Cafenated Coffee Company — Restaurant in Berkeley

Pros: The space is lovely and there's a great ambience given how busy it is. The patio is a stand out in the spring + summer. Great place to hang out for an hour or two. The coffee is solid and reliable. Quality internet, some annoying restrictions at times with things like git Solid pastries (mostly from Starter Bakery in town) Booze! Not something I want frequently, but when I do a glass of wine or a mimosa is a great thing to be able to get here.

Cons: The food that they make is too expensive for how uninspired it is. Seasoning/balance is often a miss. The items don't rotate and don't really fit together on a menuu. No bigger disappointment than the lame side salad that shows up on a bunch of dishes. It's competent, but just.. not worth it. While I'm reliably going to get solid coffee, I rarely get an amazing cup here -- and when I do, it's always from the same barista. This + the food problem I highlight suggests management that is lacking in creating an exception team and in setting forth a vision for what it wants to serve. S

The cons would feel more nitpicky elsewhere, and I am holding them to a tougher standard than I do other places out here, but it's in part the expectation that gets set over such an intentionally put together space: that care and attention doesn't translate to the core offerings that I come to a coffee shop for. The mismatch is palpable.

If they figure out a way to elevate their production game, this place has all the makings of becoming an institution out here. I'm...

Not off to a great start. To summarize, incredibly long waits, limited selection, and bad-tasting coffee. I ordered a soy mocha--pretty standard fare--but they only had oat milk. Fine, but the oat milk wasn't very good. My friend ordered a decaf latte--but they said they couldn't make decaf espresso, and didn't have dairy milk, either, so she settled for a decaf coffee with some oat milk poured in. A whopping 25 minutes later (with only one other customer who came through while we waited), my drink was made... and tasted terrible. They made a latte, not a mocha, and it had all the worst flavors you don't want from a coffee (bitterness, acridity, watery) and none of the coffee flavors I love. The drink made Starbucks seem like fine dining. My friend's coffee was no better. A few friends have tried them since, and report much the same: unbelievable wait times, bad tasting coffee, and on the expensive side. The staff seemed friendly, but overwhelmed (despite low traffic), and I was surprised that there wasn't anyone experienced or clearly managerial on site for a newly opened coffee shop. The site is attractive, I liked the outdoor patio--but I'd need to know that they've made some improvements before spending another $6+ on one of...

Food - ordered the brunch board and somewhat overpriced for the quality, the waffle and chicken taste like it came from frozen food section of trader Joe. The beignet and potatoes were actually good. Latte was good.

Service: was bad, interacted with two servers and they both weren’t attentive (consistently turned their backs to the customer tables to chat and laugh) while we tried to get attention to order and waited a while, and the same through out the stay, it even got annoying that my wife had to get up and walk up to them to ask for a check after waving her hand for a couple of minutes(they were both at their area, chatting and laughing while facing away from the customers) . Both forgot to bring a straw, that I repeatedly asked for, at least 2x requested from each server(once during ordering, once when the drink came, and lastly when we noticed the last server tending to another table after we asked previously). Lastly, they forgot one of my orders, which I forgo’d when brought up to my attention after almost done eating.

Outside seating was...