First look at Uqbar, West Berkeley's new literary-inspired restaurant

On their very first date some eight years ago, Benji and Jennie Smith joked about opening a restaurant together.

At the time, Benji was working as a prep cook at Momofuku in Washington, D.C., and Jennie had worked as a bartender during college. The two bonded over their love of food and cooking.

2265 Fifth St. (at Bancroft Way), Berkeley, in the former Tomate Cafe space | www.uqbarthecafe.com

Grand opening Friday, Nov. 21

Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday

That first date led to a second and then a third. The couple fell in love and relocated to San Francisco, where Benji worked as a sous chef at Kantine. They then moved to Chicago, where Jennie got her MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and then moved back to the Bay Area, to Berkeley, where Jennie grew up, and were soon married.

But through it all, the idea of opening a restaurant stayed with them.

And that dream has finally come to fruition, as the couple’s new restaurant, Uqbar Mediterranean Cafe, is set to hold its grand opening on Friday, Nov. 21. The restaurant is located at the former Tomate Cafe space on Fifth Street in West Berkeley.

The name Uqbar comes from the Jorge Luis Borges short story, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius,” published in the Argentinian writer’s collection “Labyrinths.”

“Uqbar is a made-up country, maybe somewhere in the Mediterranean or Asia Minor, it’s ambiguous,” said Jennie.

The word, pronounced “oook-bar,” is also just fun to say. After reading the story, Benji would shout it out randomly around the couple’s home. And one day it struck them as the perfect name for their Mediterranean restaurant.

Jennie (left) and Benji Smith, now married, have been talking about opening a restaurant together since their courtship began roughly eight years ago. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh

Much like the made-up country of Uqbar, “Mediterranean” is also an “ambiguous term,” Benji said. But to the couple, it means three things.

First, there’s the Mediterranean climate, which California enjoys.

“What that means is there’s a year-round growing season,” said Benji. “So we get all this amazing produce, all this amazing bounty. So we really wanted to feature that.”

Secondly, there’s the Mediterranean diet, which Benji called the “best studied diet for human health and longevity.”

This aspect is personal to Benji, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease a year ago and has to be careful about what he eats.

“ We want to feature whole grains, vegetables, lean proteins, legumes, all those things,” said Benji. “And only put out something that we can really stand behind and feel like we’re benefiting our community in a real way.”

And thirdly, there’s the Mediterranean region itself, where the couple have traveled together. The cultures, the cuisines, the hospitality, the history, and even the architecture of the region have all been an inspiration for Uqbar.

Uqbar Mediterranean Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch, and has later hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh

That inspiration shows up in a number of ways. Case in point: the table cards used at the restaurant. Instead of your standard 1-99 customer numbers, the Smiths use letters, with each one representing a different aspect of history or mythology from the Mediterranean region: M for Minotaur, N for Neptune, V for Virgil.

There’s also the labyrinthine Uqbar logo, created by the Smiths, which was partly inspired by a trip to Crete, where the myth of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth originated.

And of course, there’s the food. The cafe’s menu will feature a rotating selection of Mediterranean delights, changing “daily to weekly” depending on the seasons. But a few things will remain constant, including the hummus, which is all over the menu. Uqbar’s version is lemony and garlic-packed and achieves a beautiful texture with the addition of ice, which helps aerate the dip as it’s being blended.

“Ice is one of those little chef’s tricks,” said Benji.

Flatbread will be another cafe mainstay. Inspired by the plancha in the restaurant’s kitchen, Benji began developing a recipe, starting with the Model Bakery English muffin recipe, which he kept tweaking, rolling out thinner and thinner, trying different flours, until he found the perfect mix. The result is chewy, soft, and hearty. Easy to rip, easy to dip.

(Left) Uqbar’s menu includes sandwiches like the rosemary ham sandwhich. (Right) Benji Smith’s hummus, made with ice, comes with several items on the menu. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh

The restaurant’s produce comes from Feed Sonoma, a farmer and employee-owned cooperative, made up of small, local, organic farms.

“We order on Wednesday, they pick it on Thursday, and deliver it on Friday,” said Benji. “The best part of my week is coming in on Friday and seeing that order there.”

The restaurant has been in soft opening mode for the past few weeks, and on a recent Tuesday, it was packed with nearby office workers grabbing lunch, as well as 20 bicyclists from the Slow Spokes bicycle group, who filled the restaurant’s courtyard, heartily munching on shakshuka and braised lamb sandwiches after a long ride.

Jennie Smith speaks with the Slow Spokes cycling club after its ride ended with lunch at Uqbar Mediterranean Cafe. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh

The cyclists were regulars at Tomate Cafe and were happy to be able to eat at the location again.

Other Tomate Cafe regulars who venture into Uqbar are likely to recognize some familiar faces among the workforce. That’s because the Smiths were able to offer jobs to all of Tomate Cafe’s five staff members. One of those employees took another job opportunity, but the remaining four have more than 50 years of combined experience working at the location.

Uqbar also inherited Tomate’s liquor license, and currently serves a limited menu of five wines (including two from nearby Broc Cellars), three local beers and a variety of drink specials, including a seasonal fruit sangria this weekend. The cafe’s current hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, with extended hours on Friday and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday afternoon happy hour will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s shaping up to be a come for the coffee and stay for the wine kind of joint.

Barista Laurel Schweidel grabs a cookie from the pastry display at the recently opened Uqbar Mediterranean Cafe. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh

Much of the infrastructure of Tomate also remains, including tables, benches and chairs, but the Smiths have brightened things up with a fresh coat of paint and the addition of lots of plants. Many of those plants hang from the rafters in macramé hangers made by Jennie’s mom, who also did most of the landscaping work on the outdoor patio. Meanwhile, Jennie’s father is busy putting the finishing touches on a big clock of his own creation, which will hang on the cafe’s large west wall.

When Jennie was a teenager growing up in Berkeley, she never thought she’d end up living in her hometown as an adult. But now that Uqbar is up and running, there’s no place she’d rather be.

“This neighborhood especially has just been super welcoming, and this space is beautiful,” said Jennie. “We feel really grateful to be here.”

Full disclosure: Jennie Smith is the daughter of Mike Olson, board chair for Cityside, the parent organization of Berkeleyside and Nosh.

Uqbar took over the former Tomate Cafe space in West Berkeley. Credit: Richard H. Grant for East Bay Nosh