The White Whale Room

An all-day, Moby Dick-themed cafe serving coffee in the morning and cocktails at night while catering to light-rail commuters and urban apartment dwellers may sound like a hot mess in the making, but the White Whale Room is instead lively, amusing and, most of all, heartwarming, thanks to the gracious service provided by owners Rachael Gass and Dakin Cranwell. Rows of high-back chairs resembling a whale's ribs and flowing ribbons of tentacles painted onto the walls and floors add humor and whimsy to the cool, concrete-and-steel space, turning the Alameda station from an inconspicuous stop on the way downtown into a jumping-off point for a drinking adventure.