Cafe Fanny

There are two new lines of Café Fanny granola, and I really like the flax one — I prefer raisin-​free granola. The regular granola seems to have improved again, so I rescind my previous review.

Café Fanny makes the best latte I’ve ever had. So smooth, perfect temp and it has a very light floral aroma that I’ve never experiences anywhere else.
I’m also a fan of their quiche and ham/​gruyère crepes. It’s true that you money doesn’t go very far there, but what you’ll get is well-​made and uses only the best ingredients.
I know this is late, but RIP Café Fanny. I hope something equally great takes your place.

Sad that this place has closed!
I remember that I had their smoked salmon (a type of bread with lox dish) for brunch, and it was quite tasty. While they don’t put the cream cheese on for you, which I found a bit odd, the bread is SOO good. It’s always amazing what a difference freshly baked bread makes.

I came here because I saw this restaurant featured on Food Network’s «Best Thing I Ever Ate» and it was a local spot. The guy who raved about it was in love with their specialty granola over yogurt. It was actually pretty delicious but you can buy it in boxes — in the restaurant and all over local markets in Berkeley. While it was really good, I didn’t think it was worth coming back for when you can make it yourself.
Came back a second time and ordered a croque monsier sandwich and had their tomato soup of the day. Everything was well made and delicious but portions are small. If you come hungry you may need to order extra plates otherwise you’ll feel a little disappointed in how much food you get for the money spent.
The space is very small and seating is very limited, you either have to go early or wait a long time to get a cramped seat (mostly outdoor seating). The upside is it is right next door to Acme bread and if you are still hungry, you can pop over and get some bread and pastries.

I just found out that they are closing on March 9^th after 28 years in business!
There are great memories at this café for me, after an acquaintance introduced me to this petite Alice Waters space.
The outdoor seating is delightful, and I’ve snapped many a photo lollygagging and chatting it up with friends or family.
Let’s hope they re-​open! I can’t get enough of their rich Moroccan Beef Stew :)

Café Fanny has excellent soy cappuccinos and really, really good iced tea.
Unfortunately Café Fanny has only one vegan entrée — it’s the chickpea sandwich with the cheese removed. The chickpea sandwich is very good but very small, and seriously overpriced at $ 10. Side-​dishes-​wise, Café Fanny also has a vegan salad, which is very good but very small and quite expensive. The only vegan breakfast item is the toast with jam (which I have not tried).
Unfortunately none of Café Fanny’s pastries are vegan, ever.
Café Fanny also sells granola at Whole Foods — the granola is very good, possibly even the best store-​bought granola I’ve ever tried (though I believe it contains honey, so it is not suitable for strict vegans).
So, if you’re up for spending $ 20 on a small lunch, go to Café Fanny and order the chickpea sandwich without the cheese, the vegan side salad, and an iced tea/​soy cappuccino. Otherwise just head to Café Fanny for coffee/​iced tea and then go next door to Acme to pick up a loaf of freshly baked bread for later.

Went to Café Fanny during Kermit Lynch Beaujolais Nouveau Party in their shared parking lot.
Long was long & moved slow.
I got:
Café Au Lait $ 3.95 — small bowl, tasty enough.
Berry Clafouti $ 5.50 — slice of it, very nice. Eggy & light w/​lots of blackberries in it.
Hazelnut chocolate chip got at their outside table — $ 2. It was ok, not that special.
They take credit card I overheard, but I paid Cash.

Bourgeois-​PLEASE. I’m sure this place is great. I mean Alice Waters invented the wheel and started world peace right? I would eat here if I could stand to be around the clientele for more than 5 minutes. I stop in for morning coffee when i am all out at home and usually can not last more than 5 minutes in line. Really, the worst of the worst. the upper echelon of rich, spoiled, smug, out of touch, limousine liberals in America.
NOTE the staff is very nice. I do not know how they do it. Baby, I’m an anarchist.

I decided to come here after seeing «Café Fanny Granola» at Andronico’s. The packaging was cute & the granola looked like the one I had at Meadowood, so off I went.
The little industrial-​chic spot nestled next to the Acme Bread Company bespoke hard-​to-​find-​parking, but it has a little outdoor patio — the perfect place for a casual family brunch (though no wi-​fi). 10 min wait to order & 15 min wait for food could be expected, but it all went downhill when I opened my to-​go box.
My «Angelo’s Poached Eggs with vinegar & oregano on Levain toast» was nothing more than two halves of toasted bread on which two «poached» eggs were perched, sprinkled with oregano, and drizzled with red wine vinegar. It sounds nice on paper, but you could have done this at home in less than 2 min and topped it off with prosciutto or bacon too. The egg whites were rock hard with barely a dribble of soft yolk & were in the shape of perfect circles — do you recall those round containers that let you poach eggs in the microwave? Fanny must have stacks of them in the back room.
This place is a chic hang-​out, but is coasting off Alice Waters’ name.
If you have to come here, go for the soup or granola…
Chewy eggs on plain toast, no coffee = $ 8

While the food here is really excellent, the wait on Sunday morning is pretty painful, and I pride myself on being at least a somewhat patient person. I think their prices are steep, but I understand the whole local/​organic/​sustainable virtues they are trying to uphold. But I can’t help wondering if those labels don’t just serve to justify exorbitant prices from their vendors. Hopefully with the proliferation of these types of food sources, we will see more modest prices, just probably not in Berkeley.
Service was decent, nothing that struck me as overly welcome/​warm nor rude/​cold, which is surprising since it’s owned by Alice Waters (having eaten upstairs at Chez Panisse I never had anything less than stellar service there). Also, I think when there is a throng of people inside a tiny, cramped space and hanging out the door, it’s a little bit of a stretch to assume customers will hear you call out their name from the outdoor patio to retrieve their food. I think bussing food to people would not add much in the way of time/​staff and would enhance service significantly considering the long wait and the high price.
That said, my poached eggs on levain with prosciutto were really delicious, and I’d gladly pay the premium for them again, but I’d probably just avoid the Sunday morning crowd!

Nice spot for breakfast or brunch. There wasn’t much of a wait when we went there. They have a small parking lot behind Acme bread.
I ordered the standard: a chicken sandwich. Meat was tasty (likely free range), not too dry, even for white meat. The Acme roll was good. The rest of the stuff really came together nicely: aioli with a hint of mustard, a few capers. But the best part were the caramelized red onions which gave the sandwich a touch of sweetness. I shared half with the BF and he liked it (he doesn’t prefer white meat).
BF got the egg salad sandwich, which wasn’t like any egg salad sandwich I’ve ever seen. Sorta had a texture like deviled eggs, a thin layer, spread over toast. Interesting. It also had a few sardines and sun dried tomatoes. Good, but I wouldn’t order it again. Portion size also seemed a bit small. It came with mixed olives & I had one that was gross. Ugh. So gross that I remembered how gross it was.
BF got the freshly squeezed apple juice, which was perfect. Not tart at all and plenty of yummy apple flavor. I already had my morning coffee, so I got a glass of water.
I dinged them a star for lack of inside seating. It was pretty chilly outside. Even outside seating is limited. Many people were sharing tables or waiting for one.

Delicious! Everything we had was absolute perfection. We were in the bay area for 5 days for vacation and this place was my favorite meal.
One of the best lattes I’ve ever had and hands down the best poached eggs I’ve ever tried. buckwheat pancakes with blackberry sauce were also great.

I came here with some girlfriends after a belly dance class at Hipline (awesome place — see other review) and was ready to eat my heart out but ended up somewhat disappointed. I got the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham & gruyère cheese on pain de mie) which ended up being one of the thinnest sandwiches I have ever seen. You truly get what it says on the menu — which is 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese. I was really looking forward to biting into a hearty sandwich after my workout, so you can imagine my disappointment when they called out my name and I saw two slices of bread on a plate.
As plain as it was, the sandwich was still pretty good. If you come here, be prepared to get appetizer size dishes. So if you’re hungry, you might want to order two meals or go next door to buy some bread at Acme Bread Company.
We happened to come during the Beaujolais Nouveau Feast and I kinda wished I was sitting with those folks drinking wine and eating sausages instead. =P The cool thing is that since all the seats at Café Fanny are outside, I got to enjoy the music from the Feast. I think that I’ll come back next year to check out the Beaujolais Nouveau Feast but not sure that I’ll be back at Café Fanny…

Long waits? check
Overpriced drinks? check
Yuppies battling it out in the parking lot? check
To my dear husband, who likes to meet me here on his lunch break: can we please go ANYWHERE else?

Some good things and some odd things.
My ham and brie sandwich was good. The bread (from Acme right next door) had the perfect texture and crust. The inside was chewy and the crust was thin and had the right amount of crunch for me – not too little and not too much that it would shred your gums.
Got a salted chocolate cookie just because. It was a pricey little thing. Good, but definitely not worth the price I think I paid.
My coworkers got sandwiches, too. They said the sandwiches tasted good. But basically the cashier grabbed some pre-​made sandwiches off of a stack, pulled them out of their cellophane bags, slid them over to the other people who cut it in half, put it on a plate with three dry looking cornichon and called it a day. Maaaaybe the sandwiches were just made and put in cellophane baggies for to-​go customers, but still it looks odd. I would certainly expect more from a place with Alice Waters behind it.
Oh. And water. Asked for water. I got water in a glass. No ice. Maybe I’m the clueless one and shouldn’t assume that people like ice in their water. On the other hand, it was way hot outside (like record setting hot) where the only seats are, so it would kind of make sense to put ice in the water no? I guess I’m the crazy one.

I would give it a 3.5 star but I can’t justify rounding up for Café Fanny because:
1) Limited space and seating
2) The price for their simple but well poached eggs doesn’t seem to make sense.
I think the food is great, well done in most cases and the coffee is pretty good. The line, however, is always long and one can’t help but feel a bit self conscious waiting in line for breakfast after having to wait in line next door at Acme for some decent bread.
If I woke up super hungry and want to sit down for a good, simple breakfast, I would probably wait in line at Acme first to grab a ham and cheese croissant so that I can have something to snack on while waiting in the Café Fanny line to get my coffee and then finally (and hopefully) find a seat somewhere outside, and wait some more for my poached eggs.
Nice… Yeah… so just come expecting that the transition time between breakfast getting made and you actually eating it at Café Fanny will require you to wait in a few lines… perhaps remind yourself again why exactly that you’re doing this to yourself with such an important meal of the day.

I have a love/​hate thing going on with Alice Waters. On one hand, lots of amazing fooderies have had their roots or influences from Chez Panisse. On the other hand, SO PRETENTIOUS and many times OVER-​HYPED.
With that said.
I’ve always seen Café Fanny packed full of people as I went to get bread from Acme. I once had a coffee here but the full capacity and mixed reviews kept me away.
I decided to drop by for breakfast b/​c I was very curious about the poached eggs with proscuitto on toast. and I was with a friend!
We were both not too hungry so we ordered 2 coffees and the poached eggs etc etc. The cashier asked if it was 1 order or 2, and I said 1. She then asked if we’d like it on separate plates. I said sure!
When we got them, it was rather good sized and beautifully presented with 1 half toast with plenty of proscuitto and 1 egg with 2 olives. It looked pretty and obviously there was some thought that went into it (rather than 1 dish with an extra plate like I’d assume they’d give).
It was ALSO not crowded (Sunday 10am) and C and I got to enjoy the cool (summer) outdoor morning and converse. As we were leaving around 10:30ish however, it became more crowded.
Of course, we went over to Acme… !
PS: I enjoyed the coffee.

Uh-​Oh
This place is
D
A
N
G
E
R
O
U
S
!
My friend, D, and I went here ostensibly for a little «snack.»
We ended up getting/​sharing:
A slice of Blue Cheese/​Potato Quiche
(Perfect in every way! Creamy and yummy with the blue cheese not overpowering. A layer of potatoes) Best quiche I’ve ever had!
Beignets with fresh preserves
Perfect! Light, and dusted with powdered sugar! OMG!
Almond Croissant-​buttery yumminess.
Baguette with butter and honey.
Heated slightly and oh so good!
We each had a soy hot chocolate-​another OMG moment.
Best hot chocolate ever! Served in bowl sized cups which I first thought was too big.
A five star lick-​your-​plate clean experience.
My first of many visits!
Oh and last but not least our server was so warm and sweet and was tickled to see the two of us like kids in a candy store gaping at the menu!
Only downside is there is only outside seating with tables.
Not a problem on that chilly morning we were dressed in layers of clothing

Got there about 830am on a saturday with a group of friends and we were ordering in 5 minutes. greeted with friendly faces behind the counter. As per the other reviews their café au lait is over the top great! Their beignets and quiche are wonderful. I had the buckwheat crepes w/​fruit & organic yogurt, which i loved although I wasn’t too crazy about the subtle sourness of the yogurt.
can’t wait to go back and try one of their levain toast!

Snuggled between a bakery and a wine store? Damn! It must be good… Um … NO.
Here’s a tip… the place is called «Fanny». That is a synonym for «ASS». As in this place tasted like ASS, this place treated me like ASS, this place is full of ASS heads, and finally this place charges a lot and gives so little that my ASS felt sore after leaving it.
The chicken sandwich was tiny and lacking flavor. The «nettle» soup? Dude? Seriously? If you’re going to make soup out of grass that makes a hippy gag… it should come with a warning. By topping off the insult you give me a skimpy tiny ice tea that doesn’t have enough quantity or even a refill to wash that nasty soup taste out of my mouth means you get a bad review.
This place is way too European. It’s usually very crowded and full of Berkeley elitists. They wear berets, sport long mustaches, or long scarves. They aren’t here for the food, they are here to flaunt their European flair. They like the tiny portions, they like the stand up tables, they like the green shit soup … because it makes them feel more European then they already make themselves out to be. Oh, and don’t get me started about the rude French MF’ers that work here. It took quite a bit of effort to not reach over the counter and stab one in the face with a fork.
Do yourself a fat favor. Grab a baguette from Acme and a coffee from your favorite place. That should set you back $ 5 and the experience will be a whole lot better than paying $ 18 for a soup/​sandwich/​tea at Assey’s … I mean Fanny’s
*Don’t believe me? Checkout the pictures I uploaded. tasteless flat little ASS chicken sandwich, Grass ASS soup, Tiny ASS ice tea… Rude staff not pictured.