There are not a lot of good places to have a classic steakhouse experience in Oakland – with a stylish and luxurious atmosphere, sizzle and smoke of a flaming grill, true reverence for meat. (There will be fewer still at the end of the year, when the Rockridge District’s Wood Tavern shuts down.)
Twinflame, a Japanese-Korean robata grill near Mosswood Park, aims to fill that void in many ways save for one key difference – there’s no steak.
Set on the ground floor of an apartment building in Oakland, Twinflame has a modern, almost cavernous appearance, with industrial ceilings towering over two robata grills. (John Metcalfe/Bay Area News Group)
Or rather, no big honkin’ steak of the kind you might toss a cartoon dog or slap on a black eye. The specialty here is “hamburg steak,” diced-up American wagyu beef that’s grilled over binchotan charcoal. Twinflame is calling itself the first to do it in the Bay Area…