Plum Bar + Restaurant

I came here with some friends post eating at Hawker Fare, to enjoy some more drinks. When I opened up the menu, I was severely disappointed. The menu did not include anything traditional– margarita, mojito, not even a mai thai. The drinks there were not appealing and seemed to be based off of flavor infused tea. My friend got a G&T, gin and tonic, my other friend ordered a fried chicken sandwich with an egg on it, some fries, and also ranch on the side. He also got a coke with rum that turned out to be BEYOND sweet. I love sweets, but this was beyond too too too sweet. I couldnt even handle it. I ended up getting a 12 dollar glass of chardonnay which was decent. Nothing special, nor something I would return to the location for. I tried the fries– it was soft, not crispy, and somewhat cold. Ranch was mediocre. The sandwich looked good– but the only thing was that it was on a toast which was somewhat surprising. Overall atmosphere would be a ⁷⁄₁₀.

This place died. This was an amazing place to get cocktails and the restaurant next store was delish. Now it is horrible. Drinks that arrive after food. Food that you wish never arrived. It’s just bad. Sorry plum, all I taste in your republic of Rosales is a freaking bandaid. If you toast grilled cheese using Texas toast you can’t over do it – it gets a styrofoam texture. Don’t toast the brioche until it’s black; it ruins the flavor. What happened to this place??? The servers are super chill and doing the best they can but you can’t dress up crap.

Very nice and clean establishment. The burgers were pretty damn good and I highly recommend ordering one!!! Good for date night, dinner, and drinks.

I cannot speak highly enough about this place. We were looking for a new craft cocktail location and were provided with an experience of deep flavors and palette awakening drinks.
What to have?: anything mixologist Adam is willing to make you and the olives need no introduction with thyme and citrus marinated oils.
The service is top notch and décor is date-​worthy. If there were six stars I would give it. So much thought went into this place and it is much appreciated.

This review is just for service and drinks only
My second time here and its really not by choice as my first experience here was during their grand opening and felt their prices are overly expensive and the drinks were not my favorite (really fufu). My revisit was a bit better and their prices seem to fit regular bar drinks now but i was still not impressed with them.
The drinks I’ve tried were: gin and tonic, old fashioned, Jamison and ginger ale and couple more. The old fashioned was decently made and probably my favorite drink of the night here. The gin and tonic was poorly made and just tasted like sugar water; i have never heard of a gin and tonic with sugar. The jamison and ginger ale was made with jamison and ginger beer and my partner definitely did not like that.
Our service here was the highlight of our visit here. Our server was very nice and attentive and although my friend was a bit drunk (really sorry to our waitress) she joked around and was a very good sport about everything.
Im not saying don’t come here or take my rating to heart but, i just did not dig this place at all and this shouldn’t discourage you to go and try their food as i have not tried their meals.

Took a chance and came for dinner on a weekend night. I didn’t realize how quaint and intimate the place would be. Sure it’s a bar but not a loud place. We came just in time and snagged a small table. I suggest making a reservation.
Adult happy meal is the best deal. Huge cheeseburger cooked the way you want, hot smoked French fries, a beer of your choice from many options and a shot $ 25. I found my new fav beer the white mocha ale. I’m not much of a beer gal. Don’t get me wrong I like alcohol, more of a spirit fan. This white mocha made me swoon. Fieldwork in Berkeley I’m coming to visit soon.
Service was great. Our server was on top of game.
We had the best entertainment, an awkward first date at the table next to us. It wasn’t going so well. I could tell when she didn’t seem to want to have dinner and it was 6PM. He was pushing for dinner. If you have private things to discuss don’t talk here since the tables are pretty close together.
I liked the poems/​stories wall papered from floor to ceiling.
Adult atmosphere, leave the kiddos with a sitter.

3.5 stars. Plum Bar has shrunk since the first time I visited here. I asked our server and it seems like the other side is being turned into a different restaurant by the same chef, so this is now a pretty intimate and moderately pricy hipster bar. We were somewhat annoyed by our server who seemed to be a total space cadet, but I still prefer this to rude or inattentive. For food, we tried the turkey meatballs, which were juicy and savory; the fried pork belly, which was crispy and succulent served with marinated vegetables that cut through the richness; and smoked deviled eggs, which was the one dish that I didn’t really enjoy. I expect deviled eggs to be mustardy, and these were very pungent but I couldn’t identify the flavor. Not mustard though. Of the 3 dishes, I’d most recommend the meatballs. For this type of bar though, I really wish there were more light bites /​appetizers on the menu.
Wine and cocktails were on happy hour prices when we went, but HH is quite brief here and the prices are still nothing to write home about.
Overall, a nice place to get a drink and meal in uptown Oakland, but not something I’d go out of my way for if I didn’t live in the area.

Lack of talent on all levels, although one of the waitresses is a little cute. Couldn’t be less happy how slow their service is.
On a positive note, the place is newly renovated and located in the heart of Uptown.

I’ve come here on several occasions. Couple of times for lunch and it was good. Dinner and drinks with friends and hubby. It’s a great date place, trendy, cute, good food, fancy but not overly expensive.

I decided to head back to Plum, to end up finding out that they closed down the main restaurant and merged everything into the Plum Bar. I think that was a big mistake after my visit. My business colleague and I were a bit disappointed with this change, and the owner/​chef should reconsider bringing back the main restaurant. It was a nice affect to have a two part Plum scene. Keep the restaurant as is for a more serene and hip scene, and the bar for going to have a drink and have bar bites. The staff had to turn away a few people yesterday because they needed a reservation due to the lack of sitting in the bar area. The food now is more like bar bites with less exotic dishes to choose from like at the main restaurant. We heard the owner/​chef wants to make the old location into a fast food type of place. As for the food in the bar stick with the Turkey Meatballs, Cheeseburger with Smoked Fries. The exotic cocktails are still wonderful. We were in the mood for dessert, but the server stated the ice cream machine wasn’t working and there was no dessert menu which was a disappointment. The staff was very attentive like always, and Madeline provided excellent service as always. The wine list needs to improve with more selection. Overall, I will be back… But, be ready for some more casual dining than usual. I’m still hoping that they will bring back the main Plum restaurant at some point in the near future…

Been here before and this spot is another must stop. I always go for the happy meal half pound burger beer of choice and a shot can’t beat that! Nice setting and good music choices and friendly staff make me keep coming back.

This review is for the bar. If you are in need of catching up with a friend, spilling out your woes over a spectacular Vodka Mule, here’s the place. If you need to roar and clutch at each other during your lush and desperate story-​telling, the chunky wooden chairs will hold you well. Plum Bar is a short walk from 19^th St. BART and firmly attached to the planet. You can talk and not shout. The music is unobtrusive. The bartenders occasionally need flagging down but they are quick and friendly. Interesting cocktail menu — their mules. Their mules!

Kind of a weird vibe. The place is split in two. We were interested in eating so we went to what appeared to be the «restaurant side» but were shown to a table on the bar side. No big deal. Our server was pleasant but had a tough time answering basic questions about the drinks and made my girlfriend feel like she asked a dumb question which kind of got the night off to a rough start. When we decided that we were going to make it «one drink and out,» I asked for the check and our server prepared the check and put it on the table. I had my card in my hand and immediately put it on the check. She walked off, never to be seen again. We waited quite a while but eventually went to the bar and asked the bartender to cash us out. He said that he couldn’t (the bar was empty so it wasn’t a cycles issue) but he would go get the server. We waited awkwardly for quite a while. Another employee came up and asked what we were waiting for and we said we wanted to pay the check. She said she would go find our server but the bartender said he’d already let her know we were waiting. Everyone was really friendly and all that but a business that is not set up to take money from the dining public probably has some process issues to figure out. They weren’t rude but it was odd to be held hostage because no one would ring us up. Eventually, we scrounged through our pockets and purse to come up with the cash to pay so we could get out of there. I was flustered enough that for the first time in decades, I didn’t leave a tip which (I’m sure this sounds silly) was frustrating to ME because I don’t like being put in that position. We just wanted to get the hell out of there. I’m giving 3 stars because it was our first visit and maybe it was just an off-​night and because the drinks were very well-​made.

I’ve always had great experiences at Plum. The food is always top notch and the drinks are some of the best I’ve ever had. If you’re looking for a comfortable place to grab a well crafted cocktail, this is your spot. Nothing but highquality ingredients go into their tasty creations. Try a punch or a fancy cocktail. As the spirits go down, your spirit will go up.

This place is good. Nice décor and cool wait staff. Food is good and drink variety are very epicured. We had several appetites and small plates. Deviled eggs, turkey meatballs, bruss sprouts and pork sliders and also had a fried chicken sandwich. The sliders were greasy but VERY worth it. The fried chicken sandwich had Texas toast and an fried egg on top it tastes very country with a flare of European inspired spices. Also great drink selection.

Horribly slow, inattentive lunch service. Order of burger + fries and biscuit + gravy took 47 minutes. Bartender was rarely around and wasn’t forthcoming with updates.
Single-​handedly blew my entire lunch hour.
Only put two stars because I haven’t tasted the food yet, so I’m reserving a star in their favor.

This is the spot if you want a great mixed drink! Brian knows his drinks hands down. I asked for his recommendation and he hand crafted the best old fashioned I have ever had.
I followed suit in to a delicious appetizer of the charred broccoli and made my main course a burger. Brian’s food suggestion literally gave me a new perspective on the quality of what a true burger should taste like. Plum bar, you have me and I will be back!
Great atmosphere, great music, amazing staff, and I have become a happy customer on a Friday night. Hands down amazing!!!

Gorgeous venue that used to be two places in one — a trendier, more casual bar on the left side (as you walk in from the street) and a higher-​end restaurant on the right side. The bar side of the equation has now expanded to cover both ends of the establishment, and much of the old bar menu remains.
The «happy meal» — burger, fries, shot, and beer — is a dependable choice, although its price seems to go up every time I walk past, now to the point where it’s no longer quite a nice deal. Other choices like the fried chicken sandwich and an appetizer of meatballs are OK too.
While this is a venue that’s nice-​looking enough to make me want to visit more, something was a bit off-​putting to me about the service here the last time I visited. It was as if the bartender made no attempt to conceal his annoyance at having to serve just one more customer, even though the bar was half empty, because he’d have to clear and wipe down the bar after previous patrons in order to do so. Later, after I reconciled my receipts with my credit card statement, I also noticed that I was charged $ 1 more than I’d actually signed for. Not kosher in my book.

I’d been here a couple times for drinks and really enjoyed it but hadn’t tried the dinner until last night. We thought the «happy meal» is an awesome idea. It includes a burger (beef or falafel) with smoked fries, a shot of bourbon, and any beer on tap for $ 25. Great deal! I was surprised and impressed at how delicious the burger was. It came out cooked medium as requested and was topped with some vinegar red onions. The ambiance is comfortable and great for either a group of friends or a date. The music isn’t too loud so you can easily hear the conversation. The lights are low and the walls are papered with poetry. I left thinking I need to come here more often.

12.50 for a vodka and soda. Really?
The food is ok but nothing to make a special trip for, I like the burger ok, the chicken fried sando and pork sliders are probably the best things on the menu, fries are good but not with the smoke salt, too salty. Unless you’re looking to up your sodium levels.
The atmosphere is nice, service is ok sometimes not so great even shortly after opening.

My coworker told me about this place! Really cool, trendy, and young atmosphere. Loved the decoration. Fun cocktails and good draft beers on tab.
I got the happy meal — for 25 bucks, you get 1 burger, fries, a draft beer on tab, and a shot of bourbon. I had the falafel burger, it was a bit salty but pretty good with my summer IPA (brewed locally in alameda). My friends didn’t the like smoky fries as much as I did. Yay more fries for me: D
Service was great, our waitress was really cute and nice, so we left her a nice tip.
It’s a good spot for drinks and food to start the night. A nice place for a date as well.

I came with a group on late Thursday night. We shared and enjoyed the small bites– fried brussels sprouts, charred broccoli w/​french onion dip, turkey meatballs, and smoked fries.
I’m all about the roasted veg game, so the brussels sprouts and broccoli were sure winners for me! All affordable for $ 5 — $ 8, holla!
Dim lighting, chill environment, and a sleek interior design. Open until 11pm.
Side note: Plum Bar made a review of «Bay Area Bites Guide to 7 Favorite East Bay Soft Serve Spots». Either vanilla or chocolate soft serve. And a popular sticky toffee sundae.

Big fan here.
Consistent good service, friendly bar and wait staff, and great burgers!
The first time was only for drinks and the happy hour scene here was frenetic but in a good way. I was the first on the scene to meet up with a friend and within a span of 30 minutes, it was packed.
The bar/​restaurant takes up two spaces, linked by an open space between the shared wall. With an all wood aesthetic, it keeps the ambient nature of the establishment a natural and woodsy feeling. Solid. The look is solid and stable.
The bartenders/​restaurant staff here are down to earth and quick to respond. I’m starting to enjoy being out here in a laid back hipster vibe WITHOUT the arrogance or sense of entitlement of the city. Now I can hang out with all the rest of the hip youngsters without feeling like the OG.
Bar Happy Hour menu is light but a perfect refresher prior to hitting it fast and heavy after the happy hour has ended. Their lunch menu was adventurous, basing most of the menu items after a Californian Southern touch: biscuit sandwiches were boasting large biscuits instead of typical bread. My burger was a winner. A ½lb burger I requested medium rare and came out perfectly as I had ordered. Moist and soft patty. The pickled onions and vinegar tangy bite upped the ante on flavors.
So far, a great place to start off the evening right.
Bravo!

I would have never discovered this place if it weren’t for the Warriors Parade! My bro in law, cousin, and me came in searching for a cold beer and stayed for a couple of beers, fries (to soak up the liquor consumption), and a blueberry bourbon (thanks John!!) Adam, the manager even gave us a super chilled, crazy cold, extremely shaken shots of water! It sounds weird but it helped with the temperature and the borderline buzz/​drunk we were getting from the beers and shot.
Adam & John… we will definitely be back!

First time I tried this place and I don’t know why it took me so long. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich, where they use a biscuit. Delicious! Juicy chicken, good slaw with the chicken, and an incredible biscuit. I could just eat the biscuit by itself. It can come with fries, but I got the salad. The salad was good with the pickled veggies in it.
One of my coworkers ordered the biscuit and gravy with a piece of fried chicken added. Got to try it next time.

Plum Bar is a gorgeous, fancy little bar in Downtown Oakland. I love the interior decoration — it’s minimalist yet chic, and they have a lovely open kitchen concept where you can and sit and watch the chefs prepare the food. All in all, the perfect place to have a drink and chat with friends.
FOOD: The food was absolutely delicious. I had the warm asparagus salad with a poached egg and crispy pork belly and that dish was pure perfection. I never would’ve thought a simple poached asparagus could blow my mind, but it totally did. I am 100% coming back for the salad and telling my friends all about it.
I would give the Brussels sprouts a miss because I prefer my Brussels sprouts crispy and a bit savory but the ones at Plum were a little citrusy and sweet which wasn’t to my liking but was good anyway.
As for the drinks, a friend and I shared a pitcher and it was delicious and the pours were very, very generous for the price. The only downside of Plum is it definitely takes a while to flag down the servers, but once they get to you, your food and drinks are banged out really quickly.
All in all I would definitely come back to Plum Bar, I had a great evening, the food was perfection and all the servers were truly lovely and helpful.

The Plum Bar + Restaurant has it all: awesome staff, amazing drinks, and delicious food. Also, the ambiance is just so inviting! With the walls masked of poetry, one can spend hours mesmerized by various literary works. Besides the fact that they serve an adult «happy meal», which consists of a burger, fries, beer and complimented shot, Plum Bar defines new age in the East Bay. The burger my friends had looked delicious! I enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwich, spread with a unique jalapeño marmalade and arugula. I would recommend trying their boiler makers, which consists of a liquor matched with an appropriate beer on tap.
Note: make sure to have reservations if you’d like to enjoy dinner in their dining area, other than that one can help themselves over in the bar, where full service is provided as well.

This review is for 3÷27÷15.
Love the industrial-​poetic décor; the book page «wallpaper» is intriguing and, well, I’m all about the details.
The waitress was attentive while we were sipping on drinks. We decided to share a bite but it took us a good ten minutes to get her attention in order to bring her back over to the table. We ordered the falafel burger to share, $ 14.
The burger itself was good, however the bun just seemed your run of the mill fluffy white hamburger bun. It’s the substance that’s more important though, right?
A little spendy but I think I would come back to try something different.

Plum has had a bit of an identity crisis. After a short stint as Ume (Plum in Japanese) it’s now merged with Plum Bar and has a full sized doorway between the two in addition to the hole in the wall where food used to be passed through before.
Lunch menu had serveral biscuit sandwiches which the waiter said was their specialty. I got the Fried Chicken version which came with a side salad (
)
The biscuit was buttery and flakey. Normally a good thing, but it so buttery the bottom was pretty wet with grease, and so flakey it was hard to eat as sandwich as the biscuit broke after fist bite. Ended up knife & forking it.
The piece of fried chicken breast was moist and flavorful, but small for the size of the biscuit (
). I had about a third of the biscuit left after finishing the meat. Liked the pickled onions which helped cut some of the richness.
Interesting salad with small bits of pickled cauliflower & other pickled root vegetables. There were also bits of green peppers that looked like de-​seeded jalapenos, but didn’t have heat.
Server recommended getting the jalapeño slaw which came on a different sandwich. I got some on the side (
) It was vinegar based, very tasty with a mild kick.
Service was pretty eh. It wasn’t really busy, but it was difficult getting their attention for anything (more beer please?).
3.5 stars for the food. Rounding down for the lackluster service.