Juhu Beach Club

Overpriced and poor service. The cauliflower dish is overly battered and completely disguising the veggie, the lamb had little flavor. Cute place, cool concept but a skip.

One of our Oakland favorites for sure; fantastic creative takes on Indian staples, authentic service, solid cocktails and a worthy atmosphere to boot! Make sure you get the cauliflower!

This place is really great! Yes, it’s on the more pricy side, but you are getting a great dining experience.
The flavors are warm, spicy, herby, and delicious. Frankly, it’s really hard to get authentic, unique curry flavors.
My only qualm was that the servers were very slow and unattentive.

As a QWOC I love to support QTPOC/​POC owned businesses and I was super disappointed with the service me and my colleagues received today. It’s early Tuesday night and the hostess made a big to due about not having reservations even though the restaurant was barely ¼ filled. My cocktail was good but super overpriced for the small amount. I love the food here but can’t get over the entitled white hostess. I’d love to see this business hire QTPOC/​POC as front service employee’s and not just stick us in the kitchen especially since it’s POC owned, come on now!

Food: every dish we ordered was SUPER spicy. Burning-​your-​tongue-​and-​tummy spicy. Including dishes like bhel puri (can easily be ordered mild EVERYWHERE else because the tamarind-​date chutney should NOT be spicy), and the hangover cure, which is a fried rice.
Suggestion to Ms. Mistry: have the base dish mild, so people can order it spicy if they like. You can always add heat, but you cannot remove.
Service:
1) I specifically asked if the bhel puri was spicy. He said, «not at all.» It came. It was very spicy. Another server said, «the green chutney is spicy, the brown isn’t,» and took it back to bring me one with just the brown chutney. It was still extremely spicy!
2) The server who told us it isn’t spicy came with the bill after the meal. We offered feedback. «It’s the artistic palate of the chef,» he said.
I don’t know if he meant palate or palette (both would admittedly work), but good cooking is about balance. If your heat dominates, I cannot taste any of your other flavors. Talent lies in subtlety and balance. The food at Juhu Beach Club has neither.

Wanted to try this place after watching Anthony Bourdain’s special on the Bay Area. Parking is super easy as it’s in a little shopping center. You could easily get to this location by getting off at Rockridge Bart station.
Went with a couple of girlfriends who hadn’t been to this place either so we decided to get a few plates to share. We started off with a couple of cocktails– the «Sari not sorry” — with absinthe, rye whisky, strawberry, and mint. Another friend got the «Desi Drop» without alcohol.
After reading the reviews and watching Bourdain’s segment, we knew we had to try the Manchurian Cauliflower. So scrumptious and tasty, sweet and crispy– so good, a friend ordered a plate of it to bring home to husband. Definitely recommend.
We also ordered the Bhel salad– comes in a hipster mason jar and Bourdain ordered this too. It’s was alright– didn’t live up to the hype. We ordered the Masala fries– great dipping sauces– but not really unique.
For a main dish, we ordered the coriander shrimp which is a definite must! Fresh, great flavor, and enough for 3.
Then we got two JBC pavs, which are basically sliders. Ordered the Beefy Baller– a meatball style slider– and the Chowpatty chicken. Previous Unilocalers said the chicken was really spicy but I didn’t find this to be the case and I don’t eat that much spicy food. I wish we had ordered another Beefy Balller, or that I ordered my own slider because this one was deee-​lish!
This was such a cute restaurant, amazing service, and had an amazing time with the girls. Come and enjoy this amazing food!

The ambience and service are good. The food is alright. The sev puri was interesting, but, lacked flavor. The gobi manchurian tasted like hard candy, and, was way below my expectations for a gobi manchurian.
The shrimp curry was good, both the rice and shrimp were fresh and cooked well. Although, I felt, it lacked flavor.

Way Over Priced! Don’t go in hungry or you are going to spend a fortune. Ended up paying $ 170 with tip for 3 people to have apps, dinner, and 2 rounds of drinks. The restaurant is in a strip mall in Temescal — We came in by accident because it looked cool but it’s not in an area where I expect to drop that kind of change.
Chicken wings were $ 12 and there were 8 dinky wings.
The cauliflower was tasty, but essentially a deep fried veggie version of general Taos chicken. I thought the Asparagus was going to brighten up our other dishes but it had way too much salt (and that is saying a lot because I love salt).
Sliders were good but should be priced at $ 4 instead of $ 6 since you have to order 2 – 3 for a meal. I felt everything on the menu was about $ 2 – 5 over priced. Cocktails and beers were steep too as beers start at $ 6 and short glass cocktails are $ 11.
Service– average to below average. Server checked on us minimally even though we were drinking. The place was about ½ full.
Décor — Very Pink! Very feminine.
Will I return– maybe? Not sure. After the meal and seeing the check for what we got I said NO WAY. But then I saw Anthony Bourdain went there — of course I’m a sucker for Bourdain and intrigued. So perhaps I’ll give it another shot and try the curry and scotch egg. I’ll try to not order drinks next time so I don’t have a heart attack when the check comes.

My husband and I have been wanting to come in since we saw the show on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. What a great find!
Super easy to make a reservation and the hostess was great. They have great local beers on tap.
We ordered an appetizer that was a special for the day. It was a fried dumpling stuffed with meat served over a spicy sauce. I enjoyed it.
For entrée, my husband ordered the short rib and I got a variety of the sliders. I got the pork, beef, and chicken. They were all super flavorful and tasty. The chicken was a little too spicy for my taste. I wanted to try the short rib, but he finished it before I could sneak a bite. He described it as, «melt in your mouth delicious».
Overall, a great spot. It is a bit pricey so it won’t be a usual spot, but definitely when we are in the mood for great flavors and spice.

Twice visited now. Once during the 2015 Oakland Restaurant Week and another time just last week. Such a cute place with thoughtful, pretty décor.
Cilantro Lemonade ($ 5) — If you like cilantro and you like lemonade, you have gotta try this drink. Personally, I love cilantro and I can eat pretty much anything with cilantro. This drink tasted sooo refreshing and I would totally crave this drink on especially hot summer days.
Vada Pav ($ 6) — Fried potato puff placed in between a brioche bun. On the spicy side. It was delicious!
I have heard that weekend brunches are awesome. My former roommates and I did dinner here last year, and it IS on the pricier side. If you are looking for more economical options, you might want to look into lunch.

Came here for Oakland restaurant week and what a great deal. The highlight for me was definitely the bhel salad. Everything about this dish from taste to texture to presentation was perfection!
Restaurant is located in a shopping center/​strip mall w easy parking. Service was a bit slow that evening. They really seemed to be overwhelmed. Normally not a huge fan of Indian food but I really enjoyed the vibrant flavors here. Looking forward to returning. The regular menu prices looked on the higher end but the restaurant week deal was amazing! Also Anthony bourdain approved :)

Amazing food. I had the beefy baller and the Manchurian cauliflower. Mmmmm. And a sweet, attentive waiter. I’ll be back soon.

My hubby and I came to this place for a date night. It’s not the romantic place you would want, but certainly a fun vibe. They snuck us in between reservations. We did not have a reservation… did not know we were suppose to. The place did not look like a place we would need reservations. Anyhoo, food was wonderful, service was great! We spoke with the couple next to us who was also there for the first time. We agreed that certain dishes that was suppose to be spicy was mild, and the others were spot on as menu says. Brusell sprouts was fab! I like the mango lassi salty twist. Bourbon chai was delish! manchurian cauliflower was really good… a little too sweet, but still good. We would come back with friends, although a little loud, hard to hear our conversation. Food was good!

Love this place. Three of us, and we ordered most of the menu. Veggie apps were the best, the cauliflower was amazing. Sliders were good, short rib main was great, and service was spot on.

I really like what’s going on here. Adventurous flavors and textures. I found the Manchurian cauliflower cloyingly sweet, but when we told our server, she took it off the bill.
Good service, really unique food.

Came here for Oakland Restaurant Week.
The food was excellent and delicious so that won’t stop me from coming here again but the –2 stars are mostly for the service. I felt a little forgotten at times at our table of two. The Tamarind curry took a long time to come out even after having an extensive conversation at the table. A waitress came over to ask us if we were waiting for anything… That was kind of odd and made me feel like they had forgotten our main! After requesting the dessert menu it also took the waitress a long time to come back to us and take our dessert order. She admitted to us and said «Sorry for the long wait are you ready?» which showed she knew she was at fault. It was a bummer to have had slow service during two courses. I understand that it can get crazy but as a customer to wait for your food and feel like you’re not being attended to bummed me out.
The bhel salad was very good. I noticed the recipe was different from when I saw it on Parts Unknown but I assume its because they switch up the ingredients by season. By the way, its layered in the jar and you pour it out onto a bowl. Don’t fear, you will not be spilling like crazy into a ball jar, which is what I assumed at first ;)
Good food, service could use work but I’m totally willing to give this place a try and would recommend to others with a warning on the service.

The hosts here are unfortunately too unintelligent to give you an ETA on when your table will be available if you do not have a reservation. Don’t come here if you do not have a reservation and it you’re staving.

Came here for for the Oakland Restuarant Week dinner menu last night (only $ 20… what a steal considering the entrée alone is regularly $ 23 lol) and I was pretty impressed! Juhu is fairly small so reservations filled up quickly, but the attentiveness of the servers really helps with the turn around time. Ambiance is super relaxed and casual– the seating area is sort of curved around the wide open kitchen and mini adjoining bar. This makes for a really airy atmosphere even though the space itself isn’t huge. Now, onto the food!
Bhel salad– Plating is very cool! You get a mason jar of puffed rice whith a cilantro mint chutney layered on the bottom and given instructions to empty the contents into the provided bowl, mix, and enjoy! Interactive food, how cool is that?! I liked the mix of red grape, peanuts, red onion, and chickpeas in the mix… Those with the crispy texture of the puffed rice really made for a fun variety of flavors and consistancies!
Curryleaf Coriander Shrimp– My first impression of this dish was that it was on the small side. But, once I started digging in I actually really enjoyed the fact that there was just enough rice to leave me satisfied. The shrimp were definitely on the large side, and cooked to sweet juicy perfection. The side dish of pickled vegetables and yogurt sauce was also very much appreciated.
Hop Candi beer– Described as a «full flavored American pale ale»…I am not a beer gal so all I can say is that it was not so hoppy or bitter that I couldn’t enjoy it, but I was pretty full from the other dishes, lol.
All in all a great place to chill and try some innovatively presented Indian street food! :)

Like Like Like! I like this place! Did I mention I like it?
Went with a group and ordered 5 mains and all the appy’s so we could try a lot of items, and pretty much everything was excellent! A very creative menu!
Some of the crowd favorites were the sticky wings, Manchurian cauliflower (DO NOT SKIP THIS ONE), the masala fries, short rib curry, coriander shrimp and the Pav sliders.
The ambiance is pretty chill and fresh, service/​servers excellent, and the chef/​owner a total bad-​ass in the kitchen. Saw a profile on her recently on TV and she has a gutsy creative no apologies attitude toward mashing up cuisines and styles. She draws on her background and experience and then gives it a twist, or two and I commend her for that. This kind of approach is what pushes cooking and the dining experience to the edge, in a good, delicious way.

The food was good, but felt overpriced.
— Cauliflower appetizer was surprising yummy with a good portion size
— Curryleaf Coriander Shrimp was also good, but it was $ 23 and I definitely could have finished one myself
— Pork Vindalated Pav was a pulled pork slider for $ 7. Good but too basic
— Masala Chai had a good mix of spices but was really sweet
I probably won’t return. On the bright side, the service was excellent.

Two words to describe my experience at Juhu. Spicy delicious.
The spices were amazing. I had to always keep my water right next to me.
We ordered this waffle dosa, potatoes, bael (probably mispelled that), some kind of sandwhich thing and the popcorn.
All of it was amazing. Would recommend this to anyone who likes indian food.
For 6 people we spent around $ 150.

Absolutely delicious food! I had the Bollywood Baller, a small sandwich, and very flavorful Masala fries, that are from real actual potatoes with the skins intact. Nice tomato sauce, even!
The table water comes in nice bottles (nice touch) and everything is clean! and happy! Really high flavor food.
Wonderful staff, nice light atmosphere, which some interesting music on the sound system, and even a big Andy Warhol type artwork of a cow portrait.
This is a nice place to take people that are visiting. If you are a visitor, to the now trendy Temescal district of Oakland, there are many places to choose from, and this is where I’d go (over Bake Sale Betty’s, Dona Tomas, and the famous Pizza place near by (sorry folks, that’s just the way it is).
This is «fusion food» at a super reasonable price. The chef is well trained and creative. I read a review of the place, before it opened, that’s how good the chef is!

I love the interior of the Juhu Beach Club. It’s fun and just puts you in a good mood.
Our waitress was helpful with recommendations, well-​versed with the menu, attentive, but not overbearing.
What we ordered:
I’m still dreamin’ of Juhu’s Papadum ‘n Pickles. The starters here shouldn’t be overlooked. Don’t be scared away by the (v) for vegan, you want this. These are best papadums I’ve had — light and crispy. The slight sweetness from the mango chutney really balanced out the sour, tangy notes of this dish.
The Bhel Salad is served to you in a mason jar with beautiful and vibrant layers of persimmon, pomegranate, purple potato, pickled onion, puffed rice, peanuts and a variety of chutneys. The server then pours it out and mixes it up for you. From presentation to the multiplicity of complimentary flavors and texture, you will not be disappointed!
I was underwhelmed by the JBC Doswaffle N Chicken with green chili fried chicken, sweet –n– spicy syrup and black pepper butter. I wanted to like these dish so badly, but the GF, rice flour waffle was dense and lacked any flavor. There was hardly any black pepper butter on the waffle which didn’t help. The fried chicken was good — juicy and crispy, but where did the green chili go? The kick of heat promised in the maple syrup, also MIA. This offbeat version of chicken and waffles has so much potential, but needs a little tune up.

I had a love-​hate relationship with this place before I even walked in the door. A restaurant named Juhu Beach Club makes you want to drive all the way to the beach and not walk into this shadow of an establishment and be served Indian Fusion.
Regardless of the misleading outside vibes, Juhu does serve great food paired with even better service. I had the sparkling mango orange soda, which was perfect with the pickles and poppadoms. We got the masala fries to share and swapped out the ketchup for a different sauce, which was definitely the move. I got the vada pav and the sloppy lil p — both were flavorful and perfectly sized! I would recommend coming to Juhu just for these.

So we saw Anthony B’s show with Juhu BC and decided to give it a try. Indian/​Chinese? What’s not to like?
First thing, the staff was very nice. The parking can be tricky, but we found a space right out front. Not sure I would want to sit on the outside patio, since you’re really just sitting next to the parking lot. The place is pretty cool inside though. We had booth seating for my gang of four. We gave the Anthony Bourdain tasting menu a try and added sticky wings, desi jacks (really spicy), some JBC pavs (Beefy Baller, Vada pav and a Chowpatty Chicken)
Now to the food. Loved the Manchurian Cauliflower! Bhel salad was interesting, since we never had rice puffs for salad, but I wouldn’t choose to get it again. Lamb kofta was great. They’ve really got the soft egg in the middle to perfection. Methi Chicken leg was pretty spicy.
The Sticky wings were also a favorite. Overall, things were pretty tasty, but a bit too spicy overall. We’re into spicy, but it’s nice to have a balance. Here everything was hot, so I’m not sure what the «double lightening bolts» would be. Probably singe your hair off hot.
Not sure if I can bring my gang again, but I would recommend to folks that can handle the heat.

This place gets such a bad rap on Unilocal,and I don’t see why. I went for brunch, and it was great. I haven’t experienced their dinner, but I’ve heard nothing but good things… Hmmm…
Don’t go in expecting cheap, hole-​in-​the-​wall Indian food. I think this is why a lot of people complain that it’s expensive. Think of this similar to the Indian equivalent of «Asian fusion» — not traditional in any ways, and the chef utilizes her creativity to do a new, modern take on Indian. The Indian flavor palate is not one of my favorites; however, her unique use of Indian spices in non-​Indian dishes, her use of varying textures in her dishes, etc etc made me a fan.
The bhel salad was REALLY interesting. It was an Indian-​spiced, yogurty, vinagarette-​like dressing, with a lot of textured ingredients such as crunchy cabbage, pomegranate seeds, and rice puff crackers. This had by far the strongest Indian spice flavor, but I really enjoyed the uniqueness and the textures on this one.
The bombay sandwich was pretty good — the sandwich itself was well done, though it didn’t feel as «unique» as the bhel salad. However, the tomato soup that accompanied it was the highlight — it had Indian spices, and a lot of kick. Not your typical tomato soup, and combined with that sandwich, the two paired really well.
The fried chicken & dosa waffle had the least Indian flavor profile out of the three, but I could taste the spices in the batter for the chicken — it was a nice contrast from the sweetness of the maple syrup. The waffles, though, didn’t taste much different from normal waffles?
All in all, though, a great meal. Service was a bit on the slow side, but they were friendly and let us know beforehand that they’ll be running around so just flag them down if we need anything. Seemed perfectly fine to me.

I love this place because it is new, different and spicy! The kitchen was buzzing when we arrived for our reservation at 8:15. We were sat quite efficiently and ordered some delicious cocktail.
They were out of my date’s cocktail unfortunately, not a great start… but my cocktail was delicious, a blend of sour and spicy flavors.
We ordered the Bhel Puri salad and the Brussel Sprouts as an appetizer. both of these dishes were the stars of the meal for us. The salad was served out of a mason jar and all the colors were stacked on top of each other, a fantastic presentation! The Brussels had a ton of flavor, they were crispy and delicious with some Indian inspired green chutney or pesto slathered on. The food here definitely reminded me of dishes I had grown up with, but made with more flair and artistry. I think the chef is definitely on to something special here.
The entrees were a bit disappointing. My shrimp dish was bland and my Fiancé’s dish was served after I had already finished my entrée, he waited about 40 min for his chicken. I know kitchens can get in the weeds, but I think something should have been taken off the bill for the very long wait.
In any case, I will be back for the fun unique flavors and atmosphere on a weeknight perhaps when it is not so busy.

My High Chai bourbon libation $ 10 was scrumptious.
The menu was small. I was surprised there was no curry At All anywhere on or off the menu.
Our waitress was not very attentive at all. We were one of the first couples through the door at dinners opening on a Tuesday evening (–maybe she was annoyed that we hadn’t made a reservation?)
The décor was lovely, homey with antique flair.
The food was very flavorful but over salted. I included pictures w/​prices.
It wasn’t what I expected.
I think it was just extremely busy with all the locals flocking there to see what Anthony Bourdain was raving about, just like we did.

A delicious fusion twist on Indian cuisine, thanks to the imagination of celebrity chef Preeti Mistry.
The «pavs,» for example, are Indian takes on sliders, and can come stuffed with pork, chicken, and other items, all with fusiony flair as far as seasonings are concerned. There’s also a limited, albeit worthwhile, drinks menu featuring local craft brews, a limited number of wines, and even cocktails featuring their own Indian fusion twists. And, true to its name, the restaurant feels like a tropical beachside establishment, with pastel colors and Bollywood posters of yore.
I’m not only glad Preeti chooses to live and work out of Oakland, but I’m also pleased to see how she’s blending her Indian heritage with her American upbringing as well as local influences.

I really want to like this place but my lunch today was disappointing.
I entered and the waitress practically glared at me without greeting me. When she returned she told me to sit anywhere. I usually don’t care what folks wear but I found the big cowl neck of her shirt that wrapped over her head like a hood disconcerting. And there was a trucker cap on top of that.
Had one of the veg sliders (missed the egg salad that is no longer on the menu) and fries. The slider was fine but pricey for 4 bites. The fries were spiced nicely but the salt was out of control. I can tell I’m going to drink ½ gallon of water this afternoon.
I am feeling a bit sick and don’t have much of an appetite otherwise would have ordered another pav. Just as well because with their version of an Arnold Palmer and tip my order came to $ 22. A lot for a small lunch.
Music was loud and there was a loud group next to me who were shrieking about ghost peppers and OMG there is cumin in my drink — not MY taste profile. I know the restaurant isn’t responsible for who eats there but between them and the music I left with a headache.
Not a relaxing ½ away from the office…

Not for the faint of heart or those who like bland food. Juju beach club ups the ante on complex flavors and spices. I love their cilantro lemonade, but not everyone does.
Their gluten-​free fried chicken was amazing. I couldn’t believe it was gluten free. Crispy, full of flavor, and moist.
The dosa waffles (also GF) were a great idea. They have this amazing texture, soft on the inside and this thin extra crisp on the outside. The flavor was missing something though. It had the slight sour flavor of a dosa but not enough of the sweet or fullness of flavor of a traditional waffle. Maybe if the syrup for it was sweeter it would’ve helped.
All in all a great place to take your taste buds on an adventure. You won’t regret it!