I sat down with Nosh editor Tovin Lapan and Nosh reporter Skylla Mumana to talk through three restaurants that recently opened in Oakland — and what each one tells us about the state of the city’s dining scene right now.
You can read about all three below, listen to the full conversation above, or find it on Apple, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.
Bar Skula is a “Luka’s remix,” and a bet on Oakland
Bar Skula just opened on Grand Avenue, not far from the Lake Merritt pergola, in the space that used to house Sidebar. It’s from Maria Alderete and Rick Mitchell, the couple behind Luka’s Taproom, the restaurant and bar often credited with helping catapult the revitalization of Uptown Oakland. They closed Luka’s in January 2022 after they couldn’t negotiate a new lease with their landlord.
Now they’re back, calling the new spot a “Luka’s remix.” A lot of the old crew is involved, including chef Wilson Mendez, Luka’s very first employee, who stuck around for all 18 years it was open, and founding chef Jacob Alioto. Jared Hirsch, Sidebar’s former bar manager, designed the cocktail menu, paying tribute to the space’s most recent past as much as its Luka’s-era history…