Café Rouge

Berkeley's Best Brunch: A carnivore's heaven, Café Rouge is a butcher / meat market and a café in one, where fresh meats and charcuterie take star billing. All meat is hormone free, and steaks are dry-aged on-site. The menu runs the gamut, from fabulous burgers to juniper-berry-cured pork chops, with well-executed seafood dishes turning up from time to time. Pâtés and cured meats are all made...

Parking: Three hours of free parking is available in the adjacent Market Plaza lot.

When to Go: Sunday brunch (10am-2:30pm, live jazz on Tuesdays with $5 martinis (5:30-9:30pm), oysters for $1 on Wednesdays (5:30-9:30pm).

A spacious two-story bistro complete with zinc bar, skylights, and festive lanterns, Café Rouge provides a perfect respite from 4th Street shopping. The short, seasonal menu ranges from the sophisticated, such as duck confit and green-garlic risotto, to the homey, like spit-roasted chicken or pork loin, or cheddar-topped burgers. If you visit by day, take a peek at the meat market in the back....

"Carnivorous chomping" is the name of the game at this midpriced Fourth Street Cal-Med "known for" its "superior" organic meats including burgers "freshly ground at the on-site butcher shop" and "cooked to perfection"; clock-watchers say "service can be slow", but the oyster special is "a great deal", and outdoor seating offers "some of the best dog-watching in the Bay Area."

At the center of Berkeley's thriving Fourth Street area, this spot offers rousing, pan-European dishes that deliver clever flavor combinations. All charcuterie is house-made, dry-aged steaks are as well-prepared as any around, and all of the organic meats and poultry featured on the satisfying menu can be purchased from the adjoining meat market. Have a Negroni or other classic cocktails while...

In Short
On a trendy, upscale stretch of 4th Street, this darling spot fits right in. Pates and sausages are made in-house, and they dry age the meats, all of which are antibiotic- and...

Café Rouge offers rustic Mediterranean fare as well as American dishes. The restaurant's emphasis is on fresh meats and house-made charcuterie. All steaks for sale in the meat market and on the daily menu have been dry-aged on the premises. Café Rouge features a full bar, meat market and oyster bar. Heated outdoor seating on the plaza is available.Café Rouge is known for its organic beef, pork,...