![]() pizza will just about feed two people if you're not very hungry. The small 11 inch pizzas were $18 and they were very skimpy with the toppings, though the amount of cheese was OK. I was not impressed with this place, The food was fine but nothing spectacular and the poor value for the prices I have a sense that the pizza wars in the Berkeley-Oakland area are going to heat up, and based on my experiences, I’m rooting for Benchmark to come out ahead. I will hope that it has a similar feel to it. I will look forward to seeing exactly where in Oakland their second location will be. For the quality and quantify of the food, I thought the bill was fair and it represented a good food value. ![]() It seemed to be popular with families in the neighborhood. I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the place. The service was friendly with a few minor rough spots around the edges it is usually best to make sure that you have cleared the dishes from the first course before bringing the second course out to a fairly small table. We brought a bottle of wine along, and the $15 corkage is modest by today’s standards Chez Panisse will gouge you for $35/bottle. We came on a Wednesday, and missed out, but I don’t have any regrets. Tuesdays is free corkage night, and there is special pricing on house wine on Thursdays. If I go back, I would order both pizzas well done to firm up the crust a bit, and get it a bit closer to what I prefer in a pizza.īeer and wine are available. The sausage pizza was flavorful, and the crust a bit firmer. ![]() If I am going to eat that style of pizza, I would much rather enjoy it at Benchmark and just ask them to put a little less cheese on it. I did not have positive experiences at A16, Pizzaiola or Boot and Shoe’s original Oakland location. Compared to offerings at other places in the East Bay that feature a similar style, I thought this was a superior product. ![]() The Benchmark had a bit more cheese than I use when I bake pizza at home. We ordered two, and were happy to put a reasonable dent in the second one and forego dessert. The pizzas were about 12” in diameter, and truth be told we probably could have ordered only one. If they ever decide to make fresh croutons from their own bread, it would be a fantastic addition. I don’t share that view, and thankfully neither does Benchmark. Apparently some restaurants think this enhances the salad. I find it amusing when a Caesar arrives that contains a cup’s worth of stale croutons that were already five weeks old when the bag or box was opened. I prefer Caesar salads with a bit more pronounced anchovy flavor, and a bit more acidity in the dressing, but this was still a very good Caesar. We shared the small, and it was quite sufficient. My wife ordered the sausage pizza, and we shared the two pizzas. I opted for a small Caesar salad to go with the Benchmark pizza (cheese, tomato, basil). I have been baking bread for many years, and like the bread at Tartine, it has a nice crisp crust and a very nice, moist crumb that comes from a well-hydrated dough (that is often sticky and a pain to work with). I thoroughly enjoyed the bread it is worth the $4 they charge. It is much more laid back and devoid of “attitude”. It lacks all the faux hipster, chichi, overpriced cocktail vibe of the three other places I mentioned. If I am going to eat that style of pizza, Benchmark is my new benchmark.īenchmark provides a simple, family-friendly setting for a dinner. That said, I thought their pizza was similar in style to the pizza offered at A16 (Rockridge), Pizzaiola (Temescal), Boot and Shoe Service (opening in downtown Berkeley), and is better than all of them. Benchmark has a tasty dough, but it does not check off all the boxes on my checklist. It’s sad when a pizza slice suffers from ED. I don’t want a pizza slice that I have to fold or eat with a fork. I don’t need an excessive amount of toppings, but want some topping in each bite. I want it topped pretty much to the edge. I want a firm crust that is not crackery. I’ve been to lots of pizza places in the East Bay, and for the most part, I don’t like their interpretation of pizza. as close to the pizza I enjoyed while living in Italy as any I have found. Delfina in San Francisco makes the best pizza I have had in the US, and is. I have pretty set ideas of what I prefer a pizza to be. There are many styles, and there are many interpretations. Pizza means different things to different people. Novotel Bali Nusa Dua Hotel & Residences.Radisson Blu Resort Fiji Denarau Island.Hotels near (OAK) Metropolitan Oakland Intl Airport.Hotels near (SJC) Mineta San Jose Intl Airport.
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