Oakland Burger Pop-Up Lovely’s Returns, This Time With Brunch

The Lovely’s burger pop-up, which attracted massive and high-profile crowds to its spot inside Oakland neighborhood bar the Lodge, shuttered this summer to allow chef Mikey Yoon to seek a permanent space. That location is now in the works, and until then, Yoon will be serving brunch every weekend at rough-and-tumble Oakland bar Eli’s Mile High Club, which is swiftly turning into a destination for food fans seeking the next big thing.

According to Eli’s owner Billy Agan, Yoon will bring Lovely’s to Eli’s starting on Saturday, November 23. It’ll return on the first two weekends in December, then will run “every weekend starting in January” until Yoon opens the permanent restaurant, likely in summer of 2020.

Lovely’s is mainly known for its smash-style burgers, characterized as “flawless” by Bon Appétit’s Julia Kramer, and those will be in healthy supply at its Eli’s stand, including a veggie and a (decidedly non-veggie) chili cheese version. For brunch there will be biscuits baked from scratch, and plied with bacon, soft-scrambled eggs, or buttermilk fried chicken. (Lovely’s full brunch menu is below.)

Lovely’s isn’t the first cult favorite to pack Eli’s, a longstanding Oakland bar that began as a blues club in the 1970s and eventually evolved into a punk/metal dive. These days, its expansive indoor/outdoor space entertains diners who make the trip for pop-ups like S+M Vegan, whose shaobing sandwich SF Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho said is the best in the Bay Area. S+M will continue to pop up at Eli’s, Agan says, even as it, too, builds out its permanent spot in Oakland’s Dimond District.

Lovely’s brunch will run 11-2 on Saturdays and Sundays, and S+M Vegan’s pop-up continues at Eli’s from 5-10 every Tuesday night.

• Last Chance to Try This Cult-Favorite Burger at the Lodge in Oakland [ESF]