Fonda

Fun place for drinks

by girlgenius2008 at Citysearch

Finally had a chance to come here. I'm very fond of Sea Salt, Lalime's and T-Rex (same owners). This place is busy!! We had to wait almost an hour for a table but luckily found a spot at the bar for a few pre-dinner cocktails. Pricey but strong and good! We finally got seated and orders tapas and small plates. Some better than others but all were pretty good. We went on a Sat night so it may be easier seating on the weekday. Will try them again for sure.

Great food and ambience.

by tacosystem at Citysearch

This place was amazing. Top quality. I went there to celebrate my birthday with my sister. We started off with the chips, guacamole, and salsa appetizer. We then ordered the duck tacos (very small, but delicious), the scallops (also small, but equally scrumptious). At this point, I was still hungry. But then came the mushroom quesadilla (they're really empanadas). These were so hearty and filling. After this, we ordered the passionfruit creme brulee. It was amazing! My sister and I practically licked the plate! The service was also excellent. Quick tip: Try to sit in the big, soft chairs. The upstairs room is nice.

• Pros: Quality food, ambience, good service
• Cons: A little pricey

Disappointing Friday night

by pmadhivanan at Citysearch

Have been to Fonda many many times before and always left feeling satisfied and fgood about the experience except this time. Four of us went on a Friday night recently and we noticed that some of the items on the menu had changed. The drinks were great as usual and almost perfect. However the food was lacking in taste and quality as compared to the past times we had visited. I am assuming that their chef was out for that day. We ordered more than 12 dishes and the only one that came close to being decent was the lamb. Most of the dishes were cold and the broccoli looked like it was cooked in the morning-- discolored and pale, cold with the garlic soft and soggy-- no flavor what so ever! The fish tacos that we ordered were miserable! They had more sauce than anything else! The spicy wings looked like they were cooking in stale oil for a long time and then dunked in bbq sauce to be presented at the table in a big heap. That totally put me off!

Nevertheless, I would not pass off on this place and give it another try. I really like the service, good bar and atmosphere -- a little loud and might need to speak loudly. The warm chocolate cake makes me want to go back there again and again.

• Pros: Ambience, Friendly service, Great bar
• Cons: Loud, Undependable cook

Favorite tapas bar in the east bay!

by risachen at Citysearch

Any restaurant can put food on little dishes- but at Fonda's you'll find some of the tastiest tapas in the east bay. This restaurants lands on the top of my list of places to eat at when I visit the bay area.

Some of my favorite dishes:

Veracruz-style scallop, seabass and dungeness crab cocktail

Duck tacos with arbol salsa and guacamole

The restaurant generally does not take reservations- arrive early.

• Pros: Tasty, delicious tapas-excellent!
• Cons: No reservations-arrive early (worth the wait!)

my favorite bar on solano

by saramelissa at Citysearch

They have a great happy hour- drinks for $5 starting at 9pm. The nice ambience and this drink special make it a favorite of mine for having a couple drinks and catching up with friends. Servers are nice and unpretentious. Some happy hour drinks are better than others, but they are all a bargain compared to almost anywhere else.

• Pros: happy hour drinks, chocolate cake is amazing!, salads are generally good
• Cons: some drinks are strange but worth trying to see what you like