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Lavender Bread & Cafe

4.4 (175 reviews)
Closed 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

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LAVENDER BREAD & CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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Dogs allowed
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Lavender Bread & Cafe

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Mango raspberry mousse
Rachel T.

This place is great. My family has faithfully been enjoying their guava cake for years now and evangelizing as well- I now have 4 friends who order guava cake on their birthday and I can't even say they copied me because I stole my favorite birthday cake from my friend who also didn't do it first. I usually take things to go but this past weekend I sat in to study and it was really nice inside very airy open bright. The kind of lighting that keeps you awake not because it feels like a casino but because you could be outside on a hike! Alice was at the front counter she was great! Wonderful recommendations from her and a very genuine personality :)

Eggs on a Raft
Richard B.

I have been here a couple of times now when I'm in Berkeley to get maintenance on my cars. Need to get here early because it is very, very pull out your laptop and work or goof of friendly. One person had 3 laptops up and running at once. Reminds me of my Intel days working from the bar in the morning. Outlets everywhere and it fills up fast. First and foremost it's a bakery. The bread selection and other bakery items look amazing. Back in my carbo days I would have had several of everything. I will admit I fell of the wagon and had "Eggs on a Raft" this morning along with my coffee. As you could guess its eggs on toast with a side of fermented veggies. I'll ease back into Keto on Monday since I know this being Friday, the weekend is going to include all kinds of blastfomast food and drink. They report to be a European and French style bakery. I was thinking about buying some bread to see if it lasted more than 2 days to see if they used European type flour. In eastern Europe, espicially in Serbia, you buy bread every cople of days because it really rarely last til the third day. And guess what? You can eat it all day everyday and still lose weight and no insulin spike. Makes you wonder what the FDA allows in our food. So much for commentary. On the one hand my order took a minute but on the other hand the boiled eggs where done to perfection. The yolk just barely runny. The toast perfect. This is only accomplished because nothing is prepared ahead of time. All done in real time. It may take a little bit longer but for the quality it's worth it. The coffee is well, coffee. The place is a little hipster/Berkeleyish but we are in Berkeley and can't go against the grain or you won't survive. Would like to see a few more egg dishes. The staff is nice and attitude free which is somewhat different for Berkeley. The other plus is the music is great. No downer pop. All upbeat. All and all great place to hang out and people watch, read, work, goof off and/or, most importantly get cauggt up on Yelp

Line passes breads, pastry, cake displays
Victor G.

Lavender Bread & Cafe opened a few years ago where State Coffee was. Present decor is minimalist with live plants atop ledgers. 20ish tables within, 3 tables outside. Short line-moved quickly. Tables mostly occupied. Tightly spaced. Service quick, cordial, efficient. Offerings: coffee, tea, toasts, bagels, breads, cakes, cake slices, pastries, tarts, cookies... Sips: drip coffee (4.5) medium roast, black -four barrel coffee. Came hot, not bold, easy sipping. Dark roast not available. Passable brew. 4 stars worthy quality/quantity reasonable

They use quality organic flour
Valerie A.

I've been wanting to visit this cafe for awhile, and it didn't disappoint. They have a lovely selection of fresh breads, and I enjoyed my latte and delicious danish that they warmed up for me. Counter service was friendly and efficient. The cafe has high ceilings and was lacking in heat on a cold day. It didn't help that we sat near the door. The dessert case which I didn't photograph was quite sparse. But aside from those things this place is special, and they're clearly offering quality fare, so I'll be back to try more items.

Ham and cheese baguette sandwich
Austin W.

My wife and I love checking out new cafes on weekends, and today we had the chance to try Lavender Bread & Cafe. We're familiar with the space, as State Bread and Coffee used to operate here. Parking is street parking only, which can be stressful on busy San Pablo Avenue. It's probably better to park in the neighborhood or along a side street if you can. We stopped by around 10:30 a.m., and there were a few people ahead of us in line. It's not the fastest-moving line, but that gives you plenty of time to browse the pastry and bread case before ordering. We skipped the kitchen-prepared toasts, which lean on the pricier side. The $10 toast trend that started at The Mill in SF is alive and well here. Most toasts are $10 and up, with the exception of the sourdough slice with house butter at $6. We ended up getting an Apricot Chausson ($5.75), a Baguette Sandwich ($14.00), and a Matcha Latte with oat milk ($6.25 + $0.25). The apricot chausson wasn't too sweet -- a good sign that they used real apricot rather than canned preserve. It had a natural fruitiness I really liked. The pastry wasn't very flaky, likely because it had been baked earlier in the day. My wife was especially excited for the baguette sandwich, as she used to get them often while living in France. For her, this one missed the mark a bit -- the baguette was too hard, and the butter had melted into the bread instead of being served as a cold slab. It's definitely French-inspired, but not a replica of what you'd find abroad. That said, as someone less familiar with traditional French sandwiches, I enjoyed it. The ham was thick-cut and flavorful without being overly salty, and the mild cheese reminded me of a Swiss. The matcha latte had a nice level of bitterness and wasn't overly sweet. They were generous with the matcha, and it felt light -- especially with oat milk. Overall, I had a pretty positive experience at Lavender Bread & Cafe. I enjoyed the food and drinks, and I'll definitely have to stop by again to try one of the delicious-looking cakes in the front case.

Matcha
Aidan G.

Pretty cute inside, great place to enjoy a drink and do some work. Matcha was enjoyable, however a bit weak in flavor and only slightly warm. Almond croissant had a great texture, I do wish it had a little more flavor, but it was pretty good for the most part :). I would like to come back and try the espresso drinks!

Avocado toast
C And T ..

I come here specifically to get the avocado toast, it's suuuuuper yummy! The cafe itself gives off a college or workspace vibe, as the tables are pretty small and people are often on laptops. You can also watch them make the bread behind the counter which is pretty cool :)

Affogato
Sophie C.

I drive by this place all the time and finally stopped in! Lots of nice seating inside and it's a rustic, aesthetic space to settle in for a few hours. Free wifi is a plus! So many pastries and desserts on offer, it was difficult to choose. The workers are all super kind and offered many suggestions, I ended up going with an almond theme. Apparently their almond croissant is one of their most popular items, it was super flaky and generously filled. I also ordered their burnt almond cake to try, and holy moly. Layers of vanilla + chocolate cake with amaretto custard, covered in whipped cream and the most incredible candied almonds. Such a fun textural and flavor experience. For something savory, I ordered the avocado toast, which was anything but basic. It came topped with pickled radish, microgreens, sesame, and aleppo pepper, I thought the the sesame gave it such a nice depth. To drink, I went with a matcha latte. It leaned a little too milky for my taste, but the matcha itself was high quality. The real standout, though, was the affogato!! So rich and creamy, with vanilla ice cream (and even a non-dairy coconut option if you want it). Definitely a must-try.

Pecan butter toast
Avey S.

I came here in the afternoon on a weekday to grab coffee, a sweet treat, and get some work done. I ordered the brown butter caramel latte less sweet and pecan butter toast. You order at the counter and pick up your coffee and food once they call out your name (self-service). They have a lot of seating available and most people were there to do work. It got pretty busy closer to 1pm. The latte was great, I'd get it regular sweetness next time so I can taste the flavor better. The toast was also delicious, it was essentially sweetened almond butter on toasted sourdough. Lots of bakery options too!

Old pastry
Ismely C.

Pastries are inconsistently fresh. I came 2 weeks ago at 2 pm they were crunchy. Today 10/31 at 10:30am they seemed from the day before. When they become smooth and aren't crunchy no more. I've mentioned to the blonde worker she said she was so sorry, and thanks for letting her know.

Pastries, cold brew
Lasya R.

Drinks and pastries were great! Cold brew isn't as strong, but their lattes and other drinks were great. Overall service is quick and helpful. Great study spot with lots of seating, outlets and natural light.

Matcha latte
Natalie G.

Stopped in for a few matcha lattes and was not disappointed! I got mine with almond milk -- I didn't even mention sweetener, but it came perfectly sweet, just how I like it. I can be pretty particular about matcha, but this one was smooth, flavorful, and really well-balanced. Service was quick, and the vibe was great. Lots of seating and plenty of people working on laptops -- a nice spot to hang out or get some work done. I'd definitely come back!

Avocado toast and the egg on toast
Daniela J.

Excellent coffee and pastries. We loved our cappuccinos and wow the avocado toast with added feta and pickled onions was so good. The bread they have it on is really good. We also got the egg on buttered toast which again the bread they use is so good. Need to come back and try more pastries because they all look great. There is a good amount of seating but it's usually pretty busy

Matcha latte

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10 months ago

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3 years ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

The best bread in the area and very good quality. I really enjoyed it.every day I am there

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Love the matcha latte here and frequently make the commute just to get one. Also nice place to study.

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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8 months ago

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1 year ago

Did not get any food, but the coffee was really well made. Breads and food all smelled amazing.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

Great bakery! 10/10 freshly baked European style breads! Highly recommend to anyone who cares about quality!

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Amazing bread, period. What more can you ask for but a perfect baguette and theirs with spelt and sesame seed is perfect.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Very good service from staff. I loved the almond croissant and the latte I had. Will definitely be coming back.

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2 years ago

Really nice hot chocolate. Fresh whipped cream and not too sweet. Perfect for little kids.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

My new favorite bread shop! Great atmosphere too if you want to grab a coffee and pastry. Nice staff.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Love there sesame Epi bread and there mocha lattes!! I try to go here every week ! I recommend this place

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Lavender Bread & Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Lavender Bread & Cafe

Is this bakery reasonable walking distance from the downtown Berkeley BART station? New: Oh, just…

it's about a 30 minute walk. but you can take the 51b from the downtown berkeley Bart station directly there!

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Jaffa Coffee Roasters

Jaffa Coffee Roasters

4.7
(156 reviews)
0.8 mi

Cute place with lots of seating (not enough for me to sit tho). Espresso was good but I had come…read morehoping for Arabic / Turkish coffee :( Even though they didn't have what I was after, I still recommend this cafe as it is very clean, cute, and seems a good place to work on your laptop.

so glad i decided to try jaffa finally !! the sweetest barista, allyson, was so kind & walked me…read morethrough the menu. came at the perfect time (2pm ish on a wednesday) so it wasn't too busy and allyson could really take her time talking w me im so indecisive but came in w an open mind, ended up choosing the strawberry sage creek & asked allyson to choose a second drink for me. i've never gotten 2 sweet treats at once like this !! that's how freaking good everything on the menu looks, i had to try more than one drink !! loved my iced SSC w oat milk (vegan cold foam btw !!), def hits the spot if you're craving coffee, want a lil sweetness but not too sweet-- the flavor of the midnight in jerusalem espresso in the SSC has the perfect mild/muted flavor for someone who wants an iced specialty coffee w/o the heavy coffee flavor (comes normally as "medium sweet", you can up/down that !!). maybe i'm crazy but i'm also getting a subtle hint of like, a milky tea from the espresso flavor? like an earl grey tea? def my flavor profile okay now the pineapple expresso is advertised similarly as the SCC, but once allyson gave me my drink and told me about it, she was telling me how the PE but as a matcha (so no espresso) has been her summer drink. def not something i'd order for myself but i actually loved it even more than the SCC !! i highly highly highlyyy recommend !! the matcha isn't over powering (i think the matcha they use is sourced from yabukita matcha leaves which makes sense why it's sooo smooth & has such a great flavor). and paired w the pineapple flavors, vegan hawaiian whip, and i believe allyson said coconut milk is used... omg this drink. PLEASE i urge everyone to try this at least once. so refreshing, creamy, smooth, i don't even wanna finish mine bc im gonna be sad when it's gone !! and she offered to make me something completely different of my choice if i didn't like it. no barista has ever offered that to me. ok i think ive yapped enough lol you will not regret trying jaffa. also if u dont wanna pay for street metered parking, turn into the neighborhood behind jaffa, there's plenty of curb parking, and it's a beautiful lil walk this time of the year w all the flowers in everyone's yard allyson i owe u my first born for recommending this pineapple matcha to me

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Jason Al-Ghussein, artist and muralist, absolutely SLAYED this mural
Jason Al-Ghussein, artist and muralist, absolutely SLAYED this mural
Winter warmer: apple cider mm!

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Winter warmer: apple cider mm!

Lavender Bread & Cafe - coffee - Updated June 2026

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