Di Bartolo

So we moved to Oakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood a few months ago and were stoked to be walking distance from Grand Ave. Cheap deals galore: amazing lunch deals at Miss Saigon, free weekday popcorn at the Grand Lake Theater, all-you-can-eat fruit sampling at the Saturday Farmer’s Market, $4 well drinks at the Lucky Lounge (to be reviewed very soon), and no less than ten inexpensive nail salons on every block. Heaven for two bargain hunting cheapskates like us.

But then mom comes to town wanting to treat and we need someplace a little more upscale. Cheap noodle soup won't cut it. Enter Di Bartolo, the most elegant place in the hood. A couple years ago John DiBartolo, owner of Café Di Bartolo next door, decided to break away from coffee and bagels, and along came his chic Mediterranean inspired restaurant with a wood-fired oven and a red-curtained private happy hour nook in the back.

And happy it is. From 4-7 the drinks flow smoothly with $3 draft beers, $4 well drinks, and wonderfully crafted $5 martinis. The well vodka is Fris (praised elsewhere on this blog) and the bartenders are highly skilled in shaking up just the right ratios. Nestled in the back you feel like you’re at a private party exclusively separate from the hoi polloi dining out front.

If you can get here early, then come for the drinks but stay for the food. The kitchen offers up a few half-priced happy hour nibbles from 4-5:30pm. There’s a feta salad with stone fruit that is truly delightful. The garlic fries are addictive and loaded with bits of garlic. The specialty of the house is the pizza and there are a few on the happy hour list including the pancetta and egg concotion (I’ll take my eggs with coffee and toast, thank you very much). The pizzas are a bit more that five bucks but with cocktails this cheap, you can afford to splurge a bit.

And speaking of splurging, their specialty cocktail list reads like poetry. They use ingredients like rosemary, cucumber-mint, and figs to create some pretty outrageous refreshments. They don’t come cheap, but damn they’re gorgeous.

Deets:
Di Bartolo (Reviews & Map)
3306 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610
510.451.0576
Happy Hour: 4pm-5:30pm (food), 4pm-7pm (drinks), Tues-Sun