Eating out with Kids in Albany, El Cerrito & Kensington
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Eating out with Kids in Albany, El Cerrito & Kensington
Jan 2006
Is there any gourmet or good enough restaurant in El Cerrito? I love all kinds of
food; traditional american, ethnic, asian, mexian, etc, etc.
I live in El Cerrito for about 4 years, but seldom dine here, except at Pasta
Pomodoro and Fat Apple, though only on few occations. I always go to either
Albany, Berekely, or near by towns. I have seen some Thai and Mexican restaurant
on San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito but I have never tried them yet. Is there any hidden
jewel, or simply there is no good restaurant here in El Cerrito?
I love El Cerrito so far ...
Sa Wooie Thai on San Pablo is pretty good. Perhaps gourmet is
a bit of a stretch, but it's certainly some of the better Thai
food I have eaten in the East Bay. It's in the unlikely
location over the parking lot of a motel on San Pablo, just
north of Moseser. The service is great and the view of Safeway
and passing BART trains is perfect for kids.
Katana-Ya Ramen Japanese Restaurant in El Cerrito is an
incredible find.
It's on San Pablo in the ''Baskin-Robbins'' strip mall (at Moeser)
and the food is terrific. It's usually packed with Asian
customers. My kids don't like sushi or anything that doesn't come
with french fries so I usually get take-out but I have dined
there occasionally too. It's a small place but very cozy. I'm not
a Ramen fan but people tell me it's great. I love their sushi,
the teriaki dishes are excellent, and I've enjoyed their sukiaki
too.
Nizza La Bella on San Pablo (although I think it is in Albany and not El Cerrito). French
bistro with good food and a fun atmosphere.
liz
The best Thai food we have ever had is at SaWaDee Thai on San
Pablo Avenue. They're over the El Cerrito border in Richmond,
about a block north of MacDonald. Unprepossing exterior and
interior doesn't prepare you for the sensational food. Every
bite has a myriad of tastes and spices. Don't know how they do
it so cheaply. Good for families. Service can be a little
perfunctory but who cares? The food is to die for! I'm
salivating just thinking about it :-)
Carole
on san pablo near the safeway/longs i think theres a thai restaurant
accross the street that looks like a hotel. it's upstairs in front of a hotel i
think. it's great.
Michelle
I haven't found any undiscovered gem eating places in El Cerrito,
but a good place to check is the SF Bay Area message board on
chowhound.com - there is a woman who posts with the handle
'rworange' who writes a lot of reviews of places in the area.
She recently posted a bit about 'tea with alice' which is a
teatime place on san pablo near moeser. (I haven't been there yet.)
-fellow foodie
not EC but very close the other way in Richmond 2 perhaps
hidden, gems: Sa-Wa-Dee Thai on San Pablo at Nevin Ave. actually
it's my favorite Thai in the Bay Area. and then La Bamba up at
San Pablo just past Barrett. I wouldn't call it gourmet and it
is very casual but they do have excellent Mexican and
Salvadorian food- the platanos are devine.... of the Chinese
restaurants in El Cerrito I really like Uncle Wong's but for
more gourmet and utterly fabulous Chinese food I'd be inclined
to drive to China Village on Solano Ave. Also, don't know the
name but the Japanese restaurant in the Baskin Robbins plaza (by
the Japanese dollar store and food market)at Moeser Lane/ San
Pab. has delicious food and sushi, and quite an extensive menu-
book. yum.
chris
The only good places I know of are Asian. There's wonderful dim
sum at Pacific East Mall (south side), fresh, delicious Chinese
seafood (dinner) at Saigon Village at 3150 PIERCE ST (Rich.),
just north of Pacific East Mall, authentic Hong Kong-style
Chinese food at Daimo, also on Pierce St next to Pacific East
Mall. I also like Yusan Sushi on S.P. (across the street from
Home Depot), and Sawadee (Thai) at 12200 San Pablo Ave in
Richmond. There's a great hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant on
S.P. across the street from Home Depot, but I can't remember the
name (Kung Threp?). I've been wondering if there's good French,
Italian, or Mexican food north of Albany, so I'll be reading the
other postings closely.
El Cerrito Foodie
Yes, there are great restaurants in El Cerrito (and Richmond).
We love Sa Wooei Thai restaurant on San Pablo Ave near Moeser
(in the most surreal location, on the second floor of a cheap
motel, overlooking San Pablo Ave and the Safeway parking lot).
But we love that view esp. by night and their food is sooo good.
Katanaya Ramen (also near San Pablo and Moeser, in the strip
mall south of Moeser) has excellent Japanese food. And the most
extensive menu I have ever seen. Some items have the price in
Japanese Yen only! Talk about being authentic! Huong Tra is a
wonderful Vietnamese restaurant (San Pablo and Barrett). Try
their Bun Cha Hanoi, delicious grilled pork and sausages on rice
noodles and vegetables. Pacific East mall (near I-80 and
Central) has lots of great Asian restaurants including a superb
place called Asian Pearl which serves Dim Sum and more. Ba Le in
the Peppermint Plaza near Central and San Pablo has yammy (and
unbelievably cheap!) Vietnamese sandwiches and more. Enjoy!
Food lover in El Cerrito
I'd recommend you checking the listings at www.chowhound.com, or
post your question there--if anyone would know, it's the people
who post there. I don't know of any gourment gems in El Cerrito,
though I've heard that the Thai place on San Pablo that's in that
funny elevated building is supposed to be pretty good.
amateur foodie
I read the postings from last week, and only one mentioned Krung
Thep. I've been to all of the other Thai places mentioned, but
none of them compare to this one.
Location: On San Pablo (same side of the road as Target),
directly across from the plaza where Blockbuster video is. I
think the nearest major intersection is Potrero.
Anyway, I used to live behind Target and we would eat at Krung
Thep at least once per week.
Their prices are great,
Their food is amazing,
Their service is superb.
Charlie, the owner, was always so kind to us and really
appreciated our business. He would go out of his way to make
sure we had a nice dining experience.
I don't see a lot of people in there, so it would be great to
give them more business. They have the best Thai food in the
East Bay as far as I'm concerned.
karen
2001
Inn Kensington: it's quiet, which made me anxious, but staff was very nice
with young kids
-- Ann
Both the Circus Pub and Kensington Bistro (under new ownership)on Colusa
Circle in Kensington are extremely child friendly. Each of them have a
corner with a nice big rug with lots of kids toys.
JE
We've not eaten out much the past 3-4 months. Our 20-month
old son is a terror in restaurants, and it just doesn't seem
worth it!
However, on those occasions when I can't face cooking or
yet another take-out meal, we go to the Kensington Circus
Pub on Colusa (near Semi-Freddies Bakery). The menu is
primarily geared to adults (but our son enjoys the big
bowl of spaghetti they bring him; they also serve burgers
and fries, and fish and chips); the attraction is a
small play area with several
toys and usually other kids to play with (later in the evening
this becomes the dart-playing area, so go before 7:00-7:30!).
Lee
We also really like the Kensington Circus.
--
Laurie
1998
Since a lot of people may have relatives in town to entertain this
weekend, I thought I would put in a plug for a new restaurant my family
and I have eaten at recently. It is called "Sam's Log Cabin" and is
located at 945 San Pablo Ave. in Albany, just south of Solano on the east
side of the street. (It does look like a log cabin on the outside.)
For breakfast, they use organic eggs and coffee and make their own
muffins, scones and coffee cakes. They have nice smoked meats as well.
They are in the process of putting in a beautiful garden out in the back,
complete with vegetables. Best of all, they are very kid friendly and go
out of their way to get my two year-old a muffin before anything else.
(They did not have any high chairs just yet, so you may want to call
ahead to see if they have them now if you are taking a baby.)
They are open for breakfast and lunch (from 8 am to 2 pm) and are closed
on Mondays. Breakfast is around $5.50 and lunch specials start at around
the same price. (BTW, they serve a great Cobb Salad!) Their phone
number is 558-0494.
Sarah
Re: Bruce's query about eating places with kids: The Sizzler on Portland and
San Pablo is extremely kid friendly and kids under two eat free. My husband
and I have been bringing our son since pregnancy and now he's nearly 20
months. He willingly sits in the high chair and loves the macaroni and
cheese. Sometimes he'll eat some of the soups, or some of the salad bar
items. There's also french fries and hamburgers and soft ice cream for
dessert and fresh fruit and a kids cart with Pepperidge Farm goldfish and
applesauce and baby hotdogs and stuff like that. There are many, many
choices, and you can ask for a balloon. There are always a lot of kids there.
When our son used to make a huge, huge mess my husgband would ask for the
broom and duspan and weep up himself. I prefer to leave a larger than normal
tip.
Wendy
My 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter really
enjoy Sizzler (Albany now that the El Cerrito one is closed) and Chevy's in
El Cerrito Plaza. This is a big step up from MacDonald's and Chuck E.
Cheese's, our former haunts (yuck). They also enjoy Fat Apple's in El
Cerrito or Baker's Square on San Pablo Avenue for breakfast.
Helen
Quick meals: I go to Nations on Central and San Pablo in El Cerrito
(there are more of them in Berkeley, I believe) and get a sweet potato tart
for $1.70. They also have grilled cheese sandwiches. Barney's
Hamburgers on Solano Ave. in Albany and the one on College have 1/2 huge
orders of big fat soft french fries for $1.70. And Andronicos also has good
roasted chickens to go as well as cold cuts, and cheap stuffed huge baked
potatos.
Wendy
this page was last updated: Mar 29, 2006
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