INFORMATION
Reservations
We are open for dinner service in the Restaurant Monday through Saturday. We are open for lunch and dinner in the Café Tuesday through Saturday, and for dinner on Monday.
Reservations can be made one month in advance to the calendar day, through the links on our website or on Resy.com, beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific time. For example, to book a reservation on May 25, go online at 9 a.m. on April 25.
Space is extremely limited, and both our website and Resy typically experience very high traffic. If there are no available reservations, please utilize Resy’s Notify feature—we do not keep a waitlist. If you encounter glitches or problems with Resy’s system, please reach out to them via email at help@resy.com. We are unable to troubleshoot issues with their platform.
Hours and Location
1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
CAFÉ
Monday
Dinner: 5:00–10:00 p.m.
Tuesday–Saturday
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:00–10:00 p.m.
RESTAURANT
Monday–Saturday
Two seatings; 5:30–6:15p.m. and 8:00–8:45 p.m.
Upcoming Events and Closures
Tuesday, April 1 – the upstairs Café’s 45th birthday
Join us for a festive evening upstairs. Reservations open at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, March 1, on our website and Resy.
Wednesday, April 9
The downstairs Restaurant will be closed for a private event. The upstairs Café will be open as normal.
UC Berkeley Graduation
For those graduating from UC Berkeley and wishing to celebrate at Chez Panisse, please note that reservations book extremely quickly for both the Restaurant and Café. Please reference our booking window listed above.
Also, please be aware that our building is quite small, and we have only a few tables that can accommodate parties larger than 5 guests. We cannot split up large parties across multiple tables.
It is advisable to have an alternate date in mind, for instance your department’s graduation date rather than the whole school graduation date. If all reservations have been booked, please utilize the Notify option on Resy to be alerted of cancelations.
Congratulations on your achievement and we wish you a joyous celebration!
Outside Food and Beverages
Chez Panisse does not allow any outside food. If you have a reservation and would like to pre-order a personal-sized chocolate cake, please email reservations@chezpanisse.com. Pre-orders must be arranged at least 48 hours in advance.
Our corkage fee is $40 per 750ml bottle, and $70 per magnum.
Dietary Restrictions and Allergens
The Chez Panisse kitchen services both the downstairs Restaurant and the upstairs Café, as well as our pastry department. Our menus change daily based on seasonal availability. We use responsibly sourced, farm-to-table ingredients, and advance preparations often include gluten and dairy. For guests with allium sensitivity, there are garlic and onions in most of our savory preparations, and we cannot guarantee available options from our menu in either of our dining rooms.
Chez Panisse Restaurant offers a four-course prix fixe meal in our downstairs dining room. With advance notice, we can accommodate vegetarians and pescatarians, but combinations of restrictions are challenging for our kitchen. Additionally, we can always accommodate guests who prefer to avoid consuming trace amounts of raw alcohol, which is present in some of our desserts. We encourage guests with specific requests, including those who are dairy and/or gluten-free, to dine from the à la carte menu in the Chez Panisse Café, located upstairs.
If you have any questions or would like to notify us about an allergy, please email reservations@chezpanisse.com.
Gift Certificates
We sell gift certificates at the upstairs Cafe bar during our open hours (Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.–10:00 p.m.). To have a gift certificate mailed to you, please click the Gift Card button below or click here.
Purchased gift certificates may be used in either the Restaurant or Cafe.
To have the certificate mailed to an address different from the billing address, please ensure the “ship to a different address” option is selected.
Gift certificates are mailed via standard USPS first class mail, which typically takes 5-7 business days. Orders are typically processed within 2 business days.
Parking
We do not have any private parking. There is street parking in the area, both metered and free. Do not leave any valuables in your car.
Cancellation Policy
We ask for at least forty eight hours’ advanced notice of cancellations. Cancellations within this window could result in a $50 charge per person.
If you are running late for your reservation, please reply to our confirmation text message to let us know. We hold tables for up to 15 minutes.
Contact
For reservation questions, email reservations@chezpanisse.com. We cannot respond to reservation requests via email.
For career opportunities, email careers@chezpanisse.com.
Please subscribe to our email list and follow us on Instagram for updates.
A 17% service charge is added to your bill to ensure fair, equitable wages, and benefits for all Chez Panisse employees.
Should you wish to acknowledge the staff for an exceptional experience, we have included an optional tip line. Tips go into a tip pool distributed among all employees, in both dining room and kitchen, who help to create your dining experience.
Updated March 2025
Website artwork by Patricia Curtan.