Top 100 Restaurants
San Francisco Chronicle - 2000 - 2013

For 18 years, David Vardy has been a pioneer in fusing east and west. His food has a fresh, light Japanese sensibility with a gentle California vibe. The interior of the restaurant evokes a serene oasis, a sharp contrast to its location on the increasingly bustling Fourth Street shopping area in Berkeley. The stucco walls, rustic chairs and large communal table in the middle of the dining room feels like it could be someone's home. The udon noodle dishes are pure comfort.
- San Francisco Chronicle - food & dining -

"Anyone who loves Japanese food will warm to David Vardy's menu at O Chame in Berkeley. His combinations are fusion, but with a gentle California twist."
- Michael Bauer - Chronicle Food Critic -

David Vardy takes the awkwardness out of Asian fusion cuisine, assembling dishes that look Californian but taste more Japanese.
East Bay Express

When the air picks up a damp chill, as it inevitably does this time of year, I hanker for the udon noodle soup at O Chame in Berkeley. Lots of places in the Bay Area offer this bracing elixir, but David Vardy’s version tops them all.

Even after 16 years, Vardy continues to cook with passion -- and restraint. O Chame illustrates everything that's right about "fusion'' cuisine.

Michael Bauer is executive food and wine editor and restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.

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