Bayleaf
Taking over the former Ikaros space on Grand Avenue is the new Indian and Himalayan restaurant Bayleaf. The restaurant softly opened the weekend of June 8 and is from Kamal Kandel, who owns Yarsa Nepalese Cuisine in San Francisco, and his brother, Pashupati Kandel. The restaurant has an indoor dining room as well as outdoor seating on a rear patio. The menu includes soups, salads and other appetizers along with a variety of curries, biryani plates and tandoori dishes. Bayleaf is now open at 3268 Grand Ave, Oakland.
Handel’s Ice Cream
Nosh missed this opening at the end of April. Ohio-based ice cream chain Handel’s has opened in downtown Walnut Creek on the same block as the Cinemark movie theater for a perfect pre- or post-movie treat. The store offers more than three dozen flavors of ice cream and a handful of sherbets, including vegan options. Handel’s has more than 125 locations in a dozen states across the country and was founded in 1945 by Alice Handel in Youngstown, Ohio. There are multiple locations in the Sacramento area, and this is the first one to open in the Bay Area. Handel’s Ice Cream is now open at 1273 Locust St. in Walnut Creek.
Jaffa
Jaffa Coffee Roasters, founded in 2022 in Napa, celebrated the grand opening of its flagship cafe in Berkeley Sunday, June 9. The coffee company is operated by the Palestinian-American brothers, Noor, Sami and Majdi Gaith. Expect a range of small-batch roasts in addition to teas, pastries and creative specialty drinks from the cafe named for the ancient port city that is today part of Tel Aviv. Jaffa is now open at 1701 University Ave. in Berkeley.
