Café Brio — Restaurant in Arcata

I am a biased reviewer of this establishment, as my sister is the pastry chef here and has been working here for a decade. I love the concept of Brio, and from my most un-biased perspective, I think they have a great dedication to the locavore spirit.

As I have heard from behind the counter, many of the fruits and vegetables are purchased fresh and locally from small growers. I also happen to be a vegan, and (perhaps partially) thanks to my influence, they now have a seasonal vegan cupcake option. If it's "in season", the peanut butter cupcake is incredible. I do wish that there were a few more vegan breakfast options, but if the local consumers ask for it, I'm sure Brio will deliver.

Brio also has wonderful coffee. I'm the type of customer who typically won't bother ordering something if it isn't good, and I have had their soymilk lattes repeatedly (add the caramel -- it's coincidentally vegan and house made!)

Definitely a gem of a cafe with a great location and a...

My husband and I visited Cafe Brio at the end of August! Our Airbnb host actually recommended it as a place to get coffee. I don’t think that I would personally call Cafe Brio a coffee shop. I definitely consider it more as a restaurant! My husband got a mocha and he said it was okay. I got a latte with a seasonal, rose syrup. It had too much syrup for my personal preference. I thought that it was over-powering the taste of the espresso! I had also ordered quiche to-go. I think that if we would have dined it I may have had a better experience. I thought the location was great and that it had great seating options - inside and out! The staff were nice but I wouldn’t say they were friendly and welcoming. Overall, I would still give this cafe a 5 stars. If we decide to go back we may dine in and have more of a brunch! I just remembered my husband got a sort of double chocolate cookie and it was amazing!! I would definitely give their baked...

Cafe Brio opened their cafe when I lived here before, but I hadn’t made it in before moving. I was missing out. They make great coffees and a very nice breakfast/brunch.

We got the brio classic with poached eggs on a croissant, and I don’t want to start a flame war, but Cafe Brio might take the City of Croissants title from Sacramento. Flaky buttery croissant. Perfectly crispy bacon. Beautiful poached eggs.

The greens, eggs, and tofu was delightful too. Well cooked chard and onion. Egg and tofu were tasty. The hash browns crispy and buttery.

The highlight was certainly the berry danish. The pastry crust was light and delicate without being burdened with a glaze. Other places like to make their pastries a sticky sugar coated mess, but should learn from Cafe Brio. The cheese filling just lightly sweet but really just there to accent the flavor of the berries. And strawberry or blueberry? Why not both? A...