Tertulia Coffee, 1951 Telegraph Avenue
Tertulia Coffee in Uptown Oakland is part art gallery, part modern coffee shop. Brewing Stumptown Coffee, the gorgeous industrial space has plenty of welcoming furniture groupings to relax on or take a walk over to the connected gallery, Sanchez Contemporary, while you wait for your flat white to go.
Hopscotch, 1915 San Pablo Avenue
Restaurant owner Jenny Schwarz, marries traditional Japanese ingredients into classic American dishes (and the reverse). All sustainably sourced, you might find soba noodles where Semolina pasta usually fits, tempura nori where taro chips might normally compliment a hamachi tartare, and Yonsei oysters with sea urchin and citrus soy. The menu changes often and it’s pretty delicious.
To drink they’ve got a handful of good beers on tap, hops and scotch pairings, as well as a solid offering of cocktails that riff on classics like the Lil’ Pisco My Heart featuring beet infused Vodka, Hot Buttered Love, made with your choice of brown liquor, a Maple Old Fashioned, and so much more.
The Miranda, 1739 Broadway
This little cocktail den is the perfect place to post up for a couple elegant coupé’s full of booze. The new school bar features bold floral wallpaper in the front and dark moody fixtures throughout. Order a cocktail from their house menu or have them make a classic for you. They also serve champagne jello shots for $3 (YAS) and have a changing daily punch to keep things fresh.
Temescal Alley
This little alleyway in the Temescal area of Oakland is pretty cool. It doesn’t feel quite like an alley, but rather a grouping of transitional shops and cafes, just behind Telegraph Street. Early morning visitors can grab a coffee from Cro Cafe and perhaps a sugar donut from Doughnut Dolly (provided they haven’t sold out yet), while midday or evening visitors might peruse the hip plant shop facing 49th Street before grabbing a couple scoops from Curbside Creamery.
Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street
Specializing in natural sciences, the history of California and its art, the Oakland Museum of California is a gorgeous place to wander around on a nice day. With many outdoor spaces including cascading sprawling roof peppered with sculptures, the museum is separated by an outdoor stairwell, dividing special exhibitions from the permanent collection. Visit before April 2nd and be sure to see Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture as well as a special display of Steph Curry’s customized sneakers upon entry.
Uptown Oakland
Uptown Oakland is starting to bubble up and is home to many great restaurants and shops – certainly worth a wander. With Uber’s headquarters set to move in and the possibility of a boutique hotel on the horizon, fixtures like Paramount and Fox Theatre remind one of the cities iconic past. Stop by Oaklandish and SoleSpace, and admire the well maintained architecture.
Juhu Beach Club, 5179 Telegraph Avenue
While you don’t often think of Indian street food when you’re craving brunch, we highly recommend heading to Juhu Beach Club on Saturdays and Sundays for an interesting assortment of dishes you normally wouldn’t see on a brunch menu. They’ve got a wide selection of starters as well as Indian takes on classic brunch dishes like the Croque Memsahib and the Chumpchi’s Channa Masala. The Doswaffle menu features a few sweet, savoury, and sinful options like the turmeric marinated Fried Chicken & Waffle (pictured above) served with sweet & spicy syrup and black pepper butter.
They’ve got a well versed drink menu which features everything from lassis, chai, coolers, as well as beer, wine and cocktails, including a highly addictive mango mimosa, perfect for brunch.