Plum in Oakland

Oakland is quickly becoming a hotbed for terrific restaurants and amazing cuisine. With the continued high rental costs in San Francisco, many chefs are moving shop to the other side of the Bay, welcoming a burgeoning renaissance for the East Bay.


One of the hottest new spots is Daniel Patterson’s first venture in the East Bay, Plum in Uptown Oakland. Patterson is well-known for his highly-recognized restaurant Coi in San Francisco along with Il Cane Rosso in the Ferry Building.

Kitchen at work

Plum can best be described as a little brother to Coi. The food and service match any top-notch restaurant in the Bay Area. The menu is wonderfully eclectic and reasonably priced. It is fine dining in a casual and modern environment, a place where you can go for a special occasion or just stop by for a quick bite to eat.


The menu is divided into snacks, starters, vegetables and entrees. Executive Chef Charlie Parker, formerly of Bonny Doon Vineyard's restaurant the Cellar Door in Santa Cruz, is currently mixing and matching the menu. Like Patterson has stressed with both of his restaurants in San Francisco, Parker uses the freshest ingredients with items that are locally grown.

I previously tried one of the preview dinners that Patterson and Lauren Kiino held at Il Cane Rosso in August and was immediately blown away by the complexity of the flavors, even in seemingly the simplest dishes. Parker is well on his way to creating the same type of wonderful sensations. Each dish had a simple, homey quality to it. But the wonderful array of flavors was amazing. The main ingredient was highlighted and remained the centerpiece of each dish, but was accompanied by the perfect array of “secondary” ingredients and flavors, which in my humble opinion is the real sign of a quality chef. Let the main ingredient be the standout while building around it.


The dishes are not very large, but the menu lends itself to that. It is perfect to just pick and choose items off the menu, almost like an upscale tapas restaurant. To his credit, Patterson wanted to create a neighborhood atmosphere with reasonable prices and he has done that at Plum, as everything was $20 or less.  While all of the food is terrific, the vegetable dishes really stand out to me.  Such a wonderful variety of flavors and produce.

Service was terrific from start to finish, a huge aspect of the dining experience because of the popularity of the restaurant. Sitting in front of the open kitchen, a woman sitting nearby stood up to use the restroom. The servers immediately grabbed her plate and it was put under a heating lamp/warmer. When she got back to her seat, the dish was once again presented to her at the same temperature as when she had left. Just a really classy touch. The beverage list was also filled with wines, beer, sake and other concoctions. 


I am excited to visit Plum again in the near future and see what is next on Chef Parker’s menu. The diversification of Oakland continues and restaurants like Plum just add to the growing movement to build new and exciting places around the city.


**Added note: according to Ms. Tablehopper, Plum has started a tasting menu for those sitting at the bar in front of the open kitchen.  Five courses for $59.  Read her review and more here.**

Plum is located at 2214 Broadway Street in Oakland.  It is best to call ahead and try to make a reservation.  The restaurant is open from Monday-Friday for lunch from 11-2 and open daily for dinner from 5pm-1am (special late night menu)


Prices:

Snacks-$4 each
Starters-$9-12
Vegetables and Grains-$12
Entrees (animal)-$20 and under