900 Grayson has been around for so long. Been coming here for ages! Classic spot…read more Came here recently and ordered something different for once. I usually get the chicken and waffles, but he ordered it anyways so I got lucky to be able to still have a few bites. I ordered the "Breakfast" which came with 2 eggs however you want (I got mine over easy), hash browns, toast and either bacon or chicken sausage. I got the chicken sausage. For a drink, I had the Aquatic Park Sunrise. It was good. Not too sweet and strong enough that I wanted another lol My friend just had coffee which the staff made sure to always ask if he wanted refilled. Breakfast came quick. The chicken and waffles is a classic. I always order it when I come. Chicken was thick and juicy. I didn't try the waffle this time since I had my own food to eat (plus I've had it so many times before). This plate comes with either gravy or syrup but definitely pay the extra fee to get both. My dish was simple and delicious. Can't go wrong with eggs, hash browns and sausage. Love coming here and so happy they don't try to switch up anything too much. Came in and didn't have to wait for a table which is not always the case cause it's a busy place. Everyone is always so nice. Great place to come, great service and great food.

A small and cozy brunch spot in West Berkeley. According to other reviews and the person who…read morebrought me here, this is a classic neighborhood spot, and honestly, I had never been a fan of chicken and waffles until I tried the Demon Lover from 900 Grayson. Service was quick and welcoming. Our drinks came out within about 5 minutes and food took around 15. We got the Aquatic Park Sunrise and Bubble & Squeeze with orange, both of which were just okay for me. But the Demon Lover was SOOO good. Their chicken and waffles are definitely not the typical thick, bone-in fried chicken with fluffy waffles. The chicken is cut into thinner strips, lightly battered and fried, giving it more of a crunchy texture. The waffles are also thinner, soft, and slightly chewy rather than airy and crispy. The gravy is what really got me. I've never had anything quite like it, and somehow it works so well with the chicken and waffles. It's creamy with a very slightly chunky texture, almost like a good clam chowder, and just enough spice to keep me going back for another bite. The maple syrup was nothing special to me lol, but it added a nice touch of sweetness if you're into the sweet + savory combo. Overall, the Demon Lover definitely changed my mind about chicken and waffles.

Nina's Cafe is great! I recently met up here with four friends, and the vibe was incredibly…read morewelcoming and perfectly conducive to great conversation. You can immediately tell that the food is freshly cooked with a lot of love from Nina herself. I particularly enjoyed the Chicken Curry. I also had the Chai, which is the real deal--crafted from her own authentic recipe, it completely blows away the generic versions you find at most places. Whether you're looking for a great place to meet up with friends or just want to enjoy a heartwarming meal made with love, I can't recommend Nina's Cafe enough.

Paid 38$ for a turkey avocado sandwich, breakfast burrito, 12 oz orange juice, and a 16 oz water…read morebottle. The turkey sandwich was so small and looked like it was meant for a kid that could easily be made at home, with barely any ingredients between two small toasted wonderbread. The breakfast burrito tasted okay but was also very small. With the amount that is profited from charging such a high price, you would expect better ambiance and exterior and kitchen and food quality, but you do not get any of those here. The signage outside is old and faded, the kitchen looks old and dirty, and the food portions and quality could be vastly improved. The sandwich should have been no more than 7$, 16$ for a child-size sandwich is crazy.

Cute store. Very clean. I like that they display each donut and muffin in the case with its name…read moreand price (vs just a list of flavors on a menu) so you can see exactly what you're getting. The lady at the counter was super nice and personable. She was easy to talk to and friendly. She asked if we wanted our treats warmed up but since I was taking mine home, she recommended to heat it up for 45 seconds at home. Thank you!! I ordered: * black sesame mochi muffin - nice chew, great sesame flavor, and not too sweet * churro mochi muffin - covered in cinnamon sugar, so good. Great texture as well. * banana bread pudding - looks so ooey and gooey! I took an edge piece because I like the chewy crispy texture. Love to return when I'm back in the area.

Maybe back in the day, Third Culture's matcha was considered novel, innovative, and really good…read more But compared to all the new matcha spots popping up, I honestly don't think their drinks hold up anymore. Especially at the price point, you expect a more premium drink. The matcha was gritty and tasted mostly like milk, with just an essence of whatever flavor it was paired with. For the price, I was expecting something much more flavorful and refined. The donuts were fine, but nothing particularly special or memorable. Overall, I just don't think the drinks or donuts justify the price compared to what's available now.

5 stars $27.26 for a…read more2 "salad" lunch plus Spanish omelette. Grilled purple cabbage was warm, beautifully charred and seasoned. Potato and radish salad was light, flavorful and really focused on bringing out the ingredients flavors Spanish patata was a hell of a potato omelette creation. Is it a little expensive? Sure. But is every $ on the plate? Yes.

Whatever you do, do not book an event here. Customer Service is entitled, condescending and rude…read more My daughter was planning a baby shower so we called a number of venues to get a quote. We had been to Tarocco for lunch and figured we would ask them for a quote, too. My daughter warned me that the owner is trying to be an "influencer" on Instagram and posts photos of herself in crop Tops so I should beware, but that's fine by me. We called to get a quote and had a discussion. After we gave the owner all of our information, she told us she wouldn't give us a quote unless we came in person (?!) Which is weird because this isn't how restaurants work. Typically for events restaurants will give you a quote via phone or email for the sake of convenience. We had gotten 3 quotes already from other restaurants via phone. Making us drive 45 mins just to get a quote is a total waste of time. Especially if we can't afford it. So my daughter called again, left a VM explaining we couldn't come in person due to time constraints, and again asked for a quote. No reply. We waited a few days and called again. No reply. Finally we got a voicemail from the owner saying that she didn't like my daughter's attitude ?!!! Apparently you're not allowed to ask this restaurant how much they charge for events unless you're face to face. This lady has absolutely no idea how to run a restaurant. We took our business elsewhere and recommend that you do, too.

Tanzie's is located on Dwight, a ways west of downtown Berkeley. It's a sunny spot with very…read morelimited parking, but it's worth the trip. We didn't wait too long either--about 10 min for two ppl. We came here for lunch and since it was my first time, got the lava eggs and the special, which was cod fish curry. The curry had just enough spice to make my nose runny but not enough to make me cry. Paired with the lava eggs, it was the perfect combo of herbaceous savory flavors. My friend ordered the NAM PRIK ONG which also came with lava eggs. It was tomato-ey and had a great combination of spice as well. We also got the beignets to start and both agreed that it's better with condensed milk instead of the traditional powdered sugar. Can't wait to come again to try the other specials and evergreen dishes!

The two were charged with 20% gratuity but they gave us with the wrong order and it was a party of…read moretwo. Asked if we could remove it and team lectured us if we ever worked at a restaurant and then stated sorry YOU didn't see it. I don't think gratuity should be charged for two people and because we wanted it to be removed they started lecturing.

Yummy empanadas! We shared the beef, mushroom, and chorizo. All were delicious! We started with a…read morechi latte, iced. A little sweet for my taste.

This location has the best tasting empanadas in my opinion! They're consistently bomb. I've never…read morebitten into one and had to spit it out like other locations... They have good coffee, good service, and recently added refreshers. I am obsessed with them! Soooo good. Def a hidden gem.

My hair salon is near here. I've walked by it many times, even paused to look at the menu several…read moretimes. Such great offerings but when I'm getting my hair done, I'm in a rush to go back home/work. I finally made the time to visit Etoile! My sister was in town and getting her hair done. She needed a ride to the salon so off we went! We had an almond milk latte and a regular latte. We ordered it for here, so we asked to have them served in mugs. The lattes were delicious! There a good mix of students studying here. And some people working. It was a pretty quiet group when we were there. My sister and I sat at the counter and chatted very quietly. Nicely decorated inside. I love independently owned cafes like these! We also got a breakfast sandwich, but they are made to order and it took awhile, so we had it packed it up to go because she didn't want to be late to her hair appointment. Sandwich was great! Service was great! I'd love to go back and order from their lunch menu!

This is a cute little cafe spot right by Trader Joe's. You order and pay at the front, and they…read morecall your order out when it's ready. The workers and the owner were all very kind and welcoming. I got there a little after they opened in the morning. As for the food, I ordered the kimchi fried rice along with the chicken and croffle. The fried chicken tasted a bit interesting. I'm not sure if the frying temperature was off or if it had something to do with the condition of the oil, but the texture of the breading wasn't quite right. I used to work at a fried chicken shop in Korea, so it was a texture I recognized--the coating was fully cooked and wasn't necessarily soggy, but there was no real crunch. Instead of being crispy, the breading was soft and kind of gave way when you bit into it. Unfortunately, I couldn't continue eating it. I'd give the chicken a 2/5. As for the kimchi fried rice, I liked the addition of cilantro and beets, which gave it a refreshing touch. My only issue was that the kimchi itself was way too sour for kimchi fried rice. I don't mind fermented or sour kimchi, but in this case, the sourness overpowered the rest of the dish. Overall, the cafe itself is cute and the people working there were genuinely very kind. I just wish the food had been a little better, especially the fried chicken. Will be back next time to try out the coffee!! It is a cafe after all.

I moved to the peninsula so haven't been here in a while but was pleasantly satisfied with our…read moreservice and meals! We tried going to another cafe that wasn't even that busy and they told us it would be a 20 mins wait with several 4 tops empty. We arrived here and every table was packed with a small waitlist. Even then we got seated quickly, served quickly, and everything tasted good! Will definitely be back and recommend when I'm back in the area!

It was very busy on a Sunday brunch…read more We ordered: - blue corn pancakes - egg Milan scrambler - Benedict's - corned beef hash - there were more potatoes than beef; the potatoes the came with the dish was very underwhelming, mostly soggy, not really seasoned. Overall, food was okay. Nothing out of the ordinary or special. Service was fine but I don't see why it's so busy I wouldn't wait for table here again.

AMAZING breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Berkley. It started as a cafe by Kelsie Kerr in 2014 and…read moreattracts long lines even on weekday mornings. My friend who rarely insists on eating at specific places insisted we come, a previous girlfriend was in the food industry and they have this place bookmarked for awhile. They described it as "healthy california food". We came on a Friday morning around 9:20 am and it was pretty crowded. You can't park right in front but there was plenty of street parking on the weekdays. Inside, its intimate and cozy and there is also a nice seating area outside with lots of dog-owners hanging out. Everything we had was great quality with choice ingredients where you could actually taste the difference. Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwich: herb butter, roasted seasonal vegetables and onions, soft-cooked egg, and greens. Surprisingly filling, we were trying to share a bunch of little bites but ended up getting one each of these. It's fine as a stand alone mini breakfast! Frittata: pastured eggs, assorted vegetables, caramelized onions. WAY too good! we all love this one. Herb-Dijon Biscuit: Excellent savory biscuit, you can taste the high quality butter used.

Very cute and quaint spot for breakfast. A friend suggested we meet here on Saturday for a late…read morebreakfast, what a great choice. It was pretty hard to pick from the menu items, but I settled on the Frittata with a side of Fennel Sausage, sourdough toast and a Arnold Palmer. Although the seating was full, thank goodness out food came out just as some seats were emptying out. It was a chilly day and the outside seating was full too. The service was without any complaints. They did their best to accommodate all patrons despite it being very crowded and crazy busy. Overall I would come back here, probably right as the doors open to be guaranteed a place to seat and not have to wait and hope for a seat. Oh the music was on point!! Put it on your list, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

A cute little corner stop that's full of flavor, and you'd never guess it! This burger had it all,…read moreand then some. I'm talking about the chef's burger of course. It was nice and juicy, cooked to perfection (medium being my preferred temperature), and the best part was that there was a surprise pickle! The fries were seasoned well too. House ranch also was a nice touch. We'll be back. Maybe tomorrow.

Cali Alley is one of those places I have looked at thousands of times when trying to figure out…read morewhat to order on Door Dash or Uber Eats. The food always looked really good, but for whatever reason I always ended up ordering from somewhere else. Well, I finally did it. I finally ordered from Cali Alley, and all I have to say is, why did I wait so darn long? Door Dash was having a 2-for-1 deal on the Cali Alley Burger, so I ordered one of those (and got another for free) , as well as on the small mac and cheese, so I ended up with two of those as well. I got fries as he side for the burgers and saved the second burger and mac and cheese for the next day. I also bought a small side of veggie fried rice for lunch later in the week. OK, let's start with the fries ... wow. Super crispy. Don't know what they do to them, but I think I almost ate all the fries that came with one of the burgers before I even touched the burger. The fries seemed to have a coating like some fries do to make them extra crispy on the outside. Whatever it was, it made them so good, I couldn't stop eating them. I was almost too full for the burger. But who are we kidding? If there is one thing I am good at, it is eating more than I should. The burger, which is described on Door Dash as "char grilled, fresh ground brisket and short rib burger, served on a toasted brioche fun with crisp lettuce, tomato onion marmalade and garlic aioli" was thick and incredibly flavorful. I couldn't stop eating that, either. It was that good. I ordered it medium, and it was pretty pink, but it was sooooooo flavorful, and all the toppings worked well together. I didn't get any cheese on it because I wanted to try to burger by itself and not mask it with cheese. I might try adding cheese next time, but honestly the burger is so good, I almost wouldn't want to cover up its flavor with cheese. Oh, I almost forgot. When you order on Door Dash, you can opt to have them include a small side of their chocolate-chipotle bbq sauce, and I highly recommend that you get it. It's a really interesting flavor and is good for dipping the fries in. I didn't try putting it on the burger, but that might be good, too. The mac and cheese was OK. It's important to note that I enjoyed the flavor but it is more of an eggy consistency than a saucy mac and cheese if that makes sense. It has a nice kick of black pepper, which I liked, though. The vegetarian fried rice was also fine but could have used a little salt. All that to say, don't be like me and procrastinate, get the Cali Alley Burger and fries ASAP.