In The Wood

We had hamburgers, classic and delicious. Service was excellent as well.

Very kind staff and family friendly. Shareable, Salads, Pizza, Burgers, and pub food with beer. Kids menu available when you ask. Patio seating is heated! Parking in the back, walk through the alley.

Tonight, on January 16th, was my wifes birthday, and our server was absolutely amazing. He went so far above and beyond that we tipped him nearly 50% of our total. I don't make a lot, but I had to hook this guy up for what he did. We got there early, but he accommodated us anyway even before I mentioned it was my wifes birthday. When I did mention it, he made sure to provide a heartful sense of service throughout our meal. This guy was even looking across the restaurant to see when our drinks were ready to be refilled! When we were ready to leave, he changed the whole restaurants music to a birthday song for her and brought out a free desert with a candle. It brought her to tears as the whole restaurant wished her a happy birthday! On our way out, I went to give him an extra tip, and we exchanged a hug. Best experience we've had in a long time. These people make great food at fair prices with impeccable service.

Wonderful atmosphere and a great vibe. The waitress was diligent and we had a blast .

Excellent food. Their calamari was perfectly fresh and crisp. The burger was made very rare like I asked and their bacon jam was a really nice compliment to the meat. The pizza was also wonderful with a perfect crust. We went on a Tuesday night and it was pretty empty which was another plus though this place deserves much more business with such good food. Prices were also very reasonable!

The food was delicious, especially the shrimp and watermelon salad and burger, staff was very friendly, great atmosphere!

First time in and my husband and I were impressed. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We felt comfortable with their handling of covid too. I had the salmon toast and my husband had the breakfast pizza. The pizza was outstanding, highly recommend! The salmon toast was delicious too, I would only add a little seasoning on top. Outdoor seating with great people watching views. We will be back!

The smash burgers that were being grilled up by Pancho on the side were amazing! Everybody inside was so friendly and attentive. Highly recommend the burgers and the pizza! Great energy and such a cute vibe for a Wednesday night! 10/10 our bartender/server/event curator was awesome!

I had a great experience. The food was delicious, the kombucha was tasty, and the staff was super friendly. I can't wait to go back. Oh and even the water was good. Lol

I truly love this place. There’s plenty of parking on any side street and a lot in the back. The pizza is always delicious (they’ll crack an egg on it if you ask.) The truffle fries are some of the best fries I’ve ever tasted and the mimosas… the staff. Everyone here is just really lovely and so is the owner. I really appreciate how much effort is put into making this a nice experience for us. It shows. 10/10 will be back again and again.

Beautiful side patio, and the Berkeley Benedict was a perfect brunch! I also suggest the Lavender Bees Knees, any time of the weekend :)

The El Gordito pizza is one of the best things I have put in my mouth. My wife loved the Berkeley Benedict. The service was kind and sweet.

A great restaurant on College Ave! If you want a filling and quality, casual meal, this is the spot. Great selection of local beer on tap, a wood fire pizza oven, tons of delicious burger options, and overall a quality menu. I had the special, the lamb burger, and the favors were delicious. The burger was a little overdone for my taste, but rather that than the opposite for lamb. Side salad was delicious too. The wood burger was also really tasty especially with the smoked Gouda. Fries were pretty good, but a little “floppy” for our taste. Definitely high quality potatoes though, so had no problem finishing them. We’ll be back for the pizza because that also looked good, and the outdoor patio area was lovely to sit outside and enjoy. The owner happened to be there and was really nice, offered to turn on the heaters as it got cooler. Amazing service here, very attentive. Also, I bet brunch here would be a great time too. The menu looked really good!

We sat at the bar and Simone help us. She was so friendly and very attentive. Her energy was everything. Great Food and Drinks

Love this place. Great service, beers in tap and really tasty food for the prices! I gave it four stars for food because it’s not super fancy but really good.

IN THE WOOD is a perfect place for a night out - friendly staff, nice atmosphere, and good food. We brought a group out after a conference. The owner was super helpful in setting the reservation and side patio up. Everyone enjoyed the food, and the group appreciated how many menu items are labeled vegan (mushroom pizza and burger). We hope to return next year:)

5 wags from Cooper. The first thing they did was bring him a bowl of water. The Ahi tuna salad was perfect. Great for dogs.

The food was really good. I had the fish and chips and it tasted delicious. The fries were hot and crispy. The service was friendly. Good place to chill

Gastropubs are my fav places and this one has what I want: above avg pub food, good beers on tap, 2 TVs for sports watching, an outside patio for al fresca dining, great happy hour and brunch deals on beer ($5) and mimosas ($5). Salad yummy. Pizza not the best.

Cheyenne W.

I had a great experience. The food was delicious, the kombucha was tasty, and the staff was super friendly. I can't wait to go back. Oh and even the water was good. Lol

Richard Zamora

The smash burgers that were being grilled up by Pancho on the side were amazing! Everybody inside was so friendly and attentive. Highly recommend the burgers and the pizza! Great energy and such a cute vibe for a Wednesday night! 10/10 our bartender/server/event curator was awesome!

Brent Mather

Beautiful side patio, and the Berkeley Benedict was a perfect brunch! I also suggest the Lavender Bees Knees, any time of the weekend :)

Cee Rose Photography

I truly love this place. There’s plenty of parking on any side street and a lot in the back. The pizza is always delicious (they’ll crack an egg on it if you ask.) The truffle fries are some of the best fries I’ve ever tasted and the mimosas… the staff. Everyone here is just really lovely and so is the owner. I really appreciate how much effort is put into making this a nice experience for us. It shows. 10/10 will be back again and again.

Axel Kussmann

The El Gordito pizza is one of the best things I have put in my mouth. My wife loved the Berkeley Benedict. The service was kind and sweet.

Heather Zulim

A great restaurant on College Ave! If you want a filling and quality, casual meal, this is the spot. Great selection of local beer on tap, a wood fire pizza oven, tons of delicious burger options, and overall a quality menu. I had the special, the lamb burger, and the favors were delicious. The burger was a little overdone for my taste, but rather that than the opposite for lamb. Side salad was delicious too. The wood burger was also really tasty especially with the smoked Gouda. Fries were pretty good, but a little “floppy” for our taste. Definitely high quality potatoes though, so had no problem finishing them. We’ll be back for the pizza because that also looked good, and the outdoor patio area was lovely to sit outside and enjoy. The owner happened to be there and was really nice, offered to turn on the heaters as it got cooler. Amazing service here, very attentive. Also, I bet brunch here would be a great time too. The menu looked really good!

Sabrina Palma

We sat at the bar and Simone help us. She was so friendly and very attentive. Her energy was everything. Great Food and Drinks

Allison Agnello

IN THE WOOD is a perfect place for a night out - friendly staff, nice atmosphere, and good food. We brought a group out after a conference. The owner was super helpful in setting the reservation and side patio up. Everyone enjoyed the food, and the group appreciated how many menu items are labeled vegan (mushroom pizza and burger). We hope to return next year:)

Margaret Nickolaus

Love this place. Great service, beers in tap and really tasty food for the prices! I gave it four stars for food because it’s not super fancy but really good.

Doug Crouch

5 wags from Cooper. The first thing they did was bring him a bowl of water. The Ahi tuna salad was perfect. Great for dogs.

Eric C

The food was really good. I had the fish and chips and it tasted delicious. The fries were hot and crispy. The service was friendly. Good place to chill

Mary Freilich

Gastropubs are my fav places and this one has what I want: above avg pub food, good beers on tap, 2 TVs for sports watching, an outside patio for al fresca dining, great happy hour and brunch deals on beer ($5) and mimosas ($5). Salad yummy. Pizza not the best.

Aaronette King (Chef AK)

Hella good! Best pizza and you can buy slices

Excellent staff and wait time. I had such a good experience here as Becca was very knowledgeable and helpful in suggesting the perfect drinks. Was a delight and so was the rest of the staff. Will definitely be coming back for more.

Nick E was awesome! Came here to celebrate my friends 21st and he helped us celebrate :) food was great and atmosphere was as well

I was in town from out of state and a family member recommended ‘In the Wood!’ My husband and I are huge foodies, so we love to try new places and we were NOT let down! It was a very busy, and upbeat experience. In the best way! I love seeing bars/restaurants with heavy foot traffic and no empty tables because that just means it’s worth it. The place was very clean and cutely decorated. Was the best for a date. The two ladies working this afternoon were AMAZING and very on-top of it and organized. They were fast, efficient, friendly and even had us laughing our butts off! The food was delicious and the drinks were made just right. Such a great time and wonderful experience. Thank you for your service, in the wood!

Sydney Poston

I was in town from out of state and a family member recommended ‘In the Wood!’ My husband and I are huge foodies, so we love to try new places and we were NOT let down! It was a very busy, and upbeat experience. In the best way! I love seeing bars/restaurants with heavy foot traffic and no empty tables because that just means it’s worth it. The place was very clean and cutely decorated. Was the best for a date. The two ladies working this afternoon were AMAZING and very on-top of it and organized. They were fast, efficient, friendly and even had us laughing our butts off! The food was delicious and the drinks were made just right. Such a great time and wonderful experience. Thank you for your service, in the wood!

Matt Balint

Best burger and fries I’ve had in a long time (at a very reasonable price!) and the service was great…even though I walked in as they were getting ready to close 🙏

Patrick Buss

Excellent staff and wait time. I had such a good experience here as Becca was very knowledgeable and helpful in suggesting the perfect drinks. Was a delight and so was the rest of the staff. Will definitely be coming back for more.

My wife and I made our second visit here in as many years. It's still covid as of writimg this, but there were a few tables inside. We hadn't planned on a dinner while we out, so we went here for a quick unplanned bite. The staff are terrific. That's what made our trip so enjoyable: the spontaneous decision, easy feeling, plenty of good options amongst the sandwich and pizza sections. The food was good, fairly priced, and although we definitely didn't tour the menu, what we ordered was well prepared. I wish there were more places that were this enjoyable to just sit at for a dinner. I love having a place for different occasions, and this quiet, relaxing place worked well for this occasion.

We had a charming lunch after errands on a Friday. The fish and chips for him and the fish tacos for me. So good. The restaurant inside was a little chilly, but that makes sense, all things considered. Service was quick and the server was sweet. I want pizza or the chicken sandwich or the ahi salad next time.

The Wood burger was exceptionally scrumptious and worth every penny. Seriously, I didn't know burgers could be that good! All four of us loved our food, including an excellent Beyond (vegan) burger. The desserts, not so much. The cheesecake and chocolate hazelnut cake were mediocre quality. The wood fired cookie was extremely charred, bitter and too hard-burnt to chew, although the vanilla ice cream on it was the best we'd ever had! We didn't order the bread pudding, so I can't comment on that, but I would plan on getting dessert and coffee elsewhere. The coffee was bitter and unexpectedly as strong as espresso😵. The service was attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere was pleasantly distinctive. Overall, a highly worthwhile experience! I would not hesitate to eat there again, invite others to eat there, or recommend it to a friend.

Our first time eating here, nice variety of items on their Brunch menu. The Berkeley Benedict was delicious and the home fries the best I've had! Small, cubed pieces, cheese? crispy outside and potato flavor. We went back the following Sunday and tried a couple different items from the Brunch Menu, In The Wood Omelet and the Avocado Toast since they were out of the Beyond Burger patties. The "Three egg" omelet was pretty puny! I'm guessing they were Quail eggs? Avocado Toast was meager as well! I think that was our last visit:-((

Went here on a Saturday afternoon during Berkeley graduation weekend. The atmosphere was lovely, and the background chatter was at a fun volume. People are seated both inside and outside the bar, and you have to go inside to alert a server if you wish to dine outside. The food was lovely, and they had a good selection of boozy brunch drinks as well as alcoholic ones. There were a variety of vegetarian options as well, and one vegan meal plus many vegan sides. Many meat and salmon dishes as well. The rating is 4 out of 5 stars because despite the nice food and atmosphere, the service left something to be desired. As previously stated, I went during the Berkeley graduation weekend , and it appears as though they were understaffed because the owner himself was bussing tables and seating people. However, this lack of staffing and extra customers led to a rather irksome communication breakdown. Many times we had to ask for a second bottle of water, and many times more did we have to ask for a third bottle of water, and we left quite a bit of time between the many requests. The biggest flaw was the fact that half the meal arrived, and the second half only came 15 or 20, minutes later, after we had asked the owner twice where the second half of the order was. No one came back to check on us. We had to try and alert staff who walked away from us to attend to another task. After delivering the check the waitress was apologetic and offered to get us a drink as an apology, but we were finished with the meal at that point. I don't blame the staff themselves - they were kind and courteous and overwhelmed - but I wish there had been more communication with us once the issue was raised.

Erik H

Our first time eating here, nice variety of items on their Brunch menu. The Berkeley Benedict was delicious and the home fries the best I've had! Small, cubed pieces, cheese? crispy outside and potato flavor. We went back the following Sunday and tried a couple different items from the Brunch Menu, In The Wood Omelet and the Avocado Toast since they were out of the Beyond Burger patties. The "Three egg" omelet was pretty puny! I'm guessing they were Quail eggs? Avocado Toast was meager as well! I think that was our last visit:-((

Jennie Walker

Went here on a Saturday afternoon during Berkeley graduation weekend. The atmosphere was lovely, and the background chatter was at a fun volume. People are seated both inside and outside the bar, and you have to go inside to alert a server if you wish to dine outside. The food was lovely, and they had a good selection of boozy brunch drinks as well as alcoholic ones. There were a variety of vegetarian options as well, and one vegan meal plus many vegan sides. Many meat and salmon dishes as well. The rating is 4 out of 5 stars because despite the nice food and atmosphere, the service left something to be desired. As previously stated, I went during the Berkeley graduation weekend , and it appears as though they were understaffed because the owner himself was bussing tables and seating people. However, this lack of staffing and extra customers led to a rather irksome communication breakdown. Many times we had to ask for a second bottle of water, and many times more did we have to ask for a third bottle of water, and we left quite a bit of time between the many requests. The biggest flaw was the fact that half the meal arrived, and the second half only came 15 or 20, minutes later, after we had asked the owner twice where the second half of the order was. No one came back to check on us. We had to try and alert staff who walked away from us to attend to another task. After delivering the check the waitress was apologetic and offered to get us a drink as an apology, but we were finished with the meal at that point. I don't blame the staff themselves - they were kind and courteous and overwhelmed - but I wish there had been more communication with us once the issue was raised.

Great burgers and Fries! Pizza is top notch! City parking behind the building is convenient.

Phil Gorrow

Great burgers and Fries! Pizza is top notch! City parking behind the building is convenient.

Stopped by for lunch. I had the fish and chips with a side salad. The salad was good. The fries were were very good. The fish was disappointing. The fish itself was mushy and the batter was doughy. The overall flavor was different, not bad, but definitely not good. The service was good and the people friendly. If I go back, I will not order the fish and chips.

Bummer. The floors were dirty, it took us a bit to get noticed and seated though it wasn’t busy, the food wasn’t up to the price we paid for it. Our lamb burgers were raw in the middle, the lettuce piece in the burger was very large and took up half the plate. That made for some messy eating until I cut it off. The kale salad was tough. The fries were good, but that was it.

Great service! Surprisingly, food was not that good given the high rating. Bland, simple. It was fine. I ate it. Didn't send it back. Drinks are weak too.

I had Salmon taco here. The taste was not bad but the slaw sauce was sweet and the salmon was salty. Weird combo. The salmon was a packaged meat and not fresh. They aren’t mentioned this in their menu though.

I don't think I've ever had such a bland pizza. No flavor. The crust was great. I normally don't use crushed red pepper. But, I needed some kind of flavor. The beet salad was great as well as the beer. Just totally surprised by a place that considers pizzas one of their specialties to be such a disappointment.

We went in for brunch. We ordered our food. We ended up calling the waitress back so we could order a couple of cocktails. Service was slow, but the drinks were strong. After forty-five minutes of not receiving our food and noticing other people eating. The waitress never put our food order in..... We couldn't believe it. SMH

Food was ok, we had to keep asking for service, waiter added on gratuity with our party of 5 when the menu specifically says parties over 6, that was disappointing, we spent over $230 on mediocre food and service.

The meat was straight raw this is not medium rare very very expensive for no reason never coming back!!!!!!!

I ordered the El Gordito 12” pizza and some bread & butter. Overall, food was mediocre and service was poor. Food arrived 30 mins after I ordered and the pizza was sparse with toppings. The waiter never checked on my table and had an unwelcoming attitude. There were only three tables occupied which makes a lot of sense. I won’t be returning.

I placed an order for this restaurant. Online says it open. DoorDash at the time of my order had it listed as open. Several dashers went to pick up my order— but kept getting a message that they were closed. However, when I called they answered and said they do not have my order at all and all the tablets were off and that there was nothing they could do or prepare the order or give a refund or reach out to support Just because you turn off a tablet does not mean that you have made it to where you are no longer accepting orders. You must manually say that you are no longer taking orders. The owner did not what was happening and kept asking people for help. He said this was a DoorDash problem, but it was not. It was lack of poor planning from you. Countless people went to pick up that order and we were waiting a long time. This is everyone’s time you wasted. And on New Year’s Eve. Thanks absolutely for nothing and lack of care for people who order at your restaurants.

My girlfriend is a PhD student at UC Berkeley and has been a regular at In The Wood 4–5 times per week for roughly a year and a half. I join her when I fly in from out of town, and together we’ve consistently supported the business…. typically two beers per visit and food from time to time. The beer selection is good, but the wood fired pizza is below average, and service has consistently been slow and inattentive. Ordering a second drink can feel like pulling teeth, beers often arrive not fully poured with a noticeable amount missing from the top of the glass and glasses have been cleared prematurely while there was still plenty of beer left in them. A long time ago, she asked whether there was any student or frequent local discount given how often she supports the business and was told “sorry no”. For context, in Berkeley a restaurant typically pays around $1.20–$1.80 wholesale per pint and sells it for $6–$10+, generating roughly $4–$7 in gross profit per pint (about 75–80% gross margin). I understand net profit accounts for labor, rent, and overhead…., but when service is inconsistent, being confronted about tipping after over a year of loyal business (roughly 34–43 pints per month, plus food) reflects poor business judgment. That conversation cost you a consistent customer, Richard.

Walked in to 4 empty tables and was told they are not taking any more people for 30 minutes. Weird way to greet someone and kinda rude. I drove far to eat here and she didnt even ask us to wait. She pretty much shooed us out door. Not going back.

J Johns

Walked in to 4 empty tables and was told they are not taking any more people for 30 minutes. Weird way to greet someone and kinda rude. I drove far to eat here and she didnt even ask us to wait. She pretty much shooed us out door. Not going back.