Eureka! — Restaurant in Berkeley

UPDATE 8/19/2025: I was immediately reached out by the manager (I didn't get the chance to post it). She was very concerned about the issues raised and very apologetic. She agreed that he was not what he should have been as a employee of that restaurant. I really value the time that she spent messaging back and forth to right a wrong. Thank you.

UPDATE 8/2: My wife and I frequent this place often. We've gone sometimes in the afternoon or closer 9 pm. I've never had any major complaints except that the time before this time, my burger was not made the way I ordered. That was a bit flustering because it took awhile to come out with improvements.

However, this time, on 8/2 @ 9pm, was unsatisfactory. Or waitress Megan was amazing, humbling and very accomodating. She was not the problem. The problem was with a male waitstaff who brought my food out. I ordered wings, fries and side Ceasar salad. The $15 Cab wine (on the menu)...9oz pour seemed short and it was not tasty at all.

The wings were overcooked (Fried way too hard and some had burntness to them). I decided to keep them because it took me awhile to place my order (I was indecisive because it had been a long day for us). The $15 Cab wine (on the menu.. suggesteD BY Megan)...9oz pour seemed short and it was not tasty at all.

The salad was a bit dry, so I ordered me Ceasar dressing. That was an easy fix. However, my fries were cold. I immediately informed him that they were not hot.

This man looked at me and "There's nothing he can do about that!". I could not believe what he said. Neither could my wife. I told him that he needed to take them back to the kitchen and bring me new fries please. He looked at me. So, my wife pointed out or waitress because maybe he was not the one I should have made the request to. Once I told him "Nevermind, I will get out waitress", I began to pick the plate up, he now decided that he would handle the issue. So we kinda tug over the plate!!.

He finally took it and it was in disbelief at his response and behavior.. how rude!! We spoke to the waitress and she profusely apologized. She went to the back.. she awhile, my fries came back w/o the dressing that I asked him to get. He stated that he was not trying to and like he didn't want to get it for me. My wife and I both stated to him that is not what it seemed. I let him know that it is not his fault if something is made wrong. However, his comment was not necessary and he had a job to take the food back to the kitchen or inform our waitress. I told him that it was very rude and disrespectful.

The remainder of the night went fine,...

I haven’t traveled in a while but just recently took a family trip to the San Francisco bay area for fun and adventure. One of our excursions was to nearby Berkeley so that my teenager could visit the UC Berkeley campus. Once finished, we were hungry and a quick check of the internet turned up lots of recommendations to Eureka Restaurant in downtown.

Eureka Restaurant specializes in American food. They have a large selection of whiskey and a very nice selection of craft beer. I went for a beer immediately while the wife went for a specialty drink. We were seated right by the entrance, and it was wide open with fresh air blowing from the outside. They had heaters to provide warmth, which is good because this part of the country can get chilly, even in the summer. They even have outdoor dining and it’s rather unusual. It’s a standalone structure built between the sidewalk and the street, great for those who want to eat amid nature’s elements.

With the food, they serve appetizers, entrees, etc and specialize in burgers. I decided on a burger and I was quite impressed. The cooked it perfectly and the toppings and bun all added up to an excellent meal. I can’t think of any way the burger could have been improved. The other family members were equally impressed with their food selection as well. Everything from the appetizers to the main course was just right.

With parking, you can either park on the street or use the adjacent parking garage. We used the garage and when we left the restaurant, we noticed the doors had been closed on the garage. We wondered what happened, then realized it was because the garage had closed to new customers. Our car was still accessible- we just had to open a side door, pay for our parking, then as we left the garage door opened for us. Bottom line: Don’t panic if you leave the restaurant and see the garage doors to parking garage are closed. You can still get your car.

Service was excellent at Eureka Restaurant. They were attentive and refilled our drinks in a timely manner. Summing everything up, it was a most excellent way to end our day in this Bay area city and it’s a restaurant that earns high recommendations to anyone looking for American food, beer,...

2-star service. 2-star food. The hostess at the door made us wait for over 10 minutes in order to sit us at the table we wanted, while the table was pretty much ready. It only took her 30 seconds to pick up the bill from the previous customer and clean the table. But she made sure to first deliver every pending to-go order while making us just stand there. The restaurant was at about 30% capacity. It almost felt like a power trip.

Next, our table server didn't know the difference between an IPA and a Belgian-style beer. She was very nice and brought beer samples for us to choose, but then she abandoned us for another 10 real minutes until taking our drink order.

The bllackened salmon was over-cooked, dry and very chewy, and the kale caesar salad completely tasteless. Ingredients and cooking technique were mediocre at best. My wife had a burger that came with the wrong bread type, different as advertised on menu. No mayonnaise. We asked for some and they brought a tiny container with no more than two spoons of mayo.

Careless service is the word that best described the experience.

Servers prioritized cleaning tables unnecessarily, with no customers waiting for such tables, over being available for us. We were pretty much on our own, trying to wave to them for attention, but they were too busy chatting between them, or optimizing their time to leave their job as promptly as possible (i.e. cleaning tables instead of paying attention to customers). It took them another 10 minutes to come pick up our credit card for payment because they were chatting around. Again, the restaurant was operating at no more than 30% capacity.

If Eureka wants to come back to their pre-pandemic level, they will need to train their servers and cooks. Also get quality ingredients. It has gone from 4-stars to 2-stars, and they seem to think customers don't notice. They are probably paying minimum-wage to these inexperienced kids. Eureka management: Know that we notice. We don't plan to come back anytime soon. There are plenty of better options...