Ike's Love & Sandwiches — Restaurant in Oakland

Wow! Just Wow! Took me a while to catch my husband's attention to get him to try this highly rated place. Finally, we decided we were trying it. The menu is fantastic, the service is fast (self serve at the counter) and staff is friendly. What's the best part? They have a great vegetarian and vegan option - Kudos!!! We shared the "Chipper's Fave" which came with tuna and avocado and the "The Jeremy Stoppelman" which had breaded eggplant-green pesto-habanero-tomatoes and provolone - we had both our sandwiches on the dutch crunch bread options. So many amazing bread options too. Now in a normal situation, everyone would think the tuna was the best one? Think again. My veg option was amazing!!! The tuna was great too but as any tuna sandwich it gets to you towards the end cause it is so heavy but oh so yummy though. We had half of each other's and had half of our own order so both of us were able to finish 2 sandwiches but they were pretty big ones so if you're not really hungry then be ready to take leftovers, depending how heavy your sandwich is. You can always tell them to go easy on the toppings like mayo etc which definitely makes it heavy. But oh so fabulous. Will be back here and will surely recommend to my veg vegan friends :) Did i mention they throw in a complimentary caramel apple lollipop? Yep. Best thing ever! So...

I used to go to Ike's in the City, the hole-in-the-wall in the Castro. It was a very good place to get a big sandwich. The expansion has brought with it too many "cute" choices, a reduction in quality, a seeming disinterest in bringing any brightness to the flavors, and the same long lines. It's OK is perfect. I don't understand why local hipsters line up in large numbers there everyday at lunch, but then there;s so much I don't understand. It just seems like the place to grab a sandwich, where your co-workers will be, and you aren't very demanding about food. What is called in restaurant vernacular as a "scene." This doesn't necessarily imply quality, just popularity, for the moment. I'm glad Ike's was confident enough to open in Oakland, and that they fill a niche, although not very well, but it's not my lunch spot, and anything with "halal (shreded) chicken" mush should be avoided. Weird texture, no "tooth", and an awkward blend of spices, and who can tell how long it's been stewing, but certainly long enough to remove the poultry flavors and texture. So, Ike's has great potential and a bit of humor and imagination, but they have stumbled on a successful (if middling) formula,...

First, I'm taking my precious 10 last minutes of my lunch break to share this.

Second, I want to say that this comment is more about customer service and not the food, which includes fresh veggies (can't say about the meats), made to order and interesting inventions that I've enjoyed.

I went in at 2:30 on a weekday, which is way after the lunch rush. There were already people waiting, but I ordered anyways. I noticed there were 6 people behind the counter: then something like 3 people that looked like the owners showed up and walked right into the sandwich assembly area and began to dance and converse with the people working. Mind you I've already been waiting for ten mins at this point, for a 3 ingredient sandwich, not toasted. Then more people came out of the back and left, as the people in the assembly line were casually with no sense of urgency were chatting, discussing the quality of the music and weather while walking around with half assembled open faced sandwiches.

I got mine 20 mins later and I've decided it's not worth eleven dollars or my...