À Côté

Last week we had dinner at À Côté in Oakland, California. Our favorite bartender Mike used to work downstairs at Oliveto, and when he moved to À Côté, we followed. We don't live around the corner anymore (*sniff*), but whenever we're in town, we try to make it to À Côté. It's my favorite "small plate" restaurant, serving food in a simple more-or-less French style. We had pancetta-wrapped shrimp served with romesco sauce, which was succulent and tasty, a flatbread (essentially an oval-plate-sized pizzetta) with pears and gorgonzola, not to be missed, a shredded salad of (I think--memory fails me) romaine and radicchio with a creamy caper sauce, and a tuna "confit" salad which was the least successful of the group. We had one (well, Debbie had more than one, but I switched to wine) of Mike's amazing Sangria Cocktails, which are made with spanish brandy, tempranillo (red wine), and citrus juices. For dessert we had the coupe à côté, which was the chocolate sundae of my dreams, along with another dessert that I don't remember at this point.

Unless you have a large party, they don't take reservations. There's almost always a wait for a table, but if you get a seat at the bar, you can have dinner there as well.

À Côté
5478 College Avenue
Oakland CA
510-655-6469