Gregory Robert James estimates he’s been cooking for more than 40 years.
This summer, the East Bay native decided to turn his passion into a restaurant.
James and his partner, Seffie, opened WC Kitchen & Bar last month in Walnut Creek.
“It’s a passion,” he said. “We’ve always wanted to do this.”
When the Mediterranean restaurant Opa closed in January, James decided this was the perfect time and space to start his first restaurant.
WC Kitchen & Bar opened in Walnut Creek last month, replacing Mediterranean restaurant Opa. (photo courtesy of Seffie James)
Taking over the space at the corner of Lincoln Ave. and N. Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek, the couple decided on a royal purple theme, with their signature drink, the lavender lemon drop, which adds lavender to the traditional lemon drop.
“It’s been a huge hit,” Seffie said.
And it ties in perfectly with the James’ hope for the restaurant: to create a classy, vibrant place for folks to not only enjoy a good meal, but to stay and hang out, listen to live music, sit at the bar and have a great time.
“We’re all about hospitality, customer satisfaction, making sure people are happy,” Gregory said. “That’s where our passion is. We have people who stay past our closing time because they’re having so much fun. We let them stay. We want people to have fun.”
Gregory has pulled his favorite at-home recipes for the restaurant, which includes American and Indian-fusion.
He fine-tuned many of the recipes from his cookbook, “A Cookbook You Can Trust,” which he released in 2022.
The lollipop lamb chops ($39), which includes chops from a rack of lamb cooked at exactly 127 degrees, has been a popular item so far, James said.
“Everything has to be fresh; we have deliveries almost daily,” he said.
He’s been most surprised by how much people are enjoying his Indian dishes.
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Noticing a lack of Indian food options in Walnut Creek, James wanted to put an Indian-spin on a lot of the menu items, and his house-made curry sauce is available on chicken tikka masala flatbreads ($24), curry angel hair pasta ($20), and Jake’s steak curry ($34), which includes diced filet mignon, potatoes, asparagus and carrots, served with turmeric basmati rice.
“These are some different inspirations we’ve always enjoyed, and people love the sauce,” James said. “It’s a sauce my wife and I made. Everything in the restaurant is our recipes. Most from my cookbook.”
With big doors that stay open all night, the restaurant gets good airflow and makes for a particularly relaxing summertime hangout, he said.
The music is all upbeat, while there’s also live music on the weekends.
“It’s so fun to see your recipes making people happy,” James said.
Details: Open weekdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and weekends 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., at 1532 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek; wckitchenbar.com.
Chicken and fries at WC Kitchen & Bar opened in Walnut Creek last month, replacing Mediterranean restaurant Opa. (photo courtesy of Seffie James)
