1517 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 548-5525

Chez Panisse is a good restaurant. The food was tasty, the service was excellent, the ambiance was amazing. If someone asked me whether I enjoyed the meal the answer would be a whole hearted “Yes”.

However, if asked whether I would return I’d have to think about it. When restaurants charge minimums of $100 per guest I have to feel wowed, I want to feel as though the experience was once in a lifetime and there’s no other restaurant quite like it, but Chez Panisse left me a little bored and uninspired by their dinner choices. This isn’t to say that everything wasn’t cooked brilliantly, which it was, but for the caliber of the restaurant I expected something a little more and didn’t get it.

Chez Panisse suffers from a debilitating attention to where the food comes from and forgets that what’s always most important is what is served to the customer. Sure there is some level of awe to a chef that pays so much attention to where their food is bought, but can that not be said of all high profile high cost restaurants? Rarely have I been to a restaurant that charged over $200 for two that didn’t have the absolute best ingredients.

In retrospect it’s hard to remember the taste of the food at Chez Panisse and to me that is an automatic failing. I still remember meals I had 5 years ago in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, but I can’t remember the taste of the duck or the savory souffle accompanying it at Chez Panisse when I dined there no more than 3 months ago.

My recommendation: wait until something that sounds amazing comes up on the menu before you decide to go there, otherwise it’ll be a good meal, but not an unforgettable one.