I finally made it back to Denica’s Real Food Kitchen, and was able to check out their Castro Valley location.
They were super busy at 11:15am on a Saturday, and there was a line out the door; however, it moves quickly. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the front of the line, and you can take a look at all the items in their giant pastry case during your wait. There was still a good selection of items left, but they were sold out of some items by that time. You place your order and pay first, and they give you a number to deliver the dishes to you. Luckily, some tables freed up around 11:30am, since you seat yourself. Our dishes were delivered about 10 minutes after we sat down, and we tried:
I loved the flavor and slight crisp on the Hawaiian fried chicken. The mochi pandan waffle was nice and chewy, but there could have been more pandan flavor. The spicy syrup was just ok (I believe they just added red pepper flakes to the syrup), and regular syrup would’ve also been good. Still recommended!
Ono Brown Gravy,Solid version of loco moco, and the sunny side up egg was perfectly cooked and super runny. They didn’t skimp on the meatloaf patty, which was giant; however, I thought the gravy could’ve been a bit more flavorful.
French Toast
(Thick Sliced Cinnamon Brioche, Whipped Butter, $14, yelp.com/user_local_phot…): Yum- the French toast looked plain/boring, but it was actually really good! I liked the cinnamon brioche bread they used, and appreciated it wasn’t too sweet. It was perfect slathered with butter and syrup- recommended!
Service was super efficient, but their staff was still helpful and responsive. They have so many other items I want to check out on their menu, and I’ll have to return to try their ube pancakes, guava pancakes, stuffed french toast, breakfast burritos, and pastries. The majority of their seating is indoor seating, and I liked that they had some booths where you could socially distance from other tables. They also had a few tables available for outdoor seating, but all the tables were full around 11:30am the day I came. Hand sanitizer was also available. Parking will be the most difficult part about dining here- their parking lot isn’t very big, and the only nearby street parking I saw was across the street.
