Berkeley Espresso — Restaurant in Berkeley

This place initially seemed to have everything I was looking for in a coffee shop. It was nicely lit, classical music playing(conducive to studying), and wonderful coffee. However, my ideal study coffee shop image was quickly removed on my second visit. The hours posted are 6am-11pm everyday for open operating hours. A time frame where things should remain the same. If that were the case, this review wouldn't be getting one star. So... the person that was working that day, whom said he was the owner, at 9:45pm started slowly changing the tempo of the music from classical to upbeat cumbia. He then raised the volume to a ridiculously High level and started turning off the lights in sections were people were still sitting. At that point, they resorted to using their phones to be able to see the page they were still reading. Someone wanted to use the restroom, to which he said(the owner), "it's already been cleaned," and kept on with his closing duties. Initially acting as if he didn't hear us. When I inquired about the hours, he said, "I get to decide when we close." At this point(10:15pm) the lights were completely off and the music was blasting at a Very high volume. There were at least a dozen people still in there sitting amongst themselves trying to study or in mid conversation. This man, and his inconsiderate actions led me to write...

What looked like a cute cafe turned into a rather unpleasant experience.

When I walked up to pay, the man snatched my card out of my hand, tapped it, and refused to turn the payment kiosk when asked. He said, "It's fine," twice before shooing me away.

Okay, I thought, fine whatever, I went and sat down a little bit bothered, but hey, maybe he was having a bad day.

My friend goes next and suddenly the red carpet gets rolled out. He's pleasant, he's joking, he turns the kiosk and doesn't snatch the card out of her hand.

Okay, maybe I was rude and didn't realize it, I'm trying to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

Queue 35 minutes later, and it was closing time. Suddenly the music comes on and oh my is it loud. I can barely hear the siren of the fire truck going by. The tables are rattling from the vibrations. I'm done at this point. I'm plugging my ears with both hands, and it still hurts.

If it was just one thing gone wrong, I wouldn't have bothered to leave a review. All this combined, no thanks, never...

My wife and I have been coming to Berkeley Espresso for over twenty years; every Saturday for the first ten – and less frequently since, due to travel out of town. That travel has taken us to capitals in Europe and South America, as well as to the Big Apple – all supposed bastions of great coffee. We have sampled cafes in all those cities and we always end up longing for the cappuccino at Berkeley Espresso. I cannot speak about their other coffees, but the Mexican brothers who have been barristas there for the whole twenty years (top that, Starbucks!), and recognize us with a smile even after long absences, make a cap that is strong but not bitter, and wet without becoming a latte: a bracing morning nectar. If out-of-town friends want to meet for coffee, I always set the rendezvous for...