The 22 Best Restaurants In Oakland

"Lois The Pie Queen was a real person, and now it’s also a true Oakland classic. This family-owned restaurant in North Oakland is an essential gathering spot, and has been serving classic Southern food at its current location since the ’70s. The restaurant is especially packed on weekends, with longtime residents eating chicken and waffles, biscuits, pancakes, pies, and the Reggie Jackson special (a hearty meal of two fried pork chops and two eggs, and named after the legendary Oakland A’s player). Lois’s lemon icebox pie is also near-mythical, and probably partly why there’s an impressive collection of local celebrity photos on the wall—like Danny Glover, Damian Lillard, and Boots Riley. Heads up, it’s cash-only." - lani conway, julia chen 1