Cafe Cacao

Café Cacao had delicious food and mimosas for reasonable prices. I got a little too excited about their flavored mimosas and ordered one too many (that’s only 2 total, for the record). I tried to wash them down with my very tasty scrambled eggs and potatoes, but I still ended up wandering through the Berkeley Bowl for a while before driving home.
As such, I consider my trip to Café Cacao to be a raging success!

I’ve been to this place twice so far… and as a diner I’ve had some exceptional dishes in my Unilocal excursions. Anyways. — The more important thing than the food, was that those in our business meeting were «highly impressed». I could only assume the impression was based on 2 separate things.
1. service
2. presentation
Two dishes ordered were Calamari Sandwich and Rock Cod over a bed of beautifully prepared spinach. We had no fear of dipping italian buttered bread into the virgin olive oil. Desert included a decadent berry flavored pudding.
Never the less, the dishes, deserts were simply amazing; I can also attest that the wine paired the meal perfectly. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Highlights:
— Seated promptly
— Staff is very welcoming and friendly.
— French toast (get with the fruit sauce on the side. otherwise your bread will be the soggies. it tasted like warm/​melty strawberry jam) SOO yummy. Fluffy and extremely filling.
— Bacon omelette: chunky bits of bacon, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers (couldn’t really taste it… but I was dipping it in a ketchup/​hot sauce/​pepper mixture.), and stringy cheese.
— My sister really liked the eggs benedict. Her plate was spotless by the end of brunch.
— The sweet potato fries were tasty except I like my fries fluffier and thicker. These were almost shoestring status… but the dipping sauce was really yummy.
The only dish we didn’t really care for was the BBQ Chicken & Fontina Cheese Panini. It was just a little bit of chicken melted in cheese … kind of plain/​boring. The side salad was a bit bland but fresh.
OK the best part was our bill after our
coupon…
$ 30 for 5 plates of TONS of food!!. YUM to cheaps.

Their huervos rancheros kicks ass!!! Best I’ve had ever! Most varieties are served on a grilled tortilla, but here they serve it on a few layers of crunchy nacho chips. Adds great texture, trust me!
I tend to douse my brunch items with ketchup, tobasco, and pepper, but for the first time I let the plate be. It already had a very peppery tomato sauce and the diced jalepenos gave it the right amount of bite. The mixed green salad on top gave me a break from the richness of the eggs and sauce. The chips did not get soggy at all… so I really enjoyed taking bites of crunch and slurping the pillowey over easies. Despite filling up fast on the mighty portion, I insisted on eating every last morsel. I never had a huervos rancheros this good!
Too bad I don’t live closer, I’d hit this spot often. Their mochas are a rather bitter… guessing they use a dark chocolate variety and it wasn’t very thoroughly mixed into the espresso, so I found myself chewing on the drink a few times.
Service was wonderful and let us get out in time when we said we had less than 1 hr to eat. Loved the large windows that let the sun in… great vibe, happy customers, and fresh food!

I have friends! I have been so busy with work and school and all the other stuff… well, I haven’t been out to lunch with my buddies forevah. When Bonnie and Nell called and suggested lunch, I was excited. We decided to either go to the Scharfen Bergen Restaurant or Bette’s… and since I was driving, I chose Cacao. I haven’t been here in years, but I remember that they were very good, so I drove in a vain attempt to find the restaurant. It wasn’t hiding, I just forgot that when you are on Ashby, turn LEFT instead of right. Ok. It could not hide from me, I finally found it!
The hunt was successful! I had a great five-​star experience. Good food, good friends, excellent service… a little pricey, but in the warmth of good feelings, I will award five stars regardless.
We started off with drinks. I ordered a double capuccino, which came with hard foam (I love that) and very dark coffee (they serve Peet’s… alrighty then!). My friends had iced tea, which they said had a fruity flavor… the waitress confirmed that it was a mango tea. Only one downside, Bonnie likes her tea to not be fruity and I was missing splenda, but luckily had a few down in my purse that I pulled out and used.
We ordered our entrees: a basil/​cheese paninni, chiliquiles (me), and the pulled pork sandwhich. We all shared the sweet potato fries that came out hot and thin with an aioli dipping sauce that was to die for…
Just a note now about our waitress. She was the quintessential server, friendly, sweet, nice… and forward thinking. When Bonnie asked for some aioli sauce for her pork sandwich and then inquired if they sold the sauce separately, the server not only brought an amount for Bonnie, but a few to-​go containers for us to take with us (small ones…). The whole time she served us, she was friendly, but not obsequious, looking in our welfare, but not hovering. Perfect.
Our entrees were delicious, but since we had been eying the deserts since we walked in, we decided to indulge. Bonnie and I shared a lemon-​marscapone cake that was moist and sweet and wonderful, while Nell had the chocolate layer cake. Both cakes came with a dollop of whipped cream topped with nibs… niiiiice touch! Nell decided to have a coffee mocha which came in the traditional cocoa bowl with no handles. The barrista drew a little intricate snowman scene on its top.
We sat and ate and talked. The restaurant was cheerfully noisy, but we could still hear the conversation. The windows were nice, but it was a chilly January afternoon. We kept our coats on! The check came to about 20 dollars apiece before tip. Yes, that is a little expensive, but the food was flavorful, the restaurant was comfortable and the service was friendly and accommodating. I would come again, and not wait so long again!

I was lured out by the promise of 900 Grayson, which I have been meaning to try for ages, but I was tricked. Well, something happened in their kitchen and they closed down for the rest of the day so I guess it wasn’t anybody’s fault.
So, we went to Café Cacao. The smell of chocolate is overwhelming but not bad. We sat on the outside patio that allows dogs. I should have brought Ishi.
The service was good but my food was only ok. I had the half mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich with the chicken orzo soup of the day. The soup had a strong lemon flavor which I liked but it was lukewarm. They offered to reheat it but I wasn’t interested. The sandwich was not bad and came with a nicely dressed salad. The eggs benedict someone else got looked a lot better so maybe sticking with the brunch options is the way to go.
It’s very close to my gym. That’s nice.

We had breakfast here before we took the Scarffen Berger Tour next door, and it was chocolicious.
Can you OD on chocolate because I think I came close during breakfast and definitely felt something after eating samples during the tour.
You can guess my recommendations for this café: anything with chocolate in it.

Gayle and I have been here twice for lunch and have enjoyed ourselves both times. The space is very nice, especially the light and the high ceiling. However, they may need to fine tune their music selection a bit to adjust for the reverberation potential. The furnishings are also very comfortable.
We found the service to be excellent (ask for Shauna) and the food (especially the sweet potato fries) to be excellent.