East End — Restaurant in Alameda

We came to East End on a Thursday evening. There was no wait and we were welcomed graciously. The interior is very charming. Hard seating which isn't my favorite but I was able to endure. It's a large open space, high ceilings, and rustic decor. The tables are placed so that they aren't right next to each other and angled so that they aren't side by side. You can see the wood fired oven from your seat but the ventilation is so great you don't smell any smoke at all. The cocktails were so well balanced you can hardly tell there's alcohol. They were very tasty and super smooth. Hats off to the mixologist, she really did a great job.

We had the warm herbed olives with honey and they were fabulous! Such a great difference from a cold olive plate. Highly recommended! The honey with the salty is a magical pair. The meatball appetizer was also great. Nice portion for an appetizer, the bread was crunchy and smokey, and the meatballs had great texture and flavor. They weren't packed with bread crumbs to dilute the flavor of the meat. The little gem salad was nice and crisp. The fried capers were a great touch. The dressing needed a little more zing. It was nicely dressed but couldn't taste much. The mushroom ragu pasta was creamy, al dente, and had great delicate mushroom flavor. Nicely done! My friend is from Rome and she definitely approved. The pizza was phenomenal! We ordered the Diablita and it was probably the most simple pizza I've ever tasted but the flavors were crazy! It is definitely spicy and a perfect pizza! So good! We also got Mr. Terranova and added arugula (even though the menu says it isn't allowed). The crispy shallots added a great texture and flavor. It was a tasty pie for sure but the Diablita stole the show. We look forward to trying the other pizzas soon! The staff was wonderful, our main server Anne was the nicest lady. We appreciated her friendly persona and cheery smile. We did not have room to try the dessert but imagine it would be just as great as everything else. We highly recommend dining here. We...

I learned of Raise the Fork II, an event to benefit the recent Paradise wildfire victims, through Facebook and wanted to help. I hadn't dined at East End before and was excited to do so. Although the fundraising aspect brought my fiancee and there, we chose not to select the price-fixe menu chosen for the cause primarily because the 2 entrees offered, macaroni and cheese and pork chops, did not interest us.

At any rate, we ordered from the dinner menu. We were seated immediately by the friendly host and after quickly scanning the menu, we made our selections. We ordered a Margherita pizza, Ribbon Pasta and MEGA-TOTS w/tomato jam & roasted garlic sauce. The pizza was fair. It was freshly made, wood fired but flat in taste. The fresh basil made all the difference. The Ribbon Pasta (pork and lamb ragu) was interesting but not flavorful enough to order again. Interestingly, the Mega-Tots were awesome and made up for the rest of the meal. They are substantial tater tots served with tomato jam and a roasted garlic sauce. Completely satisfying!

We also ordered a "sour" beer and a pilsner beer. The pilsner was good but the sour beer was EXCELLENT! I am definitely going back for the service, tots and the beer. I suggest taking a look at the menu before going, I didn't. The benefit menu wasn't available so I was blindsided by the items selected and had no...

So underwhelming given the rave reviews and high prices. We ordered the "farmer's daughter" pizza: it feels like so much effort was put into waffling the zucchini and squash, but it just didn't pay off. The squash was too watery, and without a tomato base nothing on the pizza added the necessary acidic balance to the fattiness of the cheese and meat. The "house made" Italian sausage was missing the texture and flavor of good Italian sausage and was just such a pitiful quantity for four extra dollars. The best part of the pizza was the crust, but it just wasn't enough to save it, especially given the price.

The salad was worse. Again the portion was disappointing for the price, and I could hardly taste a hint of anchovy in the Caesar dressing, which is the central ingredient to a good Caesar dressing.

Overall I see a lot of effort being put into making this food fancy, but when any mom and pop joint out east could outdo this for less than a quarter of the price, I just can't get behind...