Itani Ramen ★ 4.3
Kyle Itani's izakaya and ramen kitchen on Telegraph Avenue runs a tonkotsu-forward menu with Japanese small plates. Bowls, beer and sake, daily.
Signature: Tonkotsu ramen, Shoyu ramen, Karaage
A16 Rockridge is an italian restaurant in Rockridge, Oakland.
A16's Rockridge dining room runs the wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and southern Italian menu the brand built in San Francisco. Pizza is the entry point.
Signature dishes: Margherita pizza, Maccaronara, Burrata
Address: 5356 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618
Kyle Itani's izakaya and ramen kitchen on Telegraph Avenue runs a tonkotsu-forward menu with Japanese small plates. Bowls, beer and sake, daily.
Signature: Tonkotsu ramen, Shoyu ramen, Karaage
Champa Garden on 8th Avenue has cooked Lao and Thai cuisine in Oakland's San Antonio neighborhood since 2006. Family-run, lunch and dinner daily.
Signature: Nam khao, Laotian sausage, Papaya salad
Vientian Cafe in Oakland's Allendale neighborhood runs a Lao-Thai-Vietnamese counter that locals have voted into a regional Lao standard for two decades.
Signature: Larb, Papaya salad, Lao sausage
Battambang on Broadway in Oakland's Chinatown has cooked Cambodian cuisine since 1993. Beef lok lak and amok lead a menu locals have leaned on for years.
Signature: Beef lok lak, Amok, Cambodian noodles
Tay Ho on 12th Street on the edge of Oakland Chinatown cooks Northern Vietnamese plates with a full bar. Bun cha Hanoi is the lead order at the door.
Signature: Bun cha Hanoi, Banh xeo, Pho ga
Pho Ao Sen on East 12th in Oakland's Eastlake neighborhood runs the city's standard for pho, a Sunday-morning regular for two decades on the corridor.
Signature: Pho tai, Pho ga, Bun bo Hue