POSSIBLY THE BEST CHICKEN & WAFFLES IN BERKELEY???? I really thought we'd find this further south. Of all brunch spots to find comfort food, Lama Beans was the unexpected favorite. For COVID safety purposes, masks are required and hand sanitizer is provided throughout the restaurant. Some parking open along adjacent streets, but would recommend keeping a watchful eye for any break-ins around this area. Inside, a cozy family-friendly hub with odes to Nepalese culture adorned about. Elements of Nepalese cuisine are dotted in the menu, but being an insufferable brunch fiend, I opted for their more "American" fare SILVER DOLLAR PANCAKES: So good. Other places w/ regular pancakes = too dense, a little too chewy, and always end up as a soggy pile of sugary mush. Lama Beans' silver dollar pancakes = Fluffy but crispy, small bites, and best for getting the ideal ratio of pancake:syrup:butter. Why can't all pancakes be like this... :') CHICKEN AND WAFFLES: Something about their gravy, powdered sugar, chicken batter-- EVERYTHING. SLAPS. Texture & seasoning are on point. You need to try this to see for yourself. Decent coffee. Cute mugs + Mr. Espresso! Would highly rec Lama Beans for the quintessential local cafe experience. read more

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Food was surprisingly good- eggs done well, sausage brown and moist, three sauces served with the breakfast plate were varied and tasty. Service is fast and friendly - very sweet atmosphere Inside and out. I look forward to trying lunch ! read more

A wonderful local establishment. Great food, well prepared, affordably priced. A great place for a breakfast, lunch, dinner or just morning coffee. Family owned with kind great service. I especially love their poached eggs, trio of sauces, and amazing breakfast potatoes. read more

We stopped in for a quick dinner bite recently. A few people were there working or watching the game on tv. My SO enjoyed his pork chop and fries and the portion on my lamb shawarma wrap was enormous but it needed salt. The house red wine (a tempranillo) and the sauv blanc my SO ordered were both very good.. service was a little slow as there was only one person but everyone was friendly and parking is easy. Based on reviews it sounds like brunch is a hit here so give it a shot. Prices are reasonable. read more

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This place is so good. I remember when it was Jimmy Beans and it was awesome then too. First thing you'll notice, if you pay attention, is when you is go to order at the counter, you'll have some really nice there. The staff is mostly Nepalese - such kind people! I chose the Lama Beans special - two pancakes, eggs and a choice of sausage or bacon. Second thing I noticed was the price, just $14.50 AND it includes coffee! Third thing I noticed was the soft butter. What a gift, their soft butter. I didn't have to open up a little packet of hard butter and try to slap it around on my pancakes or tuck it between them and wait for it to melt. So easy to simply spread and eat. I was done in a hurry - getting my grub on. Such nice fluffy pancakes I adore. Sadly, good pancakes are increasingly hard to find. I got my eggs scrambled. They were delicious. I chose sausage instead of bacon and received two nice links. Nice arrangement of fruit to boot. It came out quickly. Good coffee too. Price is right. What's not to like? Lama Beans has a big bright space with two rooms of indoor seating and about half a dozen tables outdoor seating. It's a relatively busy corner in an industrial area during the week. Crowded with outlet shoppers on the weekend. Any day of the week is good day for a llama. Check out Lama Beans. read more

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Breakfast is good, but the dinners are great. Well prepared food at a reasonable price. The cooks are surprisingly talented for such a small place. Some of my favorites: Fried Brussels sprouts, Beet salad, rib eye steak, grilled salmon. And their 3-course dinner Specials are very satisfying. read more

Came here for a morning coffee, kind of makes me wish I was a breakfast person as all the food options looked good and smelled good. Quick and courteous service, the coffee was awesome. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Inside - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cozy neighborhood spot. Delicious and generous portions. I had the goat cheese omelette and it was incredible. Friendly staff and easy parking, I'd definitely go back. read more

Brunch with the fam on NYE day, and we landed at Lama Beans, which has been a consistent breakfast and coffee place forever (formerly Jimmy Beans, and sold to one of his longtime staff/cooks, Lama). They have indoor and outdoor seating (pooch friendly, but no heat lamps), walk-up ordering served at your table, serve yourself coffee with good-sized mugs, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food has always been tasty with a good variation of the basics. This last visit I ordered coffee and avocado toast (3 sourdough halves toasted with what seemed like an entire avocado!). We also ordered smoked salmon Benedict, Chorizo scramble, and a Country omelette. I had to sample a few home-fried potatoes which were perfectly crisped. Service was friendly and quick. Our food came out within about 10 minutes and we all enjoyed what we ordered. read more

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We came here to wait for a friend and meantime ordered some coffee. We wanted to share something sweet but since they had no dessert we ordered mini pancakes :) they were delicious! Place is very big with lots of indoor seating areas and a lovely sunny outside area. Place is neat and bathroom is very clean, Would love to come back and taste more from their breakfast menu :) read more

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For many many years we've loved every meal we have eaten at Lama Beans. The service and ambiance are warm and delightful. So many healthy delicious food choices always cooked to perfection and warm at our table. My stomach can always tell when it's prepared with love and care, I feel relaxed and digest well every time :) Also, one of the last affordable restaurant serving nutritious quality meals in the BayArea, we are immensely grateful for it's existence :) read more

I am continually impressed by the quality of the food here and the customer service. Its absolutely my go to brunch spot and sometimes I even order breakfast to go. I tell everyone I know to come here. I recently observed them handle a customer who was complaining about every single thing, and they did it with grace and patience. As someone who worked in this industry for 10 years, I recognize and appreciate what it takes to always make customer service a priority. And its still a pandemic! Somehow now that things are open inside again people are even more entitled. PROPS to you Lama Bean. You rock! I 100% recommend any of their benedicts. My favorite is still the crab cake but I recently tried the salmon cake bene and the cali bene sub chicken apple sausage. All are 11/10 for flavor and freshness. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Crab cake Benedict - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Delish food- kind, fun service- fun clientele! Quirky fabulous, super cas and comfy. One suggestion, put some music on in background... would help create more ambiance. But loved the vibe in there overall. Low key, home spun eats. read more

Wonderful staff, down to earth environment, and great specials. Thanks for a chill dinner in the bay, something that's hard to find.

So hard to beat these prices! I was super impressed by the quality of food at Lama Beans Cafe. The prices are great ($11 for this plate of pancakes and $13 for a benedict) so I didn't expect it to be anything spectacular. However, these pancakes were some of the best I've ever had. They were fluffy and eggy, and I could tell the batter was made from scratch. I felt full after half of this plate and got to save the rest for dessert... and this isn't even the full plate! My friend got a mushroom omelet which was just as good as the pancakes. It was packed with fresh mushrooms and the perfect amount of chewiness and saltiness. The breakfast potatoes were a little underwhelming, but everything else was amazing. The outdoors seating is nice and you can walk to the Boichik Bagel factory or Northface outlet store afterwards. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Half Stack of Sliver Dollar Pancakes - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

The tall young gentleman at the register yelled at me when i asked if it was possible to prepare my eggs Benedict poached medium and remarked, "if you don't like how we make it here, you can make it at home." Undoubtedly, he had some things going on that day, however, it still left much to be desired from a place i have frequented since the day it opened as Jimmy Beans. Hope he's doing better now. read more

Consistent and great part of the neighborhood. Silver Dollar pancakes and burrito and hash are our go tos. Great service and nice owners

Amazing food, order at the front, tons of options for coffee/lattes. Gets a little busy, but the food is worth it!

I have heard great things about this restaurant. But alas....this morning they must have been having a hard day.....ordered Eggs Benedict.....something that I actually cook at home all the time. I was served instead hard boiled eggs on the thinest of ham slices (ham slice that looked like it was from a packaged ham slices for sandwiches).....the hollandaise was somewhat cold, but seemed to taste ok. But Eggs Benedict should never be served with hard boiled eggs....My sister ordered the combo plate. The pancakes were cold and somewhat undercooked. She did ask them to refire the pancakes. After a very long time we finally just left when it was clear they were not going to do that for her. This is actually her favorite place for breakfast, so this may have just been a one off. read more

This isn't your typical sit-down and order type brunch spot, which is really convenient if you're in a hurry. You order at the counter, get a number, and sit down. Service was pretty fast! I came after learning that wait times at the classic 4th street brunch spots were over 30 minutes long. I ordered the french toast, which came with syrup, butter, whipped cream, and a side of fruit. The actual french toast and cream were super good, though I thought the syrup tasted a bit strange. I would recommend giving this spot a try! read more

Lama Beans Cafe - French Toast - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

the owners were so friendly the atmosphere was serene and the food was so good, we are going to come back to try more items on the menu.

Amazing food and the people working there are amazing. Anything you get wil be amazing. I recommend the silver dollar pancakes.

This review is solely based on their Brunch menu. I haven't tried their lunch or dinner. For the price, ambiance, quality - this might be the best brunch spot in the East Bay. I always get their fried chicken and waffles (severely underrated), silver-dollar pancakes (really good) and my wife gets their two eggs breakfast. I also tried their housemaid brisket hash which was top notch. I have visited some nearby brunch spots and was very disappointed based on the yelp scores that they currently have. Their reviews seem to focus more on ambiance and service instead of the food. One word - bland. Lama Beans has the right amount of seasoning and flavor! Try it out yourself and be the judge. read more

Dinner update: The wife decided to make this our dinner spot for tonight. The dinner special had a great price point so I went with the fried chicken. The wife chose the fish n chips. I also had a screwdriver and a draft Stella. The chicken was amazing and not greasy and the wife was happy with the fish. My meal also came with banana pudding so I added a Mexican coffee. The food was delicious and recommended for a relaxing dinner. read more

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** The following review reflects my dining experience prior to the shelter-in-place order currently in effect. ** There's actually a nice back story behind this cafe. Earlier in the millennium, a Nepali immigrant got a job as a busboy at Fonda Restaurant on Solano Avenue, and the owners were so impressed with his abilities that he worked his way up to manager and then bought their other restaurant, the familiar longtime neighborhood haunt, Jimmy Beans. He changed the name to his first name, and Lama Beans was born. It has nothing to do with Michael Jackson's third favorite pet in Neverland after Bubbles and the kid who played Webster. Jamie W. and I were strolling on Gilman when we found ourselves looking for some lunch. We noticed they had a mostly Mediterranean menu, so both ended up ordering the same item, the $11.50 Greek Salad with Chicken, which was chock full of all the right ingredients but hampered by a too liberal dousing of the lemon herb vinaigrette. The chicken was also unfortunately overcooked, so we were rather disappointed in the execution (photo: https://bit.ly/2QxKXyD). Still, the vibe felt warm and should our lives return to normal after COVID-19, we just might return. FOOD - 3 stars...the Greek salad needed work AMBIANCE - 4 stars...liked that North Berkeley upscale hippie vibe SERVICE - 3 stars...kinda on the robotic side TOTAL - 3 stars...keep tryin', Lama RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's a collection of places I've tried and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2CbVh8u read more

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Reasonable priced, quality breakfast! We came here for a Sunday breakfast, it was so smooth and easy. Exactly what we need!! The menu is very simple, but the quality is good, potato nice and crisp and the bread is tasty! Servers are very friendly and quick service! Its a great neighborhood staple! read more

Food was disgusting! Pics can be deceiving. Lamb Schwarma, what could go wrong? Well to start the flavorless meat went wrong. Was supposed to be lamb, tasted like boiled beef, absolutely flavorless, not even a hint of seasoning. The smell of flavorless beef is stuck on my hands, it's disgusting! I put ketchup, tried to mask the flavorless taste with the sauce it comes with, it didn't work. The pics will have you believe it tastes good, but I promise you you'll regret choosing the lamb schwarma, or maybe the chef just forgot to season my particular schwarma, idk. I ate it only because I paid nearly $20 for it, last time I will come here. Not bad ppl, cozy little ambience inside, but yea you can't serve ppl flavorless food and expect them to be happy with your restaurant. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, even though it's prominently displayed on their menu. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Lamb Schwarma - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

We came here for breakfast today and it was fantastic. The service was great but you do have to order at the counter. We ordered a Bloody Mary to start off and it was spicy and tasty. Then for breakfast we ordered the brisket hash, black stone Benedict and the two egg with bacon. All the dishes were cooked perfectly. The eggs on the Benedict were cooked to perfection and were as fluffy as a cloud. The prices here are very good for the Bay Area. This is a great place to grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner. read more

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Went here for lunch yesterday and I was happily surprised by the price, the portions and the taste! I got the wild mushroom omelet special. It was huge and chock full of mushrooms and goat cheese. Some of the goat cheese was so thick it didn't warm up much but the flavor was incredible. The side condiments I could live without but I'll be back the next time I'm in Berkeley. It's a great place to fuel up before beers at Fieldwork. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Wild mushroom omelet. - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

Hello my fellow French toast constituents, My wife (borat voice) and I ordered the French toast, home fries, and goat cheese herb scramble. The French toast came with whipped cream, butter AND strawberries, for just 11.50. what a deal. Although the bread tasted a little bit like an auntie Anne's pretzel, I would give it a rating of portion size:9/10 Flavor:7/10 Texture: 8/10 this gives us a final total score of 80%. not a perfect loaf but some damn good French toast. can't sleep on the strawberries also, so would probably round up to 83%. Hello, the wife here. As my husband mentioned I ordered the goat cheese and herb scramble for a whopping $13! It came with home fries, salsa, green sauce and pink sour cream sauce that has the consistency of mayo. Now, listen hear folks, we don't come from riches, me and my handsome husband. But we like to treat ourselves to a nice breakfast every once in a while and let me tell you for the price of the food, everything is well worth it. my final rating is Portion: 9/10 Flavor: 8/10 Texture: 9/10 ( specially' them home fries!) M & G Signing off P.s. anyone seen the new mr beast video? Was not good he's slippin tbh. read more

My partner and I had driven by this place many a weekend and always saw a crowd so we decided to give it a try. 10/10 would recommend. Great service, good portions, black coffee and the food was seasoned perfectly. Pro tip they do a rib night on Wednesday's. You get a soup or salad, baby back ribs with fries and a dessert for like $28 or something (I can't remember the exact price). read more

Lama Beans Cafe - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ugh... wildly wildly WILDLY DISAPPOINTING breakfast at Lama Beans. It's been years since this restaurant changed ownership and I keep hoping they'll live up to the reputation of the old place but they're still falling short. They copied the menu from Jimmy Beans but the food is bland and borderline inedible. Huevos Rancheros are the perfect example. What makes huevos rancheros distinct and delicious is the salsa. At Lama Beans they cut corners and use canned red tomatoes. They mix the canned tomatoes with big chunks of onion and peppers and call it a day. You can even smell the canned odor, you know that odor of preservatives that canned tomatoes have, like tomatoes that have been in a can for months because they have!! Gross and lazy. You got a bunch of my people working in the kitchen and you expect me to believe not one of them can produce a decent Mexican salsa? I would expect mediocre huevos rancheros like this at an airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, not in California. And much less the Bay Area! They charged me $15 for this mess. Wrong wrong wrong. I had no business ordering Mexican breakfast dishes (the chorizo scramble was equally disappointing!) at an American style eatery but ya know what, Jimmy Beans never gave us any issues. Best chorizo scramble I ever had was at Jimmy Beans. I miss Jimmy Beans. *sigh* read more

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Quick and tasty if you are in the area. Glad I found you. Had the featured chicken sandwich. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Lunch. Chicken Sandwich - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

My husband and I went here for lunch today. Cute little restaurant on the corner of Sixth and Gilman in Berkeley. A couple outside tables, lots of indoor tables. Open kitchen. You order at the counter and food is brought to you. Local beer, small but good selection of wine, and basic spirits for a mixed drink. I'm gluten free (allergy) so it was nice seeing so many GF options. I had eggs benedict and it was delicious--eggs poached perfectly, hollandaise was delicious, potatoes crispy and a lovely selection of side sauces--fresh picante salsa, cilantro pesto (that was fabulous!), and a chipotle aioli. My husband had the lamb shawarma and said it was delicious--homemade bread and thinly sliced and lean lamb. He also had a local IPA from Fieldwork which is always good. We will definitely be back. read more

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Food was good. Has really great breakfast and some great lunch options. Service is great and quick. Everything I order is always hot which is *chefs kiss*. This place is perfect for a casual lunch or breakfast date. The quantity and quality of the food does make up for the price so that is a plus. Only 4 stars because they don't provide table service throughout the day. Only at 5pm so it's pretty much first come first serve for sitting. So if you have a large party plan accordingly. This restaurant is one of my overall one of my favorites. read more

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I usually get my Caesar salad delivered. It's always excellent: generous, fresh, well packaged.

Cute cafe near the warehouses in Berkeley! Excellent, quick service. Fun atmosphere and the food was great! Presentation was nice, mimosas perfectly poured. Crab Cake Benedict's brunch special and Tortilla Egg Wrap w/Chicken Apple Sausage! Perfect for a rainy Saturday! read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Crab Cake Benedict - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I was having my car worked on at Grandma's Garage and set out on foot for food. I didn't even have to go a block to find Lama Bean's Cafe on the corner Gilman and 6th. Actually, it is in the same building as Grandma's, just diagonally across from Grandma's Garage. They have inside and outside seating, and since it is sunny today (it has been foggy a lot lately) I decided to sit out doors in the sun drinking my delicious Mocha watching my thoughts go by--and also the vehicles and people. I got Corned Beef Hash (delicious and I saved half for later). I also got English Muffins and eggs cooked how I like with soft yolks. Just because I could, I got Hollandaise Sauce on the side ($1) which was great on my English Muffins and eggs. I highly recommend!!! read more

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4.5 star really. My complaint is that this place caters to its clientele. Complaint?!? Yes. I wish this place were a little more divey diner but really it' is a clean, well lit place to eat a scrumptious meal (haven't tried their dinners yet.) Every weekend is a different Brunch menu and I have not been disappointed. They also serve Mr. Espresso coffee. Those in the know, know. FYI ALcoholic drinks in a family friendly environment. (And down the street a brewery, good times!) Fast service. Nice people. Outside and inside dinning and can get most everything to go! Quality. Yes. Quality on all points. read more

Lama Beans Cafe - Chilaquiles Verde - New American Near Me - Berkeley, California

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We dropped by this spot for breakfast two days in a row and loved it. Nima was super friendly and helpful with menu recommendations. We recommend the chorizo scramble and the silver dollar pancakes. Great diner coffee with unlimited refills as well. Will definitely be back! read more