BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – If you have kids, you have that Lawrence Hall of Science has a giant whale outside, fun and low-key exhibits, and a nice planetarium-style theater.
You also may have noticed that it has a killer view. As we profiled before, the lunchroom at the Lawrence Hall has one of the best views in the Bay Area.
All it lacked, though, was an actual cafe or restaurant to take advantage of that view–and ideally complement the museum’s mission.
Now, that’s about to change. Later this winter, the science center in the Berkeley hills will debut ‘ammatka Cafe, a new spot from the team behind Cafe Ohlone, widely described as the first and only full Ohlone restaurant in the world.
A cafe rooted in Ohlone tradition
The new cafe is led by Vincent Medina (East Bay Ohlone) and Louis Trevino (Rumsen Ohlone), co-founders of mak-‘amham/Cafe Ohlone.
Their original restaurant, now on the UC Berkeley campus and operated as a seasonal popup, has earned national attention for using food to tell the story of the Ohlone people, the Indigenous community whose homelands include today’s East Bay.
At Lawrence Hall of Science, the duo will bring forward a similar culinary concept. The cafe’s name, ‘ammatka, means “the dining hall” in Chochenyo, the first language spoken in the inner East Bay.
The cafe will be open for lunch Wed-Sun 11am-3pm beginning Wednesday, January 7th, a spokesperson for the cafe told the Bay Area Telegraph.
“Food is a wonderful way to learn about a culture,” explains Vincent Medina, co-founder of Cafe Ohlone with Louis Trevino and employees of The Lawrence Hall of Science. “The family-friendly menu will be seasonal, based on what the land is providing for us. We want to show the richness and sophistication of Ohlone foods to children and adults alike from elderflower grown in the hills to sage for the tea that’s grown in the Outdoor Nature Lab at the Lawrence. Building up a respect for the food and traditions goes a long way to building up respect for Ohlone people.”
This is not your standard museum cafe. According to Cafe Ohlone and a recent announcement from UC Berkeley, the ‘ammatka menu will center Indigenous ingredients and Ohlone techniques, with dishes designed to be approachable for kids and adults.
Expect things like:
- Smoked duck and Mt. Tam Triple Cream cheese with rose hip jam sandwich
- Watercress pesto and ricotta cheese on sundried tomato wrap (the watercress is grown at the university’s indigenous community learning garden)
- Black sage tea gathered from the Lawrence’s outdoor nature lab
Lawrence’s own preview of the cafe also highlights kid-friendly options, including Ohlone-inspired “tater tots,” dinosaur-shaped chicken bites, salads built around native greens, and snacks that fit between planetarium shows.
We can’t wait to try the menu–and we might get a chance to get an early preview before the cafe opens! Make sure to join our free 925 News newsletter so we can update you as soon as we have a review and more photos.
