Extraordinary Oakland

Hip Mono Restaurant & Wine Bar Scores With Upscale Bistro Dining

    Ever since Tower of Power asked the musical question “What Is Hip?” in 1973, Oakland has been coming up with answers to put a stylish gloss on our fair town: Too $hort and MC Hammer in hip-hop, Jerry Brown and Ron Dellums in mayoral politics and chic condos in West Oakland, Uptown and Jack London Square. The correlate of swanky loft living is upscale bistro dining, which chef Todd Wilson and his wife, Eloisa Castillo, have brought to the burgeoning Fourth Street corridor in the Jack London Waterfront warehouse district.
    Everything about Mono—a sleek 50-seat industrial space in the ground floor of a condo building that once housed the Western States Grocery Company—communicates modern cool. The glowing logo on the exterior is embedded above a glass-paned roll-up garage door that, when raised during fair weather, allows the interior to merge into a heated patio, with a large communal table bridging the gap; how hip is that?
    The dining area is a study in contrasts and complements: A black tile floor is mirrored on high by a black ceiling with the white walls between minimally adorned by stark modernist prints and canvases; black molded bar stools on chrome pedestals, and curving black chairs play against the blonde table tops and bar; a cluster of cylindrical lampshades hangs above the horseshoe-shaped bar that curves on a raw cinderblock base into the open kitchen.
    The overall clean, hard-edged look continues right down to the frequently changing menu cards (that for some reason made me think of railway dining cars), the sculpted dishware—square, round, rectangular, black, white—and the food presentations. One superb lunch entree arrived with a thick slice of perfectly cooked, mango-glazed Atlantic salmon ($13) resting in the shallow concave curve of a narrow, white plate that rose in a gentle wave at the opposite end, where a bowl-like indentation held a salad of greens, avocado and quail egg. An ample and scrumptious seared ahi tuna sandwich on focaccia ($11) was neatly situated on a slim black platter, and a “shot” of creamy, buttery, pureed sweet corn chowder ($4) was indeed served in an oversized shot glass.
    If a $15–$20 lunch seems like a splurge for ordinary Oaklanders, then the idea of dropping $50–$60 for a full dinner (appetizer, salad, entree, wine, dessert) might be even harder to swallow. But part of what you pay for at Mono is artfulness. On a warm, late-spring evening, with the sunset splashing warm color down the street, our dinner began with starters of piquant house-marinated olives ($4) arrayed single-file in a slot on a special slender dish, and a carefully arranged platter of standard salumi—salami, soprassata, prosciutto and mortadella—with grilled bruschetta slices, gherkins and Marcona almonds (the small version, $11, was more than enough for three of us).
    Three salads (accompanied by thin, tasty breadsticks) offered differing looks (two on flat plates, one in a large, tilted bowl) and interactions of ingredients: baby greens, pickled shallots, toy box tomatoes, watermelon radish and balsamic vinaigrette ($7); roasted baby beets, goat cheese, watercress and sherry shallot vinaigrette ($9); hearts of romaine, heirloom tomatoes, Point Reyes blue cheese and Zinfandel vinaigrette ($8). In a rare service misstep, the beet salad arrived without the Laura Chenel chevre promised on the menu—and without advance warning; when pressed, the server explained that the kitchen ran out of the tangy goat cheese and subbed in a firmer goat’s milk cheese, Bermuda Triangle, which in fact changed the flavor balance.
    Although we passed on the beautifully plated crudo (scallops, tuna or arctic char, all $13), a peak of presentation was achieved with the main courses: three large, luscious pan-seared day boat scallops ($23) arranged against a round scoop of pancetta mashed potatoes and dotted with Meyer lemon mint pesto; three lovely red miso grilled lamb chops ($23) leaning prettily against a mound of garnet yams and baby bok choy; toothsome lemon risotto ($20) attractively studded with asparagus and large garlic prawns. All three entrees were adorned with a frilly topknot of greens.
    In a couple of cases, more care could have been given to the cooking. Only one of the tender and tasty chops was medium-rare as ordered. The wonderful bacon-buttery flavor of the potatoes was undercut by a uniform dry consistency reminiscent of instant mashed. And when we got to dessert (all $6), while the bourbon-sauced bread pudding held up to this devotee’s scrutiny, the custard of the berry-garnished crème brûlée was runny beneath the crisp torched layer of caramel.
    Still, especially at lunch, but throughout most of dinner as well, flavor trumped fussiness. What might ultimately prove Mono’s mettle, however, is how its scene suits the surrounding residential area. This is where its wine bar identity comes in. From a solid international list of six-dozen or so wines (red, white, sparkling, dessert), most available by the glass, many by the half-bottle, we found a fine food-friendly Argentinean Malbec for $30. Bottles in the $80 to $100 range are available, as well, and artisanal sakes, draft microbrews and Han Asian vodka cocktails bolster the in-the-know nature of the bar. With the ebullient Castillo (nicknamed “Mono,” Spanish for monkey, by her husband) greeting and seating patrons, and the affable Wilson, working the room in his chef whites, the place does feel less formal than the food—the kind of friendly haunt any hip neighborhood needs.

THE DETAILS

    MONO RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR.. California. 247 Fourth St., (510) 834-0260. Serves lunch 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Tue.–Fri., dinner 5:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Tue.–Thu., 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. www.monorestaurant.com. Credit cards, full bar, reservations, wheelchaie accessable, $$-$$$

—By Derk Richardson

—Photography by Lori Eanes