Top Asian Restaurant in El Cerrito
Yoshio Sushi
10889 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
When we arrived the waitress asked us if sitting at the bar would be okay; it was just me and my BF so we said yes. Little did we know that meant we wouldnt be checked on, not once, by the waitress nor sushi chefs. We ordered a Sprite, some tea, and chicken teriyaki bento boxes: his with a California roll, & mine with tuna nigiri.The miso soup came out first. Okay, (1) in my experience... miso soup does not have mushrooms, (2) the fish flakes were still in the broth and they were too dark of a brown--meaning the fish broth was overcooked, and (3) they used soft tofu. Overall, I didnt like it.Then his Sprite was delivered with a cup of water... no tea. We waited for 15 minutes, no one came by to check on us. When our bento boxes arrived, we were unpleasantly surprised to get lunch sized portions with dinner prices. The chicken had cartilage, the spring salad didnt have a miso dressing, the rice was overcooked to the point of being mush. My tuna nigiri was warm and had a weird after taste; it also smelled fishy and was chewy. The orange slice was the equivalent of one half of one slice... and it was dry.The ginger slices were fresh, the teriyaki flavor was a nice balance of sweet and savory, and the California roll was good. But I had yet to get my tea. My BF had to grab our waitresss attention to remind her for my tea.Now, I realize that you cant control the kind of patrons you get, but the entire time we were there, one family was obnoxiously loud... much more than the rest of the full restaurant combined. Meanwhile, the one Asian customer sitting literally one seat right of me was given a hot towel to clean her hands; no one else, not one other customer, was given this courtesy. And she was checked on regularly.I eventually got my tea and it was extremely hot but lacked deep flavor. The chopsticks were cheap and had splinters, even after I discreetly rubbed them under the counter. Its sad indeed when the highlight of your meal is the mint they give you with the check.By no means is this place anywhere near comparable to Manpuku. For the price that youre paying, the food is not worth it; they charge special rolls far too expensive but they cook their rice to mush.
Panda Express
5020 El Cerrito Plaza #e-2, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
The portions are tiny! The server was so stingy. I paid for a large entree and only got 4 tea spoons of rice. Ended up spending a lot, could’ve had a better deal at a formal Asian restaurant.
Top other services in El Cerrito:
Dollys
10172 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
What do you get when you take a young Sri Lankan chef, (Dolly) who studied under a master of Italian cuisine, (Ruggero Milano, of Milano ristorante in Tiburon), an obsession with fresh pastas, imported desserts and gelatos and add one of the best wine lists in the East Bay and a giant authentic Permesano Regiano cheese wheel?You get my new favorite Italian place in the Bay Area.In an out of the way location, one block from the Rialto theaters in El cerrito, this area is mostly known for its Asian cuisine which I have covered extensively, but lo and behold! An authentic Italian ristorante, with a real trained Italian chef, and a casual laid-back setting and unassuming vibe.Following my patented strategy of emulating success, I asked the guy next to me, (Who turned out to be a baseball scout, and looked super happy with what he was eating) what to order, and he recommended the Smoked salmon Fettuccine Alfredo.I ordered it and I watched the careful preparation of perfect pasta ending with a generous toss in a Parmesan cheese wheel, and a glass of Daou Cabernet.Dolly really knows what shes doing, and has set a new standard for my fettuccine enjoyment, and while the dish was so rich I felt guilty eating it alone, she still gave me a spoonful of REAL Italian spumoni, flown in recently.This place is a kind of restaurant we need more of in the East Bay. Unassuming, friendly, homie, first class Italian food for the people. I cannot recommend this place highly enough if you want to have an actual Italian food experience but need to stick close to the east bay.And by real Italian I dont mean some shishi spot thats going to charge you $100 to bring out three olives and a single slice of veal, Im talking about real, hearty, delicious Italian food for the people.Thanks Dolly.Strategy: go see a movie at the Rialto, one block away, and arrange to have some Italian food afterwards. Youll be glad you did
Hosanna Oriental Food
10028 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
I traveled from West Oakland to Hosanna, as I wanted to stop by an independent/small East Asian store before braving the grocery chains. I was impressed with the wonderful organisation of this store, and the well-stocked selection, especially considering the panic-buying going on! They have lots of water and canned drinks, as well as canned fishes, instant noodles, uncooked noodles, frozen/refrigerated food & desserts, basic veg, lots of seasonings, and fresh kimchi. When I came by, there was not the normal fresh/frozen meat available, but considering panic-buying I was not surprised. Very kind store-owners, who are an older East Asian couple. Please support your local immigrant businesses, like this one. Thank you Hosanna!
Super Slice Pizza
10180 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
I went in yesterday For the 1st time And got a Slice of pepperoni pizza. It was delicious. I love the fact that you can just get a slice and the slice was so huge, 2 people could have eaten it. I should have saved 1/2, but it was so good I ate it all. Next time Ill tell it to have and save half. The pepperoni was very fresh and good and I like the Taste of the sauce very much. The crust was thin and crisp and tasty . The gentleman who served me there, I assume its the owner, was very nice, helpful, Welcoming, friendly and informative. He answered all my questions. I forgot to ask him if they deliver yet.Someone,maybe him,was advertising by the side walk holding up a sign. Maybe about a week ago. I asked about it and he said they were trying to get that together but I dont know if they did yet. But its a very convenient location to get to. I thought the pizza was delicious and I hope more people hear about them and go there.
Roong Jing Jing Thai Specialty
10164 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
A nice little Thai market in El Cerrito, CA. Not too much of selections, but it does have what the family needs/wants. The pre-packed Thai foods are pretty good. We usually get the Northern Thai Pork Laab, I believe they were out by the time we dropped by. This dish contains pork liver. The dessert that we also usually pick up is the Thai cotton cake. During this visit, we picked up the Thai cotton cake, pork laab, flower-shaped cookies & rice crackers w/honey.Update: 04/30/2023We stopped by the restaurant next door today and decided to stop in to see whats left from yesterdays pre-packed food. We managed to pick up some more Thai Cotton Cake, pork laab and a few other snacks. Always a pleasure shopping here. Great service! ?
Yaoya-San
10566 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
My favorite place to go for Japanese grocery (especially hot pot ingredients and eggs), bentos, onigiri, rolls/makimono, side dishes, various sweet and savory buns, breads, desserts, etc… and household items. I've been shopping here for about 15 years and am always amazed at the selection. Now that they took over the adjacent store space that used to be a Japanese dollar store, the shopping experience is even better with the wider aisles and modernized displays for refrigerated and frozen goods. The staff is friendly and helpful. Many are at least bilingual. I also love that most of the people at the register know how to pack the items efficiently into your bags taking weight distribution and whether an item is refrigerated/frozen or not into consideration (like they do in Japan). Lastly Moser Square where Yaoyasan is located has plenty of parking too.
Bnh M Ba L Vietnamese Sandwich Deli
10174 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
If youre not Vietnamese read this review, because if you are Vietnamese in any way you already know this place is great... Friendly and fast folks working in this small store filled with Vietnamese / Asian snacks, drinks and the main focus is on tasty sandwiches! You know its good food and a great deal because its usually busy but the line moves very quickly. My favorite sandwich is the bacon, which is like a warm char siu /red around the edge of the meat, thick Sliced pork with the fat on it. Ive also had their BBQ char siu pork(red finely shredded pork) sandwich and their BBQ chicken sandwich, which is finely shredded chicken mixed with mild chicken like spices (dark yellow color). Those were both tasty but might not be what you think of as BBQ pork or BBQ chicken because they are so finely shredded. You can ask for the sandwich roll not to be toasted, which if youre eating it in your car I recommend because the crumbs will go everywhere if its toasted. Toasted or not its still a good and full sandwich with plenty of vegetables with the big bonus of having the sandwiches sliced green peppers not being too hot/spicy, unlike most Vietnamese sandwich stores. I havent tried the other sandwiches but the #2 seems very popular and as soon as I try others, I will list them here.A quick note about one of the other pre-made ready to go foods available besides the sandwiches, its their delicious raw young papaya (sliced thin strips) salad, because it is fresh and traditionally made, a very small percentage of humans might be a little bit allergic to the small quantity of natural latex like ingredients that can naturally occur in it. If you feel a tingling in your throat or breathing is affected stop eating it, even though it tastes So delicious.Lastly, I recommend everyone try a sandwich here. There are other food choices in this peppermint tree plaza strip mall but I think this is the best value for your dollar and it tastes delicious!!!
Larb Thai Food & Tapas
10166 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
My review is for lunch at Larb Thai Food & Tapas.Overall, the food was tasty and the service was friendly and attentive.Dishes:Panang Curry - very tender beef chunks served with some veggies (carrots & eggplants, etc) with rice on the side. The beef was VERY tender and the curry was very flavorful. I would definitely order this dish again. Im not sure if it was a special or part of the normal menu because I dont see it on their website.Larb - The server recommended the duck larb, but what I got looked more like pork. Maybe all larbs look the same? Anyway, confusion aside, it tasted good regardless. It was my first time having larb, so I was a little confused on how to eat it because its more of a meat salad (lettuce shavings on the bottom) and didnt come with rice. Think of it more as an asian style chili thats vinaigrette based rather than tomato based.They also had Brother Thelonious on tap, which was definitely a plus.Definitely a great Lao/Thai place that serves up more than your typical Thai restaurant.
New Dumpling
10064 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
My favorite asian restaurant in the east bay