Lake Merritt

If there is one thing Kamilah and Johnny recommend you do while in Oakland, it's visit Lake Merritt (pictured above). Go for a walk. Rent a boat and get out on the water. Swing by the beautiful Cathedral of Christ the Light for mass. Stick it to #BarbecueBecky and fire up a grill. Or even take a trip to Children's Fairyland if you're rolling with a little one. Lake Merritt is where Oaklanders from all walks of life come to relax, exercise or even share a meal. As Glynn Washington put it in a recent podcast, Lake Merritt is "Oakland's living room" and we'll hope you'll hang out for a while during your visit to learn what The Town is really about. 

Food & Drink

Nearly all of our recommendations have something to do with food or drink. 

Shan Dong Chinese restaurant

What it lacks in ambience it makes up for in flavor. This restaurant in Chinatown is well worth a visit. Do yourself a favor and pay the extra $1 for hand pulled noodles. Also recommended are the Lotus chicken, dry braised green beans and prawns with candied walnuts.

Lois the Pie queen

A Black-owned soul food institution in North Oakland/Berkeley for almost 70 years, a trip to Lois the Pie Queen will make you feel at home in the Bay. The walls are plastered with photos of celebrities and local heroes with Lois’ son, Chris. We recommend the raspberry key lime pie. Don’t forget to bring cash as the restaurant is cash only and the ATM doesn’t always work.

Berkeley Bowl

One of Johnny’s favorite tourist activities is to check out local grocery stores. If you are similarly inclined, head on over to the Berkeley Bowl to check out the best produce section you’ve ever seen. We prefer the newer Berkeley Bowl West to the original as it’s easier to navigate. BB West also has a cafe a massive prepared foods section if you want to grab something to eat before heading out for a hike or picnic.

Fenton's Creamery

Fenton’s is an Oakland classic and Kamilah’s favorite. Old school dairy bar style you can get one of their giant sundaes, something from their full menu of diner food and ice cream in dozens of flavors from this 122 year old institution. Put it this way: they’ve got beef with Dreyer’s over which Oakland creamery invented the flavor Rocky Road, so you know they’re ice cream OGs.

Smitten Ice Cream

Per the GroomsMo, Smitten is “fancy science ice cream.” Far from classic, Smitten freezes your ice cream on the spot using a liquid nitrogen system. Try some deliciously fresh and smooth ice cream in a variety of seasonal and classic flavors at Johnny’s favorite spot in Rockridge.

Brown Sugar Kitchen

You may have seen Chef Tanya Holland on season 15 of Top Chef. Her West Oakland restaurant, Brown Sugar Kitchen, serves some damn good soul food. Definitely get the chicken & waffles but there aren’t a lot of misses in this restaurant. Get there early or be ready for a wait.

Champa Garden

A trip to Champa Garden is like going to a big family dinner at your Auntie’s house, if your Auntie is Laotian and can cook. Always packed and tucked away in a mostly residential neighborhood Southeast of Lake Merritt, Champa garden serves Lao cuisine which if you haven’t had it before bears similarities to Thai and Vietnamese neighbors.

Aguachiles El Tamarindo

While in Oakland a visit to the Fruitvale District for tacos is time well spent. There a many great options but one of the best is Aguachiles El Tamarindo. It’s a food truck with a covered outdoor seating area serving delicious seafood options. Try the shrimp or fish tacos and some of the ceviche or the aguachile (think spicy ceviche). If seafood’s not your thing their chicken, beef and pork options are great too. Pro-tip: bring your own beer and buy the pre-made michelada mix from the truck.

Mi Grullense 

There are two Mi Grullense trucks in the Goodwill parking lot on E 14th. For no reason whatsoever, Johnny always goes to truck #1 closer to the store entrance. The move here is the breakfast burrito. They technically only serve breakfast burritos till 11:30AM but we’ve had success asking nicely as late as 1pm.

Bakesale Betty’s

Bakesale Betty’s does one thing and does it well: fried chicken sandwiches. Open from 11am till 2pm or when they sell out, this Temescal eatery doesn’t even have a sign. Just look for the line of people out front waiting for delicious fried chicken, with a jalapeno slaw on an Acme roll. Grab one of their ironing board tables out front to enjoy your meal and then walk around shops in Temescal for the afternoon.

Blue Bottle Coffee

Oakland’s contribution to the world’s fancy coffee scene is Blue Bottle Coffee. It’s delicious. There’s one close to the hotel in Old Oakland but if you want to dive into the Blue Bottle experience try a cupping class at the Webster Street location in Jack London Square.

Things to do

Here are some of Kamilah and Johnny's favorite things to do in Oakland.

Qulture Collective

Kamilah's co-working space and a great place to browse for a souvenir from a local entrepreneur, Qulture Collective mission statement is  "Qulture Collective brings together artists, entrepreneurs, activists, and visionaries from queer and allied communities. Our vision is to strengthen the vibrant community in Oakland by collectively creating a shared space to build enterprise. This generates an ongoing cycle of support and jobs that will benefit the community for years to come."

Go for A hike

Oakland and the East Bay have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to public parks. No need to travel to Muir Woods for redwoods when Redwood Regional Park is in the city limits. Here’s a link to one of Kamilah and Johnny’s favorite hikes which is just up the hill from their house. It launches from the Chabot Space and Science center (Free telescope viewing 730-1030pm Friday & Saturday) and is about 4 miles long. Fair warning: it is very dry in the Bay right now so any hike will be dusty.

ChiLdren's Fairyland

If you've got a little one (2-7 years old) with you, take a trip over to Children's Fairyland. Per the NYTimes, "The United States’ first storybook theme park opened in 1950 near Lake Merritt. Admission ranged from 9 to 14 cents, depending on the visitor’s age. The park, Children’s Fairyland, still prospers, delighting those young at heart with 10 acres of gentle rides, storybook sets, animal pens and theater stages..." 

Walt Disney toured amusement parks, including Children’s Fairyland, in 1950, seeking ideas for what turned out to be Disneyland. Five years later, he opened his Magic Kingdom, using the same storybook themes and also some of the Fairyland staff."

Grand lake Theatre

On the east side of Lake Merritt is Oakland's historic movie palace the Grand Lake Theatre. On Friday and Saturday, films in the main auditorium are preceded by a show from the Mighty Wurlitzer organ. The theatre features first run movies on 4 screens and the owner uses the marquee as his own personal bully pulpit for a variety of political causes. This is Kamilah and Johnny's favorite movie theatre and we heartily recommend a trip.

If the Grand Lake doesn't have the film you're looking for check out the eccentric New Parkway Theatre which has a unique collection of seats (one is a beauty shop hair dryer), great food and an rotating selection of current and older films.