Omg I LOVE this place! There's outdoor seating where I can sit with my dog and have breakfast and giant mimosas every day of the week. I had a crab cake Benedict special that was absolutely amazing. The staff was super friendly, and the ambiance was great. I will be coming here often!:) read more

Delicious food! I don't come by this area that much but I really enjoyed the cinnamon French toast with banana. The orange juice which is freshly squeezed is really good. I think if I have to knock off a star it would be because the waitress was kind of slow for us. But it was a weekday and not that busy so we didn't feel rushed. read more

Generous portions, good prices, fast service, nice servers. My regular neighborhood breakfast joint!

I enjoyed the food and it was plentiful. The perfect spot for hangover grub. My only complaint was that the food was not hot enough. I realized the bacon and potatoes were precooked, but they should have zapped it in the microwave. read more

I had the huevos rancheros special.. It was so so. My hubby had the bacon croissant French toast and eggs.. Bacon was very good ! Maybe next time I'll have something besides the special. read more

I've been coming here at least once a month for several years, usually for the Sunday brunch. I like to order an omelette with a couple of fillings like feta cheese and spinach or order off the special board that they have in the window. This morning I had a waffle with a side of chicken apple sausages. Excellent! It's not a fancy place, just a homey mom and pop shop, but the food is delicious and the prices are moderate. I have always found service friendly and efficient and the fresh squeezed OJ is the best you'll find anywhere. read more

We like Vault because there is always seating, the chairs are comfy, the atmosphere is unpretentious, and the service is friendly. The food comes quickly, is consistent and tasty, and portions are generous and inexpensive. Your coffee is always being refilled, servers are flexible about substitutions, and there is a great variety of food on the menu -- from eggs to waffles to fries to spaghetti to burgers to salads. Also, their espresso is surprisingly tasty. read more

We always take our kids here for breakfast. When you sit down, they bring the kids a fruit plate and crayons and paper. They take our order immediately and the food is good and fast. The lattes are super yummy. If you have young kids and want a great reasonable breakfast with no stress, this is the place. read more

We are currently sitting in this restaurant wondering why we chose to come here instead of going to Lois the Pie Queen. The service is horrible. The staff are more than just strange they completely ignore you. We had to flag wait staff down to get a table cleared, order food and drinks. We ordered our food about twenty minutes ago...and still nothing. Anytime the waiter stops by our table (only after being flagged) he apologizes that it's do busy. I've been to busier restaurants with waaaay better service. If you are looking for a breakfast spot go to Lois the Pie Queen or La Note. You will feel welcomed, appreciated and enjoy a great meal! read more

This was my neighborhood cafe, before I quit my life and moved away. I find myself craving the broccoli provolone omelet and the french toast and the awkward young man who is always there, eager to help with a smile. The coffee is good, all the food is good. If you are in south Berkeley, north Oakland stop by. You won't be disappointed. I deduct a star only because it closes in the early afternoon read more

Stumbled upon this place on Sunday with a friend. Huge interior, simple decor. The food was reasonably priced. The pancakes were awesome! I love that they add bananas and strawberries on top. The waiter Larry was very attentive and sweet. Definitely would come back if i'm ever in that part of town again. read more

My favorite breakfast place! The staff couldn't be nicer. The prices are great! Bicycle parking out front. Easy parking on the weekends (I never go during the week, so who knows). A short walk from Ashby BART. Great food! My only concern is that by giving a great review I might have to wait for a table in the future. read more

good food. nothing that special but they do have cranberry juice, and for some reason beyond me that is a rarity. great service ...really. no atmosphere at all... yep that about sums it up oh yah out door seating so i can bring my pups!!! read more

First, I love the space, huge so nice & quiet, can sit 15 feet away from other table. Second service is great, very kid friendly, try the Mickey Mouse shaped pan cake. Also they bring your kid a nice plate of fruit,free, as soon as you sit down (helps behavior of hungry little ones). No line to get in and free parking right in front. Yummy beacon4-5 strips come w/ your eggs, great home fries. And quick to refill your coffee. All good! read more

Slow service but delicious food. I had the eggplant and zucchini sandwich with provolone and my boyfriend had the tofu scramble.

Visited family and was taken here for breakfast. I loved the options, and it looked like the OJ was fresh squeezed. Server was nice, albeit a little forgetful. Inside was nice and spacious. Both myself and my fiancé were not fans of our omelets. This is the big reason for the lower rating. We both came away wondering why the family picked it. Eggs were dry and the items inside the omelet were a little too uncooked for me. I'm used to the additional items being cooked INTO the omelet, not being added at the end to a folded egg pancake. It was edible, but not ever something I'd go back for. Maybe if I had to return I'd try their pancake special. Looked like a good price and the fruit served with it looked good too. read more

I've been to this place three times and the first 2 were mediocre and the last was awful. Undercooked hash browns and some strange things in my water. read more

This is the standard brunch place I go to with my BF on the weekends. Compared to many places in the area, the prices are a good value for the quality and amount of food you get. Also we have never experienced any huge waiting in lines. We are not into a pretentious brunch experience or waiting around for an hour to get in. The decor is very basic if you care about these things. I usually get an omelet or the scrambled tofu and both are good. I also really enjoy the home fries. The staff can get kind of busy and inattentive but this seems to depend on the number of people that show up on any given day. read more

I come here for weekend brunches. The nice thing is the wait is short. The pastas are good, and I can pick either mild or spicy for the tomato sauce. The egg dishes and omelettes are pretty standard. The only time I ordered something I wasn't satisfied with are the French toast, which was soggy in the middle. Otherwise I am pretty happy with this place. read more

i think its great! my eggs were not brown!!!! don't ya hate that? oooh and the banana frappe is delish! read more

Most of the reviews I've seen are correct. I live near the vault and really would like to like it but ithe vault is terrible. The food is at best average, the service consistantly poor and the owners attitude varies from indiffernt to arrogant and rude. The only good thing about "The Vault" is that on Sundays you can get a table for breakfast but that's only because most people don't come back. The last time I went here I ordered my favorite bruch which is Eggs Benidict. I've worked as a cook and waiter at 5 star hotels and I know the recipe. It came with the thinnest possible slice of Canadian Bacon. When I asked the owner about it he was indifferent. This irks me as the bacon is the only part of eggs benidict that cost much he was slicing it so thin that he got 4 slices out of what should have been one but did not reduce the prices. read more

This place is one of the few things I miss about my old neighborhood. Perfect hash browns, speedy service, great prices. It isn't just hungover hipsterville, either--you get lots of families and the after-church crowds on Sunday. This place is good for large groups, too. read more

I go here for my americano coffee drink pretty much every morning. It's the best around. I also order a single banana pancake with complimentary nuts on top. It costs like 2 dollars and fifty cents and they bring out fluffy butter, and syrup and treat you like a million bucks. It's the bsolute cheapest way to get treated like a king with almost no money down. read more

The breakfast menu is simple, but awesome. I love the hash browns and omelettes. The waiters in the afternoons are ditsy but i recommend the place. read more

I was not impressed. The food was just, OK. ALL of our dishes were cold. We were over charged. I understand that mistakes can be made. The waitress kept arguing that we were only charged for two omelets instead of the three on the credit charged bill. She kept referring to the handwritten bill, while I was referring to the charge slip on my credit card, she finally said "yeah, it's an over-ring!" ????? She, then walked away, returning with an accurate bill. I was hoping that this could be a decent place for us. No such luck. read more

I love this place. Staff is so nice. Food and service is good. They have good coffee, usually tables available for weekend breakfast. Great neighborhood spot. read more

Around the corner from home, but still worth the trip if you dont live in the area. You absolutely must try the chicken apple sausage, oh yeah... dont let people trick you into thinking the place was named after its owner "Mr. Vault when in fact the building used to be a bank and even preserves the original monays vault... read more

The Vault is our standard Saturday-morning-type late breakfast place. My wife always gets the tofu scramble (and slathers it with hot sauce); I usually get an egg dish or the pancake combo. We almost always get a seat by the window without waiting. The food is good; nothing spectacular but it's exactly what we want and it's very consistent. The only thing bad about the food is sometimes one of the two dishes comes out a little cold, like it was sitting around waiting until the other dish was finished. It's been mentioned before but the eggs err on the undercooked side, in case you're picky. The service is technically slow, but we're never in a rush so we don't mind. As other people have mentioned, the owner/manager guy is a bit of a dick, but the waitstaff is friendly and helpful despite his grumblings. We've had the lunch food a couple of times but the breakfast menu is better. Stick with eggs & toast instead of a burger and you'll be happy you did. Overall it's a great place to go for some hearty breakfast food on a lazy morning/early afternoon. Stop by Sweet Adeline's a few blocks south on your way out for dessert. read more

Vault Cafe is good, consistent food and service. They have excellent omelets, hashbrowns, burgers, and fries with reasonable prices.

The Vault is a good place to have brunch in an area with a serious dearth of good brunch places. The space is interesting (there's an actual giant vault there), and some of the specials are creative - like fruit and nut pancakes. My only qualm is the "no substitutions" on the menu. There are some combos which should have limited substitutions. For instance, many people will want fries with their sandwich instead of chips or salad. As long as the restaurant serves fries anyway, why not let people have what they want? If this is already allowed, then the menu should be revised to show that. "No substitutions" just tells me to go elsewhere to get what I want. There are quite a few single dishes that allow you to construct your own brunch. I often combine the croissant french toast with bacon and eggs. Very tasty! read more

Wonderful atmosphere: all sorts of people, including families with young children; and all very quiet and relaxed. Friendly service, good food. Not a "fast food" place: just the right pace for a Sunday brunch. The breakfast omelets are outstanding: my favorite is avocado and mushroom. Good ingredients; simple but good cooking. I warmly recommend the Vault Cafe. read more

I have eaten at The Vault since it first opened and the breakfast/ brunch was awesome..I past by this afternoon around 4:30 and to my surprise they were opened. I found out that they just started serving dinner 3 days ago. I ordered the calamari and the pot roast. The calamari was OMGGGoodness great!!! You could even eat the sauce by it self. And that was the most moist akd flavorful pot roast I have ever eaten. It is a MUST EAT!!!!! read more

Loved the lox and onion omelette with the home fries. Also the atmosphere is unique. There isn't a lot of good breakfast places in the Berkeley / Oakland area so this one really stands out in my mind as yummy and unique. read more

the bathroom has been up-graded!! fabulous to hear that news! heard it is all new and clean..yay.. read more

Friendly customer service We ordered Turkey sandwich that comes on focaccia bread, provolone, grilled onions. Turkey was very very salty, Red potato salad had too much vinegar but tasty for homemade. Spinach omelet was as you would cook at home - egg and spinach and nothing else read more

While visiting my family my parents suggested that we eat here. We had breakfast which was decent and the day before I was to leave we decided to eat here again. When it came time to pay the waitress said they don't accept AMEX. We thought this was strange because we paid with an AMEX just a few days prior. She asked to speak to the manager/owner. He came over with an attitude and proceeded to argue with my mother I told him there was no need to yell and not to speak to my mother in such a tone. He proceeded to slam the credit card on the table and walk away. I will NEVER step foot into this dump again! When you are in a business of serving customers you don't get to speak to people however you choose to! Regardless of how your day is going you don't bring that energy towards your PAYING customers. My family has been eating here since the place opened and after today NEVER AGAIN! read more

before today, the vault would've gotten three stars--i've never enjoyed their food but we returned every so often for their huge mimosas made with fresh squeezed oj. however.... after our visit this morning, we will not return. it's true that service is usually pretty relaxed so i prepare for that. we sat ourselves down this morning though & had to wait at least 5 minutes to get our table wiped off & get menus....wouldn't have been a huge deal if people who came in after weren't already being helped. then our food comes & gf's bacon is cold & funky looking--it didn't even look like "real" bacon to me but i wasn't about to try it. since our server hadn't checked on us after 15 minutes or so, my gf took the bacon up to the counter to ask for a replacement & order another mimosa. the manager started giving her all kinds of shit and overall just wasn't very accomodating about replacing the bacon. he did end up sending us fresh bacon with the next mimosa--it was hot this time but still really pale & "off" looking. whatever. the breaking point was when we found what looked like a nasty piece of hashbrown about a quarter of the way into the mimosa. at that point it was done. they did take the mimosa & bacon off the bill when i asked but after that experience i cannot recommend them at all--our server was friendly & great in dealing with this so the one star that i have to give is for her. i've been a server and understand that bad days happen. but when management starts coppin attitude, that's a whole other story. read more

My girlfriend and I were down the street watching our friend perform in the Awesome Orchestra (which if you haven't heard of it you should) and decided to step out for lunch. We decided to walk around and look for some place close to eat. If you have ever been to Berkeley, you know how parking can be the hardest part. We were headed to Alchemy Cafe but they were closed. We had passed the Vault Cafe on the way there and noticed it was pretty busy. We looked at the menu and figured what the hell we are both hungry let's eat! Mistake number one. We walked in waiting to be seated, which took longer than it should have considering there were half the tables open and a bunch of workers running around. So we finally were seated at a table with no menu or water for about 2 to 3 minutes. Once the menu was brought to us, it took about another 5 minutes for them to return with water only to walk off without asking if we were ready to order. That should have been enough to leave. Our order was finally taken after about 15 minutes of sitting there. I ordered a pastrami and mushroom sandwich with a smoothie (which was generic but the tastiest thing we got) and my girlfriend ordered poached eggs and toast with a side of fruit. When it finally arrived after about another 10 minutes of waiting, mind you we had been there roughly 30 minutes already, the real disappointment began. Not only was the food sub par, but it wasn't even hot. The poached eggs had way too much water left over, the toast was slightly warm, and there was a dead house fly on the fruit. By that time I didn't really want to eat my sandwich but was starving. Once the food was finished, we waited and waited and waited about a total of 20 minutes for someone to even come back to fill our water. The check didn't come for what felt like an eternity and granted we only spent about $25 between the both of us, I easily could have just starved instead. I can honestly say I won't ever step foot in that place again or even recommend it. The only reason I'm glad I went there is now I know I didn't miss out on anything. Boo read more

I've been here a few times - a couple times to sit and eat and a few times to just grab a tea and croissant to go on my way to work. I will not be coming back here after my experience this morning. I've seen the owner in the past be a little bit off, but today he was just plain rude and inappropriate. There was some weirdness between the owner and the customers ahead of me. The customers were going to pay for their coffees with credit card, and at first he said he didn't take credit card and then one of the customers said they could pay with cash, but he just seemed frustrated and told them to just go without paying. After the customers left and I got to the front, he started cursing about them calling them f**ing a**holes. I decided to just leave then and there and plan not to return. read more

I can't believe this place is only averaging 3.5 stars. For the price you pay this definitely deserves 5. Super affordable, massive portions, and arguably the best hangover cure on this side of the bay. For 8 bucks you get a mimosa with fresh squeezed oj ... IN A PILSNER GLASS. I mean, really. I just drank a beer sized mimosa. Mama's happy. read more