top 2 very good but inexpensive eats in Berkeley ? (Oakland, Albany: house, university)

[bloom]

What are your top 2 higher quality but less expensive eats in Berkeley ?

[Ruth4Truth]

What kind of eats? There's a good Chinese restaurant where the Asian students hang out, on University Ave. near the corner with Shattuck.https://www.greatchinaberkeley.com
Further west a few blocks is Plearn, a very popular Thai restaurant. https://www.plearnberkeley.com

Walk south on Telegraph toward the Oakland border, and there's The Drunken Boat (Le Bateau Ivre), which is good for lunch, or brunch. Good burgers, and other fairly standard fare. Not sure if it fits your "high quality, good prices" criteria, though. http://lebateauivre.net

Plearn and Le Bateau Ivre have been around for decades. Plearn used to have lines out the door and down the sidewalk, for lunch, in its first decade or so of operation, when it was located close to the University.

There's a very good Himalayan restaurant on Shattuck, about 3 blocks north of University Ave., that has Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan dishes. They have delicious central-Asian-style steamed meat dumplings (vegetarian, also). I've never seen an Indian restaurant that offered those dumplings. Mainly it's a Tibetan thing, but these are better than any Tibetan ones I've had. These are like Mongol ones. The best! Succulent! I just gat a plate of those for lunch or dinner (they're a mini version, so they're considered appetizers), and I'm good!
https://www.tasteofthehimalayas.com

[2sleepy]

Suya African Caribbean Grill 2130 Oxford St Berkeley. Suya African-Caribbean Grill – Street food, grilled healthy.

Vik’s Chaat (South Indian) 2390 4th St Berkeley For some reason malwarebytes won't let me access their website, but here's their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ViksChaat/

[davdaven]

Are we talking student cheap or I-went-to-Chez-Panisse-one-too-many-times-last-month cheap? Big difference IMO.

For Indian food, Vik's Chaat is good if not a bit overrated. For a more off-the-radar Indian experience, I recommend Chaat Cafe, which is kitty corner from Trader Joe's on the west side of downtown.

For pizza, I recommend Sliver. They recently opened a second location on Southside and moved their original downtown location to a new spot, but I presume the quality remains. It's like the Cheese Board, but with better hours, less grease, and a full bar (downtown).

Also, there is lots of good Asian cuisine to be had. Great China is a bit posh, so I prefer the more humble experiences of Toss Noodle Bar (downtown), Long Life Vegi House (on University Avenue), and Eat@Thai (West Berkeley). Authenticity not guaranteed, but Eat@Thai does prepare Thai spicy upon request (no refunds).

[bloom]

^ thanks for these useful suggestions

[NW4me]

My favorite is Platano, on University Avenue not far from Shattuck. Some of their dishes are a bit expensive, but the best items are the pupusa combinations, and they're quite affordable (both at lunch and at dinner).

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by davdaven

Are we talking student cheap or I-went-to-Chez-Panisse-one-too-many-times-last-month cheap? Big difference IMO.

For Indian food, Vik's Chaat is good if not a bit overrated. For a more off-the-radar Indian experience, I recommend Chaat Cafe, which is kitty corner from Trader Joe's on the west side of downtown.

For pizza, I recommend Sliver. They recently opened a second location on Southside and moved their original downtown location to a new spot, but I presume the quality remains. It's like the Cheese Board, but with better hours, less grease, and a full bar (downtown).

Also, there is lots of good Asian cuisine to be had. Great China is a bit posh, so I prefer the more humble experiences of Toss Noodle Bar (downtown), Long Life Vegi House (on University Avenue), and Eat@Thai (West Berkeley). Authenticity not guaranteed, but Eat@Thai does prepare Thai spicy upon request (no refunds).

China Village on Solano Av is really good imo

[JB316]

Zachary’s Pizza is off the hook, Spinach and Mushroom deep dish.

Top Dog, get the hot link.

[davdaven]

Top Dog is a good, cheap eat. The Southside location has better hours and a little more character than the downtown location.

I prefer Little Star Pizza to Zachary's, although both are similar. Little Star is technically on the Albany side of Solano Avenue, so I guess it doesn't officially count as a Berkeley restaurant. In any event, neither are inexpensive, so I don't think they're worth mentioning in this context.