Cafe Leila — Restaurant in Berkeley

We went for Sunday brunch, and the place was pretty busy, but they were handling the line well, and outdoor seating was mostly full with seats still available. This restaurant was simple but charming, with its plant-filled, open air seating in back as the star attraction. There were 5 of us, and our picnic table with umbrella was clean and pleasant. The food came within an average amount of time, and still warm.

Leila's was charming but expensive for what it was, considering that customers order at a counter and seat themselves, including self serving water and bringing drinks and condiments to the table, and there isn't any table service (although employees are nice if you flag them down). They deliver the food and tableware and bus the table after you leave, but that's it. But I continued to enjoy Leila's over the years as prices increased.

This was the first time I didn't like the taste of my order enough to raise the issue. My tuna melt tasted like sour mackerel to me. (There was no discussion with me over WHY my meal didn't taste right; was the tuna actually old? Who knows?) I was apologetically told to purchase additional food if I wanted something else-- Leila's wouldn't exchange my meal for another. My group of 5 spent over $100 on entrees and drinks for BRUNCH. My tuna sandwich and mixed greens cost $15.50 alone. For A TUNA SALAD SANDWICH, possibly one of the cheapest protein foods to make. That was the moment all the times I wished I had water, condiments, or coffee refills/re-warms delivered to me while eating there came back to mind. I had attempted to resolve my issue, but was left with a sense that Leila's doesn't feel any obligation for my positive experience, even at more than $20 a head.

My mother-in-law split her Reuben sandwich with me that morning, and the remainder of the meal was fine. But I won't return to...

They’ve always been a great establishment. Large indoor and outdoor seating. But I did notice a high turn over with the staff and a couple of meny that would camp out at the front that felt more like bouncers than welcoming hosts. Doesn't stop me from coming here of course.

Today was my first day back in quite awhile and I was impressed with what feels like a freshness in the approach to management as well as a useful allocation of funds for the $15 omelet we have been purchasing long before pandemic prices. Lucky for us that price has also stayed steady after the pandemic.

Walking in I was greeted by two young(er) people behind the counter with warmth and a cohesive vibe between them. By the way I don't pretend my opinion matters, I just have to wait for several hours til my car is ready at the mechanics and I have loads of time to write this. They were gracious enough to explain they were dog friendly and suggested several spots that my small pit mix and I could get comfortable. We chose the backyard, the main selling feature for me coming here to camp out, and it was such a fresh delight. They have manicured the space down to every square inch. The large tables have not been replaced but they have bought a few new chairs and cushions. They removed some of the more overgrown foliage and the space just feels brighter and cleaner.

The bathrooms have also been repainted and new art has been added, but the lighting is still too dark. If they could add a light above the mirror or a multi light fixture above and use yellow LED’s this could improve the bathroom experience greatly. All and all I am very happy they are still in business, still serving delicious, health breakfast, and improving their space for...

I have loved this place for years until the last time I went. I ordered the California Salmon Salad for lunch - a simple salad topped with grilled salmon and fresh avocado. When my lunch arrived, I noticed there was no avocado as described (a key ingredient). Also, that no staff mentioned any explanation nor apology for this majorly missing ingredient. I had to get up, go to the counter and ask where my avocado was. They explained that they were out of avocado - sorry! - but that the salad had an avocado dressing on top (a very lame excuse). Why didn’t they tell me this when I ordered it? They didn’t realize they were out of avocado (poor kitchen management). Could I have something as a substitution for this key ingredient? They offered bacon, which wasn’t fitting… and we finally settled on a fruit cup. After standing around awkwardly with no further instruction, I informed them that I’d go back to my table and they could bring me the fruit cup there.

This wasn’t the end of the world, and I still ate my salmon salad. It was just tremendously disappointing how their lack of communication at every level made me interrupt my meal, go find an explanation, ask for some replacement, and wait around feeling very uncomfortable. There were so many opportunities for this to have been handled differently (notifying me when I ordered, apologizing when it arrived without it, offering some substitution instead of making me ask for it, etc etc).

For these reasons, sadly I won’t be returning here any more. It really didn’t feel like there was any care or consideration going into my meal...