Baba's House
Restaurant · Downtown ·
Filipino fusion plates, speakeasy mahjong den, Asian snack shop
Filipino fusion plates, speakeasy mahjong den, Asian snack shop
"The ground-floor restaurant at the mahjong venue will offer its own individual menu during the July 25–26 takeover; expected items mentioned for the main-restaurant portion of the event include banh mi with braised pork belly or bánh tằm bì and "pintailed noodles" with shredded pork or mushrooms." - Dianne de Guzman
"At the back of Baba’s House in Downtown Oakland is 13 Orphans, a speakeasy mahjong den with tea-based cocktails and multiple rooms for drinking, dancing, and, of course, playing mahjong. To eat, there are Canto-Filipino dim sum sets. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Julia Chen
"A ground-floor restaurant and community hub founded to honor one co-owner’s late father, it grew out of community-driven events—kamayan meals, comedy nights, live music, and heavily booked mahjong nights—and has hosted free mahjong classes for multiple years. Run by the same ownership team as the upstairs tea lounge, the project built a loyal following and is now being refined into a more intentional, upscale concept; its current food and drink menus are still forthcoming." - Paolo Bicchieri
"One of the teams behind the Neo Lunar event and a food/wine contributor at the Alkali Rye Bones & Tiles event; wines and food from this team will be available for purchase at the Alkali Rye program on February 15." - Dianne de Guzman
"Upstairs at the two-level Oakland restaurant-slash-snack-shop, there’s a dedicated mahjong room filled with four-sided tables, tiles, and stools reminiscent of the relatives who played at family parties; the space blends nostalgia with a younger, speakeasy-like vibe—moody blue-purple lighting, flashy tiles, and drinks—and was born from the owners’ desire to create a little underground, taboo bar. Mahjong nights are held the first and third Saturday of the month, beginning with a tutorial for novices and then gameplay from 7 to 11 p.m. across four tables; the small room caps out at about 30 people, has become a welcoming, nonjudgmental place for curious players, and even features a tradition where the entire room claps when someone wins." - Dianne de Guzman