Stood at the empty receptionist desk clearly waiting to be seated. Multiple servers made eye contact but no one made a move to actually seat me. This was on a summer weekday morning. Dunno if they were short-staffed or they didn't care about a single customer but just thought it was poor service. read more

Food is divine, but don't forget that it is one of the best venues in town! Love seeing shows here as much as I love the cheesy grits.

If I could give it 0 stars, I would. After traveling to Columbia for four years, the wait was always too long. Since I was visiting my two college kids today, we decided to try it on a weekday. We were very disappointed. The food came out literally cold, our coffee was never refreshed, and I asked our waiter 3 times for sugar which we didn't receive until right before we were getting up to leave. Our waiter seemed like a character from the movie Dazed and Confused. Both my kids said they thought he was on something. It is too bad, as we heard great reviews. Will not be going back again. Also, was $60 with the tip for three to eat breakfast. Prefer Glenn's Cafe for that price and I know we would have had a great breakfast. read more

The food is really good. Probably the best breakfast place in Como and the coffee is also better than most diners. However, the service is pretty hit or miss and it kinda sucks when you're paying a higher price for things but aren't receiving the service you would expect from doing so, which brings me to my next point. Pretty pricey overall. The portions are certainly a good size but most breakfast places are and I'm not sure the high prices are justified on some of the items. TLDR: food and coffee is good. Service is typically disappointing and higher prices than most breakfast places. read more

Let me start by saying my food was mostly good. I had the ham and eggs on cornbread with gravy. It was a bit small for my appetite and the potatoes on the side were pretty undercooked, but no big deal. The problem was with the service. For one it was slow. From the time we sat ourselves until someone approached us for drinks was about 20 minutes. But it happens. What really soured me on this place and why I can't recommend it was what happened with two of my friends' orders. One got a pancake burrito stuffed with bacon and eggs, the other got a stack of pancakes. The waiter took their order without mentioning a word. When the food came out they obviously asked for syrup, a somewhat customary part of the pancake experience. The waiter said "we're out of syrup" with complete nonchalance and walked away. We thought he was joking and would be back with it in a moment when he brought out the ketchup. When he returned with no syrup and told them he was seriously out, my one friend looked like she was going to cry (I mean, have you ever attempted to eat pancakes without syrup?) and the the other, a server for the past decade asked him how he could possibly not mention such a thing at the time of ordering. "I don't know, but we're out of it." Its one thing to be out of certain ingredients. Its not even a remotely big deal to be out of syrup. But to not mention you're out of a key ingredient in a meal at the time someone orders it is simply obnoxious. That's like ordering a grilled cheese sandwich and have them bring you toast, then say, 'oh, we're out of cheese.' I get it, you're staffed by little hippie slacker college kids who don't give the best service. That's cool, I usually like places like that. But at least try to hire the ones that aren't completely thoughtless. read more

I have only been to Cafe Berlin for breakfast. They have a large menu with several vegetarian and vegan options, plus they are always willing to do substitutions to makes a dish vegetarian. I also appreciate Cafe Berlin's commitment to local organic ingredients. I recommend the Mediterranean Plate and the Starving Artist (with tofu subbed for eggs in both). The vegetarian gravy is delicious and spicy, but contains dairy and is not vegan-friendly. They lose a star for their off days. I have on occasion gotten really bad food, for a menu item that I generally enjoy. They also seem to run out of items frequently. It doesn't happen often enough to keep me from returning, but it's always a disappointment when it does happen. read more

Had breakfast here on a Friday morning a little after 8:00. Was a little surprised at how much business they did. The place wasn't full or crowded but people did keep coming in. Service was good - no complaints. Enjoyed the coffee - from Lakota Coffee Company. Had the Southern Breakfast - 2 eggs, 2 bacon strips (had a choice of ham, sausage or bacon, all from a local provider), and a half order of bicuits and gravy (one biscuit in a small bowl, covered in sausage gravy). It was good. I gave a 4 rating because the food is fresh made and some from local sources at reasonable enough prices. It is not food off the truck, they are making an effort and seem to be succeeding. read more

I have found my new favorite breakfast spot in Columbia. I've always heard good things about Cafe Berlin, but have never had the chance to eat there, that was until this morning. So, so, so, good. Seriously. Giant menu, breakfast on one side, lunch on the other. All offering local, organic, good-for-you ingredients. It actually took me quite a while to decide on what I was going to eat but I eventually decided on the Mexican-themed eggs. Local, free-range organic-eggs, scrambled with sauted onions, green peppers, jalapeños and banana peppers served with salsa that had to of been straight from the Mexican gods themselves. Seriously, this salsa was AMAZING (and I'm quite the picky salsa eater) it was kinda sweet but also spicy and tasted great with my eggs. The dish also came with a warm flour tortilla and a side of delicious black beans. All for seven bucks. It was so good, I'm seriously contemplating eating there again tomorrow. I also got a glass of the fresh-squeezed juice, which was a tad pricey ($3) but like others have said, so worth it. Service was fast and friendly and the atmosphere is also really cool- a mix between a coffee shop and a full service restaurant. The place was kinda busy and I'm sure we were lucky in finding a open booth right when we walked in. Again, if you haven't tried Cafe Berlin, do it. You'll thank me later. read more

Holy crap. Never thought I'd encounter something so good. There was a short wait, about 3 minutes to get our table. The host said it was 20. But that's probably because the groups called didn't show up. And that's good. Atmosphere is really comfy and welcoming. Only complaint that's not really deal breaking is that it is the music was a little loud. But we have only scratched the surface. It gets more spectacular. Before the food came one person in my group got orange juice for all of us to split. It did have bits of orange in it but that didn't matter. The juice was delicious. But we still have more greatness to get to. I got the Breakfast Burrito. This was stuffed with potatoes with jack cheese, eggs and I chose bacon as my meat for the burrito. Now onto the burrito itself. It was delicious and full of delicious flavor. The salsa that came with it was a nice touch that enhanced the dish. Bacon was crispy. Which is a must for my tastes. One other member in my group got a giant pancake burrito. It was huge. So I had to help him. The flavors of the pancake burrito was amazing. Had most of the same filling as my breakfast burrito. The final member got the Yankee. Basically a breakfast burrito without the tortilla, not much more to say. Very nice server, reasonable price, wonderful atmosphere with the exception of the music volume, reasonable service and comforting food that lasted for hours added up to a 4.5 star review, but with the Yelp "whole star system", I had to round up to 5. This place deserved it. Go here if you live in Columbia or are passing through and looking for food to eat, or if you are a tourist, go to this place. read more

Some co-workers and I stopped here the other day on our lunch break and happened to catch their weekend brunch just before they closed! It wasn't until we sat down at our table that I looked them up on yelp and discovered they were to close in half an hour. I immediately felt awful that we were "those people". But I looked up and saw that the place was 100% packed. Every table was full and another party was seated just after us. Our waitress said this was pretty common, so they're obviously pretty friggin' popular! I had already had a huge breakfast, so I opted to two sides - potatoes and breakfast sausage. The potatoes were very nicely seasoned and roasted, but they were cut in much larger chunks than most breakfast potatoes I've had. And the breakfast sausage wasn't seasoned quite enough for my tastes - they were on the bland side. However, one of my coworkers ordered the Butch Jones and it was absolutely incredible!!! The menu describes this dish as a "smaller pancake" topped with a half order of apples and sausage. This pancake was by no means small. AND it was filled with scrambled eggs and strips of bacon!! The apples were cooked to perfection and the sauce it created was caramel-ly and sweet. This was the perfect sweetness to soak into the pancake and balance the kick of spice from the andouille sausage. My dear co-worker let me try a bite and I about died - it was absolutely everything you want in a breakfast dish. You got the salty, the sweet, the meat, a punch of flavor, not to mention the perfect layer of textures - the fluffy eggs and pancakes, the crispy bacon and the chewy sausage. I felt bad for my other coworker. He was on the fence about what to get. All he knew was that he was really hungry. So he ordered a couple things - a pancake topped with the apples and sausage, a side of eggs and a side of bacon. Obviously, once our food arrived we realized this was silly because he could've gotten the exact same things by simply ordering the Butch Jones. But the menu didn't mention the eggs and bacon and the waitress failed to point that out. So he basically got the exact same dish but paid more because of ordering everything separately. Not cool. One other positive I will note - great selection of music! I constantly noticed, "Hey, I love this song!" And the music was never too loud as to make conversation a challenge. But now that I know my way around the menu, I will absolutely make the two hour drive back to Columbia as soon as I can so that I can have a Butch Jones all for myself!!! read more

Came here for brunch on a Sunday and had a bit of a wait for our party of 6. Most people ordered a bloody mary which they claimed was standard but nothing to write home about. However, the food more than made up for it! I ordered the Butch Jones which is the pancake burrito with sweet apples and sausage on top. So dericious! Super sweet syrup but the bacon inside the burrito and the sausage balanced it out very well. I also sampled some of the Compost Pile, which was so good! Veggies tasted fresh, gravy was delicious with the burger and biscuit! One of my friends ordered the Starving Artist, and she said it tasted fresh, and the veggie gravy had good consistency and flavor. read more

Cafe Berlin - Butch jones - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

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Excellent and varied food with a variety of vegan and vegetarian choices. It was very busy. Our wait was 30 minutes. Even so, we found the wait staff friendly and efficient. read more

This place was packed for a reason. The food was amazing. I got the Butch Jones and once I put it in my mouth, so many flavors were happening! It was soooo delicious! I loved the pancake wrapped in bacon, apples, sausage, & onion. The service was awesome. I sat at the bar to avoid the wait. Well done, Cafe Berlin! I must come again! read more

Cafe Berlin - Amazing! Get the Butch Jones. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

Unfriendly staff, unwelcoming atmosphere. Food was good, but not notable. There are plenty of great breakfast options in Columbia, skip this one. read more

I think a colleague of mine said it best when she stated, "this is a great spot to eat if you like being served by someone with dirt under their fingernails." honestly, my breakfast burrito was overpriced, not that flavorful at all, and took forever. I'm consistently baffled, too, that the wait staff can be both completely dirty hippies and still totally pretentious. Must be all that organic food they're digging up with their bare hands that give them some sense of entitlement. I don't know. read more

Great breakfast spot with a unique menu featuring lots of fresh veggies, many vegetarian options and plenty of healthy options. Cocktails, man-mosas and craft beer selection was impressive but we settled for the Twist, a blend of fresh orange and grapefruit juice and lemonade. Super pulpy and thick and delicious!!! For breakfast she had a sausage and egg taco plate that's was super tasty, full of veggies, and came with some great salsa. I had the veggie scramble with crispy potatoes. Lots of sautéed spinach, mush, onion, and peppers over scrambled eggs. Super fresh and nicely prepared. Flavors were pretty basic but it still very satisfying and enjoyable with a few dashes of hot sauce. Potatoes were nicely seasoned and crisped and featured a mix of sweet and russet potatoes. read more

Cafe Berlin - Veggie scrabble. Tons of good veggies and awesome potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

A delicious hipster establishment just off the main drag in downtown. Excellent brunch, although get your name in early because it fills up VERY quickly. read more

This is my absolute favorite restaurant in all of Columbia, possibly that I've ever been to. I've never been a fan of breakfast food, but I could eat breakfast here every day. The food is amazing, it's all from good sources, and the service is fantastic. I don't think there's really any other restaurant I could compare them to. I'm a vegetarian, and I'm astounded by the number of choices they offer and the things they're willing to substitute. Their meet substitutes are so good I had to ask a waitress whether or not it was actually fake meat. I eat here every chance I get. The food is absurdly good and very filling. I could not recommend it enough. A little pricey, but well worth the money for what you get. I honestly don't think they could charge less for the amount of thought and the quality of ingredients they put into their food. read more

Cafe Berlin - Dish: Starving Artist - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

Although the service has morphed over the past few years (the level of pretension has remained pretty consistent, but at least service used to be more efficient). I recently discovered a new favorite dish, the Starving Artist with poached eggs. The vegetarian chipotle gravy makes the dish amazing, so I would imagine a side of gravy could easily improve any savory dish on the menu. read more

Once you get over the fact that it's Hippie central and can get past the body odor of the the salt of the earth serving you, you'll find a great little restaurant with above average food. I had the tostadas and the eggs were a bit dry. The accompanying potato pancake was quite tasty with the salsa and sour cream. The wife's pancakes were the best I have ever had and the real maple was a nice touch. Food (50%) 4 out of 5 stars Service (30%) 3 out of 5 stars Price (10%) 4 out of 5 stars Decor/Atmosphere (10%) 3 out of 5 stars Final Score 3.6 Stars read more

Love Cafe Berlin's unique menu. Great place to grab breakfast or brunch, especially if you want something other than just your typical pancakes, eggs, bacon. Friendly staff and cool dining experience. read more

Columbia has VERY few breakfast options, aside from greasy spoon diner type breakfast... but if you want something remotely inspired then Berlin is almost the only game in town, except for on Sundays when Broadway Brewery offers brunch. I must say that Berlin is rather hit and miss... when it's a hit, it really is extremely good. When it's a miss, it's just mediocre. Almost the only thing on the menu that I order is the breakfast tacos, they're great. I always get these because virtually everything on the menu has wheat in it. I don't eat wheat. Overall, I am very glad that Berlin is in town. The staff are good, it's a good ambiance in my opinion. A little loud sometimes if you want to have a conversation... but that's because many people know this is almost the ONLY game in town for decent breakfast food. read more

Hold on, you mean you have a burrito with apples in it? Let me taste that. Cafe Berlin offers something for everybody. Whether you want to try something extremely new to your taste buds or a familiar dish. I just had to order everything off their intriguing menu. The Cary burrito (I believe that is the name) had apples and feta cheese (I think) in it along with potatoes and eggs. The burrito was served with a tzatziki sauce and the combination was fantastic. I also had to try their eggs benedict. It was incredible also. What really made the dish was their english muffin that is so delicious. All of these wonderful dishes were brought to you by an inviting, lovely staff. The entire time, I felt welcomed and cared for as a customer. So don't make a mistake and not enjoy probably one of the best places in Columbia. read more

Cafe Berlin - Eggs Benedict! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

Not a big breakfast person but the few times I have been here the food was really good.

I used to take this place for granted and didn't go very often when it was just a block from my house, but now that I'm only in Columbia every once in a while I try to eat here as often as possible. Everything on the menu is delicious, mostly local and fresh food, and the fresh juice is amazing. This is one of my top 3 spots for breakfast in Columbia, but their lunch/dinner stuff is really good too. read more

This visit occurred on the morning of 8-2-14 (Saturday). I don't know if this review is really valid because I didn't eat there. Well, that's only because the wait was longer than I was willing to wait (30 minutes). But here is what gets me... There were TABLES OPEN AND AVAILABLE to not only serve me, but the parties in line ahead of me. So tell me, what is up with that?? Maybe I shouldn't review it because I didn't eat there, but I see the positive reviews because of how good the food is, why shouldn't I go? But there were also negative comments on the wait. We came back the next day (August 3rd) and again another wait. But at least the tables were ALL occupied... I guess you're lucky this time. But, MAN, I was totally upset on the day before. You had tables open and you told me 30 minutes??!!! They also do not take reservations. read more

We stopped in for lunch and had a great experience. The burrito bowl was fresh and filling and the tempeh Reuben (with house-made dressing) was great. They have lots of vegetarian options. Our server was friendly and attentive. It looked like it is a popular local lunch spot. read more

I'd love to give them a positive review, however, here's our experience. We arrived at around 11:30 on a Thursday. They were busy but no one else was waiting to be seated. We stood by the hostess stand for approximately 10 minutes. Various servers made eye contact with us and one even came over to get silverware for another table. At no point did any employee acknowledge us in any way. No one said, we'll be right with you. Nothing. I get that restaurants are busy around lunch time and I am a patient customer. What I'm not ok with is being completely ignored for 10 minutes. We eventually gave up and went somewhere else. read more

Best food + vibes + staff in all of Missouri! Love it. Worth the wait if there's a line. Love, love, love.

My favorite brunch spot in Columbia! Such a cool vibe and great service. The fresh-squeezed orange juice is amazing. There are often lines on the weekends so don't expect to get in right away- but let me tell you, it is WORTH the wait. PLUS, they have a DIY coffee bar for customers while you wait! Menu items you MUST try are Breakfast tacos, French Toast, Pancakes, Breakfast Burrito, Breakfast potatoes, and the mimosas! read more

This place is interesting to say the least. After taking our name they sent us to the other side of the room which happened to be a farmer's market. Where you could buy eggs, get your knives sharpened, or buy other organic/natural foods. The people watching there is bar none and they had pretty nice live music. The service: Super nice but not very good. The food: surprisingly good but a bit heavy (pancake burrito!) I would definitely recommend this diner/coffee shop/farmer's market. read more

Cafe Berlin - Pancake Burrito, very good! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

This is a great food place, more than a restaurant, and that's good because it is still trying to figure out the restaurant part. The idea of Cafe Berlin is much more appealing than the place itself. I like cooking, and I like hanging out with my friends and being cooky, but should I necessarily put those things together and make a living at it? The highway of hipster restaurants is littered with the bodies (and servers) of the folks who didn't quite get all the basics of restauranting. And so it is with Cafe Berlin, but they have gotten most of them, and they are hedging their faults with things like an interesting winter-farmer's-market-thing and live music. And that's a good idea because even though Columbia is a sort of magnet for the idealists-type who would try out a funky place like this, it won't make them keep coming back. So why do I give it 4 stars? They do use local foods, and that's nice. They also have a pretty imaginative menu, although if they tried to mix it up and try new things, that would make it even better! They use some local coffee, and it's really good coffee. They are reasonably priced, considering the abovementioned things. Why not 5 stars? Well, some of their staff seem to be holding back, as if they are forcing themselves to act like a server. That's better than not giving a whit, but I say put up or get out. Overall, it's a good local place, and I'll keep coming back, but it's not going to be on my top 10 list just yet. Keep trying, though! read more

Cafe Berlin feels like a little slice of San Fran in the middle of CoMo. You gotta love a place that serves so much great breakfast food! I for one haven't really made it past the Pancake burrito...shh...it's got bacon inside. Everything's been great. Good service, friendly folks, good coffee. a tip: bring cash unless you want to pay an extra 50 cents charge for running your card. read more

Very good food. The Mediterranean was served with tomato and black olives. Very good. No straws as this is a very earth friendly restaurant. Service was good not fast I'd definitely go back. read more

A little dark (but who doesn't like mood lighting)? The breakfast burrito I enjoyed was a Mediterranean delight with sliced apples, cheese and an egg! read more

Went back to Berlin for an evening show. Pretty cool vibe and a great band. Worst mixed drinks I've ever had. They need training or new bartenders. Also, the bartender totally avoided me when I came up to the bar to order. Once, we made eye contact and then he turned and left, like left the bar and went in the back. Wtf? read more

Best breakfast/brunch I have ever had in my life. It's a long wait if you come at the wrong hours, but well worth it. The food is amazing and super creative. The biscuit and gravy is divine. Anything is worth trying. It's not expensive and has a chill atmosphere. Next time I visit Mizzou, I'm definitely heading to Cafe Berlin for that much deserved mimosa. read more

Meh, I was not impressed. I gave this place 2 stars because the potatoes were good and the cornbread was pretty good. I had a bacon and cheese 3 egg omelet. It was very thin, dry and I couldn't taste the cheese at all. The bacon was a couple of strips, not pieces, inside the omelet, which I've never seen. Is it too much trouble to cut the bacon, as you would do for ham or sausage? I got there soon after they opened, with at least half of the tables empty and I was put at the window eating on a shelf. I ordered a water and the waitress was not seen after getting my dry omelet. I had better breakfasts at my hotel. I was deciding between the Broadway diner and this place. I should have opted for the diner. read more

Yesterday I wanted to get some brunch and catch up with two of my friends. We decided to go to Cafe Berlin. I have definitely visited this restaurant at least 8-10 times. It's really one of my favorite places to eat brunch in Columbia. So, yesterday when we arrived there was a wait. This is normal on the weekends. It was actually only 20 mins which was fine. I didn't have any issues there. I added my name to the wait list- "Keisha party of 3". I told the host that we were waiting for a third person who hadn't arrived but would be at the bar until she arrived. My friend and I spotted 2 seats at the bar. We walked over and sat down. We were trying to eye a third seat but there were none on this side of the bar. I spotted a bar stool on the adjacent bar and asked the female bartender if I could borrow the stool for a friend who was on her way. The bartender said "no unfortunately not." I thought well ok whatever. We sat there a few minutes and were given menus. The bartender asked us if we wanted any drinks. I ordered a coffee with cream and my friend ordered a chai latte. We were then asked for our food orders. I told the woman that we were waiting for a friend, we needed a third seat and would just order food when our table was ready. This bartender's response was " well this isn't a waiting area. If you're not gonna order food then you cannot sit here. " I said "well we just ordered these drinks and were waiting for our table. " The woman insisted that the bar was not a waiting area. I politely asked, "so what do you want me to do?" The woman points to an area near the host stand and says "take your coffee and wait over there." My friend who was sitting to the left of me could see this dialogue between the bartender and myself going awry and decided to intervene. My friend said she would just order her food now. I was asked by the bartender if I wanted to order anything and I gently declined. I just continued to drink my coffee. We sat there for a few mins. I went up and asked the host if our table was ready and we were seated right away. My other friend showed up as we were being seated and she totally missed the ill-mannered and abrupt exchanges with the bartender. We ordered our food. It was great as always and the remainder of our experience was positive. I just wanted Cafe Berlin and that bartender to know that my friends and I chose to eat there. It was a choice to spend our money there. I always recommend Cafe Berlin to friends who come into town. I love the vegetarian options. The food is consistently good. On yesterday 11/23/19 the customer service was not good at the bar. At a previous visit some months ago, I felt the same way while sitting at the bar but decided to ignore the curtness of a different female bartender. I brushed it off and decided to return. It may take me some time to re-visit this place. I may just order my food to go ( if it's during the week. I don't think they do to go orders on the weekend.) Or I may look for a different brunch spot. read more

Probably the best brunch place in town. They have a lot of vegetarian option. Infact they also have the vegetarian gravy on their biscuits. Starving artist is so filling. Its tasty but by the end of finishing the dish the muffin is soaked and mushy. Florentine is spinach with egg with hollandaise sauce and a side of roasted potatoes is yummy and they have a half order for $6 which is quite filling. The best part was their freshly squeezed OJ. The ambience is hip. They have outdoor seating as well. If you are alone and its the busy weekend brunch time, sitting by the bar is the way to go and you can appreciate the happenings inside their busy open kitchen. Definitely worth a visit or two if you are in town for the weekend. read more

Cafe Berlin - Starving artist - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Missouri

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