Way Station Brew — Restaurant in Berkeley

6/11 Tuesday morning. Cute back yard. Good coffee. The two stars is for the indifferent, rude, and very, very slow service. We live around the corner and walked over to get take away coffee before getting picked up for on a trip. We had 35 min and it took all of them to get one coffee. There was only one person in front of us. After letting us stand there waiting even though he finished the person in front of us; we weren't greeted and stud there like idiots while the guy kept walking away into the kitchen and doing other things rather than greeting and serving us. It literally made me cringe inside, I felt so unwelcome. I don't want to feel like "I am sorry to bother you for wanting to buy a latte", so after my friend got a latte, I opted out of getting coffee at all, because we had no time left and I did not want to support a business with such unfriendly service. Sorry guy; I've worked in cafes and restaurants for years. Its basic 101 in your job to to look at people, say hi and show at least a bit of urgency in serving people. Obviously you are having a bad morning. Not my fault. I am only a customer who wants to buy your Latte.

I left not only without my beloved morning cafe but a very bad feeling inside. Not my first experience of your male servants being indifferent, uncaring and making guest feel like we have to be ones begging for what we want.

I appreciate your response Peter. I wish you success in making your business the neighborhood jewel it could be. I think most servers don't realize being personal and being a friend to people will make them come back again and again. It should not matter if you are male or female. Guys are might more 'who cares'; but females for sure will not come back if not treated with...

This was previously my favorite spot in Southside for coffee and a quick breakfast. However, in my most recent experience, I bought a full meal, a coffee, and was basically kicked out of my seat after probably under an hour as I worked on my laptop. When I came in the place was packed--no problem--I considered to-go options, then I saw the bar, which I decided to sit at. Then, when I saw a proper seating arrangment open up, I sat at it. Coffee shops are first-come, first-serve seating. Everyone knows that and respects it.

Then, just as I'm finishing up my work, the owner asks me to leave the booth I'm at to return to bar that I purposfully left, ONCE THE SEATING OPENED UP, mind you, to make room for a party of four. If your establishment is too small, why do I, a paying customer have to move out of my seat to make way for someone else? The question itself is a discourtesy. I have been here multiple times and spent money here multiple times.

Bottom line, when I enter a coffee shop, I make a purchase of a meal and a coffee and expect to stay for a solid period of time unperturbed. Did I ask people to move for me when I came in? No. I patiently waited for the proper seat to open up, meanwhile taking a bar seat. At no point did I consider it even an option to kick people from their seats to make way for myself. Apparently, a party of four, because their dollar count is higher in the moment, gets dibs on seats. A regular guy who just wants to come in and have coffee, a sandwich, and write an essay is too much of a poor slob to take up a whole booth, even though he patiently waited for it, and only took the spot of a single person who sat...

My wife and I held our wedding welcome event/rehearsal dinner here earlier this month, and choosing Way Station Brew as our venue was probably the best wedding-related decision I made after proposing!

Warren and the Way Station staff went above and beyond our expectations: the staff were so warm and inviting, and the service absolutely impeccable; the food was incredible (by Sfizio, @sfiziopasta, at Way Station on Wednesday and Thursday nights); Warren curated an impressive selection of wine and beers from a variety of local breweries; Warren brought in a UC Berkeley jazz quartet to serenade our guests; and all the thoughtful little touches, from the gift bags of freshly roasted coffee for our guests to the fresh bouquet of flowers at the bar, were the icing on the cake that showed us how much Way Station wanted to help make our special weekend something to remember!

Thank you Warren and Way Station Brew for a memorable evening! Looking forward to making even more memories next time...