*UPDATE June 10, 2020: Due to the outrage caused by the death of George Floyd and the surge in actions being taken to support our black communities, this archival post from our partners at KQED is getting a lot of fresh traffic. To keep the content current, we have fact-checked and updated the post to let you know what remains open—during COVID-19, many of these eateries have shifted gears to temporarily offer takeout and delivery only.
February is a time for us to honor Black History Month with art, music, and, of course, food.
There are a number of chefs around the Bay Area providing a special menu this month, but, with this guide, you can support black-owned restaurants doing their thing year-round.
Isla Vida
The menu at Isla Vida.
(Grace Cheung, for KQED)
In our last visit to Isla Vida, chef-owner Jay Foster and co-owner Matthew Washington told us, "We're trying to touch on a few of the little things that we really like, try to represent it really well and hopefully make our ancestors proud." Though it took over a decade to get the idea to be a reality, their Caribbean-centric restaurant finally opened last year in the Fillmore district, the former "Harlem of the West." Black-owned restaurants previously thrived there, but now Isla Vida (in a space formerly taken by another black-owned business, Black Bark BBQ) is just one of a few black-owned businesses in the neighborhood.
There's not many places to get Caribbean food in the Bay, and Foster and Washington have definitely done their research. As Trevor quotes in his piece about the restaurant, Foster is simply "trying to follow the footsteps of our ancestors culinarily. The food of the Diaspora is very similar...it just depends on where the boat stopped." // Isla Vida, 1325 Fillmore St. (NoPa), islavidasf.com
*UPDATE June 10, 2020: Isla Vida is now permanently closed.*
Kendejah Restaurant
Have you sampled Liberian cuisine? Time to visit the Bay Area's only Liberian spot, Kendejah Restaurant in San Leandro (which Check, Please! Bay Area visited in Season 13). According to the owner, Dougie Uso, he wants you to feel like you're visiting a friend's house, so the vibe is very friendly and casual, but you can get a dash of history with your food at the same time.
Recommendations from the show? Oxtail stew, attieke with fish and jollof rice to name a few. // Kendejah Restaurant, 197 Pelton Center Way (San Leandro), kendejahrestaurant.com
*UPDATE June 10, 2020: This restaurant is open for pick up and delivery via Seamless, Grubhub, Doordash, UberEats.
Réve Bistro
Chef Paul Magu-Lecugy, a classically trained French chef whose esteemed resume includes the Gérard Besson in Paris, La Bastide de Moustiers, and the Ritz Carlton and St. Regis in San Francisco, always had dreams of opening a bistro that offers a five star dining experience at an affordable price. Today, Magu-Lecugy owns and operates Réve ("dream" in French) in Lafayette, offering Lamorinda residents the chance to experience a traditional French bistro, not unlike those he experienced during his childhood in Paris.
With an extensive wine list (mostly French and some Californian) and seasonal menus featuring fresh ingredients, Reve (which made an appearance on Check, Please! Bay Area) offers a culinary escape to France, without the price of a plane ticket. // Réve Bistro, 960 Moraga Rd, suite F (Lafayette), revebistro.com
*UPDATE June 10, 2020: Open for takeout via revebistro.com.
Brown Sugar Kitchen
Chef Tanya Holland, making her famous buttermilk fried chicken and cornmeal waffles.
(Wendy Goodfriend)
This is an honorary mention since Brown Sugar Kitchen made the 2017 list! Chef and owner Tanya Holland opened Brown Sugar Kitchen in 2008 on Mandela Parkway in West Oakland, but that location closed in the latter half of 2017 to make way for Holland's projects in Uptown Oakland and the San Francisco Ferry Building. For anyone that has been missing the buttermilk fried chicken and Holland's other signature items, the Ferry Building location just opened!
For now, you can also try making some of that fried chicken and cornmeal waffles with her recipes on Celebrity Chefs. // Brown Sugar Kitchen, 1 Ferry Building, suite 41, brownsugarkitchen.com
*UPDATE June 10, 2020: Brown Sugar Kitchen's Ferry Building location has permanently closed. The Oakland location is open for pick up and delivery via trycaviar.com.
Horn Barbecue
A platter for two at Horn Barbecue.
(Grace Cheung, for KQED)
Despite making its mark as one of the best Texas-inspired barbecue eateries in the bay, cooking barbecue wasn't always owner and chef Matt Horn's goal. According to Horn's bio, after grilling a particularly bad batch of spare ribs, Horn vowed to "never cook bad cue again" and took to his grandmother's backyard to perfect the art of pit-smoking meats. To say Horn has honed his meat-smoking techniques is an understatement; with days to prepare between each pop-up, no shortage of time and dedication is put towards preparing meats (including brisket, homemade sausage and pork cuts), as well as homemade rubs and sauces.
You can catch Matt Horn, and his 500-gallon custom smoker, Lucille, at various pop-up locations around Oakland; check Horn Barbecue's Facebook page for future dates and locations. // hornbarbecue.com
*UPDATE June 10, 2020: Open for takeout via hornbarbecue.com.
For more black-owned eateries, see below.
Black-Owned Restaurants in San Francisco
Miyako Old-Fashioned Ice Cream, currently not taking online orders, call (415) 931-5260 for more details.
Auntie Aprils, currently not taking online orders, but will soon according to their Grubhub page.
Sheba Piano Lounge, temporarily closed; donate to their team GoFundMe.
Little Skillet, open for pick up and delivery via chownow.com.
Queen's Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe, currently open for takeout, call-in orders at 415-656-0711.
Radio African Kitchen, open for takeout; order at radioafricakitchen.com and DoorDash.
Frisco Fried, open for pick up via friscofried.biz and delivery on DoorDash.
Yvonne's Southern Sweets, open for curbside pickup by calling (415) 368-7900; check out other Bay Area locations currently carrying her famous butter cookies here.
Amawele's South African Kitchen, temporarily closed.
Club Waziema, temporarily closed.
Two Jacks Nik's Place, open for pickup and delivery via DoorDash and Postmates.
International Smoke, open for pick up and delivery at michaelmina.net.
Black-Owned Restaurants in the South Bay / Peninsula
Back a Yard Caribbean Grill (Menlo Park & San Jose), open for takeout and delivery on all popular food delivery apps at both locations; Watch Check, Please! Bay Area review.
Walia Ethiopian Cuisine (San Jose), open for pickup and delivery at Chownow, Caviar, Grubhub, Uber Eats, Doordash, Seamless.
Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant (San Jose), open for pickup and delivery via DoorDash; Watch Check, Please! Bay Area review.
Black-Owned Restaurants in the East Bay
Lena's Soul Food (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via UberEats.
Kingston 11 Cuisine (Oakland), open for pickup only by calling (510) 465-2558 or emailing takeout@kingston11eats.com.
Southern Cafe (Oakland and Antioch), open June 5 for pickup and delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Lois the Pie Queen (Oakland), open for takeout.
Home of Chicken and Waffles (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates.
Souley Vegan (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via Grubhub, Caviar, and DoorDash.
Miss Ollie's (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Crumble and Whisk Patisserie (Berkeley), open for takeout only by emailing orders@crumbleandwhisk.com.
Everett and Jones Barbecue (Oakland, Berkeley and Hayward), available for pickup and delivery at all their locations on all popular food delivery apps.
PieTissierie (Oakland), open for delivery at pietisserie.com/piedelivery.
New Karibbean City (Oakland), temporarily closed
Geoffrey's Inner Circle (Oakland), temporarily closed
Miliki (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via Postmates, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.
Mini Bell's Soul Movement (Emeryville), open for pickup at minniebells.square.site.
Suya Grill (Oakland), open for pickup and delivery via Caviar and Grubhub.
Enat Hone Winery (Oakland),online order at enathoneywine.com.
Reve Bistro (Lafayette), open for takeout by calling (925) 385-0793.
Oeste (Oakland), *open for pickup and delivery via Grubhub, Allset, Seamless, and DoorDash.
Cupcakin' Bake Shop (Oakland and Berkeley), open for online ordering and in-store pick up.
This article was written by Grace Cheung and Daphne Ford for KQED's Bay Area Bites; it was first published on 7x7 in February 2018 and has been updated for closures as of June 10, 2020. It is an updated guide to KQED's 2017 Celebrate Black History Month At These Black-Owned Bay Area Restaurants. Sadly, some of the restaurants covered in that 2017 list have closed since then, so KQED created this new one. Please note, this guide does not include every black-owned restaurant, bar, bakery or pop-up in the whole Bay Area, so please feel free to add any favorites we may have missed by tagging KQED on social! You can find them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
