The Other Critics

Patty U. Sips Plum Bar’s ‘Complex Cocktails’; Miller Calls 1833 ‘Magical,’ ‘Enchanting’

Plum Bar
Plum Bar Photo: Jay Barmann/Grub Street

This week, Patricia Unterman has a grand old time guzzling Ron Boyd’s cocktails at Plum Bar in Oakland. She calls the “modern and warm” space “typical of [Daniel] Patterson” and absolutely loves the drinks that “go down like fresh lemonade on a hot day, but pack the wallop of a martini.” She enjoys most of the items on the menu like the “precisely placed” charcuterie plate and the salad “that goes with everything,” but was disappointed by the dry-aged burger and its overpowering cheese. [Examiner]

Over at the Guardian, Virginia Miller skips down to Monterey’s Restaurant 1833. Judging by her use of adjectives like “mesmerizing” and “blissfully decadent,” she’s fallen in love with the place. She thinks the “appetizers shine” and the “generous portions leave you fat and contented,” but worries that the “drink offerings threaten to outshine the food.” Her review reads more like a storybook description than a restaurant critique because she’s got nothing but praise for the whole experience: “I long for more settings in my own city as bewitching and multifaceted as 1833.” [SFBG]

Patty U. Sips Plum Bar’s ‘Complex Cocktails’; Miller Calls