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Oasis Market - Oakland

Another pan-Muslim-world halal grocer & restaurant. Big place, clean and pretty, meat counter in the back, indoor and outdoor seating. Wide selection, I saw some unusual items, including fresh African yams.

I got a really delicious Lebanese (?) pizza with spicy beef topping for $3. They had vertical spits for lamb and chicken shawarma. Friendly people.

3045 Telegraph between 30th & 31st. Open till 11:30pm daily?

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    1. re: adrienne156

      They now carry packaged merguez at the new Berk Bowl.

        1. re: adrienne156

          Cooler case across from the meat counter.

    2. Thanks for the report. Last time I was by there (it's right across the street from my doctor's office) they were still not quite ready to open.

      I suspect one reason for the cluster of pan-Muslim-world halal grocers in that neighborhood is that the Oakland Islamic Center is literally right around the corner on 31st.

      1. it is a nice space. lamb and chicken shawerma, shish kabob for $6.99. meat plates for $8.99. lots of bulk items like a 50 lb. bag of bulgur wheat from California, La Spagnola olive oil from Turkey, 101 oz. can, 2/$19.99. the African yams Robert mentioned were $2/lb. they had a sign up in the butcher shop in the back listing whole goat or lamb at about $3.99/lb and kidneys, tongue & feet at about the same price. while they were remodeling the shop, the sign outside said 'Dubai Market' but the menu has it as:

        Oasis Food Market
        3045 Telegraph Ave.
        Oakland, CA 94609
        Tel: 510-655-5111

        13 Replies
        1. re: zippo

          Stopped by yesterday and picked up a lamb kabob plate and shawerma combo plate to go. Both were excellent and plentiful.

          1. re: Scrapironchef

            I also stopped by yesterday. They were promoting whole lamb and whole goat for $3.99/lb and I saw three whole lamb carcasses hanging in the back. They make their own pita (we've had requests for fresh-made pita) in the pillowy style and also carry some good locally made brands.

            I had a cheese pie and they heated it for me. I also bought some of the individually wrapped bulk confections near the register -- mix-and-match because they're all $5.99/lb. I was pleased with them. Unlike a lot of Eastern-style sweets they weren't cloyingly sweet. The weird-looking translucent blobs, which I thought might be something like Turkish delight, were instead some kind of glaceed citrus -- I haven't tried the pale one yet, but I think the orange one was bergamot, which had that nice bitter edge to it. I loved browsing through the shelf goods and almost bought a jar of carob molasses (not carob-flavored molasses, but molasses made from carob).

            Oh, and the big find: the red and white wax blocks of Plugra for $2.49. They also had Lurpak and Presidente, but I don't think the prices on those were anything special.

            1. re: Ruth Lafler

              Do they serve any of their prepared foods in/with their house-made pita? Also, is there any seating or is it strictly take-out for the prepared food?

              1. re: lmarie

                There's lots of seating, both indoor and sidewalk. I saw people with pita on their plates.

              2. re: Ruth Lafler

                $2.49? WOW. They're $4.19 at Berkeley Bowl.

                1. re: JasmineG

                  Yow and double yow! I wish I'd read Ruth's Plugra post before I paid $4.19 at BB yesterday. I have no excuse except laziness, since I also saw Plugra at Trader Joe's on Lakeshore for a price in the 2-3 $ range.

                  1. re: oakjoan

                    Is Plugra back at Trader Joe's???

                2. re: Ruth Lafler

                  The lighter colored one turned out to be a glaceed crab apple. Delicious!

                  1. re: Ruth Lafler

                    Bought a few samples of candied fruit, individually wrapped, at a shop in San Mateo and paid $9.99/lb. Liked them very much (apricot, fig, mandarin orange), will have to check out Oasis for some price shopping

              3. re: zippo

                here are some pictures I took last week of the deli counter: stuffed pies, 9 bins of olives, 2 vertical spits and a pretty good-looking tiled oven.


                1. re: zippo

                  thanks, zippo - always nice to have visuals!

                  1. re: gordon wing

                    While Robert may appreciate the wider variety at Cheese Board the picture shows a price of $3.99/lb, considerably cheaper I believe.

                    1. re: wolfe

                      I like the olives at the Cheese Board because the quality is higher than most other places (e.g. Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods), but I haven't compared Oasis's yet.

              4. when/what time were you there? I'd be a little surprised if they were open days for the next few weeks: this is Ramadan, through September 19th I believe.

                6 Replies
                1. re: susancinsf

                  The Dubai Market sign has been removed and the new sign for Oasis Food hasn't been put up yet.

                  Went this evening before the fast for the day had ended and they were busy prepping for the late rush (after prayers at the Islamic Center around the corner). Rana told me normally they're open until 10 p.m., but because of the Ramadan they've extended hours until 11 p.m.

                  1. re: susancinsf

                    Shops don't close during Ramadan, to the contrary, people shop like crazy. Observant Muslims aren't supposed to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset, but they're busy all day cooking for the evening breakfast.

                    1. re: Robert Lauriston

                      I was under the impression from your description that it was more a restaurant than a shop, and serving cooked food for immediate consumption during the day would be a little unusual if the owners are observant.

                      1. re: susancinsf

                        No, it's more of a shop -- sort of like one of those Mexican markets with a taqueria in the back.

                        1. re: susancinsf

                          The restaurant section is fairly large, but it's a grocery store.

                          Serving food in daytime during Ramadan might be unusual in a country where most people are observant Muslims, but not around here.

                          1. re: Robert Lauriston

                            Plus posted on the front door was a passage saying something to the effect that those preparing food for fasters were as blessed as the fasters.

                    2. I just stopped by for the first time and was impressed by the fresh babaganoush and humous in the deli side, and the wide selection of spices, etc.
                      Plus olives looked great, and at only $4 a pound, much better than the Berkeley Bowl.

                      In general, very cheerful, and clean.

                      8 Replies
                      1. re: escargot3

                        Better than BB isn't saying much for olives.

                        1. re: Robert Lauriston

                          sounds like the start of a new thread. where do you like to shop for olives?

                          1. re: escargot3

                            The Cheese Board is in a class by itself.

                            1. re: escargot3

                              True, Roberto, the cheese board is in its own splendid class in every respect. But isn't it limited in terms of selection? Aren't there only 4 or 5 kinds of olives?

                              1. re: escargot3

                                I think the Cheese Board usually has more like 15 varieties. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the list next time I'm there.

                              2. re: escargot3

                                Crossroads Market in Hayward has a good seletion at reasonable prices.

                              3. re: Robert Lauriston

                                I agree that Cheese Board is better for olives than BB....but I haven't driven all the way over to North Berk. in a while. Does Cheese Board have those weirdly colored blue green olives (fresh). If you get a new batch they are amazingly delicious. I have eaten a whole half pint container in about 20 minutes. If they've been sitting around for a while, they're okay but not fab the way they are new. I don't even know what they're called, but I always have to ask for them because the platter is always empty. Really popular.

                                1. re: oakjoan

                                  Sounds like the Castelvetranos they stopped carrying.