat too much, I was going to prepare dinner. Yeah, I could have order the fries and aioli but I can have fries and aioli at several places on College.
The poke was really salty to begin with, but further and further down the glass I went (it was served like ceviche) the better it got. Perhaps the person who prepared it got a little over enthused with the kosher salt.
This was going to be a three star review but then, I had a really, really awesome cocktail. It’s one of their house drinks, the Conspiracy 76. It’s like a Mojito, but with pisco. Pisco is some kind of Peruvian brandy which is quite good.
I’ll be back, but if I come here too often, I’ll break the bank.

Previously known as «Pearl» the space has been re-​incarnated in its present form as a high end destination for fresh raw seafood and adult beverages. Thanks to Micela and Rick of the aforementioned establishment. As the website reads — «A casual destination in the heart of the bustling Rockridge district»
Indeed it is my friend. Indeed it is. «Water Lounge + Raw Bar» is the place to go if you are a young professional seafood minded individual in search of delicious shellfish, stiff drinks, and other like minded adults. The vibe is definitely upper Oakland with a splash of Marina/​Berkeley… if there is such a thing?!? Ehhh. it works.
The atmosphere is modern and clean with a splash of hardwood and tile. The Bar is a marvel of changing colors behind a translucent Lucite back-​splash. If you don’t notice it after your 1^st drink I guarantee you an episode of «tripping balls» by your 4^th.
Located next door to «Becky’s Chinese Cuisine» the location is just down from Rockridge BART station. If you visit on the weekend just look for a gaggle of hipsters and wanna be yuppies mingling in a smoke cloud of sexual tension. The crowd can be a little young due to the proximity of CAL.B. Picture puppy dog eyes, beautiful breasts, and the smell of bubble gum… «Why yes, I AM a graduate student in the environmental law program fighting the big bad corporate giants of this world… yes it is sexy, thank you»
Quite a great escape in the Berkeley/​North Oakland area. Plenty of good wines and beers, but if you prefer the express train to «shit-​housed» feel free to peruse the high quality bottles on the shelves.
Come by, bring some friends and have some slurpy salty apps with smooth sipping beverages. Enjoy !