theGREATROOM — Restaurant in Fremont

This is a hotel restaurant, so it's a little pricier (especially for breakfast or brunch) than some alternatives a freeway exit or two away. That said, the food here is actually quite good and the service is excellent.

Adjacent to the lobby, this large, well-appointed dining room is conveniently located near the main entrance to the hotel, features plenty of natural light, and can typically seat any sized party without a long wait.

This is also an excellent place to watch your favorite sorts team. We watched San Jose State beat the University of New Mexico Lobos last Saturday night at the bar while we noshed on a Wedge Salad, Flatbed Pizza dish and a wonderful Edamame and Firecracker Shrimp appetizer. There was so much food we didn't finish off the salad until the next day for lunch.

The flatbread item was tasty enough, albeit unexceptional, but the firecracker shrimp was spicy (like God intended) and the edamame was grilled in a soy-based sauce that added a lot to this traditional Japanese snack. And the Wedge Salad was as good as any I've had anywhere -- nearly half a head of iceberg lettuce dressed with plenty of blue cheese and featuring fresh tomatoes and a ton of bacon chunks.

Breakfast features all of the menu items one would expect, as well as, an excellent self-serve continental breakfast which includes a variety of cereals, breads and pastries. The commercial bakery mini-bagels are soso, but there is an excellent selection of fresh tomatoes, sliced onion, lox, capers and cream cheese to dress them to taste.

On weekends, guests can opt for the buffet which features made-to-order omelettes, scrambled eggs, bacon, a couple of sausage options, country fried potatoes, and fresh fruit and anything from the Continental Breakfast Bar. Unlimited fresh juices and coffee (and/or tea, milk, etc.) are included and served at the table.

The brunch buffet also includes either pancakes or waffles, but they don't fare well on the steam table and tend to either dry out or get too cold to melt butter on them.

Overall, theGREATROOM features good food, excellent service, easy freeway access and has become my "GoTo" business dining spot in southern Alameda...

My husband and I had a light dinner (salads and an appetizer) here. The service was pretty good, but the meal was pedestrian. Simple drinks (beer and wine) took fifteen minutes to arrive. My husband's chicken breast was cooked to shoe leather. The rest of his salad (hot house tomato, romaine, cheese, and dressing) all were clearly from bags, not prepared on site. The kale salad was good, just as described. Our appetizer (pita chips and dips) was good, but again, could have come from the prepared foods aisle of the local grocery store). We paid...

We were supposed to dine here. Nobody greeted us... wife told one of the waiters table for 3... she didn't acknowledge us so we sat ourselves... waited at the table for 15mins... only two waitresses working so I decided to approach them at the counter they gave me the menu. Returned to our table and looked at the prices and to me were overpriced. Decided to leave. Silver lining they didn't pay attention to us was not spending money here and tipping them. Horrendous...