luka's taproom & lounge

just came to see what beer they had on tap, the food looksgoodthough. standard beer list but there's a pool table so that's cool. definitely want to come back to try the food! i hear their brunch is off da chain 😝

this is not my favorite place and i probably won't go back. they have agoodselection of drinks and some soul food style menu items (lots of fried stuff). the fried chicken sandwich tastedgoodbut i felt gross afterwards. the fries are seasoned and the same--too much salt and fat for my taste.

the place to go in oakland. luka's is at least four different places wrapped into one, and succeeds at all of them. during the day it's an excellent lunch spot, with one of the best burgers and the best fries around; in the evening it's an after-work hangout for a diverse crowd, with a fantastic beer selection and excellent pours on well drinks; at dinner the food never fails to delight; and at night it turns into a happening dance club.

the primary drawbacks are related to its own success: it can be very noisy (normal for a club but makes conversation difficult at dinner), and the service can slow to a crawl when packed, as it is before every paramount show. there are some newer restaurants opening in the area that should compliment and relieve the stress on this uptown trailblazer.

this is the place to go in oakland forgoodfood and drink, and a cosmopolitan crowd to share them with.

a note on another review here: every decent restaurant will charge you for place settings if you bring in outside food like a birthday cake.

insulting service. while the food wasgoodand the atmosphere bustling and busy, the service was basically absent. after bussing our own table repeatedly, the kicker was the manager's snarky assertion of the per person "cakage" fee. our party of 6 there to celebrate a wedding was made to feel like outsiders. i guess our patronage didn't really matter to them.