Bittersweet Chocolate Café

Looking for something to do on a rainy day? This is the place for you! Not only is there an assortment of fine chocolates, there are handmade truffles, chocolate desserts, various types of other pastries and best of all, a wide selection of hot chocolate.
My first time here so I had to try the classic hot chocolate. It was rich and creamy with a beautiful froth on top. It was probably a little bit on the sweet side for my taste but I’m normally a big fan of dark chocolate over milk chocolate. My friend ordered the spicy hot chocolate which had a nice kick but was still very balanced between the chocolate and spice. Will definitely be back to try some of the other hot chocolates.
Service was friendly and quick. No lines today. There was plastic covering the front window along with some wooden boards. Looked like someone broke the front window and they didn’t have time to fix it yet.

Service is terrible. The menu doesn’t have enough food and pastry options. I get the impression that the business isn’t doing well bc the owner seems super tense and unhappy. Although their chocolate products are good, the experience isn’t.

I came here with a friend on a cold evening, so it seemed fitting to get a nice cup of hot chocolate. The tables here are all different sizes and the one we sat at was not stable at all and would tilt back and forth. The tables and chairs here were just not very inviting. I think they should invest in some new décor and furnishing.
I got the salted caramel and my friend got the bittersweet. I wasn’t a big fan of the salted caramel. I felt like the caramel was a bit too overpowering so that it really took away from the hot chocolate. However, the bittersweet was actually really good!

This review is based solely on the service. Unfortunately, I have to update my review to reflect my last experience here, because after that, I’m not coming back.
I had been a regular here for a while, enjoying the excellent drinks while getting a solid few hours of work done. Last time I went was on a weekend and I planned to study for a while. Granted, it was very busy given it was a weekend and the place is pretty small.
I bought a $ 6 drink right away and was there for an hour before my friend joined me, who immediately bought a drink too. 2 hours into my study session I go buy a sandwich for lunch, and the owner rang me up. While I’m eating I see the owner and the barista looking over towards us periodically. And by looking I mean full on glare status. The barista comes by asking if I’m done and grabs my plate. (Usually patrons bus their own table when they leave)
I try to get back to studying but am getting unsettled by the constant staring. Finally the owner comes over and asks my friend if she’s done with her drink, and clearly her cup is still half full. The owner then looks over at me and asks me how long I’ve been there. I say 3 hours, and during that time I purchased a drink AND lunch, so I earned my spot. The owner rubs her face and says «yeah I know,» and then says that it’s really busy in her shop and people don’t have places to sit, implying that she would like us to leave. Really?!
I said we’d leave in an hour or so, as my friend wasn’t even done with her drink! After the owner left our table she still kept looking over at us, so we just packed up and left 5 minutes later.
Abominable service and treatment. I purchased my fair share that day, and I’m pretty much a regular there, and to be treated like chopped liver?
Too bad, because the drinks here are great (see my last review) but not worth it if you’re treated that way. Never was impressed on all my past visits with the stone faced baristas, including the owner, who exude hipster snob and don’t crack smiles. Plenty of other shops in the area with excellent drinks and staff that are friendly and actually appreciate the support of their customers.

We were in the mood for European style hot chocolate so we cam here.
It’s a cute café but the Bittersweet chocolate tastes watery– we’ve been spoiled by amazing drinking chocolate else where.
They made a custom Chocolate Chai with soy and added spices. Maybe because I had the chocolate cookie before drinking this, but the hot chocolate wasn’t as sweet as I’d hope. I could kinda taste the spices
³⁄₅.

It’s 8pm, do you know where your chocolate is?
It’s hard to find fault in a place that provides you with sweet, warm beverages and desserts relatively late into the night. Throw in Bittersweet’s homey wooden tables and cute poster collages, and you have a stellar spot for a study session, a coffee date, or just a full-​fledged chocolate binge.
Ordering a large hot chocolate and brownie was more than enough for two people to share. It was actually sort of a chocolate overload, not that I’m complaining. If I come back I’ll take a more restrained route and sample something off their shelf of colorfully wrapped bars. I saw fancy options like tea-​infused or dandelion chocolate.
Bonus point: there’s a bookstore next door! Drop in either before or after.

whatever is going on at Bittersweet in North Oakland is very sad. They used to produce quality products but it’s gone downhill. While the bittersweet hot chocolate itself is still very good, the service is terrible and the morning pastry selection is lackluster. Mostly was turned off by checked out employees who just didnt seem to care at all about what they were doing.

This place has the best hot cocoa in town. The chocolate cake tasted excellent too. Staff is friendly. It’s a rustic place with jazz music. The place is full and you might have to come at the right time to get seating. The seats are hard wood chairs in case that bother you… Love it!

I really love this place. Mainly for the Aztec shakes, and the truffles. Chairs could be a bit more comfy.

Horrible service … I ordered 2 milks for my kids … They make chocolate milk instead … I send my 10 year old to exchange it … The cashier sent him back without doing it … She argued with him that we ordered in correctly … We were leaving and I told the cashier that we had indeed ordered milks … She says «no you ordered one chocolate and one regular » … I was livid … Who argued with the customer … Let alone a 10 year old … In the end … Not one apology … Never exchanged one of the milks … Just terrible attitude

Hung out here again. Tables still hella wobbly. Wobbly af.
Got a terrible vibe from the barista albeit they had a pretty cool punky aesthetic going on. But then, idk. Like at one point the barista was like «Is anyone really hot? Is it me or is it really hot in here?» And they went to open the door. And one of the other patrons was like looking all uncomfortable about it. And then the barista was like «You’re cold?» And the patron responded something confusing like «Yes but I’ve been cold since I was a child.» And then the barista was like «You should do something about that.. .Have you peed recently?»
And so idk. I like that barista a lot now.
Plus I’ve decided that the experience of having to balance a small but insanely full cup of hot chocolate without even a saucer on a wobbly table is actually comical in a «this is my life» sort of way.

My sister and I went to Bittersweet– the chocolate café for the first time yesterday. We were so excited to try this place out. It was going to be our new little tradition. We found parking 3 blocks away off College Ave on a Saturday morning– we felt lucky! Loaded up my 6 mo old baby boy in the carrier with Santa hat and all! When we arrived we were greeted by a sweet young lady who took our order. My sister and I were like little kids in a candy store all goo goo eyed and ready to try it all! So, we ordered and then my sister mentioned that she had an expired Living Social coupon where it states CLEARLY that once the coupon is expired the promotional value is expired but the paid value NEVER expires. In this case $ 15. So! My sis explains that she has an expired coupon and just wants to redeem the coupon for the paid amount of $ 15 and says however they want to do it is fine with her. The sweet girl that took our order says she’ll have to get her boss– ok no problem. Then she comes back with the owner who mumbles loud enough for us to hear her, «I knew this living social deal would come back to bite me!» My sis and I looked at each other like «uh-​oh.» So we just kept interacting with the sweet girl who wanted to know if we wanted anything else to which my sister added a tea cake. Then the owner turned her back to us and told her other employee something along the lines of changing the name to «just Bitter»! She turned back to us and slammed the register. My sister politely asked, «is there anything I can do?» The owner said, «when I took over this place they said the living social deals wouldn’t follow me.» She was CLEARLY irritated and taking it out on us. I said to her, «you’re making this really uncomfortable for us.» She said,” I’m NOT making things uncomfortable.” So our order was almost ready and the line behind us is now getting bigger and my sister looks at me and asks if I’d like to go somewhere else to which I say yes. So we just start to leave without out the cakes and hot chocolate and decide the living social coupon is useless and leave it. We got to the door when she called for me– I turned around and she had my sisters $ 15 in hand… I’m confused? I take the money and we leave. So now she’s out $ 15, the two drinks that were made and two hopeful long time customers. Was it worth it? We’ll never go back. What incredibly bad customer service. The only thing I agree with her on is that maybe in fact the name should be changed to just BITTER. She made the naughty list and is for sure getting coal in her stocking! Silver lining is we walked down the street and had an AMAZING breakfast at Crepevine! Be warned of the Scrooge who runs Bittersweet (the chocolate café.) She only gets the second star for returning our money and the fact that the person taking our order was sugary sweet! She should take customer service tips from her young employees!

Disappointing.
The hot chocolate at a place that supposedly specialized in such things should taste better, actually be hot, and (for $ 4) be larger.
It worked out well that the hot chocolate was not really hot since we had to finish rather quickly add they closed thirty minutes earlier than indicated by their website.
And the chocolate croissant bread pudding was just, as indicated for the entire visit, disappointing.

Customer service was extremely rude and impatient. They acted like they were doing me a favor. Will not come again

Came here with a friend on a cold evening. I got the salted caramel and my friend got the bittersweet. I wasn’t a big fan of the salted caramel but the bittersweet was actually really good! Might come back to try some more flavors.
As to the set up of the café, the tables were inconsistent sizes and placed in odd places and the table we sat at was severely uneven, so the ambience wasn’t the best.

I’d have to agree with many other Unilocalers here. If you don’t get a sugar high just by breathing in all the chocolate in the air upon walking in here, you’ll definitely start bouncing off the walls like a second-​grader after you try the bittersweet hot chocolate. It’s like liquid crack, only better. And it’s so smooth, rich, and thick that it’s just like drinking chocolate. Not that there’s anything bad about that. At all.
The ambience is cozy and rustic, but doesn’t really seat all that many people. Moreover, on a hot day, it can be incredibly stifling in here. Nevertheless, this is one place that’s worth saving room for after you’ve already had a nice lunch or dinner at one of the many upscale establishments along the College Ave. corridor.

Pretty chill environment and the baristas are all excellent. Otherwise pretty basic.
4.60 for some chocolate zucchini bread? Com’on now.
3.00 for a 16 ounce drip brew coffee?
This ain’t even SF.
This is my most frequented coffee spot in DT Oakland but I think you see what I am saying.
I am not going to use adjective ad nauseum, and overly romanticize a coffee shop. It’s a goddamn coffee shop, we’ve all been to one before.
If you haven’t been to a coffee before this would be a good place to start.
Not a bad place to sit down and get some work done.
Coffee is good, not great. Bakery selections slightly above par. I think they make it in house, so their is that.
In summation, I am giving Bittersweet Chocolate Café only 3 out of 5.

I absolutely love love love the hot chocolate classic. It is my favorite compared to the bittersweet. It just melts in my mouth and the consistency is hypnotizing. It sits at the tip of my tongue. I swear my mood is the best after one sip.
The first time I had this was about a week or two ago and I went back nearly every day afterwards. I was inspired after rewatching the movie Chocolat. Chocolate is truly powerful and when I indulge, I am reminded of the rich history and medicinal properties. I love to drink hot chocolate, walk around the charming neighborhood, and converse with my loved one.
The 5 stars is just for the hot chocolate classic alone but the actual environment is a little awkward. Although friendly, the servers do not seem to respond well to questions. I think they need a little music or something to liven up the environment; also, something about the flow seems to be off although the drinks are delivered pretty swiftly.
I have not tried any of the pastries but they don’t seem to be as appetizing as their drinks! Oh and I’ve been wanting so badly to try the hot white chocolate drink but they always claim to be sold out every time I visit. Hopefully it will be available soon!

I’m a serious chocolate fan. I once chose an apartment based on its proximity to chocolate. (I wish I was joking here…). It might be my fault for imagining a better, richer chocolate. But when I drank my hot chocolate here; it was bland. Boring. Tasted like a simple hot-​chocolate powder. I love the ideas of this café, just wish the chocolates were more rich. Or more exciting.

I’m reluctant to call what’s served here hot chocolate… it’s more like Drinking Chocolate. The «Bittersweet,» their signature drink, actually tastes like they melted a chocolate bar into a cup. It’s not too sweet, definitely not bitter, and incredibly thick. If you let it cool and stand for a few hours (which can happen if the conversation is more engrossing than the hot chocolate… which hopefully happens from time to time?) it actually hardens. Amazing.
The ambiance is cute, a mixture of urban and rustic. You can get cookies, muffins, brownies and an occasional sandwich. There’s not much space to sit, but it’s a nice to place to take a break in the afternoon. It’s even more useful if there’s a holiday (or random Tuesday) approaching that requires chocolate gifts. AHEM!!!

Bittersweet is great on those chilly nights. It has a nice rustic feel. the counter has baked goods of your choice. The menu is on the wall. Seating is limited but they do have a few seats outside. The hot chocolate is delicious.

Good vibes here, very cozy and European. But come with the correct intentions: to consume something chocolately. You must rate a place based on what they intend to do, not what you want them to do, right?
Bittersweet is equal parts neighborhood café, with coffee, tea and pastries AND specialty shop for all things chocolate. They sell some decadent hot cocoa mixes, truffles, chocolate bars, and fresh baked pastries (the brownies look formidable: thick slabs of dense chocolate.) This would be a great spot to fix some hormonal cravings, soothe a bad day, enhance some girl talk with sugar and carbs, etc.
Not a ton of seating, but a few good nooks. I wasn’t clear on whether there was wifi, but saw a few laptops up. The staff was helpful and pleasant, with a touch of eccentricity. It’s a boutique chocolate café after all.
Note: I ordered a chai latte, like I do everywhere. It was pretty mild compared to what I’m used to. Another reason for a full-​on chocolate binge next time.

Go here when you feel like splurging as a college student. I treasured every single sip, bite, and lick of my $ 9 mocha and zucchini bread combo.
I automatically get an extra heart beat for coffee shops that offer almond milk and Bittersweet Café does, yay! Their mocha had the perfect blend of chocolate and coffee where neither overpowered the other and just created a delicious combination. The zucchini bread is AMAZING! It is super soft due to the zucchini and I think almond flour, and very rich in taste. It’s also huge so it can be shared (or you can be like me and down the entire slice)
I will be coming back to try the Chocolate Chai!