Alamar is one of the Best New Restaurants in Oakland. Here’s Why.

Alamar opened last year and I was lucky enough to be invited to the preview party.  If you want to watch the quick video I recorded, click here.

Originally from New York, Chef Nelson German worked in restaurants in the Big Apple (Gramercy Park Hotel, Absinthe Wine Bar and Joseph’s Citarella) for 12 years before moving to the Bay. He jumped into San Francisco’s restaurant world with stints at Supperclub and Marbella, and since he lives in Oakland, he chose the town for the location of his first restaurant. AlaMar, which means “to the sea” in Spanish, focuses on local seafood and cocktails.

I’ve seen the chef and his wife (who are both really nice people) at several events around town, but I’ve never had a meal in the restaurant….until now.

I went with East Bay Dishing, my dining out meetup a couple weeks ago, and luckily Celeste was there.  She’s been to Alamar many times since she lives in the neighborhood, so she ordered for us.  By the way, you should sign up if you want to find out where we’re going next.

Back to the restaurant.  I’m just gonna say it.

Alamar is one of the best new restaurants in Oakland.

It’s definitely the best restaurant that nobody’s talking about, so this is a public service announcement:  If you love fresh and flavorful food, do yourself a favor and make a reservation ASAP.

Dinner was freakin delicious.  Everything was impeccably seasoned, cooked to perfection, and a lot of the dishes had a creative twist.  Lots of countries were represented on the menu, sometimes in the same dish, and the chef was able to weave all of the cuisines together seamlessly.

photo: Christina Mitchell

The tart-sweet Bay Scallop Salad (with rucola, organic apple, fennel, pink grapefruit, candied almond, sriracha orange vinaigrette, $15) turned out to be a great way to start the meal.

photo: Christina Mitchell

The Coconut Shrimp Lollipops (lemongrass gastrique, pistachio, Thai basil cocktail sauce, $12) were super flavorful and doused in this silky sauce. And the Petite Chicken Wings (bacon honey glaze, cumin salt, micro basil, $10) in the background were so tender they fell off the bone.

photo: Christina Mitchell

The Parmesan Truffle Tornado Crisp was a spiral of potato that was fried, then sprinkled with truffle oil and cheese and dipped in black pepper garlic aioli ($9) – basically fancy potato chips on a stick. Yup.

photo: Christina Mitchell

Spreadable fatty goodness, the Roasted Bone Marrow (lemon garlic butter, Moroccan chermoula Firebrand toast, rucola salad, $15) tasted as good as it looked.

photo: Christina Mitchell

By this time, we were elated and getting louder with each new dish.  Then, the chef sent over some Local Oysters (cucumber, ginger cilantro essence, hickory smoked tabasco “caviar”).  All of the ingredients sounded overwhelming, but the bite was surprisingly light and perfectly balanced.

Peel n’ Eat Shrimp for the win! @alamaroakland #eastbaydishing

A photo posted by Christina Mitchell (@eastbaydish) on Jun 25, 2015 at 9:51pm PDT

Then the server brought out these mini sheet pans and tied bibs on us before serving the Peel ‘n’ Eat White Gulf Shrimp (with romesco butter, english cider, lemongrass, red creamer potato, market price). Here’s a close up.

photo: Christina Mitchell

Celeste asked for warm bread and I’m glad she did.  It was crusty and buttery and even better dipped in the sauce.

photo: Christina Mitchell

The Tostones “Double Smashed Plantain” (spiced Garlic salt, sun-dried tomato & basil aioli, $7) were a nice spin on the classic.

photo: Christina Mitchell

I had two favorite dishes and this was one of them: Blistered Brussels Sprouts (organic apple, ginger, bacon lardon, hickory smoked lemon honey vinaigrette, $9).  There was a little left after all 8 of us took a spoonful, and I quietly kept the plate on my side of the table.  Usually, I share but this was so simple and comforting, yet also layered and complex.  Be still, my heart….

photo: Christina Mitchell

Everything we ate was delicious, but the Whole Mediterranean Banzino (farro, macadamia nuts, California raisin, serrano spiced romesco sauce, $42) was freakin amazing.  They brought it out like this and then took it back to the kitchen to debone.  When it was returned and we took a bite, the table fell completely silent.  Every bite seemed more delicious than the last and our conversation fell by the wayside.  For real, you guys – the skin was so crispy and the sauce so flavorful I almost licked the plate.   Sigh….

photo: Christina Mitchell

The only dish I didn’t love was the Malasada (Portuguese donuts, cinnamon sugar, strawberry rhubarb puree, $8) for dessert.  The texture was a little dense, but the the maple “leche” ice cream (served in the martini glass since we had such a big group) was so creamy, smooth and not too sweet.

photo: Christina Mitchell

The sweet-tart Pineapple Flan (vanilla bean candied pineapple, caramelized, pineapple “espuma” $8) had a burnt sugar top, like creme brûlée and it was was a really nice way to end the meal.

I was VERY impressed with my first meal at Alamar, and I will definitely be back.  The chef said I should try the Oxtails next time and the Dominican rice bowls on the lunch menu also look intriguing.

If you haven’t been to Alamar lately, you should definitely go check it out and let me know about your experience.

100 Grand Ave, Oakland

510-907-7555

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Christina Mitchell

Christina is the founder of East Bay Dish. Her writing has also been featured in East Bay Express, Berkeleyside, Oakland Magazine and Edible East Bay.

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