Le Bateau Ivre

Sad to hear this piece of crap restaurant is not going to close for good. Food was gross.

Love the Bateau Ivre on Telegraph. Has been a "go to" place since 1964. That it still seems to be closed is very disheartening. The food has always been great, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The legendary white table cloths has made a difference in how you feel inside. The back room with fireplace feels different from the courtyard outside or other spaces inside. I have enjoyed all.

Very cute French spot in Berkeley. A friend who went to Cal used to frequent this spot so we stopped by after working up an appetite hiking the fire trails. It was around 1 or 2 on a Sunday when we stopped in and there was no wait for 2. We were seated in the back room where we were the only party but then other parties were shortly seated near us. It's a beautiful space with lots of daylight and a cozy vibe.

I ordered the eggs Benedict and my friend got the mushroom and cheese omelette, both of which were amazing. My eggs Benny came with home fries, which were delicious, and fruit. The servers were kind, albeit somewhat slow at times, due to us being in the back room. Overall quite enjoyed the food and the prices were absolutely reasonable. Free street parking nearby on Sundays was the cherry on top!

My second time coming here for a student organization's banquet. LBI is always highly receptive to reservations and tried their best to make sure that their accommodations are as good as they can be.

The service is always impeccable and the food is top notch. I have nothing more to say than that it's always a great, wholesome experience coming here with friends. In addition, a huge plus is the inside where rustic French decor transports you to another country while dining!

The other reviews are accurate, the owner is not friendly at all and the service is terribly slow. Only one waiter and three tables on a weekend. We had to ask for bread which came out after we finished our appetizers yet the table across from us got theirs as they sat down with the menu. That same table ended up waiting over 45 minutes for their food & it was 15 minutes till closing (7 PM which is extremely early). Originally bought two Groupons (which the owner didn't look happy, this is after I spent over $60 on dinner for two - extra tip for the poor waiter), so requested for a refund for my second voucher which I was planning to use for brunch because now that I've experience it, I have no intentions of ever returning. Everything tasted sour, the cook used balsamic vinegar in every dish. Not enough cheese in the French onion soup, the steak was over cooked, the Brussels sprouts were burnt to a crisp. It's such a waste of a cute restaurant situated near Berkeley campus with an outdoor patio.

I'm pretty late with writing this review, but I decided to go try Le Bateau Ivre during Berkeley Restaurant Week at the end of September. They had a $15 special, for which I picked vegetable ratatouille since I'm vegetarian and chocolate mousse for the dessert. Ordered over the phone, food was ready when scheduled but the worker assisting me seemed to be handling multiple things at once - phone calls, finishing up the to-go parcels, and getting my payment. Maybe they were fairly busy relative to the leanness of staffing during lunchtime. They are one of the establishments that was open for outdoor dining, so I imagine that added to it if the same person is having to juggle the in-person diners and any pickup or delivery orders. Re: COVID-19, aside from what I mentioned of them having in-person dining, they also didn't have the barriers or distance markers that many restaurants have, in case that's a concern for you.

The food itself: I haven't had ratatouille much in my life (at least, to my knowledge) so I can't really compare it to other places' ratatouille, but I thought it was solid. I'm someone who is sensitive to bitter tastes but I found the food pleasant, even though I'm not normally a fan of green beans, cauliflower, or squash; it also had some onion and tomatoes. It is more on the oily side. As for the mousse, they had scooped out the chocolate mousse previously, but it wasn't until I was there to pick up that they added some scoops of cream on top (I assume for freshness's sake). I thought it was good, but has more of a coffee tinged flavor that I wasn't expecting.

Overall, no complaints, but for those who are immunocompromised / at high COVID-19 risk you may want to steer clear of coming in person since you might have a hard time keeping distance from diners or workers unless they've changed the physical layout significantly in the past few weeks.

Attentive service, generally. It's a big place, for the size staff -- which can be a bit of an issue.

Brunch: eggs Benedict is excellent!

Service was really slow, but our server was working really hard. We appreciated him.
The coffee was great!
I would have to think about returning again.

We held our wedding rehearsal dinner at Le Bateau Ivre and came away in love with this charming, long-time local establishment and its wonderful staff.

Arlene, the longtime owner, was a particular joy to work with. She started the restaurant in 1972. She has wonderful stories about how the restaurant was expanded and decorated over time, with materials salvaged from other Bay Area institutions after they closed, like the Playland at Ocean Beach. She helped us work out all of the details leading up to the event over the course of a few short phone calls.

The rear room, where we held the rehearsal dinner, is stately and intimate with its stone walls. The food was excellent, and the little details were all considered tastefully: small vases of fresh flowers at every table, excellent bread before dinner, well-chosen but affordable wine and beer. We expanded the event after the rehearsal dinner into a "welcome drinks" gathering for out-of-town guests, and everyone spilled out onto the patio and lawn with cocktails that Le Bateau Ivre allowed us to design.

Be aware, the staff is small, and the place is a bit old-school. We pushed to get a contract in place, and communication by email was not always prompt. But that is a small sacrifice for the warmth and personal attention that Arlene and her staff provide. We recommend visiting in person and taking time to get to know Arlene and hear about the history of the restaurant.

This quaint restaurant seems like a fine place to have some fine food, but watch out, they are bad with following directions. Ordered the boat burger well done, the meat was practically raw, and the fries that came with it looked very nice but were very flaccid and unimpressive. I ordered an Australian coffee with butterscotch rum, I was brought coffee without alcohol, then I was told they didn't have the right rum, so I am brought a shotglass to add to my coffee myself. A friend ordered salmon cakes and found a fish bone inside it.

Also the place isn't clean. Dirty seats, walls, etc. it might have charm but don't let that blind you.