Cafe Dejena

Nothing extraordinary about the food, and the water tasted like chlorine (yuk). I got the dejena omlette, was missing some taste but sprinkled some salt and pepper on there and it was aiight.
Bright side: They had outlets and wifi, so at least I was able to work!

When I entered Café Dejena today, the woman behind the counter was mopping the floor. She gave me one of those world-​weary, «oh-​no-​not-​another-​customer» looks. «Are you closed?» I asked in astonishment, since the time was 1:30 p.m. and the café doesn’t close until 4. She mumbled something unintelligible. Could not have been ruder.
«Thanks for the warm welcome,» I said, and walked out. Who the eff trained this idiot in customer service?

Very pleasant staff. Outstanding baked goods. The coffee could be a tad stronger. Nice, clean and welcoming spot. Parking not a problem.

It’s surprising that it’s the one in the kitchen who decides what you eat. We ordered porridge (GEAAT) but we were told that the lady in the kitchen refused to make what we ordered. Even that it was said impolitely. THEY REALLY NEED TO IMPROVE!

Its been 2.5 years since I’ve been back here and it’s still great. Tasty, fresh Eritrean food served café style. No needless restaurant theater. And its always clean and cool in here. Not to mention a great bathroom/​chill place to post up if getting on/​off bart at MacArthur. Full coffee/​espresso/​bakery setup too. Breakfast is good here too.

Delicious breakfast !! !

I was in a hurry to catch my Bart train and ran in to grab a quick sandwich to go. They were very friendly and gave me a good recommendation for their tuna sandwich. The sandwich was delicious and came with a side salad. They were respectful of my time and helped me catch my Bart train! I had a great experience. :)

Pretty decent coffee shop. I always get the iced coffee which is delicious. I judge all coffee shops first on their iced coffee no matter how cold it is outside. Café Dejna delivers a strong iced coffee with a good flavor. After reading reviews on Unilocal,I decided to check it out after living a couple blocks away for years! And now I return on sunny days off as a nice stroll and a morning pick me up. I haven’t tried the food but it smells good and sure looks good when I peak on people’s tables! I probably would come here more often if they didn’t have a $ 5 minimum on credit/​debit cards. I would say that is the only thing keeping me from making it a part of my morning commute.

The guy working today was so nice. So I would say overall good service. One star more for that reason (plus the good tea).
The food on the other hand was another story. We ordered two Eritrean dishes kitcha fitfit and foul (fava beans). I’ve had the foul before and it was good but not so much this time. The kitcha fitfit was not traditional at all. Don’t think I would repeat these dishes.

Seems like good people but I just had to leave my order while it was being made or else I would have missed my bus. It shouldn’t take 25 minutes to make two eggs when there were only a few people in the café and you have two cooks in the back! Can I get my money back please?

Live around the corner and decided to get some breakfast takeout on Saturday morning. First time there and very impressed. Got a make your own omelette with spinach mozzarella and chicken sausage. It came with perfectly cooked potatoes (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside) and my choice of toast. Capped it off with a Classico smoothie that I added yogurt to. Healthy and filling meal!

Lovely spot for a bite or a brew:
*Free WIFI
*Plenty of seating, spacious
*Acceptable bathroom
*Service isn’t warm and fuzzy, think East Coast
*Menu to suit ALL needs: Eritrean, Italian and American, cooked to order
*Try the Tsebhe Tsome, 4 veggie samplers on injera
Not a QUICK spot to grab and go. More leisurely, so if you’re in a time crunch, skip.

Great coffee drinks, but only if the man is working. The woman that works the register is kind of rude and can’t get the coffee right.
Also– pricey for what it is. When starbucks is cheaper– yikes.
Lastly, it’s about a 5 minute wait for coffee. Not sure why but I haven’t really minded. Budget your time for them to make things just right.

they sold me a stale croissant this morning. that didn’t make me feel very good. and it was pricey for a stale thing.
i went in there once before for a bagel and cream cheese, which wasn’t very good either. that too was also a bit pricey for something not so good. and it took a REALLY really long time. it took so long it was almost performance art.
i wouldn’t have gone in this time but i was STARVING. i have to admit, i did know better but you know how it is when you’re starving.
i just want to say i really want to like this place. the location is perfect, it’s in my neighborhood, it’s cute looking. but you know what? all their pastries looked pretty crappy. they were wrapped in saran wrap in the refrigerated case like they were left over from yesterday. they didn’t have much of a selection and the service is hit or miss. i hope they get a make over. if they do, i’ll go there every day and spend a whole bunch of money.

Omg… I’m generally tolerable of bad service, I just don’t drop fat tips. When the service is great, I’m the best tipper. I onced waitressed so I understand the appreciation of a good tip. However today was a different story.
This café has always been hit or miss for me and continuously I give it a second chance. Third chance & so on…
Today was an extreme miss.
Ants in my food. Not live ants but dead baked in ants. Not one or two but many. I was actually eating them until I looked down and saw them all… never again.

Right of the MacArthur bart stop is this gem. Great service, sparkling clean, and good food. I don’t know the area and this was a major find. Give it a try if you need a spot to spend some time or to get a bite on your way. Free wifi and a great atmosphere helped make it an ideal spot for me to catch up on some reading.

Café Dejena occupies a very visible corner. this draws in a steady stream of foot traffic. windows are translucent so lots of natural sunlight warms up this café.
menu:breakfast, coffee, smoothies, hamburger eritrean/​italian, eritrean foods
eats: vegeterian kilwa (8.40)
–sliced mushrooms, jalepeno peppers, onions, various veggies
–semi hot spicy
–3 rolls of fresh injera bread given
–small dap of fresh salad,. with vinegarette,
good value, tasty food, 4 stars
pour :tazo green ginger tea, (1.80)
–got glass of hot water, tea bag, and spoon
–water not refilled later.
crumbs:
–coffee=mr. expresso, passed
–minimal service, cook brought out food, gave water
–counter person just takes orders, gets coffee, tea, no other service
–eritrean menu better value than american menu…

Unlike the café’s packed onto Telegraph’s Temescal District, Café Dejana is a bit of an outlier, standing solo on the corner of 40^th and MLK. However, this is Dejana’s greatest asset.
Aesthetically speaking, there’s an unmistakable uniqueness about the corner location of any dining establishment. Café Dejana takes full advantage with very large windows that frame fellow Oakies (Oaklandites, Oaklanders, Oaksters??) buzzing about their day.
Inside, the layout /​design is spacious and purposely spartan. I was pleased to find that the tables were more than large enough for me, my laptop, and food. The chairs were also comfortable enough that I could imagine studying or conducting a meeting for a few hours with out pain. From my casual observation there does not appear to be many outlets available but I did find one near my table. Your mileage may vary. Wifi was public (no password) and very fast compared to typically over saturated networks offered other places (most likely due to the very low foot traffic).
I might have a different perspective when it comes to food at café’s. I really don’t care. Café’s are study/​meeting/​I-​need-​to-​get-​out-​of-​the-​house kind of place for me. Location, aesthetics, and comfort are a much higher priority for me. Food wise I’ve only had their yummy over sized chocolate chip cookies and sausage/​spinach omelet. The omelete and homefries were surprisingly very flavorful. On this day I’d have taken their omelet over Aunt Mary’s usually bland offerings… but that’s for another review.
Generally speaking, Café Dejana can be looked at as another Café. However, it has an excellent corner location and low foot traffic (i.e. this place doesn’t get busy). If you want to get a sip off telegraph without going to far give these guys a try.

Wasn’t crowded, but I had to wait 20 mins for them to start making a smoothie. I kid you not, I ended up having to ask them to finally start making it.
Also, I tried to use the Wifi while i was waiting and it did not work.
Didn’t have a good experience. Probably not coming back.

How convenient is this? A coffee shop across the street from where I was staying in Oakland. The coffee was good but they serve Eritrean cuisine!
Next time? Lunch!