Grand Lake Kitchen - Dimond — Restaurant in Oakland

We went to Grand Lake Kitchen on MacArthur for Father’s Day. It was understandably busy, and while we didn’t have a reservation, we were prepared to wait as long as needed to get a table.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Landa, the hostess and front-of-house manager. She told us they had many reservations but would try to work us in. That was fine—we expected a wait. What we didn’t expect was a breakdown of her job duties and repeated explanations about how hard it is to manage reservations and walk-ins. It felt unnecessary and honestly a bit off-putting. All we needed was a wait time estimate, not an explanation of how difficult her job is.

We came back about 20 minutes later to check in, and again were told how hard her job is. It felt like she was more focused on venting than creating a welcoming experience. Then, she told us we could only be seated if we agreed to finish brunch within an hour—something we found incredibly frustrating. How are we, as guests, supposed to guarantee that? Timing depends on the server, the kitchen, and the overall pace of the meal, especially in a packed restaurant.

It felt like we were being pressured and treated like an inconvenience rather than welcomed customers. The situation started to get heated until Noelle, another manager, stepped in. He completely turned things around—he found us a table, apologized for the poor experience, made sure we were served promptly, and even comped us some donuts as a gesture of goodwill.

The food was solid, but the overall experience was soured by the way we were treated at the door. I genuinely don’t believe Lander should be in a management role. Hospitality starts with the first impression, and unfortunately, hers was one I wouldn’t want anyone else to experience. That said, Noelle was excellent, and I hope he gets the recognition...

Update to the review below... After a second visit here we decided it's not worth it. It started with the fact that a Del Cielo Hazy IPA was $13. I'm not against paying good money for good beer, and this is a good beer, but typically that that very beer is $7 at a taproom and maybe $8 at a restaurant. They're pompous here.

Each waiter we've had has been inexperienced, as well as unknowledgeable about the bar. They're clearly told to upsell the menu, too. When I ordered a "cup" of broccoli rabe I was told "you'll want the bowl." No, "I'd like the cup," and it was plenty for two people.

I don't know, it's all inflated prices and they just seem to have a larger sense of self than they deserve.

I would love to hear other's opinions, please talk to me.

Thanks

_----------++++++

In spite of the inflated prices and a sense of the "we're very elegant" (they're not) and the strange use of all that space, I like this place. Food is pretty damned tasty and the cocktails are quite good. The Bay Area is pricey, for sure, but I feel like these guys are unduly pricier....

I generally enjoy this spot and have been several times but recently sat down for lunch and ordered the Bahn Mi and Broccoli Rabé - both of which are listed as vegan items. My Rabé was clearly sauteed with rendered animal fat. As someone who is a server and has 10 years of experience in the industry, I wanted to point this out as a potential issue (I'm not vegan). There was no apology offered and the person at the front desk initially offered that my guess that it was bacon fat couldn't be correct rather than acknowledge the broader issue that there was animal product in a dish being explicitly advertised as vegan. The woman at the front did eventually say she would mention it to the kitchen. I'm writing this review so that the issue might get better attention from the ownership and as a warning to those who are vegan/vegetarian/halal/kosher that they might not get what is being advertised and that those restrictions might not be respected by some...