Good Luck Gato

"Oakland’s newest darling is the most creative mashup of Japanese and Mexican drinking and street food culture imaginable. At the helm of this “izakaya cantina” is chef Matthew Meyer, who has reimagined such classics as elote, here boiled in dashi and bathed in uni butter before being rolled in cotija, tapatio and furikake. Okonomiyaki is revisited as a baked potato stuffed with carnitas, tonkatsu sauce, kewpie mayo and topped with nori and bonito. Tacos may be filled with Japanese curry sausage and soft-boiled jidori egg, while tostadas could be topped with hamachi tartare, shiso and hazelnut salsa macha. At the bar, you may find tequila infused with seaweed and married with mezcal, cucumber, yuzu and sesame. Or for something simpler, grab a Japanese beer paired with a Mexican shot (or vice versa). With its spaghetti western soundtrack and dining room governed by a ’70s palette of muted yellow, brown and lime, it’s one of the most unique – and enticing – restaurants to join the Oakland dining scene of late."