Banana Sam’s Cafe

The place has recently re-​opened after some remodeling, and the place looks great.
I visited to get a chicken caesar salad, but had only a credit card. Because the credit card machine wasn’t functional yet, the man told me to pay him anytime and just gave me the delicious salad.
Mid-​way through the meal, he gave everyone a free piece of really scrumptious flan.
Overall, super nice people who clearly aren’t in it just for profit. Super delicious food, big portions.
What’s not to like?

One of the best kept secrets in North Berkeley, Banana Sam’s is only frequented by the several engineers who have to eat on North Berkeley, and boy is it a treat. The sandwiches are tasty, well-​balanced with the bread (they serve Dutch Crunch!), and for a pretty darn affordable price. The smoothies are made fresh; you can watch them make it right there for you.
It’s a great to-​go sandwich spot; not much seating. Service is fantastic; the main guy who’s always there (I think he’s the owner?) is meek and kind.
Only knock is that sometimes they run out of materials, especially the Dutch Crunch. That’s always a bummer. But the options of meats, sandwiches, and for the price is a must recommend, especially if your tired of the big name places around it.

I’ve lived on northside for a year and have eaten at every restaurant on the block. Banana Sam’s makes the best breakfast burritos in the area hands down. Friendly staff, great prices, excellent food.

A little hole-​in-​the-​wall right next to the restaurants I frequent the most, but I’ve never tried. I heard their smoothies were great, so one hot day I decided to try it.
\\ FOOD/​DRINK QUALITY:
I got the Raspberry Jazz smoothie with everything (fruit, ice cream, coconut flakes I think). It was a really nice smoothie, and it tasted healthy and fresh, not full of artificial flavors and juice like a lot of other smoothie places.
\\ SERVICE:
Super friendly and sweet people behind the counter.
\\ ENVIRONMENT:
It’s really easy to miss and super small. Seems comfortable to sit there and eat, but most people just get stuff to go.

Pretty good smoothies and breakfast burritos.
Sometimes you need a big breakfast to get through a Monday morning and Banana Sam certainly delivers. The breakfast burritos are packed with lots of veggies and have a nice amount of hot sauce. The smoothie I tried was also not bad, though I am certainly not a smoothie expert.
There is usually enough space to sit down for a quick, casual meal, but I think most people get their orders to go.
Good for a quick weekday breakfast or lunch.

Where else in Berkeley can you get a lamb shawarma sandwich?! Don’t answer that if you know where. All I know is that this place has one, and it is incredible. Make sure to get it on a Dutch Crunch roll too! This joint also has really refreshing smoothies of all the fruits in the rainbow. On a hot day, it’s an especially common craving.
Be warned that this place closes early (4pm on most days) and lines can get pretty long at lunch hour. You should also plan to sit elsewhere, since there are only a few spots in this shop. All things considered, it’s definitely worth visiting at least once.

This review is solely on their smoothie!
I loved ther Rasberry Jazz smoothie. Stopped by after lunch to give their smoothie a shot and what a surprise! It is probably one of the best tasting smoothies I had tried in my entire life. Loved the sweetness and the coconut flavor with it. They have free WiFi and unless it is rush lunch hour, tables are available for you to seat and enjoy your smoothie. The only inconvenience is that they only accept credit card if the amount is over $ 5 :/​. Good service!

Time: 12:48pm/67°F partly sunny
Purpose: Several weeks ago I was inform about this place for a update. Today I did just that with thoughts of why it’s name BS’s.
Ambiance: Two bistro tables out front while the inside house 3 tables set up for party of four. To the right and left of entrance theres two seats on each side facing Euclid street, good for solo. Automatic wheelchair button out front seems non functional. Walls painted with sky blue/​light orange gold paint in a form of desert meets mountain silhouette. Front counter with two way glass holds in assorted pastries and breads, order prep area right in front. Racks filled with chips, candies, energy bars, Cal Bear pocket schedule (football), utensils, tip jar, register. Can be quite loud during the time from 12:45−2pm as students come and go. Avoid that time frame anytime before or after would be ideal.
Staff: A little place that small with 5 workers seems labor intensive. Cashier girl was not too good at doing multi tasking. I ask for Wi-​Fi password and another ask for water. She had to stop and pulse to think what’s more important. Now if it was me I would grab the water first then write the password and have it posted with easy visibility. Less than 5 minutes problem solve, IMO!
Cleanliness: Grade B+, over flowing trash can. No extra cans for separating compost, trash, recyclables. Windows shows fingerprints and streaks of solvents once done in a blue moon.
Eats/​Drinks: Turkey melt sando $ 5.95, green dream smoothie $ 3.50/16oz, bag of sun chips $ 1.39. Sando was made on Dutch roll as I wanted other bread instead, sadly didn’t have that option. Upon receiving it I was surprise that they did a good job on the melt. The bread was done PERFECTLY, nice slight crunch without over toasting. It’s alright nothing that I haven’t had before. All fixings were marginal from cans and packages. The meat are that of Land O’ Lakes type, processed meat. A good balance of bread to meat ratio with mayo and mustard not over doing it. The smoothie was good as to consistency? It was just right not too thick or runny. Flavor wise you can taste the listed ingredients involved. However shredded coconut flakes were use, as I thought juice was mixed in. Definitely a crowd pleaser for that afternoon pick me upper drink. In the end it’s one of those drinks were you just feels healthier afterwards without the jamba price tag. Good drink just needs to be more specific on what’s being use.
Products/​Services: Breakfast burritos, cold/​hot sandwich, Mediterranean food, home made lentil soup, hot pies/​pockets, hot plates, smoothies, juices, muffins, chips, sodas, elixir/​energy drinks, candies, gum, cookies, fresh fruits. Free Wi-​Fi (very strong signal).
Punch Lines: Located near campus, on busy Euclid ave, AC transit, bike parking, limited seating, inside capacity 16, comparable to Lee’s sandwiches, bread deliver daily, extras for avacados/​cheese, slice bread and rolls, order on table within minutes, takes CC’s (minimum $ 5), people watch, desserts needs overhaul, short hours 10am-​4pm.
Tradeoffs: It’s one of the cheapest place on the block to grab a bite even for mediocre sandos. Portion size matches the current going prices on most places nearby. No sando over $ 5.95 even with pastrami. Smoothies are price perfect 16oz/​$ 3.50, 24oz/​$ 4.50 real ginger use.
Final Thoughts: I’ve always seen that truck starving student moving company. That notion never had me thinking till today. I’m not a student any more, but can feel the hardship of saving as much as possible being one. This place has the right hours and help to get by that six business hours. Areas to improve as I see it, choices of breads and dessert. No need to add anything more to menu just up the ante on the quality being use. Clear winner for students, but not for a real man’s sando. Lastly I was pretty excited about this place not even seeing it yet. My thoughts of a yellow painted place fill with blow up palm trees, stuff toy monkeys hanging from their tails, sand buckets and walls with beach or paradise themes. Sadly I was way off, nothing like that at all.
*Side note: Window has sign indicating espresso and pastries, there’s no espresso machine. Left unscathed from previous business.

bomb dot com smoothies! All of my friends recommend Banana Sam for their inexpensive and filling sandwiches but I go there for their smoothies :) the owners are very personable, which is a plus.

It’s not the same anymore!
I used to come here for lunch all the time to get the Veggie Delight Sandwich. It was so good – smashed avocado, cucumber, tomato, lettuce (sometimes sprouts) and the amazing pesto sauce. The sandwich was HUGE and absolutely delicious. I used to tell everyone about this place.
I haven’t been here for about 3 months and I went recently, excited to get the Veggie sandwich. I was extremely disappointed. They didn’t have the same sour dough bread anymore and only put smashed avocado, onion, one slice of tomato and very little lettuce. Definitely not worth the price.
I think the ownership changed. I couldn’t find the super friendly owner who used to make smoothies! Now, I just mope about the loss of my favorite sandwich place.

Over the summer I believe they changed ownership. They still have a similar menu but have totally lost what made this place great. The service before was amazing — the guy was super friendly and tried to get to know you, now it’s just in and out and very sloppy. My friend and I split a Hot Pastrami and a Chicken Schwerma wrap. The hot pastrami tasted pretty good, but there was literally 1 maybe 2 pieces of pastrami in our $ 6 sandwich. I used to come here because it was super cheap (yes the prices did also go up), the amazing service, and they used to pack the sandwiches w/​lots of meat etc. Safe to say I will no longer frequent this place =/

Really annoying hours (closes at 4 PM). But apart from that, this is the only place I really to to on Northside. Affordable (especially compared to Northside Café), filling, and a variety of sandwiches and smoothies to choose from!
It’s a small little place with cute décor, but more of a place to just grab your food and go or else you’ll just crowd up the place.

Love the variety here, and most of the prices, but there’s no making up for the frustration of a long-​anticipated smoothie existing only in your head and not in your hand when the shop is randomly closed at lunch time. This is a grab-​n-​go type of place, perfect for the students and staff who frequent the small counter shop, with the added bonus of being FRESH. You’ll need to come equipped with cash if you’re planning on ordering below $ 4.90 (technically $ 5 min, but the owner will let it slide if you’re close enough).
The coffee offered is just that — coffee. Brewed and black, straight from the hot or iced container. No espresso, no half and half, just coffee and whole milk and sugar. And if you’re unlucky like me, a fruit fly. Needless to say I’m a little more wary of their food now.

I had their turkey avocado sandwich and it was really good! The bread was a bit hard to bite off, and they ran out of Dutch crunch rolls, which I’ve heard good things about.
They’re also open on the whim of the owner, so have a backup in mind before you come.

AWESOME smoothies! The guy who makes the smoothies is super nice, and obviously cares about what he’s doing. He takes pride in smoothie-​making as an art, and really looks down on other places that use powder or pour drinks out of jugs from the fridge. No other place packs the smoothie with fruit and ice cream, and tops it off with fresh berries and coconut flakes.
If you ask him which smoothie to get, he’ll say Maui Dream. He also jokes around, «Don’t question just pay and I’ll make you a good one!» I’d also recommend their Strawberry Sensation (or whatever the strawberry one is) and Berry Energizer. Definitely looking forward to coming here more in the future! Also, it’s totally worth it to pay an extra dollar for a 24oz instead of 16oz. I think the price is $ 5/​$ 4, which is a little pricey but I still say WORTH IT~!

It’s such a breath of fresh air to order food at a café where the staff obviously love their jobs. The cashier taking my order was friendly and funny, and cracked several jokes during my order. When I ordered smoked turkey on my sandwich (and they were almost out), he asked if he could do half-​smoked, half-​regular… Then he cracked a joke about how the turkey wanted to be healthy and stopped smoking halfway through the sandwich. HAHAahaha. well… I guess you just had to be there.
Besides the adorable name, this café is cute and homey with a couple tables (seating 4) inside, and a couple smaller ones outside. The sandwiches are cheaper, but lower in quality, than the ones at Stuffed Inn (right across the street). If you’re a broke college student like me, this place really hits the spot for a small amount of money. The line isn’t too bad, either — I went around 1:15pm on a Tuesday and there were only a couple people waiting.
Unfortunately, I did not receive the exact sandwich I ordered. I asked for the smoked turkey pepper jack sandwich, and they told me they would do half-​smoked, half-​regular instead. I said that was fine, and added that I didn’t want any pickles or onions. When I received my sandwich, I found that it had no smoked turkey inside at all, it had the wrong kind of cheese (American instead of pepper jack), and there were onions inside. I’m not too picky, so I simply picked out the onions and ate the sandwich anyway. Afterwards, I complained to my other friend (a regular at Banana Sam’s) about my order, and he mentioned that this type of order inaccuracy happens to him every once in a while, too. In my opinion, this kind of service is inexcusable.
I’m giving this place the benefit of the doubt, because the workers are incredibly friendly and the food is cheap… But it still only earns 3 stars from me – I’ll still be going to Stuffed Inn for my sandwiches. Next time I come here, I’ll definitely try the Mediterranean items, as they seem to be more of a Banana Sam’s specialty!

They have a variety of bagel sandwiches, traditional sandwiches, and Mediterranean items.
Their $ 5 special wraps are awesome! My favorite is the Very Veggie. It’s stuffed with roasted cauliflower, eggplant, potatoes, and tabouleh and is filling. Yum!

I came here once recently and got a roasted eggplant sandwich. It was really delicious, all for about $ 5! The shop is small and there aren’t really places to eat, but I took it home. The avocado was a bit lopsided, as half my sandwich didn’t have avocado while the other half did (I was wondering whether they forgot my avocado when I was eating the first half.) The flavor’s great, and I’ve been wanting to return to try their smoothies! When I was waiting for my sandwich, the owner offered me a piece of their beef kabob I believe. I’ve been waiting to go back to try that in a sandwich or a wrap also! I’ve only been here once, but I wish I found this place earlier.

One of the most underrated Berkeley restaurants, but one of my favorites. Jamal, the main sandwich man, is amazing. I’ve never ordered anything myself because he just surprises me with something new each visit. I’m not a fan of the smoothies because they’re too sweet (for me personally), but everyone that I’ve taken here really enjoys them. Definitely worth stopping by for lunch if you’re in the area.
Pros:
— Very reasonably priced
— Fresh quality
— Friendly environment
Cons:
— They always run out of salads when I get there, but that kind of just guarantees their freshness
— There’s a lunch rush — definitely come before noon or after one if you don’t want to wait in line
Recommendations:
— Shawerma Lamb
— Tandoori Chicken
— If you like extra spicy food, ask Jamal to add in some jalapenos on top of their house special hot sauce!

This place now sells the same fantastic sandwiches that Hummingbird sells, and the smoothies have moved from Hummingbird to here.
I love the Maui Dream and the Mango Flamingo smoothies, and the best sandwich has got to be the Turkey Avocado. This place also tends to have much shorter lines than Hummingbird.
The only drawback is that I have to walk 20 extra steps past Hummingbird to get here):