Two New Restaurants Bring Excitement to Downtown San Leandro

Anyone who has lived in San Leandro more than a few years remembers the neighborhood sports bar & restaurant, the Englander, as a San Leandro fixture, and likely also frequented its quaint neighbor, the Vine, which served wine and tapas-style food. Sadly, both of these establishments closed their doors in the past couple of years, for varying reasons.

Over the past months, two new restaurants have come to the Parrott Center in Downtown San Leandro. In April, Slice House opened, focused on artisanal pizza, and in September. Bag o Crab opened, offering on Cajun-style seafood.

But these locations haven’t suffered vacancy long. Over the past year or so, at 101 Parrott Street, the former Englander has been undergoing renovations to become Bag O Crab – a family-friendly seafood restaurant with multiple locations in the Bay Area.

Bag O Crab soft-opened on September 17, 2021, and has earned favorable reviews on Yelp, where customers rave about the Cajun boil bags, Asian-flavored Mala crawfish, King Crab legs, and garlic noodles. The interior has received a complete makeover, and food is brought to the tables via robot!

Around the same time as the Englander, the Vine also closed, and in April, 2021 the highly anticipated Tony Gemignani’s Slice House opened at 135 Parrott Street, under the same management as Sons of Liberty Alehouse. World Pizza Cup Champion Gemignani has a multitude of successful restaurants in the Bay Area. Slice House serves pizzas varying from Tuscan- and Roman-style to his famous Neapolitan-style, as well as pastas, seasonal salads, meatballs, and beer and wine on tap.

Slice House has also become a local favorite, earning rave reviews on Yelp, and people love the options of five different crusts for your pizza of choice. Whether you like few or no toppings, or a plethora of added flavor on your pie, Slice House has options for you!

Both of these restaurants are bound to do well among San Leandrans, who have proven to value sophistication, authenticity, and bold flavor profiles in local restaurants.

Also underway is a multi-restaurant project at 1495 E. 14th Street where developer Retail West is bringing in Dave’s Hot Chicken – a Nashville-style spicy fried chicken – and Fieldwork Brewing Company for a beer garden. Construction is currently underway on this exciting new project in Downtown San Leandro!