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Dining Room - Burdell, Oakland, CA
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Burdell

$50 and over
Soul food

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 p.m.
Booked 19 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Innovative
Burdell is a Soul Food restaurant in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland from James Beard Finalist, Chef Geoff Davis.

Named for and inspired by his maternal grandmother, Burdell, the restaurant reflects her love for well-set tables, entertaining guests, shared meals, and laughter. Burdell is centered on nostalgia, family recipes, thoughtful and sustainable sourcing, and the forgotten impact of Black farming, ranching, fishing, foraging, and culture on American cuisine and hospitality.

The menu highlights farmers and artisans harvesting and creating excellent products around us. Paired with the food is a robust list of wine and beverages from producers around the World-focusing on wines that are farmed and crafted with care and sustainable practices.

Why they're an Icon

Executive chef: Geoff Davis

From the OpenTable editors: Fine dining vet and James Beard finalist Geoff Davis returns to his roots with this totally fresh take on California soul food. Expect iconic dishes like barbecue shrimp and boiled peanuts alongside heirloom tomato salads and slow-simmered collards. The retro design and vintage plates make every meal here feel like Sunday supper with family—no wonder Food & Wine named Burdell its 2024 restaurant of the year.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Soul food, Californian
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sun 11:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Wed–Sat 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Sun 5:00 pm–8:30 pm
  • Phone number
    (510) 239-9287
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Neighbourhood
    Oakland
  • Cross Street
    46th Street
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Public transit
    Macarthur BART station
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

  • Burdell is for Lovers, Year 2

    US$138.91 per person

    Prepaid

    Feb 14, 2025 only
    Break out the Aqua Net and dust off your ruffled, off-shoulder dress or Powder Blue tux—Burdell is celebrating Valentine's Day 1980s style! On the menu: Snacks French Onion Croquette Bread Basket with Our House Cultured Butter Salad Cabbage ‘Wedge’ with Smoked Beet 'Lardons', Buttermilk Dressing, Herbs Choice of Main Short Rib with Red Wine Peppercorn Sauce, Horseradish Mash & Onion Rings -OR- Steelhead Salmon with Caper Lemon Relish over Wild Rice Pilaf Side of Steamed Spinach with Garlic & Lemon Dessert for 2 Vanilla Crème Brûlée with Chocolate Cookie One dinner ticket includes taxes & service. Supplemental items will be offered to add to your experience. A strict 90-minute dining time applies to accommodate everyone. See you soon!
  • Family Dinner Menu

    US$82.69 per person

    Multiple dates available
    For parties of 7-9, your group will partake in our market-driven, multicourse Family Dinner Menu, instead of our regular a la carte menu. The price per person varies depending on what's on the menu for the week. Menu substitutions to this menu are politely declined. Kindly include any dietary restrictions on your reservation when booking so we can prepare appropriately for your visit (not all dietary restrictions may be accommodated). We do charge a cancellation fee person of $75 per person for no-shows and late cancellations as we hold the physical space in our small restaurant in anticipation of your larger party. As with everything, we charge a 20% service charge that supports livable wages for all staff as well as healthcare.
  • Family Brunch Menu

    US$93.71 per person

    Multiple dates available
    For groups of 9-19, we offer a market-driven, multicourse Family Brunch Menu for $85 per person (excluding taxes and 20% service charge). The three-course, family-style, Chef's pick meal includes a starter, main, and dessert, with menu offerings tailored to dietary restrictions (substitutions not allowed, not all dietary restrictions may be accommodated). Please inform us of any dietary needs when booking your reservation. We charge a cancellation fee of $85 per person for no-shows and late cancellations as we hold the physical space in our small restaurant in anticipation of your larger party. As with everything, we charge a 20% service charge that supports livable wages for all staff and healthcare.

What 174 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.4Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Burdell delivers a delightful culinary journey, offering "excellent food" with "deep flavors" and "unique modern soul food." The atmosphere is reminiscent of a "grandmother's home," enhanced by "great music" and "friendly, professional service." Highlights include chicken liver waffles, cornbread, and varied wine offerings. A must-try in Oakland!

174 Reviews
  1. Thania

    New York City

    17 reviews

    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The food is excellent and good value for what you get. The ambience is nice, it's not too loud and it's a relaxed homey vibe. Try the boiled peanuts, they are something unique you've never had. The duck was terrific. The greens were also very yummy. Everything we ordered was good. Overall very good experience, would definitely recommend.

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  2. Bernadette

    New York City

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great food and ambience! I will definitely be back.

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  3. Colleen

    VIP

    San Francisco

    35 reviews

    3.0

    35 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    As Burdell has Michelin recognition we expected something special...and were disappointed. Our experience was a Sunday brunch. Donut holes = similar to a hush puppy. Texture was pleasant: crisp exterior, cake-like interior, however there was no seasoning or flavor. Small amount of dipping sauce provided that also needed more oomph. Chicken and waffles: the waffle exterior was overcooked (blackened); interior texture was fluffy, however again, little flavor. Even the maple syrup had minimal flavor. Chicken: crispy, crunchy exterior, no seasoning in the crust. Chicken was perfectly cooked yet again, no seasoning. Bacon: pork belly - candied, perfectly cooked = delicious. Pimiento omelet - very cheesy. Side salad: fresh with a tasty lemon dressing. Coffee: excellent. Service: professional and personable. Ambiance: storefront restaurant with minimal decor. Unfortunately, there was a group of seven women who were so loud, even though we were a good twelve feet from them, I could not hear my brunch companion.

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  4. Nikkole

    VIP

    San Francisco

    5 reviews

    4.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    We had a 4 person, Saturday evening reservation. Our table was more or less ready on time. Having looked at the menu prior to dining I knew it wasn't typical soul food. Some might say it's not even really "elevated" soul food. We did however find everything that we had to be very tasty: boiled peanuts (messy, but worth a try), cornbread (on point and the honey butter is a nice touch), young beet & winter citrus salad (refreshing), chicken liver & waffle (yum, favorite app), bbq whole shrimp (so many rich flavors), salmon (I didn't personally try this one, but the 2 folks that did liked it), sonoma duck (the dirty rice was delish and the duck was cooked perfectly) and beef cheek pot roast (lovely and fairly generous portion). The desserts looked like an afterthought so we didn't bother to try any of those. The cocktail menu is minimal. The wine menu layout is confusing. Service was fine - they did refresh the waters very often, but we could have used new plates between certain apps so the flavors didn't blend. Having read other reviews I think that in some ways this spot is falling victim to the very high expectations that come with lots of critical acclaim and possible overexposure.

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  5. Alex

    VIP

    New York City

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food always dazzles and everyone who works at this gem is beyond kind. We are very lucky for Burdell.

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  6. larry

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on January 12, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    The wine by the glass was short poured; about a 3.5-4 ounce pour each (norm is 5-6 ounces). And at $16-$20 per glass pricing that seems especially frugal. Secondly, we were asked to leave our table less than two hours since we sat down. Normally I do understand that on a busy night, but in our case there was almost a 45 minute lag from the kitchen (with no explanation from the staff) for our food to come out and that was the whole reason our meal was delayed -- otherwise we would have been easily gone before two hours expired. I realize restaurants are going through challenging times now and am empathetic, but these two issues could have been easily remedied.

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  7. Neal

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on January 11, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We shared the Family Dinner with the wine pairing last night and it was wonderful. What the Burdell kitchen puts together is always so delicious. Anticipation of each serving was like opening a present. Big love to the folks who keep it moving with pleasantness and grace. Peace and blessings to Ife and her family.

    1 person found this helpful

  8. Gary

    San Francisco

    11 reviews

    5.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on January 9, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food, excellent service, great music! Can't ask for much more than that!

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  9. Maricel

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 5, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Walking into Burrell was like a time warp back into the 70s. It felt like we walked into someone’s grandma’s house, from the picture on the wall, the furniture, the vintage corelle plates used to serve food—it was warm and inviting. The food was so delicious. Every dish we had had so much flavor and it was comforting, as if someone’s grandma or mom cooked for us. We did the family meal and it was worth the $75 it cost for the 4 course meal. I will be thinking about this meal until I can return!

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  10. vladimir

    VIP

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on January 5, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Food was sooo good. Best grits I've had in my life

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FAQs

Burdell is rated 4.5 stars by 174 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 p.m.
Booked 19 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Burdell

4640 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    46th Street
  • Neighbourhood
    Oakland
  • Hours of Operation
    Brunch Sun 11:00 am–2:00 pm Dinner Wed–Sat 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Sun 5:00 pm–8:30 pm
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Soul food, Californian
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Public transit
    Macarthur BART station
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Vegan, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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  • Terms of Use
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