Neighborhood Coffee is one of my favorite cafes in all of the Bay Area. Just don't tell anyone…read morebecause I want it to be one of our best kept secrets. Shhhh...! (It was worth the 13 mile drive for me.) With floor to ceiling windows welcoming in the comfort of daylight and warmth of Californian sunshine (thank you A/C), this cafe sits high above Castro Valley overlooking the distant hills and the bay, depending on where you sit. It's in the front space of a church and upon walking in (my third visit), I feel held by the Lord. Strangely, I'm feeling tears well up because this is the exact sort of space I've been needing as I go through some challenging life circumstances. It is peaceful here but it also has a vibrant community energy on a Thursday late morning. This space is welcoming to all of the bay are community and if you didn't know it was a church, you would never know. It's for the whole neighborhood and beyond. There are tall round tables, bar tables, normal round tables, armchairs at tables, long barnhouse style tables. This space was thoughtfully curated to allow for relationships to be grown, work to be done, and quiet time to be experienced. The Americano I had is nice and strong (whoowee... I'm awake now!). They had interesting drink options and some baked goods. Prices were average for the Bay Area. I love that the cafe supports community outreach. From the web, it partners with this church and community programs. It seems to operate around community support and social impact initiatives. I love that they actively support Inclusion & Autism awareness and medical debt relief (WOW!). This is a cafe that is doing it right!

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I'm always down to try matcha instead. My husband and I decided to…read morebike here on a Sunday morning (10:45am) after our pastry run. Service just ended so a lot of cars were leaving as we arrived. Don't recommend getting in line right after service because I waited over 30 minutes just to get two drinks. The lavender lemonade was very refreshing and not too sweet. The matcha latte on the other hand tasted watered down, so I could barely taste the matcha, super disappointing. It was a nice and sunny day so we decided to sit outside. The inside was very spacious, but I was overstimulated from all of people talking, especially when I was waiting in line. A good spot to stop by to grab a drink and enjoy the view outside if you're in the area. Glad I meet the time to check this place out.

Coffee Connoisseur here ‍ I've done coffee crawls in Portland, OR and have tried many different…read morekinds of lattes. I like to look for new spins on lattes to see what barista's are whipping up to make things unique. I came in thinking I was going to get a basic latte, but the Borgia Mocha caught my eye! I asked the cashier if it was a good choice and she recommended it. I was a little unsure how the two would blend and how much orange they would use in it, but it came out amazing! Honestly probably one of the top 10 unique mocha's I have tried and it was delicious! I loved the burst of refreshing orange that complimented the chocolate. The flavors danced on my tastebuds like two separate flavors that blended together as one. Each holding their own note that added value to the drink making it unique. I was instantly impressed and wish I found this on more menus! A classic mocha with a refreshing twist of orange was a pleasant surprise! I'm so glad I stopped in for a pick me up! I also loved all the art on the large walls and there looked to be plenty of tables and seating for people to eat and work at.

Pros: PLENTY of seating, this place is pretty big for a coffee shop, beans for sale, solid options…read morefor baked goods, enjoyable sandwiches, friendly workers. Cons: can be a pretty busy spot, not the most consistent, the specific beans I like aren't always available. Notes: Thought I had written a review here a while back as they are a part of my post Oakland airport tradition. My routine, fly into to Oakland, drive to Moussaka for lunch (rip the former chef/owner and restaurant), head 2 doors down to Zocalo for coffee on the ride home. If my flight was extra early and Moussaka was closed still, Zocalo was more than good enough to fit my food and coffee needs.

This is a great spot that's conveniently located just a few minutes off the freeway and close to…read morethe mall. It has a lively, welcoming atmosphere with an outdoor patio and plenty of comfortable seating inside, making it a great place to meet friends or get some work done. Has also a large parking lot. The pastry selection isn't huge, but what we tried was fresh and delicious. The coffee was excellent--just the way it should be. We'll definitely be back the next time we're in the area!

I got an espresso…read more It had a good layer of crema and medium body. It tasted a dark Italian-style shot. Strong and bitter, but not burnt. I didn't pick up any particularly unique flavor notes. Drinkable overall, but for me, it fell a bit short of being a daily driver. 2.5 / 5. Cool that they roast their own beans. Next time I'm in the area I may pick a bag up to try at home.

I always thought Tram Coffee was popular for its coffee, and I am not a coffee person, so I never…read morevisited the store before, but today I just realized that their fruit tea is just as good. I tried the Peach Orange Tea with 25% sugar and regular ice, and it was so refreshing! I think there's lemongrass in the fruit tea, which adds a really nice flavor and makes the drink even more refreshing. The regular size is $7, while the large is $9.50, but the large is really huge! Definitely a good option if you're looking for a refreshing drink. The staff was friendly and helpful too. I'll definitely be back to try more of their fruit teas!

Nice trendy coffee Spot in downtown Hayward。my first time here and found out that they have wide…read moreselection of fruity teas and Vietnamese coffee mixed drinks, along with some snacks. I ordered the salted cream coffee with coffee jelly to try. The coffee taste is very strong and deep but also smooth and fragrant. The first few sips took a bit of time to get used to but it got better as I sipped it. Located right next to the movie theater. Very convenient location indeed!

Everything is soo flaky, fluffy, and flavorful!…read more Loved every pastry I've purchased here. I also get their ube latte and match latte.

One's Cafe is getting quite the buzz out here in the East Bay. They started with a super small one…read morein Castro Valley (the one I visited), but I just recently drove past their newer Alameda location that looks like a bigger space. The Castro Valley one is super tiny, no indoor seating and really only enough room for about 2-3 people to line up to order for the inside. It's a bit too tight in there for me. They do mostly Asian inspired pastries, mostly using croissant dough in all kinds of creative shapes and sizes. Even though many things don't fit my preference as I'm not big on savory pastries or ones that have meat in them, they do make some attractive and unique looking pastries. So I get it, why people line up for this. But I have tried several sweet type pastries and here are some notes. Custard Tart ($4/5*) Probably one of the best egg/custard tarts I've ever had. This is one of the simpler things in their display case. This is literally a flaky pastry and a well made custard filling. Most everything else in that display case is 2-3 times bigger and much more going on with fillings and decorations. I like simple pastries so this hit on my sensibilities big time. The custard was smooth and not too sweet, very Asian in sweetness. And the best part was the crust, it was so flaky, light and buttery. 10 times better than any egg tart I've had a Chinese or Portuguese bakery. Almond Danish ($7.50/3.5*) This is one of their more elaborate creations, even tho this is somewhat simpler than many other pastries they have. But this name doesn't really correlate with what I tasted, there is a lot more going on. The pastry part is in the shape of a muffin, but the texture is flaky like a croissant, maybe slightly more dense than a croissant. Then there may be a small amount of almond paste in the middle, but there were a lot more of this coffee cream. This was too big for me to eat in one sitting so I split it in half. It was decent but it definitely isn't an Almond Danish. Lol Strawberry Croffle ($5/5*) I love true Belgian/Liege waffles made with a yeasted dough but cooked til crisp in a cast iron waffle press. Not sure if this is Liege style but it carried a lot of the characteristics of one. Crisp from caramelized sugar being cooked in the exterior, nice chew in the center and garnished simply with a strawberry cream. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Cold Brew ($4.25/3.5*) I didn't love it, but it wasn't bad. It tasted better if drunk with one of their pastries. Alone I wouldn't do it again. But as a companion with a pastry, sure. I'll round to a fiver cuz service is usually pretty nice and efficient. And even tho 75% of the things here are too busy and complicated for me, the simple things I have tried, really schmacks. So a fandom has formed.

Whenever we are in San Leandro and have cravings for Hong Kong Cantonese food, we always go to Baby…read moreCafe for our go-to restaurant. Their food (for breakfast, lunch, dinner) are always pretty good and plentiful. Plus we don't have to go to SF or Oakland. The ambiance is pretty good for a restaurant plus the restrooms are always clean. We also like to go to Baby Cafe for their HK breakfast around 9:30 am when parking is plentiful. For lunch and dinner their food is delicious and filling but parking can be a hassle. You can always find parking along the streets. The staff are pretty accommodating and they do speak Cantonese, Mandarin & English. Shoutout to the chefs and staff!

Late night eats at Baby Cafe & 9 other patrons were there at 7:45pm. I had to give a friendly wave…read moreto the waiter. Drinks: Hot Milk Tea- a classic all time favorite of mine. So fragrant & milky. Cold Baby-although it is a milk tea, the flavor profile is slightly different, not as fragrant, so I would stick to my hot milk tea Orders: Beef Cube-so flavorful & tender unfortunately there was a piece of hair. They immediately apologized & made a new one. The sauce is excellent & could be drizzled on rice & vegetables alone. It is my daughter's all time favorite.

1 star for the (strawberry & hawthorn smoothie) drink only…read more Drinks are more expensive than other places. Service was horrible. The wait was ridiculously long. I only ordered 1 drink and it took almost 30 minutes. When I went to ask about cancel/refund, it turns out that it has been ready and no one bother to call out the number. If I hadn't ask, who knows how long it will go on. Will not come back.

The bad: No toilet paper in the restroom. I didn't even see a toilet paper holder or anything, so…read morenot sure if they even stock TP. We got their mochi milk tea and the jasmine milk tea lime cream drink. They came in tiny green cups. Pretty expensive for that tiny size. The cups were pretty flimsy IMO. My drink was leaking, so I told the staff and he just replaced the lid. It was still leaking when I got to the car. I was too annoyed at that point to go in and complain. The drinks were not bad, just average. Nothing special or seemingly high quality. I'd rather go across the street to Boba Bliss next time for better quality drinks.

SO good! Reminder that this isn't a restaurant--you place an order via text, get an ETA for pickup…read moreand drive to the location. Once you arrive, follow up via text for instructions. Someone came out with our food and I sent our payment via Venmo. Husband and I got the sandwich, two iced coffees, corn, large salad and it was DELICIOUS. The portions are pretty substantial and I think a small salad would have sufficed. Will definitely be back!

2Oi is an home kitchen that opened 2 years ago in Argyle Palms Apartments. Initially I didn't know…read morehow to order. Lately, I saw instructions posted on their website on Yelp. I called to place order. Got a recording. Got a return call confirming my order. Found it's better to text with C6 or F7 unless one can speak Vietnamese. Main associate lacks English proficiency. Much easier for her to get "code" Place was an easy find. Street parking slightly difficult. Unknown if parking in their lot is permissible. Went towards big building on the right . Found unit with "Taste of Asia" brochure on window. Just before the gate. Bingo! Stood in front of open door until Vietnamese lady came out with my order. $21 cash. Unknown if Zelle has tax added to it. Tipped a little. Lady hesitated to give change. Offerings (Vietnamese): street food, drinks, coffee. Sips: Cafe Muoi Bien (sea salt foam Vietnamese coffee, 7)-Viet coffee, sea salt foam, condensed milk. -coffee didn't look full. No doubt foam on top shrank/mixed into coffee. -bold coffee with alternating sweet & salty tastes depending on sipping foam or condensed milk. Bites: Banh Trang Cuon (Vietnamese Special roll, 14). There's also a salad version with same ingredients & no wrapping. -dipping sauce had sweet & savory notes. -rice roll had dominant theme of beef jerky. The surrounding nuanced taste was a symphonic medley of carrots, quarter sectioned boiled eggs, coriander, green mango, dried shrimp, fried onions, peanuts & green mangos, 5 stars Worthy! Quality: freshly premade. Quantiy: ample enough for a meal. Would repeat. *Taste of Asia "passport" given to win prizes from buying from food vendors in Oakland Chinatown & San Leandro Asian businesses. May is Asian American Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

banger breakfast burrito for only $12?! In the bay area? Insane. Honestly better than most burritos…read morei've eaten in Mission District. They made it fresh in front of you as well. They have gear rentals as well for fishing and everything you would need to go out fishing even bait. So just bring yourself and bring some bottle cuz there is a water fountain as well since water bottles at the restaurant is expensive.

He cannot find a more beautiful and well kept campground. East Bay parks doesn't amazing job at…read morekeeping their park, clean bathrooms, showers everything clean family, friendly, and just beautiful views and beautiful hikes. There is no better vacation spot. I highly recommend the hiking spots but if you're not down with that, any spot is really worth it.

Outstanding and beautiful drinks, indoor/ outdoor space and the right friends can make this a very…read morepleasant afternoon. My drink was very refreshing and fragrant. Perfect for an afternoon pick me up. Some mint on top and not overly sweet. I ordered something straight from the menu and it was just right as is. Indoor space with real leather couches and seating and some bar seating with views out to the boulevard. I spent some time here with a very close friend that I just didn't spend much time with in recent times. Covid and other reasons I suppose are to blame. Hours here could be a bit better but the general area is great with the BBQ and marketplace next door. Value seems good too.

Late review. My last visit here was the worst experience of any Philz locations. The person working…read moreat the order station is not personable and lacks customer service etiquette. Not a greeting or any kind of acknowledgement. To top it off, she had me repeat my simple order from their featured menu several times. It wasn't like it was loud indoors. And she made it seem like I was an inconvenience. How much more obviously rude can you be? Maybe she wasn't having a good day but she seemed fine chit chatting away with the fellow baristas afterwards. Not my type of Philz if workers here pick and choose who they want to service. Other than that, they have plenty of seating indoors and outdoors. I do like the spaciousness of their outdoor seating. Parking can sometimes be a nuisance even tho there's a parking lot available. Oh and their featured drinks tend to seem a little too sweet. I plan to stick with my philtered soul. Name says it all. But, not so sure if I'd frequent this location.