First Look: ‘Cool beans’ gets new meaning at Berkeley’s charming Bar Panisse
Bar Panisse is the new little sister to Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse. Located next door, it’s a little hipper, a little cheaper and a lot of fun.
Alice Waters, the chef responsible for so much of America’s farm-to-table philosophy, is not doing the cooking. That would be Amelia Telc, who’s worked at Mission Chinese Food in New York and operated pop-ups in Sonoma County, including at the Bodega Bay’s hidden gem Casino Bar & Grill. Telc keeps her focus on uncluttered, surgically sourced recipes that are quietly creative and quite delicious – channeling her inner Waters, perhaps, though it’s indisputably her own show.
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’ve had – that the place would be shunned by the community, after Waters terminated the lease of longtime tapas restaurant Cesar to make space for her new endeavor. As one former Cesar patron told local-news site Berkeleyside, “We’re still grieving and miss it constantly.”
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.
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’re facing a wait for a seat, note there’s a neat cafe down the street 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.
The food: A complementary bowl of skin-on potato chips whets the appetite, and then it’s off to the starters. The menu rotates weekly, but a recent winter one featured bar snacks – airy gougeres ($6) and anchovies with piparras (Spanish pickled peppers, $9) – as well as a plate of broiled Hog Island Sweetwater oysters with ‘nduja butter ($30 for six). There were scallions with Straus yogurt and honey and a Seven Moons Farm chicory Caesar salad ($18) – if there’s a farm or dairy name associated with any ingredient, you will know it – and La Ratte potatoes, a golden variety favored by Joel Robuchon, with hazelnut romesco ($13).
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’re umami-packed and brothy, the char on the cabbage lending a lovely campfire taste and crème fraiche adding decadence.
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 – 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).
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 pavê with Chantilly cream and almond praline ($15).
The drinks: Bar Panisse’s beverage menu is designed by Dylan O’Brien of Emeryville’s Prizefighter Bar, an unfussy joint that goes hard on flavors. With $20 cocktails rapidly approaching “norm” status, it’s heart-warming to see a well-made martini for just $12, here kicked up with lemon verbena and saline. There’s 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’s a Bitter Mule with botanical tonic and ginger or housemade shrubs, a notably refreshing one made with persimmon, champagne vinegar and clove ($8).
Details: Open 5-10 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays at 1515 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; chezpanisse.com