Such delicious food. Covid-concious, never too crowded. Just wish they had outdoor space.
kate g.
Excellent food and nice outdoor patio. No tipping allowed! If you don't mind some French attitude from your server, I recommend it!
Frank Sherlock
Very friendly staff excellent food. Nice small market. Very nice environment.
Alexa A.
Such good coffee, excellent service, & tasty food!! Be sure to stop by here to try their avocado toast :) and if you order coffee, they really fill it up to the brim!
Micah Putnam
Excellent little cafe. First, I really appreciate that they enforced the masks and vaccination card requirement. It should be standard, but I appreciate that they do it anyway. Food was excellent, reasonably priced for the quality (high quality, good price), and the atmosphere was lovely. Also they sell Tony's Chocolate, which only confirmed that I went to the right place for breakfast. I will be back, but maybe not for a while because of the pandemic.
Garad Gurhan
I love this place. Very calming music, nice ambience, vibrant and perfect for finishing a University project. Their Chocolate Mocha is to die for ?. They also have lots of cool classy things they sale on shelves. Definitely have a look ❤❤
Ed U.
I've strolled by this cheery-looking spot on University Avenue but had not ventured in as I seemed to be just finished with a meal or on my way to one. It's owned by artisan entrepreneur and caramel maker Cassandra Chen. Anyway, when the pandemic turned everything upside down, I noticed they were offering some of their menu on Grubhub, so I gave them a try for a light lunch. I ordered two items, the first being the $8.50 Chicken Avocado Salad. It consisted of chunks of poached chicken breast and avocado slices on top of an organic spring mix. It came with four crusty crostini slices and a side of lemon vinaigrette (photo: It was a nice salad, quite fresh and small enough for me to justify an order of the $8.50 Tofu Spring Rolls. When it arrived, it inexplicably turned into Tofu Noodle Salad, but I didn't mind. It was a crunchy-fresh mix of carrot, red cabbage, bean sprouts, cilantro, and tofu noodles (photo: More recently, since they subsequently opened up their indoor dining service, I stopped by to get an afternoon snack. This time I browsed the shop and sat down for a cup of coffee and the $6.50 Butternut Squash Toast, a delightful treat of creamy housemade butternut squash bourbon jam with a sprinkling of fresh goat cheese over toasted rustic bread (photo: Given Cassandra's cordial service and their appetizing toast and sandwich selection, I will definitely come back. FOOD - 4 stars...the chicken salad was good but it was the butternut squash toast that soared AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...nice artisan shop and well spaced SERVICE - 4 stars...very polite and conscientious TOTAL - 4 stars...healthy and flavorful options abound at this compact University Avenue operation RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed:
Boris A.
I was curious to try their coffee. While it's a cute store, the coffee was over brewed and the milk over boiled, so I had a burnt coffee. The froth was also mediocre... won't be coming back here, at least for coffee.
Alex R.
I came here today for the first time with my girlfriend. The storefront is attractive and the shop is full of nice prepared foods and cute home goods that would make for lovely housewarming gifts and the like. We would probably come back to shop for those things. However, this set our expectations too high for the cafe's food, which was very disappointing. We ordered a mocha, a chai latte, a butternut squash toast, and a ham&brie sandwich. I want this review to be constructive, even though it is negative, because we both really like the concept of the shop/cafe and want more good, inexpensive, casual dining options in Berkeley. Here's the good: we really liked the mocha and thought the ingredients in the sandwich were quality (especially the brie and pickled onions). Here's the bad: The menu posted on the door led us to believe the food would be made to order, but we only found out after paying that the sandwich was pre-made and sitting in the fridge. Everything came out cold, including the toast, somehow! Did it not just come out of a toaster? How did that happen? Beyond the temperature issues, the chai latte was watery, one-note, and just not very flavorful or good. Also, the butternut squash jam on the toast is too sweet and the bread was holey, so the loose jam falls through. Here's what's really bugging me: I see the toaster behind the counter, and there's a full kitchen by the looks of it in the back. So why are you selling cold toast and sandwiches with stale bread? Why did it take 10-15 minutes for our food to come out when we were the only customers in the store? I don't think I'm asking for the moon, here, and I would be surprised if it cost too much to fix these mistakes. Work a little faster so the toast arrives warm. Heat the drinks to above body temperature. Make the sandwiches to order! You can still prep all the fillings and hold them in a fridge, but the bread would have to be fresh. But using up excess bread is not an unsolved problem, either: make bread pudding, french toast, or blitz it into breadcrumbs and use it to make sweet baked goods like zucchini/carrot/banana bread. You serve salads: turn it into croutons!
I gave this place a try and I’ll definitely be ordering again. I got the ancient grains bowl with tofu and it was so good. It comes with a side of dressing/vinegar but it’s good on its own. Highly recommend that bowl brooo ?
DrPfeiffer
Oooo la la!!! Gourmet treats for foodies!! Holiday gifts for the persnickety!! ??
Sophy D
Such a nice staff and the olive Tapenade??? ????
M HP
Wow!! Love the variety of good stuff!!!! The Rosemary and Cashew Carmel Corn is absolutely amazing. So glad Zazzi reopened!!! And wonderfully friendly service. This place is a treasure.? ????
David F.
Ambient was really nice and had a large selection of coffee to choose from. The sandwiches were great and the coffees were splendid.
Such delicious food. Covid-concious, never too crowded. Just wish they had outdoor space.
Excellent food and nice outdoor patio. No tipping allowed! If you don't mind some French attitude from your server, I recommend it!
Very friendly staff excellent food. Nice small market. Very nice environment.
Such good coffee, excellent service, & tasty food!! Be sure to stop by here to try their avocado toast :) and if you order coffee, they really fill it up to the brim!
Excellent little cafe. First, I really appreciate that they enforced the masks and vaccination card requirement. It should be standard, but I appreciate that they do it anyway. Food was excellent, reasonably priced for the quality (high quality, good price), and the atmosphere was lovely. Also they sell Tony's Chocolate, which only confirmed that I went to the right place for breakfast. I will be back, but maybe not for a while because of the pandemic.
I love this place. Very calming music, nice ambience, vibrant and perfect for finishing a University project. Their Chocolate Mocha is to die for ?. They also have lots of cool classy things they sale on shelves. Definitely have a look ❤❤
I've strolled by this cheery-looking spot on University Avenue but had not ventured in as I seemed to be just finished with a meal or on my way to one. It's owned by artisan entrepreneur and caramel maker Cassandra Chen. Anyway, when the pandemic turned everything upside down, I noticed they were offering some of their menu on Grubhub, so I gave them a try for a light lunch. I ordered two items, the first being the $8.50 Chicken Avocado Salad. It consisted of chunks of poached chicken breast and avocado slices on top of an organic spring mix. It came with four crusty crostini slices and a side of lemon vinaigrette (photo: It was a nice salad, quite fresh and small enough for me to justify an order of the $8.50 Tofu Spring Rolls. When it arrived, it inexplicably turned into Tofu Noodle Salad, but I didn't mind. It was a crunchy-fresh mix of carrot, red cabbage, bean sprouts, cilantro, and tofu noodles (photo: More recently, since they subsequently opened up their indoor dining service, I stopped by to get an afternoon snack. This time I browsed the shop and sat down for a cup of coffee and the $6.50 Butternut Squash Toast, a delightful treat of creamy housemade butternut squash bourbon jam with a sprinkling of fresh goat cheese over toasted rustic bread (photo: Given Cassandra's cordial service and their appetizing toast and sandwich selection, I will definitely come back. FOOD - 4 stars...the chicken salad was good but it was the butternut squash toast that soared AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...nice artisan shop and well spaced SERVICE - 4 stars...very polite and conscientious TOTAL - 4 stars...healthy and flavorful options abound at this compact University Avenue operation RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed:
I was curious to try their coffee. While it's a cute store, the coffee was over brewed and the milk over boiled, so I had a burnt coffee. The froth was also mediocre... won't be coming back here, at least for coffee.
I came here today for the first time with my girlfriend. The storefront is attractive and the shop is full of nice prepared foods and cute home goods that would make for lovely housewarming gifts and the like. We would probably come back to shop for those things. However, this set our expectations too high for the cafe's food, which was very disappointing. We ordered a mocha, a chai latte, a butternut squash toast, and a ham&brie sandwich. I want this review to be constructive, even though it is negative, because we both really like the concept of the shop/cafe and want more good, inexpensive, casual dining options in Berkeley. Here's the good: we really liked the mocha and thought the ingredients in the sandwich were quality (especially the brie and pickled onions). Here's the bad: The menu posted on the door led us to believe the food would be made to order, but we only found out after paying that the sandwich was pre-made and sitting in the fridge. Everything came out cold, including the toast, somehow! Did it not just come out of a toaster? How did that happen? Beyond the temperature issues, the chai latte was watery, one-note, and just not very flavorful or good. Also, the butternut squash jam on the toast is too sweet and the bread was holey, so the loose jam falls through. Here's what's really bugging me: I see the toaster behind the counter, and there's a full kitchen by the looks of it in the back. So why are you selling cold toast and sandwiches with stale bread? Why did it take 10-15 minutes for our food to come out when we were the only customers in the store? I don't think I'm asking for the moon, here, and I would be surprised if it cost too much to fix these mistakes. Work a little faster so the toast arrives warm. Heat the drinks to above body temperature. Make the sandwiches to order! You can still prep all the fillings and hold them in a fridge, but the bread would have to be fresh. But using up excess bread is not an unsolved problem, either: make bread pudding, french toast, or blitz it into breadcrumbs and use it to make sweet baked goods like zucchini/carrot/banana bread. You serve salads: turn it into croutons!
Friendly staff and mouth watering fair.
Restaurantji Recommends
I gave this place a try and I’ll definitely be ordering again. I got the ancient grains bowl with tofu and it was so good. It comes with a side of dressing/vinegar but it’s good on its own. Highly recommend that bowl brooo ?
Oooo la la!!! Gourmet treats for foodies!! Holiday gifts for the persnickety!! ??
Such a nice staff and the olive Tapenade??? ????
Wow!! Love the variety of good stuff!!!! The Rosemary and Cashew Carmel Corn is absolutely amazing. So glad Zazzi reopened!!! And wonderfully friendly service. This place is a treasure.? ????
Ambient was really nice and had a large selection of coffee to choose from. The sandwiches were great and the coffees were splendid.