Meal Ticket

After almost 25 years of serving up some mighty fine food, it is time for Meal Ticket to retire. We want you all to know that we truly appreciate your custom over all these years which has allowed us to succeed in what has become a very difficult environment for small, independent restaurants in Berkeley. And we appreciate your acceptance of all our our quirks which made us the Meal Ticket. We will always remember all of our great customers with tremendous fondness. It is with some sadness but also excitement as to our next chapter that we now leave the Meal Ticket to be remembered as that weird place on San Pablo Avenue with the irascible Scottish chef and grumpy, brash New Yorker in the front of the house where the food was really tasty and affordable. But good things rise from sad things because another small, family fun, independent restaurant will be taking over our space, KCs BBQ. And in addition to dishing up some great old family style recipes, they will continue to provide much needed character in our increasingly soulless world. We wish them all the luck in the Meal Ticket space and introduce them to you as great stewards to carry on the Meal Ticket tradition – home style food served honestly with love and passion. We look at this as an extension of our home. Were very casual and basic. Eating at Meal Ticket is like being part of a club. Owners Jimmy & Carolyn know a lot of the people who walk in, and the people who eat there regularly know the drill: Walk to the counter gauge the mood in the kitchen, shoot the breeze if its not too busy and then order. San Francisco Chronicle Jimmy has the touch of an old grill cook, which he was, with an elevated sensibility that shows up in the quality of little things San Francisco Chronicle Meal Ticket Est. 1990 1235 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, California 94706