{"id":121265,"date":"2026-01-05T21:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/121265\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T21:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:17:10","slug":"new-cafes-and-sandwich-spots-including-one-dedicated-to-biscuits-mark-december-debuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/121265\/","title":{"rendered":"New cafes and sandwich spots, including one dedicated to biscuits, mark December debuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\tBerkeley restaurant openings<\/p>\n

12.10.25: The team behind the lauded Berkeley bistro Chez Panisse launched offshoot, Bar Panisse, on Thursday, Dec. 11. The\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that the bar will serve small plates, entrees and cocktails, and a draft menu submitted to the City of Berkeley includes snacks like fritto misto, housemade potato chips and duck liver mousse crostini, plus a spin on Chez Panisse\u2019s famous garden lettuce salad. A\u00a0coy Instagram post<\/a>\u00a0announced that Bar Panisse is walk-in only; diners can expect service Thursday through Sunday evenings from 4-10 p.m. Chez Panisse recently won the\u00a0Nosh Award for Best Restaurant for Special Occasions<\/a>\u00a0for the second year in a row.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bar is in the former location of C\u00e9sar. In 2023, when Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters decided to end C\u00e9sar\u2019s sublease after 24 years so she could take it over for her own concept,\u00a0fans of the popular Spanish tapas restaurant protested<\/a>. Three years have not healed the wounded C\u00e9sar champions, either, judging from the emails Nosh receives on a regular basis. Upon Chez Panisse winning the special occasions award on Monday (voted on by Nosh readers), one person emailed:<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps if Waters hadn\u2019t killed C\u00e9sar there would be a different special occasions winner? We\u2019re still grieving and miss it constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bar Panisse\u2019s kitchen will be led by chef Amelia Telc, formerly of San Francisco\u2019s Tartine and New York City\u2019s Mission Chinese Food, and the drinks program was developed with Dylan O\u2019Brien of Prizefighter Bar in Emeryville, according to the\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle. Bar Panisse, 1515 Shattuck Ave. (at Vine St.), Berkeley<\/p>\n

12.23.25: A new spot serving handmade knife-cut noodles, dumplings and rice dishes has opened in Berkeley, as first reported by the\u00a0Daily Californian. Li\u2019s Knife Cut Noodle, an offshoot of its original San Mateo location, is your best bet if you\u2019re hungry and craving Chinese comfort food \u2014 the restaurant offers unlimited free noodle refills.\u00a0Li\u2019s Knife Cut Noodle<\/a>, 2126 Center St., Berkeley\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

El Sobrante restaurant opening<\/p>\n

12.23.25: A new, family-run Korean comfort food restaurant has opened in what used to be Pho Nation in El Sobrante. The family behind OLCHI emigrated from Seoul, where they owned a Korean BBQ restaurant. The menu includes kimchi fried rice, hot pot, seafood pancakes, tofu soups and donkatsu among other dishes. The restaurant, open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, soft opened the first week of December and held a grand opening on Dec. 13.\u00a0OLCHI<\/a>, 4068 San Pablo Dam Rd., El Sobrante<\/p>\n

Emeryville restaurant opening<\/p>\n

12.03.25: Crispy Japanese pork cutlets have landed in Emeryville after a fire forced the closure of Jungdon Katsu\u2019s Danville location in October. (The restaurant has started a\u00a0GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0to finance the rebuild.) For a crunchy comfort meal, try the traditional pork tenderloin cutlet (Anshim katsu) or the cheese katsu \u2014 mozzarella wrapped in pork tenderloin. There are also plenty of craveable side dishes, like soba noodles with dipping sauce, fried spam and shrimp tempura.\u00a0Jungdon Katsu,<\/a>\u00a06485 Hollis St., Emeryville\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oakland restaurant openings <\/p>\n

12.17.25: The lunch crowd in Old Oakland has a new spot for sandwiches and salads in Bread Winners, which opened in Swan\u2019s Market Dec. 8. The menu has options for build-your-own sandwiches in addition to house specials, smoothies, sides and more.\u00a0Bread Winners<\/a>, 917 Washington St., Oakland<\/p>\n

12.10.25: Cafe da Fonk, a self-described eco-friendly, Berlin-inspired community caf\u00e9, has opened near the Oakland waterfront. You\u2019ll find coffee and tea alongside breakfast plates like halal turkey spam and eggs over rice and green chile brisket breakfast tacos. But perhaps the most nostalgically German item on the menu is the\u00a0schorle \u2014\u00a0fruit juice infused with fizzy water \u2014 which this contributor rarely sees stateside.\u00a0Cafe da Fonk<\/a>,\u00a0465 2nd St. (at Broadway), Oakland<\/p>\n

12.10.25:\u00a0Local coffee chain Highwire is opening up a new location inside Uptown Oakland\u2019s Vespr apartment complex, joining Tarts de Feybesse bakery on the ground floor. Soft opening hours are set to 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. until they gear up to 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.\u00a0Highwire Coffee<\/a>,\u00a0312 24th St., Oakland\u00a0<\/p>\n

12.17.25: There are some places you can have it all, and Pickle Athletics, Oakland\u2019s newest pickleball social club, is serving more than just underhand volleys. It\u2019s outfitted with pickleball courts, a fitness center, a sauna, a kitchen and wine bar \u2014 and despite its designation of \u201csocial club,\u201d it\u2019s open to the public. Early morning pickleballers can enjoy daily rotating pastries, breakfast sandwiches, egg bites and chia seed puddings; lunch offerings include cold sesame noodles, an umami kale chop salad, tuna and caper on focaccia and Bad Walter\u2019s ice cream for dessert. Beer and wine is also available, and yes, pickles (and pickle dip) are on the menu. No opportunity goes wasted around here.\u00a0Pickle Athletics<\/a>, 4000 Telegraph Ave. (between 40th and 41st St.), Oakland<\/p>\n

12.10.25: There are many wonderful ways to eat a biscuit, and the newly-opened Town Biscuits just might have cooked up every option. There are, of course, plain handmade buttermilk biscuits reminiscent of North Carolina kitchens \u2014 but there is also the blueberry jam and goat cheese biscuit, the fried chicken biscuit, the bacon egg and cheese biscuit, and more. The\u00a0Town Biscuits, 434 25th St., Oakland<\/p>\n

Pinole restaurant opening<\/p>\n

12.23.25: Casual deli Sourdough & Co. opened quietly in Pinole last month. You\u2019ll find clam chowder, deli\u00a0sandwiches (French dip, caprese, and smoked brisket among them), mac and cheese, and salads on the menu. The deli operates in several other Bay Area cities, including Berkeley, San Ramon, Concord, Hayward, Danville and Walnut Creek.\u00a0Sourdough & Co<\/a>., 1588 Fitzgerald Dr., Pinole<\/p>\n

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