Easterly-Berkeley

Had dinner here with some friends, and it did not disappoint! It’s one of my friend’s favorite spots, and now I see why. We shared the spicy chicken, sour pickled fish, garlic shrimp with rice and vermicelli, and garlic green beans! Every dish was packed with flavor. The staff were incredibly friendly and fun; we found ourselves laughing and chatting with them throughout the meal. Great food, great vibes. Definitely coming back!

I love the authenticity of the restaurant and the interior is very spacious. Great for large gatherings but also valid for a couple. Portions are huge and very convenient for sharing. The beans were so flavorful and was a great side for the chicken. The chicken was also crunchy and had a sweet but spicy sauce. Medium spice is an appropriate level for a solid kick.

After re-opening at this new location, Easterly has become our new go-to when we've wanted a great meal. Our favorite is always the perilla leaf boiling fish 紫苏水煮鱼 which is super flavorful and comes with big portions. Also, another new item to this location are the scallion pancakes, which are honestly some of the best we've ever had. Dishes can be made not spicy, which is a nice option, and portions are generous—we had enough leftovers for another meal. The place has been busy each time we’ve gone, but the new location is more spacious and easier to find parking than the previous one, which makes for a more comfortable experience overall. Also the staff is super friendly and helpful. I really appreciated their attention to detail when they helped us pack and with the sturdy takeout containers that they provided for our leftovers. I would definitely recommend this place, especially for group outings.

Easterly is excellent. The 辣子鸡 is rich with all the right aromatics, the chicken is not drowning in batter or breading, and the 花椒 comes through nicely. The 丝瓜 is cooked to perfection, as is the cod in the perilla fish stew. Speaking of the stew, it might just be my new favorite dish. The perilla adds a refreshing herbal note to the rich broth and the fish is extremely tender and juicy. We also had the stinky tofu, which is the first I've been able to find in the bay area. The signature aroma of stinky tofu is there and it's very tasty, but it is quite light. To be fair, you probably won't get much stinkier in an indoor restaurant. Overall excellent food and very much worth the trip over the bridge!

The food was amazing! I’ve lived in China, it is very authentic. Every dish was delicious.

I have been here for three times and it tastes really nice. The grilled fish is highly recommended, and their service is also very nice. Last time we brought our moon cake here to celebrate the mid autumn festival, and they even helped us to cut the cake! Highly recommended

my all time favorite big group dinner spot. Grilled fish and string beans are the best there. this is my 4th time here

The pork belly was extremely tough and poorly seasoned. Overall, the dish was disappointing, and I won’t be returning.

Authentic Hunan cuisine and spicy food. Affordable prices and great atmosphere. Hunan beef was really spicy tender and flavor was the best. Instant service and accommodating staff.

Came in here with some colleagues and wanted to order something different than the standard plates you find anywhere. I got the stir fried pork kidney with chillies - I got it with medium spice. The pork kidney was cooked perfectly and the flavor was great, though I did think it was heavy on the chopped chillies. I LOVE chillies and spicy food, but certainly thought it was a bit much. Still a great plate, which I accompanied with some white rice. The space is very open and has plenty of tables. We went shortly after it opened so we were immediately seated and served. Overall, a great spot to explore some different dishes.

Came on a Saturday after hiking and like a lot of college towns, it's pretty dead during the summer but on the bright side, plenty of parking. Food was okay, a huge menu so lots of options for big groups. They give you an ipad to order so easy peasy but restaurant was okay clean. Food was not mind blowing. Wasn't so wowed that I need to come again.

Best Chinese restaurant that you need to try at berkeley! Very affordable price. Fast service and very accommodating staff.

Super delicious and very authentic Chinese cuisine. The spicy beef dish is very tasty and has a great spicy kick to it! The staff was very friendly and helpful in explaining the menu. And the place has been renovated quite nicely. Definitely will visit again!

Easterly makes it's palate searing return to Berkeley. The initial location on Center Street got shuttered - along with - Bongo Burger, Cheng Fun, and a Persian place I don't remember the name of. The strip will now be devoted to student housing. How fun. In the spirit of pushing people out of business, Easterly ejected the former Malatang from the palacial digs on Shattuck. They're so helter-skelter about it, they never bothered to remove the purple, yellow and green imitation neon signs from the Malatang days. Here's what's up: the old Easterly beats the new one. The current features a litany Cantonese and Cantonese American dishes that will make you nervous. And yes, to some degree, they lost focus. I enjoyed the pork chitterlings of the Hunan classic gan bian fei chang. Those intestines were well treated. Thrice cooked. First boiled to relax the collagen. Then deep fried to make crispy. Then wok fried for the wok hei. But the accompanying were absolutely raw. Crudo. Not ok. I had a dish of lamb tripe on Easter Sunday at the old location. Wok fried with with chilies and an allium ice not seen before or since. It was the stem of a plant, but not layered like most onion and onion like vegetable. I don't even remember the name. Most recently I got this dish of celtuce - celery lettuce - with pork belly. Damn. You eat the celtuce, it crunches, but it yields. You taste the mild sweetness of asparagus without the chlorophyll greenness. You taste the mild sweetness of artichoke with the addition of pronounced acidity. The pork belly? Slab bacon shaved thin. Smokey and salty. Of course also ubiquitous chili and garlic. Maybe Wojia in Albany is a better restaurant that sells Hunan food. But Easterly creates a better simulacrum of the Hunan kitchen as it may very well exist in Hunan, CCCP. Discounting the pestilent Cantonese items.

After 5 hours of moving, we were all exhausted and starving. DS and his girlfriend picked the spot since Berkeley is their turf. We lucked out with a parking spot right in front (rare for Berkeley on a Saturday at 1pm), and although the place was busy, we got seated pretty quickly. They handed us an iPad menu, which was actually super helpful. We ordered the mala spicy fish--5/5. It was fish fillet instead of whole fish, but the flavor was spot on. Everyone loved it. The string beans were also really tasty, with preserved veggies on top, which added a nice touch. Another 5/5. They recommended their usual go-to: fried rice. Simple, not greasy, and just really well made. 5/5 again. Hubby also got the coconut chicken soup. The kids weren't into it, but he and I enjoyed it and finished most of it ourselves. Another solid dish--5/5. All in all, a great meal. We were full, happy, and ready to come back again next time we're in the area to try more dishes.

We saw this restaurant on a list of the best Chinese food places in the East Bay and had to give it a try. The food was really tasty and the service was fast! It is a pretty large restaurant with tons of seating. Some of the dishes they even bring the portable stove to your table which is super cool. The ordering is a little confusing as they give you an iPad, we accidentally ordered two of a few dishes but they came and double checked with us before sending the order to the kitchen. I was hoping for a little more veggies though, the veggie noodles only had onion and cabbage. Still worth trying out and I would come back again!

I always hears good things about this restaurant so decided to come and give it a try. We came on a weekday, so we don't have to wait in line. We ordered the fish soup and the grill bullfrog with pickled pepper. We accidentally order the fish soup with mild spicy which is a bad idea. The soup tastes too spicy to drink and most of the fish meat tastes tough. I would not recommend this dish honestly. The frog is ok but a bit oily. At least it tasted better than the fish lol. Overall i think the restaurant is ok.

It was ok, honestly had high expectations for this place but it was so disappointing...gave an extra star for the service because they were genuinely really sweet We ordered intestines, stirfry beef, and vegetables initially. My friend and I were so confused when they brought out the intestines because it's supposed to be a dry pot intestine, but you can see it is incredibly watery...and the intestines look like it was cooked over and over again...like left over vibes? We did end up asking the server about it and she was happy to switch it for another dish, which was very nice of her. But I think it really just destroyed my perception of this place LOL The stirfry beef was good, nothing like stand out about it, but nothing wrong with it either. Ok, why was the vegetable so oily?? I usually like to get a vegetable to balance the palette but it was so heavy and oily and it felt so heavy eating it lol Our replacement dish was a chicken gizzard dish which I thought was honestly pretty good! But to be honest I don't know if I'll come back I am so traumatized by the intestines lol They are giving a discount for now if you visit during their grand opening, so the bill came down to a pretty good price.

Wow, prices are really high here. I got one plate of pork with peppers and a beer and spent around 30 dollars. Casual atmosphere in large room. Liked that the space was big. Attentive wait staff and iPad ordering. Lovely atmosphere. Glad I chose this place over other Asian places nearby. This was good though I have had much better pork with peppers on the East Coast.

Omg!!! I'm glad I found this place that sells black color stinky tofu! The taste wasn't stinky enough but maybe because I had it Togo but overall it was good! The fried lamp chop and smoked pork fried rice was so good too! I definitely recommended ordering from this restaurant if you want spicy Chinese food!

My friends and I thought this place was closed, but decided to come here and checked it out. It was open!!!! We ordered a lot of dishes, and they were all delicious. So many Hunan places in the city are so Americanized, but not this place. My least favorite is the pork intestines. I seriously think they should deep fry it before making them into a stew. The smoked beacon and radish was my favorite. The stinky tofu was also very authentic. I will definitely come back again, but I will try the Hunan spicy level next time. The people here are very quick and nice. The place is also huge, good for different reasons.

Great place for yummy Chinese food in Berkeley! Came here a couple times and for Chinese New Year and it was really good for some traditional Chinese dishes. It is a bit expensive so I would recommend coming with a large group so that you can try different dishes. Pork Intestines (10/10): I always crave intestine and this place always does the job. I love the fried whole pieces of garlic. Cauliflower Pork Belly (9/10): Super yummy with lots of garlic Steamed Egg w/ Mince Pork (9/10) Egg Plant w/ Minced Pork, Garlic, Cilantro (9/10) Steamed Pork Rib with Sticky Rice (8/10)

I'm so glad a place like this opened up near UC Berkeley! Too many times I've found myself having to head down to Cupertino for great, spicy hunan cuisine, but no more. Service is great, and I love how bright the restaurant is at night. Truly something you have to try at least once. I recommend the Stir-fried Beef with Peppers and Spicy Grilled Fish. It's pretty awesome how they keep it warm! I'll definitely be back!!

I came here with my friend on a Sunday around 5pm. We were the first ones there, but the place quickly filled up as we ate. The waitress was really friendly and accommodating, and she helped us decide what to order when we had such a hard time choosing. We ended up ordering the sweet potato vermicelli and eel (normal spicy), eggplant with garlic, cilantro, and pork, stir fried pork with pepper (mild spicy), and lamb soup. Everything was super delicious and flavorful. The eggplant was probably my favorite. The textures and flavors blended nicely, and it tasted fresh and comforting. The eel was quite spicy and the chewy vermicelli went well with the tender eel. It tasted amazing with rice. The soup had really good flavor as well and the meat was tender. We might have left the burner on for too long though, because it got kinda salty. The stir-fried pork with pepper was yummy too, although I think the meat could have been a bit more tender.

Authentic Hunan flavors in downtown Berkeley. Spice across all the dishes was exactly what we requested, "somewhat spicy". Though the food was very greasy and salty, we just ate many different carbs to offset that. Props to their nicely decorated interior! Will return to try more items on their extensive menu

We had the Mongolian Chicken "Less Spicy". It's nice they let you choose some options on the iPad ordering system. However that system has small pictures with titles and descriptions in small fonts. Hard to read. The chicken was good. Had a little heat like I would expect with less spicy option. A bit oily, with No Oil option. We also had the Beef with Peppers. We ordered not spicy and No Oil. It was oily. The flavor was fine. We ordered one rice which they added to when making up the leftovers boxes to go. That was really nice. They boxes the food too. The last restaurant I went to made us do it. The price was OK. The room is bright and cheerful. But can be loud with patrons and kitchen noises.

food is poor quality. Not worths it. Lotus slice is too thick. Fried fish is not even fresh fish. Don't recommend it. Won't go again. Also they will watch you when you tip.

This place is extremely delicious and a great go-to place for Chinese food. However, it can be hit or miss sometimes.

Temp closed summer 2024 and reopening at another location. I was so excited for my smoked tofu, cauliflower, and chicken - gotta wait til the fall. Been here a handful of times, many dishes are great and spicy.

It's a bit intimidating to look at a menu in a Chinese restaurant and find easier to order grilled bullfrog or something with apple snail for lunch versus General Tsao's chicken or beef and broccoli, but Easterly has what seems to me to be robust offerings. It was around 11am and the above items or one of the many varieties intestine dishes didn't suit my western /Midwestern sensibilities at the time. I did find Kung Pao chicken and my son located pepper beef. The food was timely - the restaurant was ready to go at open. The atmosphere was good with tasteful not kitschy calls out to Chinese culture. We were the only non-Asians in the restaurant so they might be doing something good/ authentic. They used tablets for ordering and once I figured out how that worked, everything went smoothly. The menu options available looked pretty well thought out. The restrooms while clean didn't seem as up to date as the tablet menu so don't be surprised if they appear underwhelming. Since it was my first real meal of the day, I asked that the spiciness of the kung pao be dialed back a bit and that may have been a mistake. The ingredients were very good, but I think I should have gone to the mid-range of their spicy scale. My son ordered the pepper beef and the beef was wonderful use of a skirt type of cut of beef. Fragrant and beefy! The peppers were good, but it was peppery. All in all, I enjoyed the beef better than the chicken, perhaps due to the peppers. The place is not outrageous in pricing, but not cheap either - rice was $2 a serving but ample in portions and well prepared. The service was neither overly attentive, nor leaving feeling forgotten. Parking is on the street and at mid-day on a weekend it wasn't hard to find in walking distance. I look forward to going again and trying something a little more adventurous.

New location for a classic spot. Great food, ambiance, and interior, with attentive service. This is probably the best seasoned food in berkeley and blows everything out of the water by a long shot.

Wonderful early Sunday lunch. We ordered four dishes and all were big portions. You can request less salt and oil. Everything was cooked to our liking. The poached fish was tender and good flavor. Originally the had provided the wrong dish and they quickly took it away and provided the correct fish dish. Interior is nice and spacious. I enjoyed the experience and would come back.

I'm actually quite surprised by the mid ratings for this place. This is probably the most talked about spot for authentic Chinese food in the Berkeley area. Pretty much everyone I know that is from China recommends this spot for great dishes, and I would agree with them. I came here once a few years ago but didn't really remember how everything was, but this time I returned to actually dine again. Upon arriving we got seated immediately and were able to order on an iPad. We got the sticky rice pork ribs with corn, griddled egg tofu, and stir fry fish fillets with chili. All three items were spectacular! The sticky rice looked plain at first, but once you dig down and mix it with the flavorful pork it's so good. Perfectly cooked and chewy, and there was a generous amount of pork as well. The griddled egg tofu comes with broccoli, and the sauce for this is so good and goes with everything! My favorite dish of the night was actually surprisingly the fish. It was cooked with a bunch of aromatics and a sauce that was so savory and delicious. Paired with rice, it was absolutely perfect. While there really isn't traditional service with someone coming to take your order, I almost prefer it this way since you can directly order what you want when you're ready. For the quality, taste, and quantity of food here I would definitely come back and would recommend trying this spot if you're in the area!

Enjoyed easterly SO MUCH and have been thinking about the dishes i had that night... which is rare We ordered the Crab and shrimp stir-fry garlic pot and the poached fish sour stew. Both were 8.5/10. It's one of the best dishes we've had in Berkeley, especially within Chinese cuisine. The crab was juicy and cooked in golden garlic shrimp sautee. The fish stew was soft and flavorful as well, with the sour cabbage flavor fully balanced by the milky broth. We also got the green onion pancakes and they were one of the best we've ever had in the bay. Fresh, hot, and crispy, looks picture perfect. The interior and the ambiance was on point too. Jay chouuuu listeners rise up Keep it up darlings you do chinese cuisine well

Good eat good eat good good eat Authentic Chinese food! 粉很好吃，花菜很香 好吃好吃真好吃快来吃大家它刚刚开业！

Food very good very fresh very tender very delicious very yum yum. Service was very helpful and quick.

All the food was amazing . The coconut chicken soup was so so so delicious! And the beef pancake rolls were also so good. The service was really good.

Great new spot in Berkeley. The food was so good and you can choose no msg, the spicy level etc while ordering. We would highly recommend

Great, authentic Hunanese spot in the Downtown area! When my parents and I went, the restaurant was relatively empty. We got seated very fast and the ordering process was speedy. Our waitress was nice and helpful in explaining some of the dishes as well. The food was very good and diverse. We got a noodle soup, chow mein, and a hot dish braised meat dish. The meat all across was perfectly cooked and had a great texture with the other additions to the dishes. The bakchoy in the soup was tender as well. The noodles had a nice texture to them and paired well with the soup. It was pricey for the meal, roughly $55 for three dishes, but it can be worth it for the authentic food and great lunch option!

A tough place to review, because they're really five restaurants. The menu is divided by region: Yunan, Hunan, Cantonese (Hong Kong ), Szechuan, and American Chinese. I haven't had them all, so I can only review the Hunan section. The food is authentic and seriously hot, but their spices are one dimensional. The chicken Hunan-style was mostly dried red peppers, to an extent where it was a chore to pick out the tiny morsels of chicken in a sea of red. The service is good, the decor is very modern and low key, noise levels good. I just wish there were more complexity to the food.

Ambiance: immediately seated and ordered off the menus that they have on their ipads. The servers were super friendly and very attentive -- they kept coming back to refill our cups and one of them called me thirsty lol (in a nice way). They also kept speaking Chinese to me so that was cute. Everyone was here with their Asian parents so adding points for authenticity. Food: our 3 dishes with 3 bowls of rice came down to a bit more than $90 so it was definitely a bit on the pricier side but SO WORTH IT. We ordered stir fried pork intensities (only took me one intestine to get over the fact that it was intestine), stir fried green beans, and a whole fish. Everything was bursting with flavor and so authentic.

Good food. Friendly and fast customer service. Simple decor. Generous portions. This restaurant is on a corner and easy to find. We've dined here a couple of times when visiting Berkeley and decided this is one of our go-to comfort food spots. We enjoyed the mapo tofu, pea leaves with garlic, and 2 orders of chicken with green peppers & chili (different name on menu). We were also impressed with their attentiveness to our peanut allergy.

The food is amazing. highly recommend if you'd like try Chinese food! You will not be regrefully

Great food, very authentic and tasty. We did order everything spicy, there are non spicy too.

Fried rice was really good as well as the the Cantonese roast duck (half) it didn't come with the sides

I really wanted to try the food at this place. I stopped by on Friday November 8th and saw interesting things on the menu and decided to get take out for dinner on Saturday. I ordered and paid and waited and waited and waited for almost an hour. I checked on my order and was told it was not ready while I saw orders for uber eats go out and dine in customers arrive, eat and leave. I couldn't take it . I asked if they would give me a table and I could take my food in to go containers. They refused. They were also quick to give me my money back. It became real apparent they did not want my business. I went to a Thai restaurant a few minutes away and was eating within 20 minutes. If I could give zero stars I would. All I can say is NEVER AGAIN.

非常好吃，这家餐厅太棒了！环境优雅舒适，灯光氛围恰到好处。菜品更是一绝，每一道都色香味俱全，食材新鲜得仿佛刚从田间地头采摘而来。服务也十分周到，服务员热情贴心，有求必应。在这里用餐就是一种极致的享受，强烈推荐！

The food is on the pricey side, but as a a student that lives near campus, I enjoy coming here once in a while with a few friends. Their smoked duck fried rice and picked fish are my ultimate favorite dishes that I always get. The service is decent and they always have room for large parties. Service: 8/10 nothing extraordinary but they were always kind when my group of 6+ comes in . Food: 8.5/10 there are obviously some dishes that are not amazing, but they do have a large menu. Once I figured out what to and not to get, each visit became consistently delicious. Ambience: 9/10 this is a large restaurant that has lots of seating. It is also very clean!

Gave me an upset stomach. Food not good, made me shit 5 times the next day. Forced to write a 5 star review, help

The food at this restaurant is absolutely amazing! Fresh ingredients, rich flavors, and every dish is crafted with care. The service is attentive, and the atmosphere is cozy. Truly a perfect dining experience!

Food came out fast. Great service! Love their stir-fried dried celtuce with cured pork.

Ordered kung pao chicken and the fried rice and noodles. The taste was great and price was good

Very homey food and love the new decoration. $30 per person. Recommend the coconut chicken soup and shredded cabbage.

VERY GOOD FOOD GOOD EATS, Cauliflower is really good. The fish next to me look really good. I did not order but the two men eating are really enjoying it. Friendly staff the guy remembered me coming in yesterday.

Good place interesting Chinese food. Would come again in the future. The pork and fish was good

Very nice! Love this restaurant would definitely come back! The fish was very nice the vegetable is very fresh too!

Amazing Chinese food and a fun atmosphere. I recommend the garlic pork. The service was excellent as well.