Ain't Normal

Great little coffee shop with a focus on craft coffee and food! This is the kind of place you go if you want to taste the notes in the espresso they used for your latte. Cool selection of wines, coffee beans, and tinned fish in the little shop area too.

ACACIA SHYR

Delicious babaganoush toast! Also maybe the best scone I've ever had. Great place to study or work if you have a full charge. No outlet and music is a bit loud, but there's free wifi and bathroom. Minimal indoor seating. It's a bit expensive but worth it.

Vineet Sinha

Very limited sitting inside, but lots of outside seating on the corner of Miles and College Ave. For highly discerning mocha connoisseurs, the mocha here will rank about a 4/5. For the rest of humanity, this is a 4.7/5 mocha. You’ll be satisfied either way. Going to try their egg and biscuit next, which is only really available before 11 AM

Barry Hashimoto

Strong espresso, nice curated drinks, and an extensive selection of wine and champagne sold to-go. Sandwiches appear to be thoughtfully crafted, and are a cinch to grab to go. Perfect as you’re near the train. Pricing is premium, par for the course at this big corner. Music is solid, staff are cued in to their work and having fun.

Phoebe Montalvo

Exceptional coffee and delicious food options, friendly staff and a great spot to hang out.

Sheila S

Not our usual haunt, but we go there once in a while if it’s on the way during our morning Coffee walks or if it is sunny out and you want a place to relax with a glass of wine outdoors. The cashier came out to take orders when I was standing outside with the dogs so that is convenient. There’s also a dog water bowl in front of their place. The inside is small, but there are a few seats and a restroom. It is a noisy intersection with cars, the freeway, and the BART, but it is also conveniently located in the heart of Rockridge. If you are not walking, you can park at the Bart for free during non commuter hours. My husband loved his breakfast egg sandwich.

Christopher Lee

Easily one of the best coffee shops in the east bay. Their drip is delicious and I love that they make their own baked goods (most other coffee shops buy from a handful of bakeries). My only verrry minor complaint is that they don’t fill up the cup for drip coffee (ain’t normal in the yellow cup vs CoRo for comparison). It’s minor, I know, but that means my happiness is over that much sooner.

Daniel Bray

Great little coffee shop with an amazing variety of breakfast toasts. We had the smoked trout toast and the daily special babaganoush toast. They were both delicious. Docked one star for the atmosphere because it’s a very busy street corner with loud traffic. An older fellow took it upon himself to spray paint the nearby trashcan to erase some graffiti and fumed out the entire cafe patio during breakfast. Doing more harm than good. I’d definitely come back again for the toast.

Courtney Baldwin

Great little coffee shop with a focus on craft coffee and food! This is the kind of place you go if you want to taste the notes in the espresso they used for your latte. Cool selection of wines, coffee beans, and tinned fish in the little shop area too.

Omega Rae

Love this spot, right next to rockridge bart, perfect to grab a latte & a quick bite. Latte was really good & they have non dairy "milk" options. I had some sort of puff pastry with lemon curd & vanilla.

Connor Loudon

Definitely come check out this hip coffee spot on the corner! Cappuccino is top notch. Deep flavor with perfect foam. Mocha was the perfect combo of coffee and chocolate. Not too sweet with phenom chocolate creaminess. Scone.... you MUST try this. It was the best scone I've had in a long time.

Nadia Morozova

Great place, tasty espresso drinks. I took vanilla bean bay leave latte, my friend took lavender latte, another friend took cappuccino. Everyone loved their drinks. I recommend those guys!

This is a really special spot. First, the coffee: they source excellent high quality beans from a variety of interesting roasters. Beans from as far away as Korea or the Netherlands are ALWAYS fresh. Seriously, I've never pulled a stale bag from their shelves. They also have a lovely collection of teas. I've eaten several nibbles from the cafe and they are always straightforward and delicious. Finally, they have a fun assortment of wines on offer, with thoughtful tasting notes. I've attended a wine pop up here and it was lively with -of course- great wines and tasty bites. They know how to highlight the coffee they serve with well executed pour overs and I've enjoyed the rare espresso drink I've ordered as well. Last but not least, the staff is always warm while being incredibly efficient. I never feel rushed and they're always happy to have a quick chat. I'm probably here at least once per week. This place is a true Oakland gem.

The staff is knowledgeable and the food is amazing. A bit pricey, but I promise you won't be disappointed. I've had the trout toast and the grits with Chorizo 😋👍🏽👌🏽

Potentially the best coffee shop in the entire Bay area. They're serving some of the highest quality beans you can find. If you are into specialty coffee there is simply not a better place to go. The pricees can be high but they match the high quality and are completely valid. It's amazing to see people complain about an extra dollar for oat milk, etc. I imagine these same people have no issue dropping 18 bucks on a glass from a $13 a bottle of grocery store wine at dinner. This place is a gem.

Matt

Potentially the best coffee shop in the entire Bay area. They're serving some of the highest quality beans you can find. If you are into specialty coffee there is simply not a better place to go. The pricees can be high but they match the high quality and are completely valid. It's amazing to see people complain about an extra dollar for oat milk, etc. I imagine these same people have no issue dropping 18 bucks on a glass from a $13 a bottle of grocery store wine at dinner. This place is a gem.

Lanana

This spot somehow provides a sense of normalcy despite the name. Homemade treats are tasty and satisfying, lattes are hot, staff is approachable. Great stop before commute to the city.

Nytasha Tarver

This is a really special spot. First, the coffee: they source excellent high quality beans from a variety of interesting roasters. Beans from as far away as Korea or the Netherlands are ALWAYS fresh. Seriously, I've never pulled a stale bag from their shelves. They also have a lovely collection of teas. I've eaten several nibbles from the cafe and they are always straightforward and delicious. Finally, they have a fun assortment of wines on offer, with thoughtful tasting notes. I've attended a wine pop up here and it was lively with -of course- great wines and tasty bites. They know how to highlight the coffee they serve with well executed pour overs and I've enjoyed the rare espresso drink I've ordered as well. Last but not least, the staff is always warm while being incredibly efficient. I never feel rushed and they're always happy to have a quick chat. I'm probably here at least once per week. This place is a true Oakland gem.

Cute cafe shop that's always busy, seem to be a local favorite. They always have interesting rotating sweet and savory pastries, toasts, salads and yogurt bowl. No charge for alternative milk, and I enjoyed the cortado

Coffee was good. Pastry was a bit too greasy

Updated April 11, 2024. 4 stars due to good but not superlative coffee. Same with a mid-February visit. This establishment could benefit from greater consistency. Still deserves a visit. Amazing cortado and decaf (yes) cappuccino, nice sitting area outside in the sun. This is a destination for coffee connoisseurs as evidenced by our several visits and a young couple in line who traveled from San Francisco to savor the coffee. Rich, deep, dark crema with powerful aromas. The caramelization of the cortado was exceptional and I spent several minutes inhaling the scents like a fine wine before taking the fist sip. Strong roasted bean flavors that lingered deliciously on the plate for a long while after we left and walked to Trader Joe’s for shopping. Purchased roasted beans which smelled heavenly. This is my # 2 in the Bay Area and the USA for coffee after CoRo in Berkeley. And it just got closer after my visit of January 7. Wow!

Gal Gavish

Coffee was good. Pastry was a bit too greasy

Gary Cole

Updated April 11, 2024. 4 stars due to good but not superlative coffee. Same with a mid-February visit. This establishment could benefit from greater consistency. Still deserves a visit. Amazing cortado and decaf (yes) cappuccino, nice sitting area outside in the sun. This is a destination for coffee connoisseurs as evidenced by our several visits and a young couple in line who traveled from San Francisco to savor the coffee. Rich, deep, dark crema with powerful aromas. The caramelization of the cortado was exceptional and I spent several minutes inhaling the scents like a fine wine before taking the fist sip. Strong roasted bean flavors that lingered deliciously on the plate for a long while after we left and walked to Trader Joe’s for shopping. Purchased roasted beans which smelled heavenly. This is my # 2 in the Bay Area and the USA for coffee after CoRo in Berkeley. And it just got closer after my visit of January 7. Wow!

I. S.

The owner is straight up weird and rude. I often buy beans here and rarely come for an inside coffee in the extremely limited space. I really miss when this place was Bica. They had a nice marble counter to sit at and the workers were so sweet and kind. It's hysterical that people say it's relaxing outside. They must have headphones in or are unconscious because the noise from the freeway is deafening. The food is terribly overpriced and the in-house pastries not good.

It was advertised as a Turmeric Latte. Didn't have it. Instead, I was served with attitude, with no room to heat up a frittata, and all the workers seemed upset to have customers, despite a line out the door. You could feel the opposite of hospitality. Maybe Ain't Normal must mean... no normal interactions, bad attitudes, and cold frittatas. Grits are good. Hence the 2

Alison Middleton

It was advertised as a Turmeric Latte. Didn't have it. Instead, I was served with attitude, with no room to heat up a frittata, and all the workers seemed upset to have customers, despite a line out the door. You could feel the opposite of hospitality. Maybe Ain't Normal must mean... no normal interactions, bad attitudes, and cold frittatas. Grits are good. Hence the 2

Ngoc Nguyen

THE WORST MATCHA EVER😭it taste nothing like a matcha latte and it is just straight milk with 1% matcha. They also up charge if u get the drink iced instead of hot

Such a disappointment. Paid $30 for 2 pour overs and they were so so underwhelming and very poorly extracted. Barista knew nothing about the coffees they were serving, I asked multiple times. Told staff about the pour overs and they really didn’t offer any solutions. Very bummed because this place has so much hype and such an incredible bag selection of coffees from roasters all over the world. I’ll be back to buy a bag but such a sad cafe experience. Staff was so unpleasant, we need to be done with this pretentious and rude BS in the coffee industry please.

Jason Edwin

Such a disappointment. Paid $30 for 2 pour overs and they were so so underwhelming and very poorly extracted. Barista knew nothing about the coffees they were serving, I asked multiple times. Told staff about the pour overs and they really didn’t offer any solutions. Very bummed because this place has so much hype and such an incredible bag selection of coffees from roasters all over the world. I’ll be back to buy a bag but such a sad cafe experience. Staff was so unpleasant, we need to be done with this pretentious and rude BS in the coffee industry please.

Was super excited for this place due to the specialty coffees they serve. Ordered a $15 pour over that was incredibly under extracted. Told the barista and they basically said, “idk we brewed it correctly”. Was not impressed with the customer service nor the coffee. Super bummed as I was really looking forward to checking this place out. They do offer some amazing bags to purchase, but won’t be back for anything else.