In the East Bay, Sichuan Style sets the standard for classic, tongue-numbingly spicy Sichuan fare. Standard orders include the fragrant, chile-topped fish fillet soup; the wok-charred cabbage; and the water-boiled fish, which comes swimming in a pool of spicy bright red sauce. Whatever you do, make sure you order one of the big, puffy rounds of sesame bread and plenty of white rice.

During the pandemic, Saul’s established itself as even more of community staple than ever, serving updated Jewish deli classics — think pastrami sandwiches, latkes, and matzo ball soup — for takeout and, when it was allowed, out on an expansive parklet. Most significantly, the restaurant seriously upped its bagel game, boiling and baking its own well-blistered, crunchy-exteriored beauties in-house.

A pair of Chez Panisse alums opened a tiny lunch counter spot just around the corner from the mothership in Berkeley. Yes, the aesthetic is there; but so is the flavor. Dine on flatbread sandwiches filled with spicy chicken, herbs, cabbage, yogurt, and harissa; pints of soup; and beautiful salads made with the Bay Area’s best produce, perfectly arranged. There’s nowhere to sit, really, so this is best eaten as a picnic in a Berkeley park.

Open for more than 50 years, Chez Panisse is the progenitor of the whole dang California cuisine movement, and remains the Bay Area’s most prominent avatar of unfussy, local, hyper-seasonal cooking. The fine-dining institution has been a shadow of itself during the pandemic, but the kitchen is turning out some lovely takeout: perfect wood-fire pizzas and fresh pasta meal kits, as well as a handful of more substantive entrées like cioppino. As of now, owner Alice Waters plans to reopen the dining room in January 2022.

This “new generation Thai” restaurant from former Hawker Fare chef Supasit Puttikaew has become a neighborhood comfort food staple in the Gilman Street corridor, serving up excellent (and quite spicy) pad Thai; “Thai-spicy” party wings; a legit version of khao mun gai (Thai-style poached chicken and rice); and, trust us, some of the tastiest fried Brussels sprouts in town.

Since 2012, this pint-sized cafe and wine bar has served some of Berkeley’s best daytime dishes: flawless and bountiful avocado toast, deeply comforting savory porridge, and jammy eggs topped with good olive oil and Marash pepper. The current takeout iteration has some lovely little baguette sandwiches on the menu too, though you’ll have to show up early to snag one.

As one the East Bay’s premier practitioners of the art of plant-based faux meat, the Butcher’s Son has built up a huge following for its lineup of “meaty” sandwiches — takes on everything from a classic all-American cheesesteak to a Reuben to chicken parm, all made with faux meat products developed and produced in-house. Expect the longest lines during weekend brunch, when the restaurant serves such specialties as hemp milk pancakes (with or without a vegan doughnut stuffed inside) and a tofu scramble breakfast sandwich that’s been dubbed the #Thisismyaddiction.

One of the most stylish, intimate Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area, Ippuku has not only reopened for indoor dining, but also begun taking reservations by phone. The yakitori specialist, with its (shoes-off) tatami-style tables, is mostly known for serving the East Bay’s most delicious chicken skewers and izakaya-style dishes. As a bonus: The Japanese beer and sake list is one of the best around.

A relative newcomer in Berkeley’s stylish Fourth Street shopping district, Pollara is the only restaurant in the area specializing in Roman-style pizza al taglio — long trays of crisp-bottomed, rectangular pizza that might come topped with prosciutto, or with ’nduja, onions, and potatoes. During pre-pandemic times, the pizzas would be cut to your preferred size with scissors and sold by the inch. Now, you can pre-order whole or half pizzas online and reheat them in your oven at home.

All of Spain’s classic tapas can be found at this lively restaurant on San Pablo, from patatas bravas to piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese. The paellas are the showstoppers, however, particularly the arroz negro that includes squid ink, clams, and fennel sausage, and is topped with uni aioli and smoked trout roe. It now boasts a lovely patio with heaters, too, ideal for sipping Spanish wine on a cool Berkeley evening.

Tucked in the back of this well-stocked Middle Eastern grocery store is one of Berkeley’s best-kept secrets: a kitchen that turns out perhaps the most delicious Persian food in the East Bay. The menu includes juicy, well-blackened kebabs; tender lamb shanks; and homey stews like the classic, green herb-packed ghormeh sabzi. Regulars know to snag a bag of Persian flatbread before they leave. Online pre-ordering for curbside pickup is available.

Now housed in a larger space after a 2012 kitchen fire, Great China continues to serve some of the most elegant Northern Chinese food in the Bay. The Peking duck deserves all the praise it gets (and holds up surprisingly well as a takeout item), but the menu is also loaded with outstanding seafood dishes and sublime dumplings, as well as a number of Korean-Chinese specialties, including an intensely satisfying version of jjajangmyun (noodles with black bean sauce). Oenophiles will appreciate the deep, well-priced wine cellar focused on Burgundies, which remain available even though the restaurant has yet to reopen for indoor dining.

Chef-owner Anja Voth’s mostly organic, health-conscious, “slow food” approach to German cuisine has earned Gaumenkitzel a devoted following in Berkeley — which isn’t to say that the crowd favorites like the buttery spaetzle and excellent crispy pork schnitzel are light or in any way lacking in flavor. Parents will appreciate the appealing, spaetzle-focused kids’ menu.

The East Bay has many izakaya-style Japanese restaurants, but none that are as much rollicking fun as Kiraku, nor any that serve food that’s as consistently delightful and well executed. Must-order dishes include the corn tempura with green tea salt, the grilled whole squid, and the mini kaisen don or one of the other rice bowls to end the meal in the traditional Japanese way.

On weekend mornings, in particular, Vik’s is an occasion unto itself: A bustling, cafeteria-like gathering place for loud, boisterous extended families and groups of friends. Almost every customer gets an order of cholle bhature (“the big puffy thing,” as the restaurant’s online menu describes it), but all of the chaat is solid to very good — from pani puri to assorted kathi rolls. The adjoining market is a good place to stock up on Indian pantry staples like rice, chutney, and canned mango purée.

This West Berkeley breakfast and lunch spot has always been all about serving casual, unpretentious California cuisine including seasonal, vegetable-centric soups and salads; hearty plates of meatballs; and maybe the East Bay’s most luxurious brown bag lunch featuring whatever focaccia sandwich the kitchen has cooked up for the day. These days, it’s the neighborhood’s go-to destination for an absolutely clutch work-from-home lunch.

This little family-run restaurant is the area’s go-to spot for hearty kebab plates: gyro and chicken shawarma sliced, hot and crisp at the edges, off the restaurant’s two side-by-side vertical spits and served with zippy green hot sauce and a big scoop of impeccably seasoned rice.

This homey, family-run Ethiopian restaurant in South Berkeley is known for its tender, buttery kitfo (a traditional raw beef dish); its tangy, all-teff injera; and its flavorful veggie combo spread. It’s also one of a handful of Bay Area spots where customers could go to enjoy a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony on the weekends.