Somerset

Lovely place. Hidden Gem
but… they need to hire more workers cause the ones they had were worked to death.
Weak drinks — If you are going to charge so much for a cocktail — at least put a little alcohol in it. Then again — it was brunch hour so maybe those busy ass waiters made it in a hurry.

I expected a lot from this place. The food was okay, but the service left much to be desired. The service was SLOW. From an expensive restaurant like this, I would expect faster service. The food was okay though. I had the Caesar salad and the House Burger. The salad consisted of a few leaves of romane lettuce stacked in a neat little pile with Caesar dressing, croutons, and parmesan. It was quite good and I didn’t mind having to cut it up. The burger was okay, but it was quite large and the patty kept falling out of the bun.
In general, this place is pretty good, though the service needs improvement and I wouldn’t get the burger again!

I went here 2yrs ago then food was not good then, but my friends invited so went back this weekend we order couple appetizers and 4main meal. It was very very good foods I was surprised ! and arehandro is pro and great bartender. I like to go back again!

Somerset, how I want to love thee.
But you must first master the No. 1 rule of bartending: a Manhattan is *always* stirred, *never* shaken. I’ll return soon and if you’ve mastered this rule (30 seconds, minimum) the star rating will improve — because otherwise, there is much to like about this establishment.

the place has many things going for it. It’s in a cute part of Rockridge, the atmosphere is old, but with a refined rustic-​ness. It also has a decent wine selection.
I loved the Goat Cheese Soufflé.
But the rest of the dishes had much to be desired. The artichoke soup was not bad, but a little too acidic for me.
What is the deal breaker for my appreciation is if they can’t make a piece of meat sing like it should. The flat iron steak was overcooked and didn’t have much flavor. The more I chewed to get the taste, the more the steak tasted like dust in my mouth.
The hashbrown was also overcooked. Felt like some had left an iron on it and it burned down to a huge mass.
Visit this place for the bar.

I like this place, I really really want to like this place more. And there are several key signs that make me realize that.
This restaurant is very very cute! Nice feel & ambiance with outdoor seating, and could definitely be my go-​to nice dinner/​brunch with friend’s spot… but it’s not. Infact it has a fun Arts and Crafts décor bar with fancy coctails… and we dont even meet up here with the peeps for that!
My husband and I like the food enough to come back once or twice a year. We have been here about 5 times over the past 3 years or so. There are many other places of similar feel/​price range that we go to 5 – 6 times a ‘year.’ The reason for the attendance dip, the food.
The food is good enough, don’t get me wrong! However, the menu doesn’t change much, not enough if you go out to eat several times a month. We have a vast network of borderline-​foodie friends in Oakland, and no one has ever been here… because no one ever raves about them… because, unfortunately, the food is ‘just’ uninspired enough to be ignored. At this point in the culinary dialogue, unless your mango salsa is going to give me an out-​of-​body experience, come up with something else. Otherwise, it’s just too 10 years ago (which yours is).
Somerset could be really exciting, it’s right on the cusp! Not sure if the person designing the recipes is in a rut, or maybe some power-​that-​be is squashing the aspiration of more exciting things for ‘safe’?
Better than bad, better than ok, so we still go every now and then. In a nutshell, that’s what this place is… safe.

The food? Oh hell yea!!!
The service? Oh hell no…
We were seated and promptly ignored for 20 minutes before a waiter finally came to take our order and bring us the complimentary biscuits (which, despite the wait, were warm and amazing). I had the pear salad, and each bite was a refreshing little work of culinary goodness. With a perfect sprinkling of blue cheese, fresh, juicy pears, sweet blood oranges, and candied walnuts, how could you go wrong? I also had the crab cakes which were amazing, and I savored each bite. The food truly made up for the service and then some.

I really wanted to like this place.
Actually, not really. What I really wanted was to get same day service on my dinner. That’s all. Shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?
Thought we’d try it out before heading to San Francisco on BART. Needed to get to S.F. by 10 p.m. Walk into Somerset at 7:50 p.m. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Timeline thereafter went something like this:
7:55: seated.
8:05: orders taken. We ordered prix fixe. Figured that shouldn’t take as long to prepare.
8:15: salads arrive.
8:25: finish salads.
8:35: waiting.
8:45: waiting.
8:55: waiting.
9:00: realize we won’t have time to eat. Hunt down a server and ask them to pack up entrée in a box for us, bring us our ice cream to eat now. Server insists our food is almost ready, are we sure we want it packed up? We explain we will not have time to eat it.
9:02: server brings entrees in take out boxes, and ice cream in take out pint containers. Obviously, we’re not going to take our ice cream on BART to melt, so we start eating out of the pint containers in the restaurant.
Mind you, at no time during this long evening of sparse food did our server ever come to address the slow service, tell us they were short-​handed in the kitchen, ask if we needed anything while we waited, nothing like that. They never even brought us bread.
We ate the food when we got home: clam linguini and roasted chicken. Food wasn’t bad, but eating your ice cream out of a pint container and then your dinner out of a take-​out box in front of the TV kind of takes away from the ambiance. Might as well start in on the anti-​depressants at that point.
The crowd on a weeknight was older, but maybe they were younger at the time they ordered dinner.

I came here for brunch with some friends, and the food was alright and typical brunch fare, but the service was lacking. I’d like to disclaim though, that there WERE some hardworking busboys there.
When we were first seated, we noticed that my friend’s fork still had dried food on it. UH. bringing suspicions about how well they actually wash their dishes. They were apologetic about it though, and brought a new set of utensils. However, throughout our whole meal, the waitstaff was just very inattentive. We rarely got our water pitcher refilled, and it took forever for us to signal for the check at the end. Granted, we WERE sitting in the back, and we WERE all dressed like the college students we were, but we should have still have gotten at minimum, service.

The g/​f was quite enamored with her omelette so we came back for dinner a couple days later. This was a bit of flip-​flop with slightly better service, but worse food.
We started with the goat cheese soufflé. The menu says «a salad of spring greens, apples and a cider vinaigrette» but it was a bed of spinach. No biggie. The spinach was a little over-​dressed for our tastes, but the goat cheese soufflé was creamy and delicious. The apples added a nice tart flavor and textural contrast.
The entrees were less successful. Her salmon was overcooked and a little dry. The piece was on the small side as well (see pic). The asparagus & vegetable farro were well prepared and the Meyer lemon sauce was great.
I had eye’d the $ 16 ½ lb Burger with meat of unknown origin when we were here for brunch. It became a $ 20 burger when I added blue cheese and bacon ($ 2 each). It comes with butter lettuce, tomatoes, and some slaw on the side as well as the fries (see pic).
There were some grilled onions under the cheese which was a nice surprise since it wasn’t mentioned on the menu. The menu did say it was on a foccacia bun, but this was a standard sesame seed topped bun.
I ordered it medium rare and the thick patty was perfectly cooked medium rare, but despite that it was dry with not much juiciness going on. I wasn’t a huge fan of this burger. You lose me at dry patty.
Service was better than at brunch though they never attempted a wine top-​off through the course of dinner.
Burger: 2.5 stars
Salmon: 3 stars
For the moment relegated to occasional pricey brunch spot.

I would consider giving my first born for their «Meyer lemon» Lemon Drop recipe.
I would also consider giving them a 1 star review for $ 10. Lemon Drop I was served today.

Shocked to find this sizable restaurant empty on a Saturday! The patio is great. The food is a solid B+, and the service was fine. Was able to hang out, chat, relax without feeling rushed. I had the beet salad, and my friend had the club. Would definitely go back. Crap for parking, though. I took Bart, which was a five minute walk away. Friend drove: big parking troubles around there. That’s College Ave for ya.

This trendy young restaurant is a great place for din din on a cold cold night. I loved the atmosphere, from the wood paneled floors to the table settings. The service was great and the food was excellent. I’ll stand by the Goat Cheese Pudding Soufflé, the Wild Mushroom Tart, Roasted Beet Salad, and Fried Chicken ’till I rot, but I don’t want to vouch for much more. I thought the Veggie Pizza, which I had a bite of, was good but not the best I’ve had.
I heard comfort food is IN right now, so if you’re in to trendy food, I’d definitely recommend adding this place to your go-​to list.

Something happened to Somerset. Something not good. M and I have been going here since early on the relationship. It’s where we chose to celebrate me passing the bar, and where we take out of town guests. We looooooooove this place. Well… loved.
Tonight we decided to have a special night at a reliable favorite. First bad sign… no more ability to make reservations on Open Table. Second bad sign… the place is totally empty on a Friday night. The cocktails were still great, and so were the biscuits (though they no longer give you biscuits AND bread… now just biscuits). But we soon learned that the prices had gone up while the food quality went way, way down.
For example, I got the sole. Last time I got it it was divine… wanted to lick the plate. That’s how I felt about everything… always quality ingredients, always amazing flavor, always happy me. But tonight, the fish was extremely overcooked, and the flavor was actively bad. Not one bit of the plate was good. Bad rice (which was not risotto, though it claimed to be). Bad greens. The dish was sadly nothing at all like it used to be. It went from delicious and memorable to just plain bad.
What happened to this formerly fantastic place??? New owner? New chef? It unfortunately seems that Somerset no longer produces deliciously flavored comfort food at reasonable prices. I doubt we will go back. We are very disappointed and sad. Alas.

Very cute little spot. I’m not a frequenter of College Avenue, but my dining companion was, and she remarked how easy it was to miss this place. Indeed, it is very unassuming from the outside. But inside, it’s an incredibly warm (thanks to wood tones and good lighting), inviting to conversation, and chill environment. I can only imagine that the intimacy is intensified during the evening hours, which would make for a lovely romantic dinner for two.
I started with the beet salad, which was pretty good, although I like less greenery with my beets. When I see beet salad, I’m thinking golds and reds with little else. This salad also incorporated ruby red grapefruit, which I found a surprising, yet softly acidic and complementing addition to the dish. The gorgonzola taste that I’d hoped for was either not there, or extremely well hidden.
I moved on to the open-​faced crab melt on sourdough which, I have to say, was incredibly bland. I would not order it again. The right ingredients were there, but the outcome was underwhelming.
Kudos for having «J» Cuvee on the menu, however, which my companion recommended. An excellent glass of champagne to complement a fairly light lunch.

Some places just feel… well, old. Not the décor… the clientele. There is something so innately unadventurous about this place that I knew this would be the ideal place to take my dear eighty-​year-​old father to Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I know I’m two months late with this review, but the restaurant just didn’t resonate with me much except for the fact that my dad — not the pickiest of eaters — enjoyed his turkey with the trimmings.
Y’see, my mom died over twenty years ago, and we never got back into the groove of a home-​cooked Thanksgiving meal. My mom did everything that the Kraft commercials said to prepare — slice the cranberry gelatin out of the Ocean Spray can with a serrated knife, put Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup and Planters almond slivers on top of the broccoli, and mix a lot of Half-​n-​Half into the Potato Buds. After she died, my dad would get a whole turkey with the fixings from a hofbrau in San Leandro. It just wasn’t the same.
Somerset has that suburban 1960’s feel to it, especially on a crowded Thanksgiving afternoon when lots of baby boomer adults brought their aged parents — even if it is nicely appointed in dark woods and burnished gold. For reasons I don’t quite understand, they had two seatings that evening, but it wasn’t as if they were serving just turkey. The menu offered a number of entrees beyond the bird. It wasn’t cheap either. Both of us went for the $ 10.50 Beet Salad, the $ 24 Traditional Turkey Dinner, and the $ 8 Pumpkin Custard. Why they didn’t simply offer a prix fixe is beyond me.
My dad was happy. That’s all that really matters. Me? I think I’m gonna buy me a can of cranberries and insert a couple of slices between two slices of Wonder Bread.
FOOD — 3 stars… the kind of food a dad would love
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… nicer than you would think for a place with such a pedestrian menu
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… so very slow with a weak return rate
TOTAL — 3 stars… maybe they should put plastic over the chairs

I wanted to check out Citron instead, considering I’m in «recession mode» this place was a bit more reasonable in price and it still fared well with the Unilocalers who have Unilocaled this spot. I came here as another usual Sunday Morning Brunch with la madre, only to find her pickiness in food to be just as hard to appease (she dislikes French food compared to Italian), weird but different strokes for different folks I guess.
We walked inside and unfortunately it took a good 10 minutes before we were seated. After being seated, we got our menus and took a good 15 minutes before they came back and took down our orders which were the following:
Drinks:
–1 order of Mango Tea
–1 order of Hot Mexican White Chocolate
Dishes:
Salad:
–1 order of the Somerset Nicoise Salad Grilled– consists of: Ahi tuna, grilled asparagus, toybox tomatoes, butter lettuce, feta cheese,
fingerling potatoes, cooked eggs, mixed olives, balsamic vinaigrette
Entrees’:
–1 order of Prime Rib Hash: –consists of: diced up sirloin steak, and assortment of sauteed’ mushrooms, peppers, onions, and a bunch of other stuff I cannot recall (no pdf files on brunch menu).
–1 order of French Toast Baguette– consists of: Bananas, Maple Syrup, Butter on the side, with toasted Baguette
The drinks, were of opposing ends of the spectrum. The mango tea was alright but nothing special. While the white hot chocolate, was probably the best thing I’ve tried in a while (perhaps a future order is necessary) in regards to hot beverages.
The Salad, the best salad offered thus far for its priced. The Ahi was seared just right, and the balsamic vinaigrette made the Feta Cheese more memorable (I think I’ll cook this at home more often).
The Entrees’: Usually when I go out, I love eating steak but I chose to take the healthier route (minus the baguette). But the baguette was alright, although I need to learn how to make better French Toast (filled ones even). Whereas the prime rib hash was filling for my mom, and she took the rest home since her appetite is easily filled. It was a nice vibe overall, and the conversations dispersed from Pilates, Conspiracy Theories of 911, to what’s the best wine in Napa today?
However what took my original rating of a four down a notch, was the service. We weren’t always attended to, let alone we felt our patronage wasn’t appreciated as much as it should have been compared to other tables being serviced. This Hybrid of Mexican meets French meets American Contemporary is well to do spot, but the service definitely needs polish? Entiende por favor (poor spanish speaking skills for the loss)?

I have to apologize because this review is LONG overdue! My girlfriends and I came here for brunch back in August (maybe?) and LOVED it! My coffee loving friend LOVED the bowl of coffee — that is actually A BOWL! We all loved our entreess as well — unfortunately, I can’t remember what we had … but the pictures we took of our food make me want to go back!
A few words about Somerset: GOOD … YUMMY … CHEESEY (in the food sense)… CAFFINATED

DELICIOUS! That is the word I would use to describe this restaurant. From the ambiance to the food to the service with a smile. The only downside is how long it takes-​kind of hard to have a lunch that lasts almost 2 hours when it is the kind of lunch you only want to last for 1 hour!
Had the grilled cheese sandwich-​yep, sounds lame, but let me tell you, this thing knocked my socks off. Perfectly grilled bread with 2 cheeses (one being a goat cheese), sundried tomatoes and grilled onions. PERFECTION. I had the tomato salad with it-​it was good with nice flavor, but not the best I have had.
I can’t wait to come back here someday for another good lunch or dinner or brunch. Yep, I think I just can’t wait to come back here!

3.5 stars. I shouldn’t drink with Koreans anymore because doing so results in 4 hour meals where not enough food is eaten, although plenty is ordered, conversations I barely remember and then a cab ride back to Oakland where I had to listen to the driver talk about the bailout so we didn’t fall asleep and end up abandoned or murdered somewhere.
The next morning, I decided to end my friend’s visit on a good note. The Rockridge Festival was going on and I’d read good things about Somerset so we came here and were seated immediately. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a table on the patio because it was reserved for a wedding reception. It looked nice though.
We had the pumpkin custard, an omelette and the crab melt. The pumpkin custard was the best thing we had, particularly the bread in the middle of it, and so good with coffee. The sandwich and omelette were fine but not anything special.
The place is pretty in a classic, white tablecloth kind of way and the service was perfectly acceptable. My search for the perfect brunch place in Oakland continues…