Oakland is full of lunch places, but if you are looking for something light, healthy, and fresh, you're pretty much out of luck....except for Eat Unique! I had lunch here earlier today, and was so excited to see a menu of sandwiches and salads that didn't contain french fries....
The atmosphere is minimalist. There are some bright colors, but it's mostly just cafeteria-style tables and chairs, no decoration. You order at the counter, then wait awhile - about 15 minutes in our case - for your lunch. My boyfriend got the meatloaf melt, and I ordered the grilled chicken pesto sandwich. It was hard to wait so long, but as soon as we got our sandwiches it was obvious why we had been left hanging - the food was FRESH. My sandwich was hot, the chicken fresh off the grill, the tomatoes sweet and flavorful, the pesto made in-house (you can see the rustic bits of pine nuts and basil, definitely not the jarred stuff), the ciabatta roll lightly toasted and crispy. I was really impressed from the first bite. There's nothing really unique about the sandwich, except that it is made with high-quality ingredients and hasn't been sitting in a case all day, but that made a huge difference! I tried my boyfriend's meatloaf sandwich, which wasn't as big as I thought it would be, and I liked it okay...the sauce was pretty sweet. I preferred mine - it tasted so garden fresh.
For dessert we had a black bean brownie - yes, really - and it was great! Who knew? It just tastes like a creamy, chocolatey brownie. You can put black beans in dessert!? This changes everything. Definitely craveworthy.
The only thing I'm not crazy about is the ambiance. Since you have to wait so long, it'd be nice if the dining area was more comfortable or better maintained. There was lots of water on the floor and I almost slipped a few times, we had to wipe down our own table....not a huge deal, but we noticed. There are lots of big, sunny windows, so that's a plus. I was also disappointed in the small Styrofoam cups for water - I hate drinking out of Styrofoam, it feels so wasteful (and the cups are so small you have to go back a million times to refill). But I'd definitely come back - maybe for takeout next time - if I was very tasty and unlike anything else you can get in the area.