Cafe Jolie

It’s good but not worth the wait.
So don’t come hungry or you just might be disappointed.
Come early or better yet call ahead of time and reserve a table.

I found this restaurant to have a good atmosphere and great food!

Adorable ambiance! Loved seeing the decadent cakes while walking in. Server was fast, polite, and overall awesome. I got the Cinnamon French Toast, beignets and a side of potatoes. 90% of the breakfasts I’ve had in California are way too healthy. You can blatantly tell that the french toast, pancakes, and waffles are not made with love and butter. But here, they are! Even the iced tea was great. I’ll be making this my new regular breakfast place!

Amazing food and great service. I will definitely return the next time I am in the area. The beignets were awesome, as was the french toast. Great dining experience!

The owner just contacted me and that was a pleasant surprise. In our conversation I commented that most time when I have eaten out the waitstaff never returns to a customer and ask show things are. This is my number one gripe when eating out.
In the event the server had done this, perhaps things could have been corrected at that time.
I will be returning at his invitation, His sincerity and concern were clearly evident.

We really enjoy having brunch here. I know this will sound a bit cheesy, but I do kind of feel like I’m eating at a French bistro when we sit out on the patio. The food is very good and priced fairly. I usually rotate through the Crouque Madame, omelette, and Corned Beef Hash (when they have it).
The French press coffee is always very good.
Oh, and go on a Saturday and you can hit the farmers market afterwards.

One thing of great concern to us was the red-​headed waiter/​server who appears to have severe exczema on his hands and arms. We noticed when he brought our lattes that his skin was red, cracked and peeling badly. Then I saw him wiping down tables with a wet washcloth and with a peeling skin, that means everything was getting transferred onto the tables. I feel bad that he has a very obvious skin condition, but from a food sanitation perspective, he really should be wearing gloves. That could get a restaurant in serious trouble with the health department. Please address this.
We went on a Sunday for brunch and ordered beignets (½ order), bacon, toast and the corned beef hash. The beignets came last, would’ve expected them first, but they were hot and tasty. Would order them again, but specify we want them first.
The corned beef hash potatoes weren’t entirely cooked through and had a bit of a crunch. I added some salt to taste. If they ever have the benedict special again made with cauliflower, absolutely order that! The soy lattes were great — the caffeinated beverages here are always great.

Astonishingly poor service, astonishingly poor food and coffee. It’s been a long time since I had a meal at a restaurant that offered such a poor overall experience.
You’ll find a better latte at a chain shop, and (as hard as this is to type) a better omelette at I Hop.
Avoid the flavorless, doughy beignets.
You will do better for breakfast literally anywhere else.

Are you looking for a friendly, fast, delicious café with great coffee and good beignets? Definitely DO NOT COME HERE, then!
The coffee was bad.
The beignets were heavy, and tasted more like donuts.
The omelette, despite it being supposedly a French (–themed?) café, was flat, mostly flavourless, and closer to fried eggs with stuff cooked into it.
I had to ask 3 times for water.
Most everything was cold by the time it got to our table.
The waiter neglected to tell us of any specials, but we overheard him telling another table. (Oh well, it would have probably been bad anyway). And he was unfriendly when we sent back one of our orders (which was wrong).
But hey, the hot sauce on the table was REALLY good! That’s something, right?
Edit: someone from this restaurant keeps messaging me here on Unilocal.They wonder why I didn’t let the server know my food was cold (but that’s it– no apology for bad food or coffee or beignets) and in fact tried to lure me back with free beignets. Why would I want something for free if it’s gross? (And, I didn’t let the waiter know my food was cold because we’d already sent back one thing that was wrong, and we were just resigned that it was going to be a shitty dining experience and just wanted to get out ASAP).

Excellent spot for delicious coffees and a wide variety of tasty breakfast options! Friendly service, and lovely outdoor seating too!

Nothing to write home about. Service was great but the food is less than mediocre. For a place like this I expected a lot more from the flavors than just basic. I want to emphasize though that the service staff here is very attentive.

After 3 years finally decided to try this place b/​c there wasn’t a line. Eggs Benedict was underwhelming lacking freshness & flavor. English muffin was over cooked, potatoes were cold and old. My order came out really fast, usually not a good sign. The mystery is solved.
If management reads these here is what should concern you, had I been asked «how are things» I would have sent my meal back. If my check didn’t arrive so fast I would have asked to see the menu to order something else. Instead I got a «there you go» sliding my credit card bill to be signed.
15% tip… there you go. See you in 3 more years.

Cute little place off Webster.
I’ve had both their Eggs Benedict & their Crabcakes Benedict. I don’t see what the big whoop was on the Crabcakes was but ok. Bf had the pancakes & sausage. He liked it (but he will eat anything)
Also, my sweet daughter found a piece of gum under the table. (Ew)
What really set this place aside was their service. Our server, Amanda, was the sweetest! She provided great customer service but what really set her apart was how well she treated our daughter. Now, our daughter is 4 and a handful at times. So when Amanda asked us if we would like some «coffee or juice?» And my daughter answered «coffee» Amanda cleverly brought our her juice in a mini coffee cup. So cute! & then as we were getting ready to leave, our daughter had a huge melt down. I mean hysterically crying. I was horrified. Amanda quickly asked her if she wanted to grab some color things to take home. Immediately stopped crying.
Thanks for your quick thinking and wittiness, Amanda! You’re a star!

Wonderful little eatery! Well staffed for a Sunday brunch, very attentive and helpful with morning special.
We were amazed by the size of the coffee cups full of delicious hot brew!
The eggs Benedict was the perfect choice for me. My go to selection for a first time restaurant visit… Café Jolie didn’t disappoint !!! The Benedict rates high up now in my top ten!

I wanted to give it 3, but … they got my order wrong and then was defensive about it. The waitress was nice enough, but unnecessarily defensive. I took it out on her tip (only 10%) in case she reads this to know that I normally tip much better… next time.
My plate should have been replaced. Instead the missing part of the order was brought on a separate plate. tasted ok I guess. My guests salad was well done but seemed like a lot of greens with little substance. Ambiance was good. Menu was innovative enough. For me, 2 stars means I won’t select to go there, but will if someone else wants to. There are too many other choices close to that venue. It didn’t stand out.

***Review for the chocolate chip cookie ***
…big chunks of dark chocolate… not overly sweet and just deliciousness!

Considering this is Alameda, the price is definitely on the high end. The beignets are definitely good and worth coming for especially if you have kids that deserve a nice breakfast of their choice. How can kids say no to melted chocolate and powdered sugar in the morning?
The remaining of the menu is also nicely done. The breakfast items are pretty standard but with organic eggs which I love. The espresso’s are nicely done too but again expensive. They have couple of other New Orleans items on the menu as well.
Today we ordered a basic two egg breakfast with sausage, an egg white veggie omelette, and the full order of beignets. We had 2 lattes and 1 cappucino and an orange juice. Our total bill was $ 54 with out tips or mimosa. Pretty steep for an average breakfast.
With that said, besides Little House Café, I do patronize this café quite often. The bathroom is nice and clean. The décor is bright and tasteful. I don’t love it, but I definitely like it. Until next time, ciao.

After the previous disappointing visit, Jason (the owner?) contacted me to give this place another try and offered complementary beignets. Although I wasn’t very keen on their beignets because of the prior experience (I received very bumpy and hard beignets), I appreciated the gesture. Of course I came back (I would’ve regardless) to give it another shot because I do have a soft spot for this place when it comes to brunch!
I arrived with the bf, notifying Erin of the situation and she was more than happy to serve us today! I had a huge glass of orange juice to start. I love this place because they squeeze the oranges without the peel, so the juice isn’t bitter!
Erin then brought out some beignets for us and I have to say I was very pleased. I was pleasantly surprised that this time around! The beignets were nice and fluffy and not covered to death with powdered sugar. Each bite was like eating a cloud; it was very light and airy.
I opted for the Monte Cristo because it is a favorite of mine when it comes to this place. It was very good! Again it wasn’t covered with a ton of powered sugar (thank god). The bread wasn’t hard, but firm enough to cut into with it being squished. It tasted delightful with the jam provided. The only complaint I have is that the potatoes that came with it were very salty; they were very hard to eat without a big gulp of water (hence ⁴⁄₅ stars).
My experience today has made me love Café Jolie once again :) The food was good and renewed my spirits from the last visit. Erin was very helpful the whole way through and had a great attitude. I look forward to the next time I come back home so I can dine here.

Enjoyed a delightful morning at Café Jolie.
Came here with friends from the area. We were immediately greeted by the hostess and told the approximate wait time. There’s not a huge waiting area so we opted to window shop for a few minutes and by the time we returned, they were ready for us.
The interior is warm and inviting with a charming neighborhood diner sort of feel. The service was prompt and lovely. I ordered a regular coffee, which was strong and came in a beautifully large cup (much appreciated by this caffeine junky!).
For my entrée, I ordered their Crab Cake Benedict. The crab cakes were delish and rather than the dish having the usual hollandaise, it comes smothered in a chipotle Mornay sauce (flavorful without being overbearing). While the Benedict was savory and delicious, the star of the show, though, was the country style potatoes that come as the side. So many places get this wrong. The potatoes are either undercooked or overcooked and more often than not, completely lacking in flavor.
Not at Café Jolie!
Their country potatoes are peppery and flavorful. They also don’t completely overdo it by giving you a huge serving of them. As one of my dining companions said – I’d rather have a moderate serving of flavorful, delicious potatoes than a huge pile of ho-​hum ones!
Agreed.
Overall, a pleasant place to enjoy some tasty breakfast.
Get to it!

Looking for a fun and easy place to get to for a tasty brunch in the East Bay? Well then look no further than Café Jolie, a great locally-​owned and operated restaurant and bakery/​coffee shop located in the heart of one of the Bay Area’s best towns, Alameda, which is a former Navy town turned trendy bed and breakfast community of old fashioned themed homes and more than a handful of burgeoning new businesses and retail districts.
There is no secret that I love Alameda and I support any business that opened or has been open for awhile in this city. I will gladly drive all the way down Interstate 80 from my hometown of El Cerrito to see what’s happening and I am so glad I got try out a place I have been keeping my eye on for years. The place is a charming French Bistro with an American twist on the corner of Webster and Santa Clara Streets.
We came for brunch although I was delighted to find out they also served a nice dinner. After reading the recommendations of my fellow Unilocalers, I decided to avoid my favorite brunch dish the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict and side potatoes due to the lack of food served and presentation. Instead I went with a lunch dish, the Hangar Steak Sandwich with a side of French Fries. I found my sandwich cooked just the way I like it, the meat was medium rare and juicy and was the right portion.
My friend ordered the traditional Eggs Benedict with no frills or fuss, it was good, it made me want to sample the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict the next time I come. Also, thanks to Unilocal I realized there was a Mexican Hot Chocolate and it tasted as rich and divinely as I hoped it would taste.
All in all it was a great experience at Café Jolie, we were sat in a window-​side booth almost immediately and we loved the food and service. The place made me want to come back in the future for another brunch and try out the dinner. I love supporting places like Café Jolie in Alameda.