Stylish Dining

Stylish Dining

Latin Inspired Kitchen in Rockridge

Bourbon & Beef is the newest restaurant in the Rockridge District in Oakland which has always been known for great food. They serve Latin inspired meat focused cuisine prepared with seasonal, locally sourced, sustainable and organic ingredients. Executive Chef/Restaurateur Munther Massarweh born in El Salvador to Jordanian parents and raised in San Francisco brings a lifetime of culinary experience to his stylish small 32 seat restaurant which is directly across the street from Market Hall and walking distance to BART.

Chef Munther’s Seafood Paella

Chef Munther’s Seafood Paella

We enjoyed hearing the lively Latin music as we entered and saw that there was an active bar scene and that almost all the seating areas were full. We were seated at a Butcher Block top table with very stylish and quite comfortable High Back Red Leather Chairs. Up front by the window there is a Communal Table which seats up to 20, which later was filled by a group celebrating a birthday enjoying the family style Seafood Paella Party. We ordered Cocktails from their full bar which features more than twenty types of Bourbon. We loved both our smooth Bourbon Negroni which is their 14 day in-house barrel aged white whiskey and the Some Like It Hot made with El Charro Tequila, Cilantro, Jalapeno, and fresh lime juice which tasted somewhat like a margarita but with a perfect kick!

Sopa de Langosta

Sopa de Langosta

We started out with Small Plates. The Sopa de Langosta was a piping hot delicious Lobster Bisque with Corn Flan, Lime Cream and Caviar. We also loved the Puerco con Curtido which was a fantastic Snake River Farms Crispy Kobe Pork Belly with jicama slaw and house made tortillas. We loved that the pork belly was crispy and not rich.

Crispy Kobe Pork Belly

Crispy Kobe Pork Belly

The Large Plates were especially excellent! You must have their signature dish which is Chef Munther’s Seafood Paella. It is a lovely presentation of Giant Tasmanian Prawns, Mussels, Crawdads, chicken, chorizo and saffron rice. The seafood was fresh and the rice was just delightful…. with the flavors of the all ingredients! Another excellent choice is the Carne de Res con Papas which is a spectacular tasting Grilled Rib Eye Steak with roasted Shishito Peppers, mixed field potatoes, spring onion and topped with Chimichurri sauce and Shallot Bourbon Demi Glaze. A better tasting steak preparation would be hard to find!

Grilled Rib Eye Steak

Grilled Rib Eye Steak

The Wine List features all Imported Wines. We enjoyed the 2012 Wither Hills New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with our small plates and the 2010 Tramin Italian Lagrein Alto Adige with our steak and paella. We were quite full but did manage to save room for dessert. We enjoyed the Dolce de Leche and Marcona Almond Smores Sundae which was topped with Fresh Whipped Cream and Double Espressos which were served with cream on the side. Bourbon & Beef is both stylish and fun!! They serve excellent Latin inspired cuisine, have an active Bar Scene and are open for Weekday Lunch, Weekend Brunch and Dinner Nightly. We’ve already recommended it to friends and look forward to returning soon!

Bourbon & Beef
5634 College Avenue
Oakland, CA. 94618
510-788-4821
www.BourbonBeef.com

 

By

Carol & Joe Davis

Dining Detectives