![]() ![]() ![]() The Caesar Salade ($16) convinced me, once again, that I’ve grown to like bitter lettuces. We used thin slices of crostini, cut from baguettes, to scoop the mixture up. The chef slices them, adds chunks of feta cheese and oregano, and then bathes the ingredients in a golden olive oil. The drinks are served in charming mismatched glasses and the food eaten with antique silverware.Ī bowl of green olives ($12) bettered their usual, casual presentation. It seems an off-the-beaten path oasis serving potent, yet restorative potables and tasty meals that supplement them. The hand-drawn menu and sign out front above the doorway contribute to the feeling that you’re dining out in someone’s particular fantasy. BART trains travel overhead, while cars race towards the 580, Berkeley or downtown Oakland. There are few pedestrians walking along the stretch of MLK Way where The Rendez-Vous is located. When I walked inside, the architectural layout reminded me of eating at Doña Tomás, way back when it was one of the first restaurants that made Temescal a culinary destination. Off-duty espionage agents and ill-fated lovers could meet there and feel right at home sipping a strawberry-infused whiskey sour, just one of many inventive cocktails on the menu. The overall effect of the décor is hypnotizing, transportive and cinematic. Outside on the back patio, there’s a red neon sign in the shape of a heart. Painted against a field of blue tile, she’s posed, mid-dance, with one heel in motion. But she’s wearing a pair of sheer billowing harem pants, jewel-green in color. One of the loveliest recovered murals features a topless dancer, her head and her blouse missing. The mood cast inside is of a fin de siècle decay, thanks to the layers of peeling paint and the series of partially rescued frescoes. The Rendez-Vous captures the spirit of a Parisian restaurant in a venue that embodies the original idea of shabby chic.
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