It’s hard to improve on the izakaya formula – a comfortable neighborhood joint with tasty bar bites, washed down with copious beer or bracing spirits. But chef Matt Meyer has given the genre a brilliant twist with Good Luck Gato, an “izakaya cantina” near downtown Oakland that blends the best of Mexican and Japanese cuisine.
It’s eye-opening how well Meyer’s kitchen plays with the East-West flavors. A simple-looking taco is the menu’s blockbuster: It pairs a handmade tortilla with pork-curry sausage, ginger pico de gallo and a fried Jidori egg whose warm yolk collects in a wooden bowl for dipping. There is Mexican street corn boiled in dashi and slathered with uni-butter sauce – then topped with more fresh sea urchin – and a Choco Taco that will shatter your expectations for this bodega-freezer dessert.
Meyer was raised by Mexican parents in Southern California, and spent years as a sous chef in this same restaurant space when it was Hopscotch, a Japanese-fusion eatery from Oakland restaurateur Kyle Itani. (Itani and Daniel Paez of the nearby Low Bar are Meyer’s partners on Good Luck Gato.) The cooking is a nice culmination of Meyer’s life and career – whimsical and filled with delight in the unexpected, but also heartfelt with a well-executed reverence for each country’s heritage. With some “good luck,” this continent-spanning cantina will remain in Oakland for some time to come.
THE VIBE: The cozy space sits about 50 people at tables, bar stools and an outdoor parklet. It’s styled like the set of a Spaghetti Western. With its adobe-colored walls and Mission-style candle sconces, you can almost imagine a ponchoed-out Clint Eastwood sauntering in and ordering a bottle of aged Japanese whisky. Speaking of which, there are plenty of fine whiskeys and mezcals behind the bar, which glows with paper lanterns — and a watchful armadillo.
THE FOOD: The kitchen does not skimp on the portions of its chicken karaage ($14). The bird is marinated in mustard and soy, then fried with buttermilk batter into thin, crispy bites that are excellent when dipped in escabeche mayo. The egg taco is so simple but so satisfying, you might just want to order a flight ($9).
Another standout is the hamachi tostada which, with a $16 price tag, seems like a dicey option until you bite into the luscious tartare with prickly pear sanbaizu (vinegar dressing) and spicy hazelnut salsa macha. There’s a tostada stand in the Baja city of Ensenada that’s rumored to be the best in the world, with its just-hauled oceanic catch; this one gives it a run for the money. And the miso Caesar wedge salad ($11) is refreshing and decadent with Little Gem fronds dressed with cotija, crunchy tempura and whole anchovies.
The torched sashimi is a testament to whoever sources the fish here. Depending on the night, you might get an ultra-clean sea bream ($14) over sweet-corn puree with daikon sprouts and yuzu-guajillo chili oil. The uni elote ($12) is a little mushy from its boil in seaweed broth – it might’ve been better on the grill – but it’s an experiment you won’t regret trying (especially for its double-dose of buttered and fresh urchin). And the black-sesame Choco Taco ($11) is the definite meal-ender, served in a housemade waffle shell with savory dark chocolate, vanilla gelato and toasted pumpkin seeds.
THE DRINKS: Daniel Paez of Oakland’s Low Bar designed the beverage menu with as much fusion fun as the food. A bright-green Emerald Zone conjures memories of a sunomono salad with its cucumber, yuzu and sesame oil, all grounded with smoky mezcal and seaweed-infused blanco tequila ($15). Fans of sweeter cocktails might try the Lady Snowblood with gin, nigori sake, lychee and coconut-oat horchata ($15). There is fun sake available by can or box (Wanko Lucky Dog?) and “kanpai” shot specials that pair a Japanese beer with a Mexican spirit – or a Mexican beer with a Japanese spirit, like a Michoacán blue-corn La Bru with Suntory Toki whisky.
Details: Open 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 1915 San Pablo Ave., Oakland; goodluckgato.com
