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City News

Wally’s Cafe Offers Emeryville’s Own "Taste of the Mediterranean"

Roger Brigham
April 2008

First, you have to know about the place and where it is. Then you have to find it.

Wally’s Café is tucked away behind the Bank Club Café on San Pablo Avenue. If much of the block looks like a construction site, that’s just because that’s what it has been for the past few months. But that didn’t stop Wally’s from opening about half a year ago, and now that the dust has settled, the restaurant plans to do a little advertising and put up signs.

Amazingly, even with no advertising, no signs and no web presence, Wally’s has been packed during peak hours. “Mostly we have regulars from Pixar and Tippett and small businesses around here,” owner and head chef Wally Matar said. “People didn’t know about us because we didn’t advertise and the building was under construction.”

But if real estate loves those three little words “location, location, location,” the word-of-mouth reputation of Wally’s has spread because of three other little words: “fresh, good, inexpensive.”

Matar, who is from Lebanon, describes the cuisine as “Mediterranean and more. Mostly it is Lebanese food. We have some Greek influence and also other European influences.”

The Greek salad is excellent; a half order is huge. Numerous fillings are offered in a choice of wraps or pitas, and the burritos and cheese steak are both very popular. Many items such as falafel can be ordered as side dishes or entrees. Home brewed ice tea isn’t listed on the menu, but they have it and that is worth knowing. All are served with charm by Wally and his wife, Angelica. For warm, sunny days, there are several patio tables outside.

“I like food,” Matar said. “I like to cook. I always wanted to have a restaurant when I was small, and I made it.” Matar said he has been a chef for about 15 years, and previously he owned restaurants in Capitola and Fremont.

“We do all of our food fresh,” Matar said. “No chemicals. We don’t have anything added on. Today we were very, very busy for lunch. We were crowded. But people were patient because they know they’re getting fresh food.”

Roger Brigham is a writer for The Emeryville Connection. If you have a question or comment, please contact him at ecocnews@gmail.com.