Berkeley Espresso

The best study space and really good pastries (especially the muffins!)

Best coffee house in Berkeley... Excellent drinks. Vibes and location

Amazing atmosphere, calm music, and very nice barista. The prices are also very reasonable, and the drinks are delicious. Overall feels like a very genuine local small business! 🫶

Sabrina G

The Mexican hot chocolate was authentic and tasted like an elevated version of my childhood hot chocolate. The maple scone was slightly moist and not too sweet which was a pleasant surprise. The vibe was intimate and calm, but also nice enough to study. Customer service was kind and to the point. Will be returning!

aa

The best study space and really good pastries (especially the muffins!)

jared F

Best coffee house in Berkeley... Excellent drinks. Vibes and location

Raphaela Pandy

One of my favorite places in Berkeley to work on my laptop. There’s this bristling, cerebral energy in the air and people stay for hours. It feels like a cafe, coworking space, and start-up launchpad all wrapped in one. I love the mix of students, artists, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

Soo Rim Choi

A big thank you to Berkeley Espresso for always being there while I finished my undergraduate and Master's degree. Fast service, good coffee and treats, and caring staff!

Polina Dorfman-Su

Amazing atmosphere, calm music, and very nice barista. The prices are also very reasonable, and the drinks are delicious. Overall feels like a very genuine local small business! 🫶

Teo Lin-Bianco

love love love this place. used to study here all the time and appreciated that there was a good mix of students and locals alike. they always play good music (usually classical) and the vibes feel chill, casual, and local. service is fast, professional, and friendly. food gets the job done but is nothing to write home about. but i spend hours and hours here

This was my first time at this coffee shop as we were visiting Berkeley. I love visiting local spots. This seem to be a very popular destination a lot of patrons on laptops and enjoying coffee they had pastries, not much for gluten-free but everything else I had an iced coffee With sugar-free vanilla and half-and-half. It was a good coffee.

What a great friendly place! They have inside and outside seating with a super chill vibe. The staff is friendly and funny. I love that! We ordered a cappuccino and matcha latte to drink. They are both top quality products. Love when I can taste the true matcha flavor! Their pastries are satisfying but wouldn't write home about it.

Perfect place to study or get some work done. Great coffee and lattes. Great service, friendly staff. Free WiFi with plenty of power cords available for customers to plug into at their individual tables separated by tall plants for privacy. The entire feel of the place is geared towards students and homework/studying.

Surprisingly affordable and delicious sandwich for downtown Berkeley. Service was transactional but not unfriendly. I recommend the focaccia. The drip coffee was what you'd expect; I should've gone with an Americano. They have wifi!

Good soy cappuccino. Not the best I’ve ever had, but good quality. Service super friendly.

Scot Meeker

This was my first time at this coffee shop as we were visiting Berkeley. I love visiting local spots. This seem to be a very popular destination a lot of patrons on laptops and enjoying coffee they had pastries, not much for gluten-free but everything else I had an iced coffee With sugar-free vanilla and half-and-half. It was a good coffee.

Kristine

What a great friendly place! They have inside and outside seating with a super chill vibe. The staff is friendly and funny. I love that! We ordered a cappuccino and matcha latte to drink. They are both top quality products. Love when I can taste the true matcha flavor! Their pastries are satisfying but wouldn't write home about it.

Nes D

Perfect place to study or get some work done. Great coffee and lattes. Great service, friendly staff. Free WiFi with plenty of power cords available for customers to plug into at their individual tables separated by tall plants for privacy. The entire feel of the place is geared towards students and homework/studying.

Raymond Carbonneau Robles

Surprisingly affordable and delicious sandwich for downtown Berkeley. Service was transactional but not unfriendly. I recommend the focaccia. The drip coffee was what you'd expect; I should've gone with an Americano. They have wifi!

Rachel Owens

Good soy cappuccino. Not the best I’ve ever had, but good quality. Service super friendly.

The lychee hibiscus tea is the best! They’ve got a good mix of big tables and smaller ones, so it’s a great place to work, study, or get a coffee/tea with friends. The music isn’t too loud. I will say that nearly every time I’ve come here I’ve met some interesting characters… but I guess that comes with the territory.

Elise Eng

The lychee hibiscus tea is the best! They’ve got a good mix of big tables and smaller ones, so it’s a great place to work, study, or get a coffee/tea with friends. The music isn’t too loud. I will say that nearly every time I’ve come here I’ve met some interesting characters… but I guess that comes with the territory.

The staff was very friendly and quick with making the drinks. It seems like a well-loved establishment, as most of the tables were full and it seems like they have free wifi. The crowd was mostly older when I went (around 10am on a Saturday in the summer) and they seem to be regulars. But to be honest, I was expecting a bit better quality coffee from a place that has the word "Espresso" in the name and has such high ratings. The coffee was very bitter and didn't taste like it was freshly roasted at all. It could just be my taste, though, but I do make espresso at home. So take that for whatever it's worth. Their coffee does the job, but don't expect craft drinks here. It's pretty basic, diner-style coffee.

Jaclyn Pearson

The staff was very friendly and quick with making the drinks. It seems like a well-loved establishment, as most of the tables were full and it seems like they have free wifi. The crowd was mostly older when I went (around 10am on a Saturday in the summer) and they seem to be regulars. But to be honest, I was expecting a bit better quality coffee from a place that has the word "Espresso" in the name and has such high ratings. The coffee was very bitter and didn't taste like it was freshly roasted at all. It could just be my taste, though, but I do make espresso at home. So take that for whatever it's worth. Their coffee does the job, but don't expect craft drinks here. It's pretty basic, diner-style coffee.

Super rude, worst experience ever. Aggressive and angry manner while taking orders. Staffs communicated in their first language to check out and was overcharged. Maybe the size of the drinks was miscommunicated. Great place to read or work maybe since 90% of the customers were on their laptop.

Hyun Ji Kim

Super rude, worst experience ever. Aggressive and angry manner while taking orders. Staffs communicated in their first language to check out and was overcharged. Maybe the size of the drinks was miscommunicated. Great place to read or work maybe since 90% of the customers were on their laptop.

I didn’t try the food, but the espresso here was some of the worst I have ever had. Very crowded. Coffee was made fast though

Absolutely dreadful coffee and service. The cashier seemed upset that we mentioned we were waiting for our latte, then he noticed the barista went on break so he had to make it. He started off by grabbing the smallest size before we reminded him it was a medium, he did not call out the given name when it was ready, and the latte tasted dreadful, like it was burned. Given how many people were in the cafe, I'm sure it's capable of good coffee, but our experience was miserable.

Jacob

I didn’t try the food, but the espresso here was some of the worst I have ever had. Very crowded. Coffee was made fast though

Slava Volynskiy

Absolutely dreadful coffee and service. The cashier seemed upset that we mentioned we were waiting for our latte, then he noticed the barista went on break so he had to make it. He started off by grabbing the smallest size before we reminded him it was a medium, he did not call out the given name when it was ready, and the latte tasted dreadful, like it was burned. Given how many people were in the cafe, I'm sure it's capable of good coffee, but our experience was miserable.