Homestead

We went here for a special occasion and were greeted by not so friendly staff, sat us in front of the hot kitchen. That I can deal with, but the food was terrible. The bread was by far the best part and the waitress kept pushing for us to order more and more and all we wanted was to leave! Also, never go there on a warm day because if they sit you right next to the kitchen, you’ll sweat the entire time, as we did. Octopus was undercooked and gross and the salads were something you can easily make at home! Why did we waste a night here? Never again!

Great service, great food, wonderful leftovers.

Wow! We had never heard of Homestead before, but driving back home from Milpitas to the North Bay, we found it online and decided to try it. Although the ambiance isn’t much, the food and wine choices were fantastic. Fresh, local ingredients, small but perfect menu, and a great wine list. Although it’s out our way, we hoot go back and definitely recommend it...

I loved the dining room. The service was very good, but faltered occasionally between courses. I highly recommend this place provided you're in the mood to spend over $100 for two people without alcohol.

This is one of our favorite restaurants in the East Bay. The food is fresh, delicious and interesting and the service is excellent. We've celebrated an anniversary and two birthdays there. A perfect place for a special occasion.

My favorite restaurant in Oakland, I go there at least once a month, I always enjoy their creative menu, and am never disappointed

Daughter’s graduation

Excellent food in a favorite neighborhood spot. Spring greens with plums tasted great, although looked rather wilted. Calamari and ricotta agnolotti starters were both on the small side but outstanding. Salmon entree very tasty. We’re always happy to go to Homestead.

Whenever my son is in town on a Sunday, we go to the prix fixe Homestead dinner and have always enjoyed ourselves. It's a lovely dinner, with ample food and nice ambiance. Highly recommended!

Lovely place we love to go to for special events. Try the chocolate mousse- delightful!

Amazing service. Truly outstanding. Combine that with amazing food and that's Homestead!

Had a lovely dinner, the steak was amazing!

Overall our experience was really pleasant - especially lovely waitstaff, salads and first course. We enjoyed these immensely. Delicious wine recommendation too! But, we were very disappointed in our main courses. I ordered the salmon which was served with a sauce that I didn't think went at all well with the dish (a sunflower seed romesco sauce) along with a not-very-tasty grain (I can't recall if it was bulgar or something similar) and entirely inedible (rock hard) squash chunks. The fish itself was tasty enough but I ended up leaving a third of it - it just wasn't an appetizing dish at all. I always feel like it's a little unfair to leave a not totally glowing review especially since I chose not to say anything when the waiter asked how everything was. It was our anniversary and I just wanted to relax and enjoy the best parts of the dinner and not worry about a less than perfect dish. Anyway, I'd recommend Homestead still - maybe just make extra sure to ask for recommendations which dishes are best. I get the sense they would have happily helped steer me away from the salmon.

Amazing food and very friendly and thoughtful staff.

Food is top grade and preparation is perfectly done. Presentation is first rate. Service cannot be surpassed. Prices are high but considering the above it is worth it, if only a few times a year. If I have a negative, it is the limited menu size, but the restaurant is small so a limited selection is understood.

Wow! The food was absolutely delicious!!! Can’t wait to return. Attentive, knowledgeable and friendly service.

Always great! We loved everything. One of the very best restaurants in the Bay Area.

Great service, very kind and considerate staff. The food was perfect!

Mother’s Day

Very good food. Cooked well, halibut was moist. Homemade bread over the top.
Sorbet and dessert excellent. Very noisy , we sat at the bar seats and felt a bit awkward.
It was Mothers’ Day and place packed at 5:15.

From the greet staff to the waitstaff plus you add a terrific menu the evening was a wonderful dining experience

Gorgeous food
Lovely people

One of the most delicious meals ever. The sugo with herbed couscous was perfect: salty, fork-tender meat with a lovely hint of orange. The shaved artichoke salad and baby greens with scrumptious dabs of goat cheese were excellent. Service was also stellar. One recommendation: the size of the space made it very warm and noisy. It would be better if some of the windows were redesigned to be able to open at the top (or even swing open). You could also improve the acoustics. Those adjustments would make the overall experience even greater.

Homestead has an ever changing menu of interesting food, new combinations, always excellent desserts, never the same either. Attentive service, friendly staff, Fred does an outstanding job of running a welcoming restaurant.

My wife and I have spent years in the industry so we approach any eatery with critical palates and high expectations. For years we have walked by and talked about wanting to try this place. It was our 5th anniversary and so we gave it a go. This place was amazing. Homey and rustic while still being refined with an exceptional wine list and beautifully plated seasonal ingredients cooked to perfection. We absolutely loved our meal and our experience. The service was impeccable without being stuffy. With so many places to choose from and so few being top quality, we will definitely make this a regular stop. We also loved the gratuity included pricing. When you consider that, it is hard to beat the value.

We were excited to celebrate our anniversary by dining at Homestead for the first time. When we arrived there was a notice on the door that requested we leave if we prefer not to be photographed (photographers were there for a documentary on restaurants that include service fees in their menu prices). I found this pretty jarring and would have preferred an email in advance so if we wanted to eat elsewhere, we could have made reservations. Besides it just seemed like a rude welcome.

Once inside, we were sat very quickly. The table was close to another table which meant we sometimes had the server's rear end very close to my face as she tended to our neighbors :)

The menu included some special and delicious items. We shared the asparagus to start, which was a simple but delicious dish. For the second course we had risotto with a scallop and a shrimp. This was my favorite dish of the night. We also had a chilled pea soup that was incredible and felt special because we served a similar starter at our wedding celebration. My husband had the lamb entree and was very happy with his meal. I had the tempura fish and was less excited because it felt too much like fish and chips, but without a bright or acidic flavor to cut the heaviness of the fried fish. If I could have had an entree portion of the risotto and a second course portion of the fish, I would have been ecstatic.

The service was prompt and friendly but not as informed as I would like ("would you like to know about the fennel pollen in the soup?"). The wine list was extensive with lots of offerings by the glass which we took full advantage of. The ambiance and noise level was good. More than anything we enjoyed a bit of people watching and seeing the folks in the kitchen shelling mountains of peas. It was cool to see the same ingredients offered across several dishes, which makes good logical sense. I'll keep that in mind as my favorite fruits and veggies come into season throughout the year.

What a fabulous find! We had 3 coarses (because it was too hard to decide what to have). Every coarse was delicious. The food was so fresh and flavorful. We will definitely go back.

Went for our wedding anniversary and had an amazing time. Got the hickory salad, the asparagus and the halibut. Everything was delifious.

Comfortable room with large windows.
Wonderful food.
The cold pea soup was one of the best soup I ever had.
The scallops were delicious, as well as the ribeye.
Great bread too.
Highly recommend the place

The menu is limited but everything was delicious! My husband's pasta with lamb was seasoned perfectly and the charred veggies and farro that accompanied my rib eye were so good that they over-shadowed the meat. The flourless Chocolate cake wasn't very interesting but it came with a very smooth milk chocolate ice cream. We loved the Motown soundtrack, and the volume allowed us to have a decent conversation.

The host and servers were absolutely lovely, as always! We did the chef’s choice special $90 per person. Homestead’s food had been among my very favorites on all of my previous visits. This time, the salad was not as fresh as I expect from Honestead and the fish was a bit over cooked...The food would have been ok considering we were celebrating my son’s birthday and were really enjoying ourselves...but the restaurant had a sewage problem. We could smell sewage....Maybe the chef was dealing with a plumbing issue? I didn’t ask them to discount our bill because of the smell. I regret that I didn’t ask. For nearly $500 check for 4 people (3 glasses of wine). I’m not sure I’ll go back.

Interesting but small menu, great location and service. Nice place for dinner and chatting with friends.

Consistently delicious, with a warm ambience and friendly atmosphere. Homestead is a quintessential Oakland neighborhood gem.

Imagine a fine dining restaurant in a rustic northern California space with a wood oven and open kitchen. . . then imagine that the staff are friendly and informal but very attentive and well-trained. . . and then imagine an array of dishes that combine comfort with unique flavors and exquisite attention to the cooking process! Then imagine it's in your neighborhood! Even better. Don't miss a visit to Homestead and especially for Sunday supper!

After a outstanding start (Atmosphere, seating, service, and greetings) we enjoyed an excellent chilled split pea soup. Sadly from here on, the meal plummeted. We were served a porkbelly (fatty) and scallop (exquisite) with greens that were so salty that we could not help but immediately set down our forks in dismay. Sadly the shakshuka had promise, but again was over salted. I would not have criticized as I actually like a little extra salt, but this was too much even for me, and my partner visiting from Chicago was not able to finish. Homestead usually delivers flawlessly, and I hope this is not a new turn in a salty direction. For now, we will visit elsewhere.

The bread was hands down the best part of the meal. The food is pretty overpriced for what you’re getting and it way over seasoned and over salted. The ribeye was probably one of the chewier ribeyes I have had. The ambiance and staff are lovely. I am disappointed the food was not that great, especially for the price.

Solidly prepared food using creative and fresh ingredients. Service was friendly and responsive. Seemed pricey, even considering menu prices include gratuity. Wine selection was VERY limited at price points under $100. Bathroom needed attention.

The best and most wonderful place to be with loved ones!

The space was small and a little noisy, but overall it was not a problem. I was able to have a moderate conversation with my dinner partner. The food was okay, I expected better. I had the scallops and my partner had the ribeye. We shared the fruits de mar dish. I loved the polenta, but the charred items were a little too bitter for my taste. Overall, it was nice. I especially loved that the staff are paid a living wage - I am going to give them another try just because of that one feature.

Awesome experience and love that is done by people who care about food and flavors. The salad had amazing flavor and the cheese was house made. I also love that they include a wage tip in the cost so that all their staff are properly paid.