The Walnut Tavern Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Berkeley

This place has promise but they can test customers' patience with their service. Have been here a bunch of times. Food and drink generally good, and service can be ok.

But the staff definitely need better training, especially if the restaurant is going to charge these fine dining prices. A couple of times for lunch in the afternoon, we get a server who disappears for 15-20 minutes at a time chatting with the staff at the pet food shop next door. Doesn't make any difference that we're waiting to order or waiting to be served food or drink. Other times, the service is very disjointed, as various people are helping, but no one seems to be supervising what's actually going on at the table and what the customers need.

The most recent time was beyond the pale. After we got our main course, the server who took our order never came to our table again. He seemed preoccupied with helping a table next to us, spending long periods of time chatting with them, and helping them very attentively, but couldn't bother to look over at the next table where we were waiting for more drinks and then for the dessert menu. After 45 minutes of waiting, we got someone to clear our plates and give us the check. We were sick of waiting so didn't order anything more. The server pretended everything was fine when we left, when it clearly was not.

This place has a good menu and a great space, and they're capable of making good food and cocktails, but they really need to get their act together on service, as it can really ruin...

Really glad my friend suggested we try this place as I had not been there since it changed hands from Nico's. I started with the Cal Bear special cocktail which was really good. We shared all our food choices, and I took one star off the service rating because when you make it clear you're doing that, they should automatically bring multiple clean plates; we had to ask. The Caesar dressing was excellent, but we are not convinced that the "homemade" croutons were actually homemade, as they were neither substantial nor highly seasoned. Big plus in the Caesar salad is that they include nice hefty shavings of parm. The chicken wings were served piping hot, slathered in tasty sauce and red peppers. We also split the fisherman stew, which had a classic rich tomato based broth and ample seafood and veg. Overall I was pleased, and will probably return for the fish and chips which I saw being delivered to an adjacent table, which looked elevated and very tempting!

(I gave only three stars for atmosphere because they really need to put dimmers on the lights in this place. This was also a problem when it was Nico's. They have attractive light fixtures with Edison bulbs, but the effect is a bit harsh. They should visit an English pub for...

Walnut Square is a cool little shopping and eating inlet in Berkeley’s gourmet ghetto. At the west edge of the square you’ll find Walnut Tavern.

Dined here for brunch and enjoyed it quite a bit. They have a nice menu combination of breakfast and lunch items. I chose both! The steak sandwich and a waffle. I know, gluttony.

The steak sando was on ciabatta bread and cooked perfectly. I asked for medium and that’s how it came. Steak fries usually not my thing but these were crispy and seasoned enough.

The waffle loses points because it was soft and had no crispness at all. And the syrup was the fake maple. They improve that and it’s a winner.

The last dish was the Mom’s eggs Benedict which comes with ham. Hash browns were thin and crispy… perfect.

And the atmosphere of this little tavern is great. Natural light. Woody. And a bar. Makes me want to come here to watch a Cal game.

Service was a little spotty. Nice enough but kind of slow and didn’t quite get my...