Deals and Discounts Abound for Oakland Restaurant Week

Oakland Restaurant Week was indeed this past January, Visit Oakland spokesperson Jean Paul Zapata confirms. But given the wild times we now find ourselves in, the city decided to throw a second bash — this one, focused on outdoor dining, delivery, and takeout — for the first week of September.

The sequel’s full name is Oakland Restaurant Week: Late Summer Edition, which quite a mouthful. According to Zapata, the name is intended to distinguish the current event from the “main” one in January, and to “give Oakland’s restaurants and bars an economic boost in the time of COVID.”

It’s not just the name of the event that’s super-sized, it’s also the time period itself. While they call it a week, it runs from September 1–13, which is nearly two — enough time, one hopes, to visit a solid chunk of the 323 restaurants across Oakland still open with takeout, 222 restaurants with delivery, and 74 restaurants that have launched sit-down outdoor dining setups.

While most restaurants are counting every penny in these pandemic times, several have still launched specials for ORW:LSE. You can see a full list of the deals available here, with standouts like a $25 combo deal from Itani Ramen that includes a ramen bowl, three pieces of gyoza, a salad, and a drink; or Pomella’s $60 dinner for two, with sangria, salad, hummus and pita, corno di toro stuffed with bean or lamb, and dessert.

Oakland Restaurant Week runs from September 1-13. A list of participating restaurants is here, and a list of deals and specials can be found here.