{"id":211768,"date":"2026-03-09T16:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/211768\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:26:14","slug":"inside-alice-waters-new-berkeley-project-bar-panisse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/211768\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Alice Waters’ new Berkeley project, Bar Panisse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bar Panisse is the new little sister to Berkeley\u2019s<\/a> legendary Chez Panisse. Located next door, it\u2019s a little hipper, a little cheaper and a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

Alice Waters<\/a>, the chef responsible for so much of America\u2019s farm-to-table philosophy, is not doing the cooking<\/a>. That would be Amelia Telc<\/a>, who\u2019s worked at Mission Chinese Food in New York and operated pop-ups in Sonoma County, including at the Bodega Bay\u2019s hidden gem Casino Bar & Grill. Telc keeps her focus on uncluttered, surgically sourced recipes that are quietly creative and quite delicious \u2013 channeling her inner Waters, perhaps, though it\u2019s indisputably her own show.<\/p>\n

\"PatronsCustomers line up as they wait for Bar Panisse to open on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The restaurant is open five days a week and does not accept reservations. That can lead to a logjam at the door, with people arriving before opening and then still waiting for indeterminate times. The popularity of Bar Panisse perhaps dispels one fear the restaurateurs might\u2019ve had \u2013 that the place would be shunned by the community, after Waters terminated the lease of longtime tapas restaurant Cesar<\/a> to make space for her new endeavor. As one former Cesar patron told local-news site Berkeleyside,<\/a>\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re still grieving and miss it constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no sign of grief inside, however, where throngs of people enjoy cocktails, Dungeness crab and plates of herby butter beans. Yes, in a Watersesque twist, beans are one of the most-celebrated things on the menu.<\/p>\n

\"PatronsPatrons dine at Bar Panisse on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vibe: Bars are usually about drinking and nightlife; as you can tell from its crowded dining tables and serious eaters, people are treating Bar Panisse more like a restaurant. (If you\u2019re facing a wait for a seat, note there\u2019s a neat cafe down the street<\/a> with cards and board games.) A long bar takes up one side of the eatery, offering draft wine and cock- or mocktails. A design aesthetic, akin to mid-century modern with a polished-wood nautical feel, gives the space a classy but comforting ambience. Large windows that open to the sidewalk offer views of passing foot traffic, or people waiting and checking their watches.<\/p>\n

The food: A complementary bowl of skin-on potato chips whets the appetite, and then it\u2019s off to the starters. The menu rotates weekly, but a recent winter one featured bar snacks \u2013 airy gougeres ($6) and anchovies with piparras (Spanish pickled peppers, $9) \u2013 as well as a plate of broiled Hog Island Sweetwater oysters with \u2018nduja butter ($30 for six). There were scallions with Straus yogurt and honey and a Seven Moons Farm chicory Caesar salad ($18) \u2013 if there\u2019s a farm or dairy name associated with any ingredient, you will know it \u2013 and La Ratte potatoes, a golden variety favored by Joel Robuchon, with hazelnut romesco ($13).<\/p>\n

\"BroiledBroiled Hog Island sweet water oysters with ‘njuda butter are served at Bar Panisse on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

A white-wine steamed artichoke is the Platonic ideal of this vegetable petard; diners dip the tender leaves in a big dollop of aioli until revealing its prized, butter-soaked heart. On many tables was a seasonal Dungeness crab dish with green-garlic butter, and seemingly on every single table were those butter beans with greens (for tonight, Caraflex cabbage). If a train hobo tasted these beans their tattered hat might explode; they\u2019re umami-packed and brothy, the char on the cabbage lending a lovely campfire taste and cr\u00e8me fraiche adding decadence.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Black Cod with leeks, sauce soubise and confit horseradish is served at Bar Panisse on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Segueing into the larger plates was a handful of Gulf shrimp seasoned with lemon and smoked paprika. These were fried so well you could just pop them whole into the mouth and crunch, like a happy walrus ($22). Seafood lovers might continue with an entree of Manila clams with fregola, fennel and Spanish chorizo ($28). There was also a roasted Fogline Farm chicken from Pescadero, made into a roulade with crispy skin, tatsoi and big slices of leaks \u2013 enjoyable just for being really tasty leaks. The pan sauce on this dish was the essence of roasted chicken, with a lashing of lemon zing ($29).<\/p>\n

Desserts on a recent visit were either a small bite or an all-in proposition. There were two, a candied-kumquat ice cream ($6) and a chocolate pav\u00ea with Chantilly cream and almond praline ($15).<\/p>\n

\"GulfThe Black Cod with leeks, sauce soubise and confit horseradish is served at Bar Panisse on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The drinks: Bar Panisse\u2019s beverage menu is designed by Dylan O\u2019Brien<\/a> of Emeryville\u2019s Prizefighter Bar<\/a>, an unfussy joint that goes hard on flavors. With $20 cocktails rapidly approaching \u201cnorm\u201d status, it\u2019s heart-warming to see a well-made martini for just $12, here kicked up with lemon verbena and saline. There\u2019s a Sazerac with rye whiskey and Creole bitters and a wine spritz with blood-orange aperitif and quince liqueur ($13-$14). On the nonalcoholic side, there\u2019s a Bitter Mule with botanical tonic and ginger or housemade shrubs, a notably refreshing one made with persimmon, champagne vinegar and clove ($8).<\/p>\n

\"ChocolateChocolate cake with mandarini and vanilla cream is served at Bar Panisse on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Details: Open 5-10 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays at 1515 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; chezpanisse.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bar Panisse is the new little sister to Berkeley\u2019s legendary Chez Panisse. Located next door, it\u2019s a little…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,764,7,3901,332,3056,413,421,143,145,144,412,420],"class_list":["post-211768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-berkeley","tag-california","tag-drink","tag-east-bay","tag-features","tag-food","tag-food-and-drink","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-restaurants","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}