12/01/08

One of the Premier Restaurants in the Bay Area

by Kapwan

Bay Wolf is a restaurant that I've always thought about going to for years. I've always heard great things about it but never took the time to go. This past Saturday my Family and I dined there for the first time, and I must say it was a great experience. The service was excellent and very professional. The setting was beautiful. Even before I ate anything I knew this was going to be a good dining experience.

Once our food came, I could see why this restaurant received so many accolades. I had the Liberty Ranch Duck, and I must say it is some of the best Duck I've ever had. What else my party had was the Grilled Swordfish, and The Seafood Sausage. The Swordfish was excellent as expected, but the seafood sausage was a unique dish of sole, cod, and shrimp wrapped in a pork casing.

Overall I give this place a 5 out of 5, the meal was flawless and the prices were reasonable.

• Pros: Ambience, Food, Service
• Cons: Small Resturant

01/09/06

Something Went Wrong In the Kitchen!

by bob_bin

I'm not a fan of multiple servers because it sometimes screws up the timing. The apperitif arrived and right after, came the soup. My companion ordered cassoulet and I, the salmon. The casssoulet was both good and hot. The salmon however, came with a salty sauce and the squash and broccoli were at room temperature. The salmon was unercooked and barely lukewarm. Our primary waiter was busy and so the problem went unreported. My companion's dessert included an extra plate and was complimentary because of the timing snafu. It's hard to pan a meal when the waiter is definitely a class act. We will try the place again and hope for a better total experience. It was a Sunday, and just maybe Michael Wild was not at the stove.

• Pros: Professional service, Good ambience, Warm welcome
• Cons: Multiple servers, Order was undercooked, Food was lukewarm

03/12/05

Interesting

by gelid

On a cold, extremely windy and rainy night, we decided to sit outside. It was still pleasant, though; it was warm and felt as if we were, in fact, indoors. The hostess was very courteous, offering us drinks and continually notifying our party as to the time remaining until seats would be free. The server was extremely well-informed; she made quite a few good recommendations. Not too badly priced, either. The duck, predictably, was tender and prepared nicely.

11/22/04

Always Good

by virginiav

We have been eating at Bay Wolf for over 25 years and over the last 10 years it has gotten better and better. Dinners are always good, prices are in line with the quality of the food and service, and the atmosphere is gracious. I simply cannot think of another restaurant in the area that always delivers such a consistantly high standard of good food and good service. They just never seem to have a bad night. Don't know how they do it but I'm grateful that they do.

• Pros: consistantly good, nice terrace, gracious welcom

07/31/04

Bay Wolf: "There!"

by montimer

I rather agree with the reviewer who argues that Bay Wolf has taken it to another level of excellence, although I am not certain that Bay Wolf was ever a "wanna-be" Chez You-Know-Where.

I remember the Bay Wolf as a Silver medal to Water's Gold standard: Now I am not so certain. th the venerable outposts. Two recent, outstanding dinners at Wild's redoubt would suggest Bay Wolf may have bested its counterpart. The food was brilliantly prepared, flavours intrigued, and the sophistication of textures gave an understated elegance to the balanced presentations. Service varied, but exuded less hauteur than Chez Panaisse (which, as we all know, belies its "elegant simplicity" with healthy helpings of cool condescension).

For our group, the Bay Wolf was always an excellent restaurant; on my return, it provided cuisine that was inspired.

To raise the bar after all these years more than justifies the venerated Wolf's.

• Pros: Excellent dishes, Kitchen in command, Understated elegance

06/22/04

Seems better than before

by ruggedized

I noticed that the two dissenters are vegetarian. I wonder why veggies go to these places then complain. Go to a place that caters to you! Geez. I recently went to this place after years. I was more than a little surprised. It was much better than I remembered. I think it started off as a Chez Panisse wannabee now it may actually be better in some ways. It sure seems a lot cheaper. I think if you haven't been here for a while to go back and see what you think.

• Pros: outdoor eating, food

Mediterranean-inspired dishes, including ever-popular duck entrees, draw crowds to this East Bay staple.

by Contributor

In Short
A Piedmont Avenue fixture since 1975, Bay Wolf is pleasantly situated in a revamped Craftsman house. There's an enclosed redwood deck out front and a collection of comfortable dining rooms spread out on either side of a pint-sized bar. Owner Michael Wild loves duck, so there are several fowl dishes on the menu. Fluffy duck-liver flan is the house specialty.

08/11/03

a snobby experience

by putneydog

Ten of us went to a special birthday event, and for most of us, this was a fancier place than we normally go to, but we were looking forward to splurging and having a first class evening. There were mixed reviews on the food. The vegetarian option was overcooked pasta, which made me feel strangely unwelcome; do the chefs care about catering to non-meat eaters? But the worst part was the service, even though our party of ten guaranteed them a 20% tip. After our waiter made two mistakes with the bill, neither in our favor and neither caught by us, he snottily thrust down a calculator suggesting that this would help us figure out the split. We had not made a fuss, not wishing to spoil an evening for the birthday girl, but I was pretty shocked. Aren't wait staff supposed to make everyone feel comfortable?

03/26/03

Oakland Standard

by LauraBride

After reading the previous post, I had to jump on and say that BayWolf is one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area by far. The food is always delicious and interesting and the service is refined. After 28 years in the same spot, it one of Oakland's standard spots-- a must visit. Lunch is also a great value for terrific food.

02/21/03

Valentine's day rip-off

by sfdoc

Ok - so I'm told Valentine's day is the worst day of the year to eat out. We booked the prix fixe meal ($68) and I called ahead to make sure their would be choices for us as we do not eat meat. I was assured we would.

We arrived and found exactly one selection each of the app and entree categories we could get - no choice whatsoever. We ended up with a salad and vegetable crepes. The food was ok, but not stellar.

I complained about the lack of options, and, in good faith, they knocked 30% off the bill. I thought that was fair. But I don't think it would have been worth the $68 sticker price.

• Pros: intimate setting, easy parking, interesting wine list
• Cons: expensive, rushed service, few choices