The staff are so wonderful and the cafe is so cozy. Definitely making this a regular spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lee B.
A nice option for good coffee and a quick bite in downtown Berkeley.The window opening onto Addison Street is a nice convenience.
Christiaan Adams
Hidden gem. Good coffee, espresso, sandwiches, etc.
Dion
Walk half a block from the busiest street in Berkeley and down a flight a stairs, and you find a lovely setting: the Jazz Caffe. Although the menu is limited, the lunch specials are always enjoyable, tasty, and hearty servings. It's easy to sit and linger there while you chat because the nearby hustle and bustle doesn't penetrate this place.
Stephen Ballesteros
Food and Service always Amazing, Barristas on point. One of downtown Berkeley's Hidden Gems. Try the stews , Vegan soups , unique Salads and Paninis. Next door to Berkeley rep grab a light dinner before a show or lunch daily
Kaite Al
Good food
Thomas P.
For the second time now, I had one of the breakfast muffins but later in the afternoon. It was very very dry and crumbly, as though it was about a week old. Can't believe I made the same mistake twice.
Liza M.
Love everything about this place. Food is hand made, staff is wonderful, and all to go materials compostable. Favorite lunch spot in town for take out.
wendy j.
I think Jazz Caffe is one of the best secrets of Berkeley. We went today for lunch. Reza, the owner described the specials and set about fixing our lunch. It was absolutely delicious! We started with the heirloom tomato gazpacho. It was just a tad (barely, barely) sweet and so fresh! There was a bright green basil purée on top with a few pieces of crisp yellow corn kernels. The different colors, flavors and textures were so beautiful to look at and to taste. The fresh focaccia was toasted with a bit of olive oil and came piping hot. Afterwards, we both had a salad of spring greens with toasted rounds of goat cheese. Not sure what was on the goat cheese - crushed nuts? Bread crumbs? Whatever it was, it had an incredible texture and the goat cheese was warm and the greens nice and cool. Perfect! The stew of the day was a spicy chicken curry and was hot, hearty and thick. We finished our meal with espresso and cappuccino. They tasted as good as they looked. The chocolate dessert - looked like a cookie but tasted like flourless chocolate cake-- was amazing. I will be dreaming about this restaurant. The best part? The personal touch. Reza was so attentive, kind and made sure that we enjoyed our meal. I will make the trip to the East Bay just to eat at Jazz Caffe. If you try it, put your trust in Reza and try the specials of the day. They are fresh and delicious. Enough said.
Dominik Suter
Stopped for lunch and tried the daily special Panini: Applewood smoked bacon. The sandwich was good. Side salad was missing sauce (vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper fixed that). AC / not working - there was no fixing that :-)
I had the best ever Turkey sandwich. All if the trimmings were fresh: the lettuce, the cucumbers, the tomatoes. There was some sauce on the panini that opened your nostrils. Perhaps horseradish or some type or gourmet mustard. Whatever.... very yummy.
Ronald W.
THIS REVIEW IS FEEDBACK FOR THE OWNER: Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think you need to be made aware of how your staff treated me Saturday, June 8th at around 1PM - 2 Asian women were all that were in your cafe at the time. I had a play at Berkeley Rep and have never been to your cafe. I read the mostly good reviews here and decided to try it. The blackboard sign was out front and I read it since I know you have a very limited menu and offer daily specials. The top special listed was a soup that sounded very good to me - in spite what your staff may tell you, IT WAS NOT CROSSED out or indicating that they were already out of it by 1PM. When I tried to order it, the lady behind the counter, who by the way, barely spoke English to me, said "we out - it is not on sign". I try to be polite, but when someone tells me something that I am 100% certain is not true after having just read the sign, I pointed up to the stairs and told her to go look for herself. She motioned to the other woman who was sitting at the counter looking at her phone, who promptly went up to look. I could not believe it when she came back and said "it is crossed out" - say WHAT?!!!! It is pretty shameful when any business, let along a service business like a restaurant hires staff that will LIE to a new paying customer just to make them look and feel like they are being unreasonable. I should have walked out and would have, except I only had a short time before the play started, so I ordered a panini and asked about wine. The woman that seemed to know little English with a glare on her face literally said "char and savgon"). I did not know what she meant and asked her to repeat and she said the same thing again, only louder with anger. I went and sat down and about 10-15 minutes later she brought my plate out - the sandwich tasted OK, but was COLD in the middle and did not have much crispness like a panini should have. I believe because of the attitude this woman gave me, she DELIBERATELY under toasted the pressed panini to send me a message "DO NOT COME BACK HERE". Well, I can guarantee you that I will NOT be back and in the meantime, I will be making the food review site rounds to let others know! You need to start doing some quality assurance monitoring of you staff if you care about your business!
Jocelyn Pou
Great place to grab a coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches, etc while listening to Jazz at the Jazz Conservatory
I. M. da Silva
Great service, cute spot, good coffee. They don't have live jazz performances in the cafe anymore, sadly, but it's still a nice place to relax and unwind. I know some people feel otherwise, but I personally love the "no laptops" policy; makes it feel like a real old-time neighborhood café. Will definitely come back.
James Davis
No vegan options. Punishes customers with an extra fee for soy milk in their coffee, which is unfair and steers people away from more sustainable choices.
The staff are so wonderful and the cafe is so cozy. Definitely making this a regular spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A nice option for good coffee and a quick bite in downtown Berkeley.The window opening onto Addison Street is a nice convenience.
Hidden gem. Good coffee, espresso, sandwiches, etc.
Walk half a block from the busiest street in Berkeley and down a flight a stairs, and you find a lovely setting: the Jazz Caffe. Although the menu is limited, the lunch specials are always enjoyable, tasty, and hearty servings. It's easy to sit and linger there while you chat because the nearby hustle and bustle doesn't penetrate this place.
Food and Service always Amazing, Barristas on point. One of downtown Berkeley's Hidden Gems. Try the stews , Vegan soups , unique Salads and Paninis. Next door to Berkeley rep grab a light dinner before a show or lunch daily
Good food
For the second time now, I had one of the breakfast muffins but later in the afternoon. It was very very dry and crumbly, as though it was about a week old. Can't believe I made the same mistake twice.
Love everything about this place. Food is hand made, staff is wonderful, and all to go materials compostable. Favorite lunch spot in town for take out.
I think Jazz Caffe is one of the best secrets of Berkeley. We went today for lunch. Reza, the owner described the specials and set about fixing our lunch. It was absolutely delicious! We started with the heirloom tomato gazpacho. It was just a tad (barely, barely) sweet and so fresh! There was a bright green basil purée on top with a few pieces of crisp yellow corn kernels. The different colors, flavors and textures were so beautiful to look at and to taste. The fresh focaccia was toasted with a bit of olive oil and came piping hot. Afterwards, we both had a salad of spring greens with toasted rounds of goat cheese. Not sure what was on the goat cheese - crushed nuts? Bread crumbs? Whatever it was, it had an incredible texture and the goat cheese was warm and the greens nice and cool. Perfect! The stew of the day was a spicy chicken curry and was hot, hearty and thick. We finished our meal with espresso and cappuccino. They tasted as good as they looked. The chocolate dessert - looked like a cookie but tasted like flourless chocolate cake-- was amazing. I will be dreaming about this restaurant. The best part? The personal touch. Reza was so attentive, kind and made sure that we enjoyed our meal. I will make the trip to the East Bay just to eat at Jazz Caffe. If you try it, put your trust in Reza and try the specials of the day. They are fresh and delicious. Enough said.
Stopped for lunch and tried the daily special Panini: Applewood smoked bacon. The sandwich was good. Side salad was missing sauce (vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper fixed that). AC / not working - there was no fixing that :-)
Restaurantji Recommends
I had the best ever Turkey sandwich. All if the trimmings were fresh: the lettuce, the cucumbers, the tomatoes. There was some sauce on the panini that opened your nostrils. Perhaps horseradish or some type or gourmet mustard. Whatever.... very yummy.
THIS REVIEW IS FEEDBACK FOR THE OWNER: Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think you need to be made aware of how your staff treated me Saturday, June 8th at around 1PM - 2 Asian women were all that were in your cafe at the time. I had a play at Berkeley Rep and have never been to your cafe. I read the mostly good reviews here and decided to try it. The blackboard sign was out front and I read it since I know you have a very limited menu and offer daily specials. The top special listed was a soup that sounded very good to me - in spite what your staff may tell you, IT WAS NOT CROSSED out or indicating that they were already out of it by 1PM. When I tried to order it, the lady behind the counter, who by the way, barely spoke English to me, said "we out - it is not on sign". I try to be polite, but when someone tells me something that I am 100% certain is not true after having just read the sign, I pointed up to the stairs and told her to go look for herself. She motioned to the other woman who was sitting at the counter looking at her phone, who promptly went up to look. I could not believe it when she came back and said "it is crossed out" - say WHAT?!!!! It is pretty shameful when any business, let along a service business like a restaurant hires staff that will LIE to a new paying customer just to make them look and feel like they are being unreasonable. I should have walked out and would have, except I only had a short time before the play started, so I ordered a panini and asked about wine. The woman that seemed to know little English with a glare on her face literally said "char and savgon"). I did not know what she meant and asked her to repeat and she said the same thing again, only louder with anger. I went and sat down and about 10-15 minutes later she brought my plate out - the sandwich tasted OK, but was COLD in the middle and did not have much crispness like a panini should have. I believe because of the attitude this woman gave me, she DELIBERATELY under toasted the pressed panini to send me a message "DO NOT COME BACK HERE". Well, I can guarantee you that I will NOT be back and in the meantime, I will be making the food review site rounds to let others know! You need to start doing some quality assurance monitoring of you staff if you care about your business!
Great place to grab a coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches, etc while listening to Jazz at the Jazz Conservatory
Great service, cute spot, good coffee. They don't have live jazz performances in the cafe anymore, sadly, but it's still a nice place to relax and unwind. I know some people feel otherwise, but I personally love the "no laptops" policy; makes it feel like a real old-time neighborhood café. Will definitely come back.
No vegan options. Punishes customers with an extra fee for soy milk in their coffee, which is unfair and steers people away from more sustainable choices.