Head & Tails: Flora

Posted on September 12, 2008 
Filed Under Head & Tails, Oakland

Head & Tails is where we spill it all about the area’s nearest and dearest brewpubs, bars, wine cellars, tasting rooms, package stores, liquor aisles, and well, we ARE thorough. It’s conveniently refreshed every Thursday, when surely you’re at your thirstiest.

Flora
1900 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94612
510.286.0100

Need further proof that Uptown Oakland is revving for revival? Substantiation and substance abound at Flora, a modern-day Art Deco diner that’s like a willful flower churning up the concrete of winter. Located across from the Fox Theater, which is currently under renovation, and surrounded by up-and-coming condos, Flora beckons to passersby with its crisp, inviting façade reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting. (Yes, that Edward Hopper painting.) Inside, the cool ambience continues with rich deco-inspired wallpaper, oak appointments, and elongated wall sconces. The wraparound bar showcases a connoisseur’s selection of rare and wonderful liquors, and it’s no surprise that absinthe, making a due revival of its own, is a key ingredient of many of Flora’s signature cocktails. Other concoctions, such as the Accelerator, the Blood and Sand, and the Trailer Smash, are crafted with utter devotion by bartenders clad in traditional white button-downs and wide black suspenders. Should the need arise to supplement drinks with dinner, Flora also serves up organic, locally grown California cuisine, as is the taste of the locals. If the full house at the end of the night were any indication, this gem of an establishment is already establishing itself in a neighborhood that’s just about to bloom. Some say quality is coming back in vogue; Flora, seeming as though it’s been a neighborhood favorite for decades, would say it never went out.
—Kay

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