I did not like much about this place. The food was marginal and costly, the atmosphere was busy without being interesting, and the service was mediocre. I tried it twice and will not be back.

Pretty bad, but it was cheap. I did not like the feeling of the place at all. The food was, well, there but little else.

My wife feels this is classic diner fare at a resonable price. I feel it is boring. Perhaps it is classic, never-the-less the food is unispired, and the shakes (my only reason for going to a diner) were unimpressive. My wife also likes the 50's hubcaps decor, I did not. The service I recieved was not inspired by the 50's.

I have had good meals and good value here and some bad meals that were not worth it at all. Somewhat too yuppie for me overall, but some of the dishes are inspired. Unfortunately I have had as many unpleasant experiences and pleasant ones, so I rarely choose this place unless I am tagging along. The service is generally good, but not great.

Good sandwiches and baked goods. Really good cinnamon bread. I have been there many times for a quick sandwich and the service was not stellar, but was not poor. This is a good place for a quick sandwich on good bread. The quick sandwich shops like togos and subway make fine sandwiches, but the bread is quite unimpressive. Here the bread is the best part of the sandwich.

I really did not like this place. The sushi was expensive and poor (not awful, but simply not good). We also tried the sea bass ($14.95) for a small piece of grilled bass and a tiny side of veggies. At $7.00 I would have still been disappointed, at $14.95 I was annoyed. Sea bass is easy to wreck, and they did a very good job of wrecking it. The décor is standard sushi bar. The service was acceptable. I usually give places at least two chances, but this is one of those exceptions, I won?t be back.

This is a nice Russian deli and café. Everything I have had here has been very good. The hours are quite limited for dinner, so call in advance. Just to try a bit of everything, I went with a group of friends and the owner prepared a Russian buffet. It was quite expensive (14.99 each!) but included beverages (it seems it would have included beer/wine but it was the middle of the work day?). Anyway, everything served was quite good. The décor is an unassuming. The service is spotty. If you like Russian food, it is the best I have found in this area. The deli also has Russian cooking supplies (like sour cherries) that are hard to get elsewhere.

This place is very good at BBQ, but somewhat less good at being a restaurant.
The BBQ beef brisket is delicious, and the BBQ sauce is great. The place is very small and they don?t take orders or reservations over the phone. There is often a line flowing out the door and every table is often full. The beef ribs are a bit more fatty then I like, but still tasty. The menu is something like: Beef, Chicken, Ribs, Links, 2-way-combo, 3-way-combo, or Steak. You get bread and potato salad with your meal. The ?Beef? means either beef ribs or beef brisket. They often run out of things, like chicken or links, and you don?t find out until you get to the counter after waiting 20 minutes or more?bummer. Even a bigger bummer is waiting 20 minutes to place an order, running out to get your kid from school while they fix it (thinking you are saving time) and find that ?somebody just took your food?. This has happened to be twice and I have seen it happen to others more than twice. The place is sometimes closed on Sundays and sometimes not. The menu lists steak, but if you try to order it you find you must all a couple of days in advance to get a stake (they order one for you and let it soak). Although the logistics of this place need some work, the brisket sure is good.

This is a slightly above average restaurant but not quite up to ?good?. The prices were reasonable, but the food quality was unimpressive. The veal was poor; the seafood platter was fine but not memorable. The side salad was the best part (with the little shrimp and all) but even it was not ?good?. Although I usually give places at least two tries before giving up on them, I don?t think this place is worth another shot. Life is too short.

Acceptable pizza and pasta dishes. Not fancy, not bad. I liked Mary's pizza a few blocks away a little better but neither place thrills me.

Acceptable kabobs and bolani. Quick take out. About average for this style of place. I prefer Kandahar by quite a bit.

This was a very good Mexican/El Salvadorian restaurant. We have tried the Yuca Frita con Chicharron (fried yucca with pork), Platanos (plantains), Fish Tacos, Shrimp Soup, and the Carne Deshilachada. Everything was delicious. The place is small and the décor is unremarkable to say the least, but the food is really tasty. The service was also very good. I went into this place expecting very little, but was very pleasantly surprised. Give it a try.
Closed Mondays, T-Sa 11-8, Su 11-7

Went here once when stuck in traffic school...It fit in well. Standard dinner, nothing special.

When this small restaurant opened a few years ago, I tried it a couple of times because I love Greek food, but was disappointed each time and I stopped trying. The service was slow and the food was mediocre. But since the owner has become more actively involved, the quality and service have improved greatly. The specials are excellent, the prices are reasonable, and (when the owner is there) the service is superb. Ahh, but if the owner is not himself present, the service, and even the food, declines rapidly. I eat there often for lunch and usually get the specials (which are generally excellent). The soups are generally superior. The food often has a flair usually seen only in much more expensive restaurants. But, to tell you the truth, we peek in, and if the owner is not there we continue to Shelby?s around the corner.

The food is fine, the service good. Nothing the least bit spectacular, but an acceptable meal.

I found nothing to like about this place. I generally have nothing against fatty burgers, but this place takes it too far even for me. Perhaps I would consider it on one of our rare Orinda snow days if I needed the extra fat as protection from the cold. Even when I am really hungry and need something quick and someone offers to get something from there, I just can?t do it. If I am that desperate, Snickers will suffice.

I have eaten at Back Forty BBQ a few times and was not overly impressed. The BBQ is fine, but not spectacular. Give me Flint?s or the new Bo?s (in Lafayette) any day of the week. You can, of course actually get a seat at Back Forty (Flint?s is take-out, and Bo?s is so busy it is nearly not possible to get a table). If you must have BBQ and Flint?s is too far and Bo?s is too busy then this is the place for you.

I went expecting not to like this place. I expected it to be mediocre food at exorbitant prices. Well I was right about the exorbitant prices, but the food was really good and the atmosphere (fancy knife work and such) made the meal quite fun. Since I had not been before I got the Chef?s Special for a blistering $40 for one, but it was tasty. Overall I still prefer Hana Japan in Dublin (cheaper and the chef?s are even better).

This is my favorite tepin style (cook at your table) Japanese place in the area (better overall value than Benihana?s in Pleasant Hill). The chefs are as good or better than Benihana and the portions are larger for less money. During your birthday week (bring proof) one meal is free with three others. This does not make the place cheap, but reduces the sticker shock. The chefs do cool things (like make a flaming volcano out of a sliced onion (with two-foot shooting flames)). My advice, GET THE FRIED RICE! You are spending big money anyway so blow the additions two-fifty. The fried rice is not only tasty, but also fun to watch prepare. Don?t bother with appetizers; you will have enough food as it is. A very fun place for special occasions.

Down in SoCal there were many little Mongolian BBQ places (you make a bowl of meat, veggies, and sauces, hand it to a guy who cooks it on a big round grill who then gives it back when it is cooked). These places also had tasty fresh made pocket bread. Up here in NorCal these places are much harder to find.
I like The Great Wall mainly for the Mongolian BBQ. I really like make-up-the-bowl-yourself Mongolian BBQ places and this one fits the bill. I am a world renown expert and stuffing a Mongolian BBQ bowl exactly the way I like it, and The Great Wall has good meats, veggies and sauces to make a great one. I wish they had those tasty fresh made pocket breads, but they don?t. There is another Mongolian BBQ place in Walnut Creek but it, unfortunately, sucks. The Great Wall also has a Chinese buffet. I am not a big fan of the buffet but it does have all-you-can-eat salt & pepper prawns which are just fine along side the Mongolian BBQ. Prices are very good, kids love it.