Cafe W

Good, fresh, organic and nice menu …
just a bit pricey but. it’s Berkeley and most of all. Berkely bowl !

Yet again the service here is poor. I swear every weekend morning we are here, the staff acts like it is their first day. Today when we walked up to order, the person did not say a word and just looked at us. I had to ask if I could order something. Food is good. Great spot to get a breakfast sandwich before shopping at BBW, but get some staff in here that can at least smile and speak…

A solid spot for a good lunch. I’ve had club sandwiches, salads, similar things, and all have been pretty decent. I tried a burger a while back and was pretty disappointed (it tasted like a cheap frozen patty), so that’s a factor in the 3-​star rating. They have a pretty good variety of food, however, and I’m sure other things are great. The chicken pot pie, for example, is pretty delicious, but it seems to be available only in the colder months.

Something like a 3.5, but rounded up to a 4 because of what they’ve got going on:
(+) Ingredients are always fresh as can be, given that they are part of Berkeley Bowl.
(+) Staff is cool and friendly.
(-) Prices are on the high side, for entrees, soups, salads, drinks.
(+) Peet’s coffee.
(+) ATM that is affiliated with a credit union, so those of you who have a CU will not pay any bank fees.
(+) Compostable water cups, bins for both compost and recycling.
(0) One bathroom that is almost always occupied. There is another one up the outside stairs of the building that is multi-​use.
(+) Pretty good amount of seating, although it can still fill up during lunch.
(+) Sushi from Aurora sushi in the market itself.
(+) Baked goods from the market too.
(+) GELATO!
I have found that upon eating lunch there several times, the food out of the kitchen is a bit below expectations, especially for the price. The BBQ is just OK, and quite costly, and the sandwiches are always interesting, but don’t quite do it for me. They make their own potato chips, fries and onion rings, all of which are pretty good. The clam chowder is almost 5 bucks. Tip: you can get the same size self-​serve clam chowder in the market for $ 3.55. Also note that this is generally true: Baked goods that you can get in the store are also priced higher. For instance, the red velvet cupcake is $ 2.25 in the café, but only $ 2.00 in the bakery 50 feet away.

This place is the perfect lunch getaway. It’s quick, easy and the food is delicious. PLUS, the prices are very reasonable. There’s a wide variety of choices and the servers are friendly and helpful. A coworker had raved about Café W and so lunches can be busy there. But I wanted to eat a quiet lunch and read my book and this was perfect at 2 p.m.
I ordered a hot eggplant sandwich that had artichokes and cheese. I comes with homemade potato chips. SUPER YUM. The awesome thing is the convenience — plenty of parking and you can pick up other groceries at Berkeley Bowl West afterward.

Alan and I had lunch here today, then did a shop at BBW. The café is clearly a success. We arrived a little before 1:00 and it was crowded. As w/​the garage, signage is a problem and ordering presented some confusion. A cold case across from the cooking area, to your left as you approach, holds prepared items like sandwiches, salads and sushi. Near the cooking area are multi-​page menus to look over. There are cold sandwiches, hot sandwiches, BBQ and I forget what all else. Prices are very reasonable. In the absence of signs directing you, the staff is alert to looks of confusion and helps you find where you want to go. One person at the counter where you order and check out writes up your order and gives it to the cooks. The cashier rings you up and gives you a number for your table so the food runners can find you. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich ($ 4.95) w/​heirloom tomato (+75¢) and applewood smoked bacon (+$ 1). Alan ordered a chicken salad sandwich and onion rings. I had hot tea. They serve Peet’s teas.
Because it was so crowded we initially had to share a table w/​a couple of women. Once a two top opened up by the window we moved over to it. Tables often don’t get wiped down when it’s busy simply because they don’t remain empty for long. Staff works hard and when a table’s unoccupied for more than a minute they’re on it. Speaking of working hard, I think it would be easier for staff to see the table markers if the markers were taller. As it is, they’re 2−3″ red plastic «tents» w/​numbers and they must be hard to see. Fortunately the café isn’t huge, so it doesn’t take too long to hunt people down to bring them their orders.
Our table offered us a great view of the comings and goings on the street. When my sandwich arrived I noticed it lacked the tomato and bacon. I told one of the runners, who took it back and returned in a few minutes w/​the right one. Meanwhile I sampled the onion rings, which Alan and I agreed were exemplary. Not huge, but beautifully seasoned and fried perfectly. His chicken salad was very tasty, w/​nice crunchy vegetables mixed in and what seemed to be yogurt rather than mayonnaise as a binder. Very good. My sandwich was excellent too. Both sandwiches were accompanied by potato chips that probably weren’t made there but were crispy and well seasoned.
On the way out I noticed a bakery case holding gorgeous pastries and other goodies. Nice for an afternoon treat w/​coffee or tea. This is a great addition to the neighborhood and a boon for shoppers at BBW. If I worked in the area it would be a regular lunchtime place for me. In one of the bits of serendipity I love, I ran into someone I used to work w/​and so did Alan. That always makes it feel like a community.

OMG! i am so glad that the café attached to the new Berkeley Bowl finally started selling food! i have been three times in the last week and i have not been disappointed yet. They offer cold and hot sandwiches, soups, salads, wood oven and rotisserie specialties, and barbeque. Their quality is excellent, as they are using the wonderful products of the Bowl and their prices are totally reasonable. i have sampled the following:
— Asian Chicken Salad: honestly not the best i have had. it was good, but i felt it was a little under-​dressed (which is odd for me) but the flavors were good and they chicken was of good quality as well as the lettuce that went into it.
— Meatloaf Sandwich: Great! meatloaf was flavorful. they also put quality cheddar and applewood smoked bacon which really rounded the whole thing off. also, excellent ciabatta roll.
— Ultimate Cuban Sandwich: My fav so far. Pork loin, rosemary ham, swiss, mustard and pickles… what can be better. it was everything you always wish your ham sandwiches could be and so much more. i normally dont like pickles on my sammies, but they work very well here. i dont remember what type of bread it was on, but it was warm, fresh and delicious. AND they give you free chips with your sandwich, all for only $ 6.95!!!
i highly recommend if you live or work nearby for lunch or if you are shopping and get hungry and want a little bite to eat afterwards.