Cafe Jolie — Restaurant in Alameda

My girlfriend and I went to Cafe Jolie for a weekend brunch. After a quick 25 min wait we were seated outside in a well shaded area under a large umbrella. The food came quickly and was tasty overall, especially the Crab Cake Benedict my girlfriend ordered. From there on it was one thing after another that caused the experience to deserve the very rare 3-star rating from me though.

It started small, with the fact my girlfriend's chai latte came as a large when she had very clearly communicated to the waiter she wanted the smaller size. We didn't fuss, because we figured it was just a mistake and I could easily finish what she couldn't anyways. The second thing was the rather large umbrella we were seated under blew over twice, almost injuring me and potentially any others who could be walking by at that moment... I have no idea why the thing wasn't secured. The second time it happened I felt it was necessary to ask them to do something about it, fortunately someone had already seen it blow over towards me and was already rushing to try and fix the issue which was to shove its base under the fence so it wouldn't tilt. (Not really preventing anyone from moving it at a later time and potentially causing an accident.) The last, and most disappointing thing, was the prices on the bill didn't match the menu prices, so we were being overcharged for at least three items. It didn't seem like a mistake as much as it was a system issue because they were all exactly $1 over, which would then mean that numerous patrons could have been overcharged and not had a clue unless they carefully reviewed their check. We brought this forward and the waiter corrected our check but didn't have a good reason for the overcharge. Overall the experience didn't feel like other relaxing weekend brunch experiences, and I would opt to go somewhere else next time.

My girlfriend had been to Cafe Jolie once before and had a great experience there, and she also left disappointed this time. I hope others don't have the same sort...

Our group of 4 was very pleased with the food and beverage offerings at Cafe Jolie but unfortunately less enthused by the service. After we were seated, we waited for close to 10 minutes before we were even acknowledged. They were very busy, so we were understanding of the circumstances and our server did apologize so it wasn’t that big of a deal. The food was VERY fast which was much appreciated. At the end of our meal, the check was dropped without asking whether we were ready which is totally fine, except that we needed the check split because one member of our party needed to pay separately because they were on a company trip. We asked our server who said she couldn’t split the check because we didn’t tell her in advance. The menu explicitly mentions that the check can be split a maximum of twice per party but has no mention of a requiring advanced notice. Though this policy is pretty antiquated, they are entitled to enact it. They shouldn’t, however, refuse to honor the posted policy. Our request must have peeved our server (even though we didn’t resist her rejection of our bill-spitting request) because she was very cold with us, ultimately asking us to leave because there was a wait. We’d barely been there for an hour. I honestly can’t remember a time in my whole life that I was asked to leave a restaurant for any reason. Perhaps they could have expedited our stay by not waiting 10 minutes to even acknowledge our presence instead of shooing us out. I hear Cape 7 across the street has a similar breakfast menu so I might just try...

I have been coming to Cafe Jolie for 8 years, they have gone down hill severely.

Lately, it’s common to call and the phones are disconnected during regular hours. Restaurant closed with no notice. Wait staff rotating out so fast it’s affecting the quality of food and service. There are two locations, and can’t get a hold of either one on a Saturday at 11am. Today marks the 5th time in the past 3 months that both phone lines have been disconnected at both locations. No notice posted. We used to do pickup on the weekends, now we will no longer be choosing Cafe Jolie.

Food items have gone downhill. The beignets are a sad excuse for a beignets, used to be fluffy and proper but now are a hollow crispy shell. Many reviews about the terrible beignets from regular customers, but management doesn’t seem to care or change anything. We stopped ordering them altogether.

Petit location frequently burns and overcooks items until they are dry as hell, crispy when they should be soft, and burnt tasting. Potatoes from Petit are regularly dry and shriveled.

Benedicts had the whites left runny and totally raw on multiple occasions.

French toast slices have gotten thinner and less sweet.

Constant rotation of new trainee baristas burning the coffee.

Everything about Cafe Jolie is getting worse and worse over time. After 8 years,...