| rev:text
| - I've been to this location a few times now and I really want to like it. The staff is friendly, they have a good beer menu, and the drinks are reasonably priced. The caveat is that I haven't been there during the school year yet, so I'm not entirely sure about the Oakland undergrad factor, so this review is based on the late spring/ summer season.
I can't give the Oakland Winghart's any more than 3 stars based on a few things:
First, I don't have much evidence that they can cook a burger to order. My Partner In Cuisine and I each ordered our burgers medium and rare (respectively), unfortunately both our sandwiches came out more like hockey pucks. Normally, we would just suck it up and eat them, but they were so overcooked and my burger (the Harper's Fairly Good Burger) was just a lump of meat with a dollop of Boursin cheese, a couple of fried onion straws and just drenched in chunky gravy (aka bordelaise sauce with pancetta). It was sad, but we had no choice but to send them back. The very apologetic and friendly server told us they had gotten some meat that was a bit fattier than usual and was cooking very quickly and they'd be happy to try again. Ok...so we try again, this time hoping they don't overcook. To our dismay, our second burgers were also very overcooked, but at this point were were so hungry we ate them. In the end, they took care of us and despite the disappointing food, the service was impeccable. We have returned several more times, but have avoided ordering burgers out of fear they just won't be done to order.
The second reason why I have to dock a star is the lack of seating. Yes, they have a really, really nice outdoor area that I would love to sit on on a warm summer night. However, since the management apparently allows smoking on the deck (including by their staff), we will not sit outside. Really, who even smokes anymore? So if it's a pretty busy night, and they don't open the upstairs (like my mos recent visit), you may have a difficult time enjoying yourself with your friends. I'd recommend bringing no more than 3-4 people if you want to sit, relax and enjoy yourself.
The third reason I can't give it a higher rating is the dinginess of the location in general despite the fact that it's fairly new. The women's restroom has a leaky ceiling with a bucket right in the doorway of the accessible stall, and in general the whole place feels dilapidated. Perhaps they were in a big hurry to open the location, but they really need to fix that ceiling.
Fourth, is the price. You don't get any sides (no fries, no chips, nothing). Just the burger...and those aren't cheap. None of the other options comes with sides either, so a trip to Winghart's can get pretty expensive if you don't watch what you get to eat.
Now, don't take this review as my refusal to return. As I said, the staff is pretty nice, the drinks are decently priced (great happy hour) and in general it's the least offensive of all of the Oakland bars. That said, I'm not sure what that says about Oakland bars in general....
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