Berkeley Cafe

Great place for lunch! The specials are always good. Great prices. Beer selection is good. I love the «Shut Up and Eat It» option.

Don’t let this place fool you.
The Berkeley Café is a great place for food and has a great atmosphere too boot. Been there twice now and each time I got the «Shut Up or Eat It» and was pleased each time.

Decent drinks decent food. Extremely clean kitchen! Great prices great owner friendly staff. I can’t say enough positive things about this new little joint by the law school

If you are lucky enough to be in Raleigh for Food Truck Takeover Tuesday, make a reservation and go! The evening is very special. The food is delicious, the staff incredibly nice and the experience delicious and fun. We have been to two Tuesdays and are going back for more. Fun and casual.

Unfortunately this used to be one of my favorite local spots for lunch, but now that it’s under new management the food has gone downhill. Burger was meager and flavorless, fries were horribly over cooked. A shame as Warehouse District has limited options and at least for me this one is now off the radar.

I was in town for a conference, and a few of us decided to hit the town. I didn’t eat anything, so I can’t attest to the food. However, I do want to call out how nice the staff was to all of us. They were very kind and knowledgeable about their beer selection, and overall it was a very enjoyable experience. The music was incredibly loud despite the place being almost empty at that time of night, but that’s my only gripe.

Awesome service, awesome food. Good beer selection on tap. Great place to get out for a bite or some day drinking.

Berkeley Café is really about its live music but I couldn’t resist visiting for lunch. Run by the folks who used to own Sadlack’s, I had fond memories of my meals there and stopped in. Berkeley Café is definitely an interesting venue for music and the lunch counter is super spiffy. Nice polished wood bar top and a small selection of grill items, sandwiches and of course, their popular sweet tater tots. I go for the burger with sweet tots and apple dipping sauce.
Food takes 10 — 15 minutes and they use good toppings here. But the burger’s a bit small and when the lunch goes for $ 12 with a drink, it just doesn’t feel like that good a value. But still, I enjoyed my meal and you can’t beat sweet tater tots! I’d have to guess that the Berkeley Café is a better visit if you’re here for the live music AND the food. But for a quick lunch visit, it still hits the spot…

Great lunch spot with friendly service.
I had a turkey sandwich, served hot on marbled rye with lettuce, tomato, mustard, banana peppers, and I forget what else. It was pretty delicious, though.
I like the ambiance: Brick walls, simple, order-​at-​the-​counter, small, convenient to people who work downtown. I took mine to go, but one could easily and comfortably stay there. This little strip of street beneath Nash Square is often forgotten, but offers a nice little location. I could easily see ordering a sandwich during nice, warm days and taking it across the street to eat on a bench in the park.
(Nice warm days? Who am I kidding? It is all but 17 degrees right about now.)
The guy working there even gave me some $ 1 off coupons to share with my colleagues. Will do, sir!

Reasonably priced, quick service. Very tasty burgers & sandwiches. Definitely recommend.

Sadlack’s famous sandwiches in a Raleigh hole-​in-​the-​wall.
Berkeley is next to Raleigh’s oft-​forgotten Nash Square, on a strip of West Martin that used to be a little more active.
I was a little sad when Berkeley closed off their larger room. That was one of the better Hopscotch Music Fest venues and was a nice bridge between CAM and King’s. Now Berkeley is left with a smaller space, with a patio out back.
When you walk in for lunch, you will place your order at the counter after looking at a menu that will be very familiar for anyone that went to NC State University. Make sure to have cash on-​hand since they don’t take cards. I ordered the Italian sub aka Dr. Frank’s Special. I went with chips on the side. But, I’m not a sweet potato fan. The sweet potato tots are apparently the go-​to side for your sandwich.
On a quiet Monday, I expected a bit faster service for my group of coworkers. Our sandwiches came out over the span of what seemed like 10 minutes. But, in the end, Berkeley has made it into my lunch rotation and I’m looking forward to trying more of the sandwiches that my Wolfpack friends have enjoyed for years.

I love this place for a great sandwich at lunch time. The Pitts wrap is the bomb!!! Also their homemade chips are out of this world! Very clean, friendly staff and great food make it one of my regular places to dine!

Love this place. Staff and owners are very friendly and make terrific recommendations. I am eating low carb and they accommodate me with great tasting wraps. Try the greek wrap and my favorite, «The Pits» wrap, which is the best wrap in Downtown Raleigh.

I never went under the old restaurant so I can’t comment as to whether or not it’s better. I will say that I enjoy Berkley for what it is (and I knew full well what to expect). I’ve been there a few times. They have a fairly decent beer selection with the typical beers and some local. They have music here and there on the weekend. Food is surprisingly good. I’ve had several burgers and they all seem to be good choices. The tator tots are awesome– especially sweet potato ones. Plastic cups for beer and baskets for the food. Its definitely a dive bar/​restaurant, but this place is proof that dive doesn’t mean bad. I think they do bingo on Monday.

Great under the new management! I had one of the veggie subs and added bacon. Superb. Great value for money. Great beer selection with 12 rotating taps.

Good food, nice beer selection, good prices, and very friendly staff. A great place to start or end the night.

Went to see Chris Knight at Berkley Café last night with the missus. Ho-​ly crap, am I going to miss seeing shows here! While I can’t speak for the food (since we stopped by Fiction Kitchen before the show), I can tell you a few things: the promoter, Marianne, is awesome; the sound quality is good; the space is intimate; and the crowd is stoked to be here. The only downside, and maybe this is just what I’m used to coming from Philadelphia, is that the banter coming from the people heckling the drunk, old guy who spent the night finger-​blasting his side chick on the corner of the stage seemed a bit lackluster. Oh, well. Nobody’s perfect.

Great food, great staff, awesome live music at night! The Berkeley Café is amazing

Went to see Kevin Welch at The Berkeley a couple weeks ago and was
satisfied with the sound and honest gruginess of the atmosphere.
The beer was cold and the music was hot! What more can one ask for?
I received an email to remind me the concert was coming up. I appreciate that.

The Berkeley is a pretty sweet little place. I dig the atmosphere more than anything, really. I’ve only been there a few times, whenever there’s an Improv show, and think it’s definitely a great venue.
What I love is that it feels like two different places. You walk in and it’s little cozy little bar with super cheap and yummy bar foods and decently priced beer, and then you make left and POW STAGE!
Excellent place for any event, staff’s pretty chill, and they have Woodchuck and I’m a sucker for some Woodchuck. Yep.