Adagia Restaurant

This location is now Freehouse! Same ownership apparently as they show up on my credit card as Adagia still, 3 years later!

The chocolate bread pudding is amazing… Soft and warm. Comfort food!!!
Everything else is mediocre. If you are looking for small portions of complex salads, this is the place for you.

I’ve eaten at Adagia three times now, so thought it was finally time to write a review! First I came here for lunch with a Professor, a second time with a student group, and a third time with my dad and boyfriend. All three times the food was excellent, and the service was great. I am a huge fan of the lamb burger — it is cooked to perfection and tastes wonderful!
The atmosphere at Adagia is very nice, as well, although when the restaurant isn’t particularly busy it can seem a little large and vacant because of the high ceilings and relatively plain walls. There’s a nice fireplace in the back, and very nice large wooden tables, though, and exposed wood beams which give the atmosphere a warmer feel.
I’m looking forward to going back to Adagia for a 4^th time!

Summary based on 1 dinner:
–food was just ok. I had a spinach salad with strawberries and cheese, which mostly worked together with farro with veg, which mostly didn’t work. The farro dish was bland and pretty uninteresting.
–service was very good
–setting is quite nice
–cost was ok
–parking wasn’t a problem (person driving had a UCB pass)
If you go to a restaurant for the food, this was disappointing. In the same general area, though more downtown, I’d recommend Corso.

My bosses took me here to celebrate my graduation and I had a wonderful time.
The host was very accommodating, we stood in the restaurant for a bit deciding to sit inside or outside, we thought about inside, but it was actually a bit cool, so we decided to sit outside since it was a very sunny day. Unfortunately, the sun was in our eyes, but the host was very attentive and went to move the giant umbrella so that we would have shade.
I ordered the Adagia Chicken Salad and I loved it! The croutons were a bit hard, but I loved the dressing, the chicken, the cranberries, the walnuts, pretty much everything. The bread that they serve before the entrée was very good too.
I didn’t try anything else, but all the food that everyone ordered looked really good. I am definitely going to come back and try something else next time.

Having met with clients, I wanted to treat them to lunch. One of them recommended Adagia, and so we hoofed it from campus to the restaurant.
The restaurant has an air of sophistication. There was a beautiful fireplace that framed the entire indoor dining area. We were given the option of eating in their courtyard, and decided to soak in the sun.
I had the Seared Petrale Sole, and it was delicious! It was the largest, thickest chunk of sole I have ever witnessed, and the entire fish was delectable. Excellent seasoning, and a very fresh tasting fish.
The service by our waitress was excellent. We were served outdoors, and the entire meal was quite perfect. I couldn’t ask for more.
I think $ 16 was very reasonable for the quality and quantity of the fish.
I would highly recommend to partake in their lunch offerings.

I have not had a bad meal here. I have always found their soup of the day delicious. The Arugula salad is a great meal starter, which is shocking since I typically can’t stand Arugula. The flat bread, chicken and crab stuffed sole are all great. A nice selection of wine is found on the menu. And dessert, their rotating line of sorbets, gelatos, and Ici ice cream are always a safe bet. Though if you want to take your meal up a notch, order the bread pudding; but be warned one order can serve two if not three people.

I’d never been to Adagia, so when my roommates suggested it for an apartment dinner, I readily agreed. I have walked past Adagia so many times and always just marveled at how *cute* the building is!
We entered the restaurant (perhaps it is a converted church? looks like it? or an old house?) and were greeted by a friendly host. We were quickly seated and water was brought. We were also readily supplied with bread throughout the meal.
My roommates ordered the hamburger, the vegetarian flatbread, the roasted chicken, and the sweet potato appetizer. I had the steamed mussels.
Although I didn’t really try my friends’ dishes, I did try the sweet potatoes, which were really, really delicious. They were drizzled with spices and honey.
My mussels were also very tasty, and no dead ones in the bunch. They were pairs with crispy potato thins that readily soaked up the tomato-​based broth. Delish!
Our server was very nice and readily agreed to split our bill for us and take a table picture.
I think I would definitely come back to Adagia in the future, it’s one of those places that you could actually take your parents for lunch and they’d enjoy it. It’s also a place I wish I knew about sooner before subjecting my boyfriend to multiple visits to Asian Ghetto when he’s visited Berkeley over the past 3 years. Sorry?

Friendly business dinner tonight with an extremely picky eater… As in: he eats meat, salad, hates fruit and the only cooked vegetable he will eat is asparagus.
I called and made a reservation today for 6:45 and verified that they had the spoon-​tender beef cheeks still on le menu, which changes frequently. Score!
I was so enthralled with my last dinner there… LAST WEEK that I basically ordered the same items from the menu.
Picky Eater glanced at the menu and scowled when I declared that I was definitely doing the beef cheeks. «I’ve never had beef cheeks and I’m worried about the coffee thing,» he said, squirming and getting ready to bolt.
«Chillax, Picky Eater; it’s like the most amazing pot roast you’ve ever had in your entire life, and the coffee is very subtle, so just go with it.» Well, that’s the gist of what I said. Actually, I really had to coax him into considering it and not going with something else.
He had the Caesar salad, I had the Sexy Arugala. He proclaimed his delicious. It was my turn to scowl when he picked off the grana with a neat little «x» of anchovy fillets, but I wasn’t about to get all neurotic on him for being… neurotic.
I wanted the Pork Belly Flat Bread with sweet pea purée again; he devoured it with relish. Yessss! Impressing Picky Eater is exceptionally difficult. He ate the chiles (served on the side) on his, with gusto.
When our entrees hit the table, he actually turned to me and said, «This is how much I trust you — I would never order this in a million years. So… okay, here goes…» And with that, he took a tentative bite.
I managed to keep my yap shut for almost three seconds before I blurted, «So… does the fact that you’re sighing and chewing and marveling at what your taste buds are telling you mean you like it?»
He laughed. «This is absolutely incredible!» Picky Eater literally ate his words, and expanded his limited foodage horizon. I lost track of how many times he said, «WOW!» before he wiped his plate clean.
I didn’t take any snaps last time I was in, so I managed to sneak a few before we disappeared our meal.
Grazie, Adagia!

I came here for a business lunch and was neither extremely disappointed or very impressed. The menu was fine, not exciting and one of those places you know you’ll get full, but won’t be blown away. Our waitress was friendly and helpful and tolerated us being the last ones in the place while we finished our meeting and our lunch and she didn’t rush us out at all.
Parking is a pain in the ass and I just don’t feel like it’s worth the hassle for average food.

I was here for lunch yesterday and thought better of the place than I have in the past. I may even come back for dinner some time. The service was smooth and less idiosyncratic than what I described in my original review. I liked my little gem caesar salad and my burger, which was made from Lucky Dog Ranch (Dixon, CA) beef.
Aside: Our server explained that patrons didn’t like the taste of the Marin Sun Farms grassfed beef that used to be on the menu; apparently, it tasted too grassfed (duh!). Lucky Dog cows are fed grass but then «finished off» with grain — lucky for them. Although I actually preferred the old Marin taste because it was so unusual, I was fine with the new taste, which one could describe as comfortable. The burger was served with sweet potato fries, which were (not surprisingly) a bit sweet. Sugar and salt is a good combination, and I do recommend it.
We were in a back room, so we could hear ourselves think when the door was closed. Unfortunately, that was not very often. The dining room is very loud when it’s full, which it usually is. This current week is commencement week at Cal, so the diners had a special excuse to mouth off. Go Bears!
On my way out, I was stunned to notice a plaque from Zagat and another from Michelin. Ils sont fous, les français!

This place is a nice place to come with campus faculty or other officials for a business meeting. It’s not somewhere I’d go for a night out though. However, lots of people I know and I did live near this place for a couple years so that warranted a special dinner gathering here. I made reservations and had to change it once, but the host was nice about it. You are unable to make reservations for a large group online, but you can call in and leave a message. They are good about getting back to you within a day. Prices here are a little high, but it is a nice place after all. The great dining hall has a nice feel to it and the patio area is nice to sit in on a sunny day. The servers are nice and our host was friendly and helpful.
The menu changes seasonally and the food is alright. I would agree that it is a hit or miss. I started with the tuna tartare, which came with a large side garnish of pocket rocket. It was incredibly salty. The tuna was in large chopped up pieces and not as finely chopped as I thought. It was also not packed in the traditional tartare shape as I had imagined either. It was still good. I had the vegan flatbread, which was nice. It wasn’t spectacular or anything, but it was a nice gourmet personal pizza, but again, it was incredibly salty. Please go easy on that sea salt! I got the saffron rice pudding for dessert. There was a good hint of saffron, but the rice was not as broken down as I had hoped it would be. It was pretty congealed and not as much of a dessert soup as I imagined it to be. It also came with medjool dates. It was a good accompaniment. I also had a glass of wine and when the server set down my glass of pinot noir, she set it on a crack between two tables, but one table was higher than the other. I watched it fall in slow motion and the lightning fast reflexes that I didn’t know I had allowed me to make an amazing catch and spared everyone within the vicinity from red wine stains on their nice clothes.

To say that I was disappointed by my mother’s day dining experience at Adagia would be an understatement. I wanted to like the place, so much that I spent part of my drive back home trying to convince myself to give a «mild» four stars, or at the very least, a three star rating. I guess I’m resigned to the thought that I’m just going to have to disagree with Zagat and Michelin on this one (no stars but a Michelin recommended place, supposedly). I remember reading the glowing Zagat write up as I was leaving and thought, «seriously? I mean, seriously?» But to be perfectly honest, the only saving grace was having my family around and seeing all the improvements at the law school across the street.
Adagia boasts high quality sustainable and organic ingredients from local farms, admirable and true, but unfortunately these factors did not necessarily translate to quality California-​Mediterranean cuisine. The overpriced burger was dry and bland, and adding avocado only mutes what little flavor it had. The fried green tomatoes were crispy but very tough. The steak lettuce wraps featured soggy wet lettuce, covering (or perhaps causing) a tasteless ranch skirt steak. I did, however, enjoy the asparagus soup, which was absolutely delicious, probably the only highlight of the meal. We even ordered each of their dessert options, none came close to being impressive. The mango sorbet was, at best, above average.
Service was wonderful. Our host was warm, friendly, and attentive. I can’t really say much about the ambiance, we were seated at the private dining room separate from the main dining hall. From what I tell, the main hall can be a bit loud (the large room generates echoes) and it has a sleepy dungeon feel.
It’s clear Adagia was established to cater to professors and professionals in the area, not necessarily to college students. My guess is that they wont satisfy either. College students wont (for good reason) shell out $ 16 for a small dish. Graduates and professionals may opt for more upscale, sophisticated dining. Given the wealth of options in Berkeley, I suggest holding out for a better place. I know this is conveniently located across the street, fortunately, you wont have to look very far.

Finally had a chance to stop by here for dinner for the first time because I had a meeting nearby on campus.
The Place:
First off, as a student 10 years past, I remember the building as Westminster House, so I was a little strange walking back into the place now converted into a restaurant. Even with all the renovations though, it still retained that old, historical building smell and quality with all the wood paneling and classic hanging lights (metal crafted chandeliers) and the large fireplace which gave it a homey feeling despite the high ceilings.
The Food:
The complimentary breadbasket and butter were ok, nothing to write home about. I got started with the Bistro Bites, which is a mixed plate of Castelvetrano olives, toasted almonds, honey drizzled sheep feta, baby beets and mushroom pâté crostini. For only $ 10, it’s a pretty good deal since it would be great for sharing and you get plenty to munch on. Personally though, if you’re going to call something pâté, it should be made of liver or you shouldn’t call it pâté at all. Otherwise, the sheep feta w/​honey was very good, and went great with the toasted almonds.
For my entrée I had the Beef Ragu Pappardelle, A slow cooked sauce made with Grass fed Beef, Root Vegetables, Red Wine and tomatoes. Finished with Parmesan. I like trying Pappardelle wherever I see it on the menu, and this was pretty decent, certainly a generous portion, but slightly under seasoned. I’m not positive, but I didn’t think the pasta was fresh made, but it was serviceable. Also, it probably would’ve been better as a lamb ragu instead. Still, I was satisfied with it.
The Service:
Now, the service was actually very good the whole meal. The waitress and the floor man took care of me very well, and I never found my glass more than half empty. They made light and pleasant conversation, which is nice since I was dining alone before my meeting, but they weren’t intrusive since they saw I was also reading my book.
Price-​wise, it’s about what you’d see at this sort of sit-​down spot, entrees ranging from $ 13 – 26. A little steep for the regular student budget in the area, but worthwhile for a special occasion that doesn’t require a lot of traveling. I’m sure the place does most of it’s business with the professors on campus. For myself, I’d be willing to stop by again to try something like the burger if I’m in the area, but probably wouldn’t go out of my way since parking is pretty limited around there.

There is a HUGE disparity between my expectations of this place and the actual dining experience I got. This is what happens when you base your expectations on the price (expensive = good food) and then you get disappointed.
Food:
–Tuna with potato salad: Didn’t really hit the spot for me. The portions were small for what you pay for. It was really just a few strips of undercooked tuna and a dime size portion of some thinly sliced potatoes in a light vinaigrette. I was honestly starving when I got there and given those conditions, I always assumed that everything you eat when you are hungry should taste super good right? But how this experience has proved me wrong. Even though I was super hungry, this still didn’t taste awesome to me… something’s wrong with this picture…
–Ici trio ice cream (oatmeal chocolate chip, chocolate caramel, ginger): honestly, the only thing I liked about Ici’s ice cream is the waffle cone. And this Ici ice cream came in a bowl, so this dessert lost some brownie points before I even tried it. However, I’ve got to say that the oatmeal chocolate chip flavor was pretty good. Sounds funny but tastes like they mashed up an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie into some vanilla ice cream! YUMMY! The chocolate caramel was bland. Just tasted like bland chocolate to me. The ginger was interesting; tasted like they mashed in ginger bread into some ginger ice cream.
–blueberry lime sorbet: pretty good. Not too sweet, not too bland, just right. Really hit the spot.
Ambiance: The place looked like a camping cabin that was at one point converted into a church and now reconverted into a restaurant. It has a very historic feel to it with a pinch of a rustic twist. Very interesting. We got to sit at a table right next to the fire place. That was very classy and homey feeling. I liked it.
Service: Our server was AMAZING. I’m super indecisive and I ask so many questions about each dish. He was super patient and took time out to explain each dish and give recommendations. He was very welcoming and attentive to our needs. Best waiter EVER!
Price: For the price, I would have expected better food. But then again, maybe I just didn’t order the right thing. I’m willing to come back and it give it one more try just because my other friends have said good things about this place, but it seems like other Unilocalers have said some bad things about this place. One thing’s for sure, you don’t get enough quantity for the price you are paying and I’m not even sure if the quality of the food even makes up for the lack of quantity you are getting. Not a place to come to chow down if you are starving!
Overall: Maybe I would come again if I feel like splurging on a meal and giving this place another shot. MAYBE.

The menu is promising — grass fed beef for example.
But, the food is so-​so/​unremarkable. You eat it on a pretty outdoor patio. But, the portions are small. And, the prices are high. Like $ 12 for a subpar overcooked small burger.
But there’s grass fed beef.

You GOTTA get the Chocolate Bread Pudding!
Came to Adagia for a pre-​Greek dinner before seeing the amazing DAVID BYRNE
Walk into an extremely pleasant & richly assembled wooden room — reminds me of a posh Country Club
Staff is super friendly & while our server was helping a multitude of tables, we felt well-​attended
Started out w/​the Bistro Bites & Nectarine Salad for the table
Bistro Bites — Sheep Cheese drizzled in Honey, fresh olives, marinated Zucchini & Mushroom Pâté on crusty bread
Nectarine Salad was awesome w/​the sweet fruit & crunchy almonds in a light vinaigrette
Both got the Goat Cheese Crostada. Sis loved it to no end & I thought it was very good. Goat Cheese & Rice shaped into patties & fried up — paired w/​these amazing roasted tomatoes & olive tampenade
Dessert for both was the Chocolate Bread Pudding & I haven’t been so bowled over by a dessert in a long time — this was the bomb!
It comes out like a brownie — it’s so rich & fudgey & as we sliced into it, the schwooshe of the saturated bread goes plop as it reluctantly pulls apart… it was incredible. Too sweet for Sis but she’s more of a savory girl
So holding true to our designations, she liked the Crostada more & I liked the Bread Pudding more — I’m sugar, she’s spice… we’re everything nice!
Will def come back here before more Greek adventures!

I was supposed to meet my friend N. for an early dinner. It was cold so I went inside; she waited for me outside so she missed a great dinner by not checking inside.
Because I was already there, and had been for 40 mins. and had time to kill, I had dinner by myself.
My waiter, Justin, was very attentive. When I asked if he thought the soup and lamb would be too much to told me he thought it would be and suggested the soup with a salad. I took his advice and was very happy. The onion soup was one of the best I have had recently. I added a dessert and wine.
I had a great dinner in a beautiful room, was not stuffed and I caught up with N at the Berkeley Rep
.

I’ve been meaning to check out Adagia for a while now so when my friend invited me to her graduation lunch to be held here I was very excited to finally give it a try! However, in a nutshell: Adagia fell short.
The interior is nice, very Hogwarts like with long tables and high wooden ceilings and the server was very attentive — it seemed like he was really proud of the place and happy to have us. When we asked what he recommended on the menu he said «Everything is good!» which is generally a good sign and a good way to start off a meal.
When the food came out thought, each dish just somehow just could not make it past «It’s ok» to «It’s delicious.» I ordered the trout which, itself, was well cooked with deliciously fresh snap peas, but the sauce covering it was much too heavy enabling me to only eat about half the dish before giving up.
A couple people in our party ordered the tuna which, we had been warned, was not going to be cooked all the way, more seared. Sounds about right, well cooked tuna usually ends up dry. This piece, however, was barely cooked and cold and fairly unappetizing to look at. After eating about ¹⁄₃ my friend pushed it away sadly.
The only thing that was good was the lamb stew over polenta which I would recommend. It was well seasoned and the lamb well cooked, and I can never say no to polenta. This one managed to meet the expectations I had originally but alas, I was not the one to order it so… yeah…
I feel that with just a little push to improve the menu Adagia has the potential to be great. Until then…3 stars.

I come here quite often and the food and service have been pretty good everytime.
It’s usually empty when I go in to eat (late lunch or early dinner time). I ordered the fried seafood appetizer once and it was nothing special.
For lunch, I always get the burger. The meat is of excellent quality and the fries are pretty good too! It may look small but it’s worth every bite. For dinner, the steak (or was it rib-​eye?) is very delicious. And of course, always order the bread pudding for dessert.
The service is usually ok because it’s so empty.