Cafe 744

Three stars — that seems harsh but it’s ok. You’ll encounter worse and there are nicer options nearby, such as the Secretary of State grill and CalPERS cafeteria.
But Café 744 is fine. A bit pricey. The pizzas are ok. Sandwiches can be good to meh. Fries are underwhelming. The salad bar is lacking and pricey. Coffee is ok. I haven’t tried their breakfast dishes but hear good things.
The staff are friendly and always seem like they appreciate your business.
If you work nearby, then you’re likely to go often because the surrounding area is so lacking for a thirty minute lunch. Again, three stars not be because of any real negatives but because its… ok. Thanks.

Awesome service, customer service and food.

I work close to Café 744 and get breakfast there regularly. The food is good, price is reasonable and the service is friendly.
I’m giving it a 3 rating because when you call in an order, wait the 10 minutes, pay and go back to pick up your food, it may or may not have been made when you get there. The idea that the person on the phone says 5 – 10 minutes and they just start it when you walk up 10 minutes later defeats the purpose of calling in an order before hand. Today I called in paid and the guy looked at me, looked at the ticket and said «I’ll get it started right now. Do you have time to wait?» Since I didn’t feel like getting a refund and can’t eat raw chorizo I said okay but it’s a regular annoyance that you have to deal with.
So good food and prices, service is usually good. Call in service is sketchy.

This place is okay. It’s a bit confusing — you order your food at the cashier first and then you wait for your food at the back grill. Once you know, you know, but there’s no real signage to spell it out.
I had the turkeycado today. The meat was tasty, the bread was soft and good, the onion was good. It could have used more avocado and a little more tomato, but it is what it is. It was still delicious, I must admit. The price was right and I split it with partner and that was plenty of sandwich for lunch.
They have a punch card for coffee, which is GREAT, but you have to know to ask for it — it’s not offered.
You can order your food 5 minutes ahead of time, too, if you call. Again, pay at the cashier first when you go to pick up your food and then go to the back grill to grab your grub.

Got the today lunch special fried chicken with au gratin potato and corn for $ 8.13, fried chicken half part of the chicken was cold, not really worth it and way over price foods.

Small little café. Prices are reasonable. I haven’t tried the food YET, but I’ve heard that the onion rings are delicious. I always stop by here before work to grab some coffee before work. All the workers are friendly and they offer a punch card for the coffee. So, if you work in this building and need coffee… Don’t forget the punch card!

Prices keep going up here, but the food here seems like it’s getting smaller if anything. It’s still alright, but after price increases plus just getting tired of the burritos downstairs, CalPERS and Secretary of State seem to be better options. Kind of wish there were more food options in the area. :(

I stumbled upon this café on a fluke. This has to be one of the most unsanitary state building cafeterias ever. First and foremost the staff and cooks refuse to wear gloves during the preparation and handling of food. Yuck! Secondly the cook took down my order verbatim and still managed to get it wrong! Lastly, the staff are a bunch of non-​professionals that were more concerned with preparing their own food (@ approximately 1:05pm) for consumption than properly making my order. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone! I would rather take the risk of dining at «not so yummy choice» (Yummy Choice) located a couple of blocks away.

This is the cafeteria I run to since the one in my building is unacceptable. They have pastries, ready made food, food made to order, chips, snacks, and other goodies. Plus they take debit card! For someone who never has cash on hand that’s a plus!
They also have a huge patio outside to enjoy warm days and a large seating area inside when the weather isn’t so great. Service is pretty good too. Always friendly.

I work in this building and I gotta say, I love having Café 744 downstairs! It has all the essentials a worker-​bee, like myself, may need. They serve breakfast and lunch and you can order a large array of foods. They have their special of the day, soups, a salad bar, lots of beverage choices, including different kinds of coffee/​mochas, etc. I love their CHEESE FRIES! Not good for me, but so good! For the most part, everything is fairly cheap, which is also a bonus! Free salad dressing too, in case you brought your own salad and had no dressing. No one bothers you if you just grab some and leave free of charge. I asked the cashier once if it was okay and he said «yup, no problem!»
Great cafeteria food, super convenient and affordable… sounds like a winner to me!

I work at this building so i pretty much know their foods.
Its a decent place, its small cafeteria. It is kind of pricey especially for pre-​made sandwiches and salads. Its a small cafeteria. They have really good sandwiches but i dont think they are worth the $$$, you can pay like 7 – 8 bucks for something that would probably cost you 4 – 5 bucks over at calpers. I usually come here in the morning for coffee, tea, fruit, or tuna. i used to buy their behind the counter foods but it gets packed at lunch and i dont want to wait that long. If your in the mood for a meaty sandwich though, get the monterey, its roast beef with cheese and its delicious. BUt it is expensive and its kind of small. Theyre selection is not that big, your going to either get a soup, salad, or sandwich.
Its not a bad place, service is good but if you come between 12pm-​1230pm, its packed. If you are willing to, just make the walk over to CALPERS.

I’m not fond of cafeteria food since it is usually just barely edible. This place, however, is definitely much better than just edible. The Monterrey sandwich with the melted cheese, mushrooms, and hot beef is so very tasty. Pair that with the sweet potato fries and we have a delicious meal. They also have house made cookies fresh daily as well as a good supply of other fresh baked goods and a variety of fruits.
The only real negative I can see here is that the menu is very basic and short. I would love to see some eclectic variety brought in to spice things up.
One of these days I want to try their breakfast menu. Biscuits and gravy anyone? I hope it is good.

ICE ICE BABY! (FREE ICE! Hot Dam!)
SITREP
[This is written specially at the «urging» of the Honorable Peter Castillo (Oakland ALJ & my law school classmate).] ;^)
A café doesn’t get any closer than being RIGHT UNDER you! I work on the 14^th Floor in OB9 and Café 744 is just one elevator ride now (I know I know… it’s okay, I recognize and am on a first-​name basis now with all my stalkers — besides, some are downright cute!).
I still think that the Cafeteria @ CalPERS is probably the BEST office cafeteria that I’ve ever been too. And if I have a full hour to dedicate to lunch, that is still my preference. But what if I only have 20 minutes until my 1pm teleconference with East Coast colleagues that I can’t afford to miss, but I’ve been pounding out the power point and now I’m starving?!?
This is where Café 744 definitely fills a tremendous need for when I have to stay EXTREMELY local (as stay «IN» the building) but the dam vending machines are NOT going to cut it.
So I am terribly happy that Café 744 is there for more.
THE MENU
I think the best thing that the Café has going in terms of menu is their grill. I LOVE to get the various Panini sandwich options that they have. And they will make to order: if I want grilled cheese with TUNA, they will gladly oblige me for under $ 5. And for just an extra $ 1, they steak fries are usually decent. It CAN be hit and miss on some days, but in general, they are good.
There is a make-​do salad bar (nothing to write home about, but all the basic ingredients and salad dressings are there. There are fruit cups and granola cups and other kinds of cups for stuff. There are pre-​made sandwiches for only $ 2.99.
The odds & ends I certainly appreciate too like Dentyne gum which they have on hand.
ICE ICE BABY
But though I will probably only grab a meal here once every other week, I am down here literally just about EVERY DAY since I bring my own stash of Pepsi One cubes of cans that I get at Safeway — my favorite soda and yet it is not an option as a fountain drink anywhere. So the guys in the Café 744 happily oblige me and let me grab a full sport cup full of ice so I can satisfy my afternoon «caffeine-​infusion system» of choice. [Coffee is my MORNING «caffeine-​infusion system» of choice.‘
PARKING
Sucks sucks sucks. If you are from outta the neighborhood and don’t work within walking distance, this may be not be your best stop unless you were already planning on meeting somebody specifically in this building. Otherwise, go down to Broadway or over to Alhambra and hit one of the places that actually has free parking lots.
If you don’t mind unloading 5 quarters for an hour of Parking Meter, then I guess you are okay. Just make sure you aren’t late, though, in getting back to your car. Nothing worse than finding a $ 49 parking ticket which just ruins the cost-​effectiveness of going there.
THE LOWDOWN
So in terms of both service and product, I have to give a well-​above average rating for this «home» work-​hood establishment!

I’ve had the grilled sandwiches and they’re not bad. I like that you can order via phone or via email. I’ve had the Assembly and Senate Panini’s (4.99 plus tax each) and they’re tasty. The sweet potato fries are good, too. I’ve also had the Sunrise Burrito (large size) but it was tiny! I personally think they could have added a little more of everything; egg, sausage, cheese, and hash. If you’re able to get a cookie when it’s fresh, it’s delicious with a cup of joe. :)

The crew here at Café 744 are friendly, fast and courteous. Can’t go wrong with a Sunrise Sandwich or a Tuna Melt on Sourdough.