The quality of food is above par in respects to most breakfast places and the portions are generous; however, if you order one of the omelettes with a side of rice beware that your portions will be compromised. This testament was discovered when my husband and I came here and he ordered the pesto and cheese omelette with rice and I ordered the Garlic Creole Burger. My burger and fries were quite large and my husband had been psyching himself out by looking at all the other breakfast items other tables ordered, but when his [omelette] came out he seems sorely disappointed. We kept up with our traditional of eating half our plates and then switching meals. Granted I like pesto but I am now leaning towards that notion that it should always be in my pasta, after trying the omelette. It was good none the less but the pesto was a bit much. With our two entrees and my Stewart's Cream Soda our tab came out to give or take $17. Not my favorite breakfast place so far but I'm not sure anything will every fill my Nibs cravings. I recommend getting one of the pancake or french toast orders for breakfast, and one of the burger orders if you're wanting a lunchtime meal. If you live in downtown Berkeley, South Berkeley, or North Oakland I would recommend walking since the parking is limited. read more

The ambiance here is nice. Plenty of seating, mostly indoor but a few tables outside. The prices are reasonable, and the menu has a decent variety. The food was good. Not excellent, not all that memorable, but good. That only leaves.... The service: Slow. Our server: Slow. I hate to say this about a guy who was obviously new or trying really hard or both, but he was gut-wrenchingly slow. I won't bore you with the details like he bored us with his reading of the specials, but the service really detracted from our breakfast. We were clearly done eating and had been for a while, but we had to interrupt his standing-around time to get the check. read more

Blurry eyed from the activities the night before, me and some of my buddies wandered into here on a sunday. It being my first visit to Vault, i was expecting your basic brunch fare offered by the patrons of Berkeley. And in that respect, i suppose i was correct. There isn't anything too special on the menu (although at this point, it is kinda hard to reinvent the wheel on american style brunch), but everything on there that we had was tasty and oh so bountiful. The location is an issue, since for some reason, in my 10+ years in berkeley, i had never heard of this place. And since i scour yelp with the best of them... Vault isn't much on the radar of anyone. It is my opinion that Vault offers your basic brunch goodies at a reasonable price. There are however a staggering number of brunch locations located in a small area, and i can see how Vault can get lost in that shuffle. It is worth a try, and doesn't get lost in trying to pretend like its something its not. read more

The Vault is an ok breakfast/lunch place. I've been a number of times. Each time is the same. Fairly nice customer service and ambiance for a diner. Although friendly, one huge thing they can improve upon is the taste of their food. Many things on the menu are bland and are in need of a kick or "wow" factor. From Omelettes to burgers, there is a lack of seasoning. Sides are the same. Fries that have no flavor, hash browns in huge need of ketchup and salt which doesn't leave a lot to be desired. I like the convenience of this place because it is near where I live, however for what you get food wise there are better brunch places just as close. read more

Went here for my birthday breakfast, and was super satisfied. The service was very friendly and the interior was cool, though the place was a bit loud. I ordered the turkey apple sausages with fried eggs and hash browns, and the food was there quickly. The banana walnut pancakes and chicken burger my family had were all delicious. I also recommend the fresh squeezed orange juice - super good. read more

Since a roach walk across the container as I waited to pay for my food . The waitress told me since it's a old building they have to get if sprayed once a week ,I told myself never again I don't do bugs . read more

First place I ever ate in Oakland and it rocked my socks-- I had tomato basil soup and the chicken pesto sandwich. Incredible and delicious!!! I went again for breakfast and got two eggs with bacon and hashbrowns and whole wheat toast. Everything was delicious but I ordered my eggs over medium and they had lots and lots of runny white which made me a little gnarled out so if you're like me then explain exactly how you want them. Also-- Croissant french toast was delicious however it lacked in fruit topping. Fast service and cheap prices with pretty consistent deliciousness. read more

I have been here a few times, and every time I wonder why I went back. It is New Years day so I was expecting slow service, and the general chaos that one would expect but it was all just bad. Food cold, orders wrong, had to beg for a waters to be brought and our mediocre coffees to be refilled, and every time it felt like we were asking for too much. If it were just this one time I would forgive, but Vault you have always just been OK at best. read more

Stopped by this place before looking at an open house and it would definitely be a plus point for this area! Every bite was good! Here's what we thought notable: -regular pancakes were fluffy and chewy, just the right texture -custom omelette with pesto, you could really taste the pesto and it was great! -home fries are a soft potato with a garlicky glaze or something yummy Service and price were great too! Got out for $20 for two. read more

The croissant French toast was excellent the pancakes light and fluffy our first time here but will not be the last. The staff was friendly and attentive a definite 5 out of 5! read more

yum yum. fantastic breakfast spot! Even when you are at a point where forming grammatically correct sentences is difficult, you will not fail in choosing a delicious meal. I had the tofu scramble, a little too many onions for my taste, but very satisfying. the only complaint i have concerns the oranges they use. they are the seediest oranges i have ever met. i counted over 12 seeds in just one slice. the seeds also find their way into the freshly squeezed oj. not cool. however, i will go back for more yummies soon. read more

Good sandwiches. Tried clubhouse with eggplant and avacado, tasted good and it was filling.

Love this place. Relaxed, comfortable, spacious. Fun egg dishes with vegetable. Home fries are good. Unsalted butter which I love. The food is straightforward. Not amazing but decent and the vibe is great. Simply a welcoming down to earth place. Also noteworthy as it is successfully integrated, racially, sexual orientation, age...not the most common vibe in town. read more

I've been coming here for several years, although only for breakfast on weekdays. Perhaps the complaints about slow service in some of the reviews are related to weekend brunches? On weekday mornings it feels very "Berkeley." Diverse crowd, relaxed, no feeling of being rushed, but the food gets to you in reasonable time. I'm maybe 98% vegetarian (yeah, yeah, I know, there's no such thing), and I never have any problem finding a number of good non-meat choices, either from the menu or from the breakfast specials. Some reviewers have made negative comments about the owner's attitude. While I don't know his name (my fault, not his; I think I once knew it for about ten minutes and forgot it), I've seen him relating to a variety of customers over the past 20 years or so (in the 1980's and 90's before owning the Vault, the family had a small cafe called Newberry's on Shattuck near Ashby) and in that time I've seen him on at least a dozen occasions (mostly at Newberry's) deal diplomatically and compassionately with street persons and/or persons with obvious mental health issues. The couple of times I've observed conflicts it was with more mainstream customers, and did not appear to be one-sided. The food, if not spectacular, is very satisfying. I may walk out of Mama's Royal Cafe or the Homemade Cafe with my taste buds just a little bit happier than when I leave the Vault, but I leave the Vault more relaxed, and therefore probably more satisfied overall. read more

Yay Vault Cafe! Yay for awesome food at reasonable prices. Yay for breakfast Yay for the cool actual vault in the room. Yay for me because Vault is walkable from my house. read more

We love the Vault! Unpretentious, welcoming, affordable, and yummy. A real neighborhood gem. Why wait in line for 45m to pay $10 for scrambled eggs? The owner is friendly and the staff are clearly like family (if not family themselves). Beautiful, airy room with interesting actual vault. read more

The Vault is a wonderful neighborhood breakfast gem! There is never a wait and all of the staff is really friendly! The decor is super casual and food is simple, fresh, and delicious! read more

I had an eggs and turkey sausage combo. It came with toast AND potatoes, too much food for me, but I am impressed with the amount of food. I have nothing bad to say about this place. It was excellent! My friends and I met up there on a Sunday morning for an 11:00 brunch. There was no waiting list, we ended up only having to wait for our friends who are slow in preparations. I wish I could remember the name of our Waitress because she was so nice and friendly. read more

Always get great customer service from this place! I've never had a bad experience. I work near by and the salads are awesome! This chicken Caesar salad I just got is perfect. Warm fresh cooked chicken!!! Omg. And the dressing is made at the restaurant! The staff is always nice to me! Five stars!!!! read more

The food here is absolutely delicious. I had their banana pancake combo with chicken apple sausage and two eggs! Their fresh squeezed orange juice is to die for, prices were very reasonable too! read more

Vault Cafe - Banana pancake combo with two eggs, chicken apple sausage, and fresh squeezed OJ! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Berkeley, California

I had been looking forward to eating here for a while now and I was terribly disappointed! We waited a long time to be seated even though there was a table ready. This is due to the fact that the staff is unorganized and could honestly care less about their customers. When we were finally seated I had to flag someone down so that they can take my order. At this point my husband had already taken my very hungry 5 year outside to distract her and let the other people eat in peace; she was getting restless. Food was fresh so I'll give them that and coffee was good too. But because of their terrible service I will not be going back! It's a shame because we live so close and I would have loved to have a new "go to" spot for Sunday breakfast. read more

Order whatever you want, they will make it. Whether you want a fancy omellete, the best oatmeal, or classic eggs and bacon this is the best breakfast spot short of Mamas Royal. Always clean kitchen, plates, and hearty helpings with kind and courteous customer service. Be careful though because the owner has a sharp wit and great sense of humor so if you listen to his jokes he might make you laugh so hard coffee comes out your nose. Good food, good service, and consistent for decades. read more

A good chicken sandwich is the fastest way to my heart, and theirs had me swooning. I didn't expect much. Your typical chicken breast sandwich says the menu. But from the first bite I was on my knees. They marinate that stuff in garlic and some mix of sagey herbs and serve it hot with jack cheese and sautéed onions on a no fuss bun. Got it with curly fries and they bring out this little saucer of ranch. Splash a little tapatio in there and you've just made one of the best french fry dips know to man. I'd been here before for brunch and wasn't too impressed. That's because I didn't order the right thing. Get the chicken sandwich! You won't regret it ;) read more

Looks really nice and the food smells really good but I ended up waiting for a server for 15 min. I got up and left. read more

Meh, in Berkeley all that comes to mind is that it's just okay. Nothing special, nothing that draws me back.

I live down the street and have been here multiple times before. The food is pretty plain but I've come back because the service is nice and it's so close to home. Not anymore though. Called for simple takeout order and received the saddest bagel ever. $14 for a really unappetizing/sloppy lox bagel and chocolate muffin? Yikes! I even left a tip as I always do but upon getting home realized how much I had just spent on some lousy food. My chocolate muffin was slightly better but seemed very much like the kind you get at Costco or something. Hmm. read more

This is the place to go for Sunday brunch with a group of party pals from the night before. It's so big, literally an old bank with vault, that there is never a wait. The food is standard brunch faire, but the smoked salmon, cream cheese and caper omelet as well as vanilla pancakes and fruit waffles are totally yummy. Watch out for their ENORMOUS mimosas, with an equally high price, but worth it if you're in that kind of a mood. Service is a bit sub-par, but for a languid brunch with a krewe of your peeps, here's your spot! read more

I'm please to eat there the food was so good,the service was on point, it was so good I invited my job to have a lunch party.

AMAZING mimosas. AWFUL service. Been there too many times to count. The service is literally always the worst. It seems like they just legitimately don't know how to run a restaurant. That being said, the food is pretty good. And it's affordable. So the experience will depend on your circumstances. Tl;dr - Go if you don't have anywhere to be afterwards, because it will take forever. read more

Had the turkey sausage and eggs for a pre-California State Fair event later in the day. When I went in, the place was very empty but the staff were very friendly and helpful with advice as to what they recommended. I noticed that they had plenty of fresh fruit on the back counter so without delay, I ordered the fruit as my side instead of the hash browns. The fruit was indeed fresh! What made my meal end perfect was the chai latte. Now I usually don't get it but I had a chai sort of feeling and I'm glad that I got it. It was hot and perfect for a cool Sunday morning. Will be back if I can make it. read more

My husband and I were up early this Saturday AM. We decided to treat ourselves to a place we've never tried before by driving around and finding one. As we're cruising down Adeline I see a neon "Vault" sign. Looking around, there was ample parking and the place looked huge - always a good indication there isn't a long wait. We decided to flip a U and take a peek. We pulled in to a spot and did a quick Yelp search to see the stars. 3 1/2, eh? Well - I guess we'll give it a go. Best decision ever. I have to say - I was amazingly surprised at how wonderful our visit was. The service was on point, coffee was consistently filled. We got a fruit plate to share - it was all fresh melon, berries and seedless oranges. Such great quality fruit. For the main course we shared an order of curly fries, which were rival to those at a brew house. So crispy and not greasy at all. We also both got the ham and cheese croissant with an egg inside. Mine was so flaky and big with just the right amount of cheese, egg and ham. There was no grease and the pasty itself was incredibly fresh. All in all, we are super glad we stopped in to try this place. The ambiance is good, very spacious, food is great and the service was wonderful. We will absolutely be making this a go-to spot in the future. read more

We were the for brunch on Sunday. The food is alright. The service was prompt and our server was really nice. Great mimosas. I like the roomy atmosphere and the fact that it wasn't crowded. Maybe it was because we were there during lunch, and everyone was already out and about. A very comfortable place. I tasted a couple of my friends orders. The Eggs Benedict one friend ordered was pretty decent and the sausage was pretty good too. I had a basic steak and eggs breakfast. Now, when it comes to certain food items, I can be really preferable. For one, steak should not be frozen. Period. Refrigerated for a couple days. No more than that. Most people can taste and feel the difference. read more

One of my fave spots in Berkeley/Oakland for breakfast. It's nice and roomy with plenty of seats, including seats d'hors! There's always an eclectic crowd of college students and Oakland families but I never feel out of place at this spacious cafe. I had the pancake combo last time here (2 pancakes, 2 bacon, and 2 eggs) and a cup of their delicious coffee and my tummy was more than satisfied. Good spot if you're trying to find a random place for breakfast at 11:30am (like me!) read more

Hipsters and new Bay Area emigrants need not apply. This is an OLD local favorite, that has managed to keep its prices down! It's a perfect hearty hangover breakfast/brunch. HUGE MIMOSAS! They make everything so well. I hit up this spot when I'm craving a hearty eggs & bacon breakfast and don't want to be charged an arm and a leg. Funky old decor with character. What's not to love?! Do NOT understand anything less than 4-stars. Plus the service is so kind. read more

This place is great if you want a really straight forward breakfast and you don' t want to wait in line during the weekend for it. The coffee is pretty good and the food is consistently good too. I've brought many large groups here during the weekend and they've always had room for us and still give us great service, despite use being a large group. They're consistent with their food, have nice wait staff and is an all around good place to go. I say good and not great/fantastic because they don't have any really creative combinations of food and they people watching is pretty bland here too. I should disclose that I only go here for breakfast. read more

One cannot go wrong with starting their day with Mimosas. Their Mimosa comes in a generous size. It is quite big. It's one of the biggest I have ever had. (That's what she said. hah) I love their Lox Omelet. Their food and beverages are good. If you like big portions then this is the breakfast / lunch spot for you. read more

I had lunch with my wife here, food is OK and I liked their hospitality and the environment. There are some spots to park in front of the cafe and its free. we had turkey burger and tuna melt. read more

Vault Cafe - Tuna melt - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Really baD service.it used to be much faster before.don't think gonna come back again

A converted Wells Fargo is the reason for this restaurants name, but there is no boring banking food here. Simple American breakfasts with a Berkeley twist. Reasonable prices, large portions, and good service. Gets a toad crowded on weekend mornings, but nothing to cry about. read more

Not bad, 3.5 stars. Had brunch here today with my brother. I ordered an avocado, cheddar, and bacon omelette, which comes with hash browns and choice of toast (english muffin, of course). I enjoyed the omelette, although the ingredients weren't dispersed as much as I would've like (all the bacon was on one side and the avocado on the other). The hash browns were good once I put salt on them. My brother got two eggs over easy with bacon and hash browns. He did not enjoy his meal nearly as much as I did, claiming the eggs had a strange aftertaste and the bacon was not crispy enough. One nice thing: they bring out a plate of butter patties with your toast, but unlike some restaurants, the butter patties weren't straight out of the fridge. This means the butter was room temp and I could actually spread it on my english muff without ripping it apart. Bonus points for that. On the WTF side, if you order a pop it comes in a 20 oz bottle. Buh?? The decor is pretty cool. As the name implies, it used to be a bank, and they have these huge vaults that they use for storage. Also prices were great. My omelette was only $7.95, and I think my brother's meal was in the $6 range. I've had the same meal in SF for $13, so that's a big plus. read more