The Heart of Westbrae
Posted on | March 16, 2010 | No Comments
Though ideally located near some of the wonderful businesses that make Berkeley such a special place to live, work and eat, Berkeley’s Westbrae neighborhood remains a peaceful residential neighborhood filled with charm, character and diversity.
The nearby Monterey Market is renowned for its huge, exotic array of delicious and reasonably priced produce. Tour buses come to see this place, it’s so famous! The Coffee Market on Hopkins has a terrific selection of cheese and all sorts of other delicacies, as well as bulk herbs, teas, coffees and hard to find jams. One door up is Monterey Fish, which has some of the best, freshest, most fantastic fish in the East Bay. Two doors up is Gioia Pizza which some believe is the only thing close to New York pizza around.
The Tokyo Fish Market, on San Pablo between Gilman and Harrison is a terrific place for seafood, fresh produce, and Japanese staples. The owners are lovely and friendly, and the take-out food is delicious!
Major yum for Zaki’s Kabob House, at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Dartmouth Street. The rotisserie chicken could be the best outside of Paris. Be sure and try the fresh mint lemonade.
At San Pablo and Cedar you’ll find the always popular and crowded Café Fanny. What a treat to have breakfast or lunch there, at one of the little tables outside or standing up at the coffee bar for café latte in a bowl! And next door to is Kermit Lynch Wines, which boasts a fabulous selection of European wines from small producers and a highly knowledgeable staff. On the other side of the café is Acme Bakery, where people line up to buy the most wonderful bread and pastries.
Nearby Fourth Street is one of the liveliest and most stylish shopping and dining areas of the East Bay! Sit outside at Peet’s and work on your novel. Meet a special friend for an exotic and exquisitely served flight of tea at Teance. Look at the eclectic cooking gadgets at Sur la Table or learn to make mosaics at the Stained Glass Garden. Eat a great lunch at Tacubaya—or shop for dinner at the Pasta Shop. Return to Fourth Street in the evening to eat oysters and drink champagne at the bar at Café Rouge. Have some of the best Asian fusion cuisine anywhere at O Chamé. You get the idea. Fourth Street is divine.
Heading North from the Westbrae in a few short minutes you’ll come to Solano Avenue and all the great shops, cafes, bookstores, yoga studios, gyms, and restaurants that line the street from San Pablo to the Alameda. The Albany YMCA, just off Solano, is so close you’ll never miss a workout. And even if you do, you can hop on your bike to shop and work—you can zip trough two counties on the scenic Ohlone Greenway bike path that cuts right through Westbrae.
Less than a mile away is Duck’s Nest Preschool, considered one of the East Bay’s best. Even closer are all the children’s classes and activities offered at Albany’s University Village—gymnastics, judo, soccer, art—the list goes on. Cedar-Rose park has tennis courts, two fenced children’s areas and a huge grassy picnic area that seems to be hosting a birthday party just about every weekend—yes, frequent jumpy houses!
Need to commute? It makes such a difference when you don’t have to cut across town to access Interstate 80 or can catch the AC Transit Transbay G line—25 minutes to San Francisco in comfort and style—on San Pablo Avenue. On your way home get all your errands done quickly at nearby Office Depot, Walgreen’s and REI.
In the Westbrae everything is conveniently close—yet you will feel it is all a world away.
Tags: Fourth Street > Monterey Market > Westbrae
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