A walnut tree, a city by the bay, and a corner table.
Tocte means walnut tree in Quechua. It's also the name of the family farm in Cajamarca, Peru, where chef-owner Robert Espiritu spent his summers as a kid — picking herbs with his grandmother, tending the fire pit with his uncles, and learning that good food is mostly about good company.
Robert moved to the Bay Area at sixteen. He worked his way through three Michelin-starred kitchens in San Francisco before deciding, in 2018, that he didn't want to cook for tourists anymore — he wanted to cook for neighbors.
He found a small space on Fairway Drive, painted the walls himself, hung Edison bulbs over reclaimed-oak tables, and opened the doors with eleven dishes and four cocktails. Seven years later, the menu has grown — but the philosophy hasn't.
No shortcuts, no hidden ingredients. If a sauce takes six hours, it takes six hours. Our menu changes when the seasons do.
Every member of our team — line cook to dishwasher — earns a living wage. The 4% kitchen wellness fee on each check goes directly to back-of-house benefits.
We source from over 30 Bay Area farms, fishermen, and producers. We compost everything we can. We host local artists on the walls.
Our bar program, led by head bartender Daniela Vega, draws from across the Americas — Peruvian pisco, Mexican mezcal, Kentucky bourbon, and the occasional surprise from a small distillery in Sonoma.
We make our own bitters. We juice our citrus to order. We stir, we shake, and we'll happily mix you something off-menu if you tell us what you're in the mood for.
Happy hour is every Tuesday through Friday, 5pm to 6:30pm — half-price selected cocktails and a rotating $9 plate from the kitchen.
"Hospitality isn't a transaction. It's the moment a stranger leaves feeling like they belong."— The Tocte Team
Chef & Owner
Trained at Quince and Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. James Beard semifinalist nominee, 2023. Drinks his coffee black and his negronis stirred.
Head Bartender
Six years behind Bay Area bars including Trick Dog and ABV. Specialist in agave spirits and Peruvian pisco. Her smoked mezcalita is non-negotiable.
Pastry Chef
Le Cordon Bleu Paris alumna. Reinvents tres leches every season. Believes there is no problem a good tart cannot soften.
"Oakland's most quietly confident restaurant. The kind of place that makes you grateful you live here."
— SF Chronicle
"Robert Espiritu is cooking some of the most personal food in the East Bay right now. Don't miss the ceviche."
— Eater SF
"A neighborhood gem with a bar program that punches well above its weight."
— Oakland Magazine
