Souvenir Café

Nicholas McNamara

I had passed by this place with out trying it for a while, but then finally tried it and was impressed. I think they roast their coffee locally at CoRo in West Berkeley. They do a good job making the drinks. I also only recently started ordering food there, which is also - I think - surprisingly decent. I’d recommend the Tomato-Tomatoe for folks looking for an avacado forward veggie bagel sandwich. The atmosphere is a little utilitarian, but the staff are nice. There POS system was down once and they weren’t able to take mobile payments, and I didn’t have my wallet - so they gave me the coffee and food on credit. Definitely gives the place a neighborhood coffee shop vibe.

Mario Hall

New location of the always-great Souvenir Coffee! Great coffee, but they run out of pastries early, so get them while you can! I’m lucky to live in the same building which is super convenient, so have gotten to know a few of the baristas and they’re all so great. Only downside is the decor and vibe. Wish it was a little more thought-out — it feels like they just grabbed a bunch of old tables and chairs and set up shop. Looking forward to seeing how they evolve as they open up more formally and add prepared food to the menu.

Cool little cafe on College and Derby. I liked what I have and will surely come back to try others.

Vipin Kalra

Cool little cafe on College and Derby. I liked what I have and will surely come back to try others.

Great drip coffee, breakfast and friendly employees. Really glad to have them in the neighborhood! I hope the spruce up the atmosphere soon. They slapped the “Souvenir” logo on the old Saks coffee shop space and didn’t change much else - it could use a refresh.

Love coming here to work during the week or get some personal tasks done on a weekend. Good coffee and love the windows. However, note that they really close by 4:30, not 5 like is listed here and on the window. Chairs were up and doors were locked by the time I was able to arrive around 4:27 on a Sunday to pick up a bag of coffee for Monday morning :( [EDIT: Looks like they've updated their hours here, but the sign on their window still says 5pm]

The employees can be unfriendly/look like they don’t want to be there, but the coffee is really good. I just order an americano because the espresso is good enough on its own without any milk. It strangely always feels kind of dirty.

Cute and cozy shop in Elmwood :) One of my go-tos for studying in the area. I love their fun syrups and seasonal drinks. A couple things to note are that it feels cramped at times and some tables are very sticky. It’s hard to sit down on weekends and on days close to midterms/finals on campus. Pricing is reasonable.

Souvenir coffee company is in a good location. They’re just getting started over there, “soft opening”. The coffee shop is very spacious, tall ceiling and big windows. There isn’t much in the way of decor or atmosphere, but it’s kind of nice that way. The coffee is really good. When the barista makes my latte I can actually smell the aroma of the beans. That’s fresh!

Stephanie Lau

Cute and cozy shop in Elmwood :) One of my go-tos for studying in the area. I love their fun syrups and seasonal drinks. A couple things to note are that it feels cramped at times and some tables are very sticky. It’s hard to sit down on weekends and on days close to midterms/finals on campus. Pricing is reasonable.

Ashley Horne

Great drip coffee, breakfast and friendly employees. Really glad to have them in the neighborhood! I hope the spruce up the atmosphere soon. They slapped the “Souvenir” logo on the old Saks coffee shop space and didn’t change much else - it could use a refresh.

Sarah Moats

The employees can be unfriendly/look like they don’t want to be there, but the coffee is really good. I just order an americano because the espresso is good enough on its own without any milk. It strangely always feels kind of dirty.

Paige Cano

Love coming here to work during the week or get some personal tasks done on a weekend. Good coffee and love the windows. However, note that they really close by 4:30, not 5 like is listed here and on the window. Chairs were up and doors were locked by the time I was able to arrive around 4:27 on a Sunday to pick up a bag of coffee for Monday morning :( [EDIT: Looks like they've updated their hours here, but the sign on their window still says 5pm]

Deborah Kuchar

Souvenir coffee company is in a good location. They’re just getting started over there, “soft opening”. The coffee shop is very spacious, tall ceiling and big windows. There isn’t much in the way of decor or atmosphere, but it’s kind of nice that way. The coffee is really good. When the barista makes my latte I can actually smell the aroma of the beans. That’s fresh!

*UPDATE - the owner/manager replied to my review and offered an exchange or refund with apologies. Very much appreciated! so hard feelings anymore :) * I went in excited to try their coffee and was very disappointed by the fact they essentially tried to scam me. I picked out a bag of whole beans and asked them if they could grind them for me. When they went to do so, I saw them switch out the bag I had picked for a different very old bag of beans (I picked the one I had picked because it had the freshest roast date and the rest were at least a month old). She then gave me the bag of ground beans with the old roast date, smiled and said nothing. I would have never spent so much money on coffee if it was so old and the fact they tried to do that behind my back was very disappointing. Very upsetting as I was super excited to try Souvenir.

It’s delicious. I love their food, especially the tomato tomahto bagel sandwiches. The problem is the timing. They’re very slow, so prepare to wait a while to get your food.

I've been to this place a couple of times. I love a lot of things about it. The drinks are good, there's ample seating, good atmosphere. One thing the cafe could fix is making it easier for a customer to see everything on the menu before approaching the counter. For folks like me who want to look at my options before ordering, it's awkward to have to approach the counter to see everything (such as syrups, teas, milk options), which is undoubtedly confusing for the barista. Multiple times, I have had the barista be rude and passive aggressive because I've made the simple request of needing a minute to look at the menu. I said hello and did my best to be polite each time, but got attitude in response. Most recently, it was the barista working on a Sunday afternoon. Makes me feel pretty unwelcome. And on top of that, there's no latte art, or at least not for someone the barista is upset with. If I'm going to pay $6 for a latte, the least I ask is for a modicum of patience and grace from the barista.

My first experience was not great. However, upon returning later in the morning and talking with the manager my second experience was much better. I hope to give this place another try and it looks like a great place to work when needing to get out of the house. Food was good. Had a bagel with an egg patty and cheese, and a chocolate chip cookie. Will admit the egg patty was little on the peppery side.

Alethea D

It’s delicious. I love their food, especially the tomato tomahto bagel sandwiches. The problem is the timing. They’re very slow, so prepare to wait a while to get your food.

Gwen W

I've been to this place a couple of times. I love a lot of things about it. The drinks are good, there's ample seating, good atmosphere. One thing the cafe could fix is making it easier for a customer to see everything on the menu before approaching the counter. For folks like me who want to look at my options before ordering, it's awkward to have to approach the counter to see everything (such as syrups, teas, milk options), which is undoubtedly confusing for the barista. Multiple times, I have had the barista be rude and passive aggressive because I've made the simple request of needing a minute to look at the menu. I said hello and did my best to be polite each time, but got attitude in response. Most recently, it was the barista working on a Sunday afternoon. Makes me feel pretty unwelcome. And on top of that, there's no latte art, or at least not for someone the barista is upset with. If I'm going to pay $6 for a latte, the least I ask is for a modicum of patience and grace from the barista.

Rachel Nuckols

My first experience was not great. However, upon returning later in the morning and talking with the manager my second experience was much better. I hope to give this place another try and it looks like a great place to work when needing to get out of the house. Food was good. Had a bagel with an egg patty and cheese, and a chocolate chip cookie. Will admit the egg patty was little on the peppery side.

Katherine Brooks

*UPDATE - the owner/manager replied to my review and offered an exchange or refund with apologies. Very much appreciated! so hard feelings anymore :) * I went in excited to try their coffee and was very disappointed by the fact they essentially tried to scam me. I picked out a bag of whole beans and asked them if they could grind them for me. When they went to do so, I saw them switch out the bag I had picked for a different very old bag of beans (I picked the one I had picked because it had the freshest roast date and the rest were at least a month old). She then gave me the bag of ground beans with the old roast date, smiled and said nothing. I would have never spent so much money on coffee if it was so old and the fact they tried to do that behind my back was very disappointing. Very upsetting as I was super excited to try Souvenir.

There’s work to be done. I ordered a cobb salad (wasn’t asked if it was for dine in or to go). Then I waited for just shy of 40 minutes. Until a confused employee finally emerged saying she made the salad for here and had to put it into a to go container and it wouldn’t look pretty. 🙄girl its been 40 minutes I don’t care. The salad was good, but not $13 good. Save yourself almost an hour of waiting around and go elsewhere for food.

Jacqueline Benson

There’s work to be done. I ordered a cobb salad (wasn’t asked if it was for dine in or to go). Then I waited for just shy of 40 minutes. Until a confused employee finally emerged saying she made the salad for here and had to put it into a to go container and it wouldn’t look pretty. 🙄girl its been 40 minutes I don’t care. The salad was good, but not $13 good. Save yourself almost an hour of waiting around and go elsewhere for food.

Be mindful of how much Souvenir Coffee charges you! The menu on the wall no longer reflects the actual prices. I went there last week, and was charged a higher amount for my drink than what was listed in the menu on the wall. I pointed it out, but the cashier was dismissive, and just said "I guess it's outdated".

Clerk is nice. Matcha latte tastes like foamy milk. Not matcha latte. Pricing posted is out of date and not accurate. Asked for no foam and got a 1/4 in of foam in my mouth... Thought this would be a lovely change to my morning routine but I'll be going back to peets starting tomorrow. Well decorated though

I've frequented this coffee spot for a year and I've never had complaints about their coffee. I love the honey lavender latte but I always take it to-go because the tables are usually taken up or incredibly sticky. Yesterday I went in with my two friends who are also regulars, and unfortunately a coffee got spilt on the floor. I want to add that this occurred due to the faulty cups/lids and it's usually a battle to put them on the cup. Anyway, we notified the staff and a woman came to mop it up and handed a rag to my friend. They kindly made us another drink. However, as we were leaving the woman yelled at my friend that she needs to clean up her mess and "I didn't spill it so i'm not cleaning it up." As a restaurant owner, I was shocked and appalled that an employee could openly cause a scene, yell at a customer, and demand that the customer clean up with their dirty rag from the kitchen. To make things worse, we were walking across the street from the shop about 10min later and the woman flipped us off from INSIDE and behind the register. Ridiculously unprofessional and sad that one of my favorite coffee spots supports such service. Every single person in that place looked appalled.

Dmitriy Izyumin

Be mindful of how much Souvenir Coffee charges you! The menu on the wall no longer reflects the actual prices. I went there last week, and was charged a higher amount for my drink than what was listed in the menu on the wall. I pointed it out, but the cashier was dismissive, and just said "I guess it's outdated".

Cindy Valenzuela

I've frequented this coffee spot for a year and I've never had complaints about their coffee. I love the honey lavender latte but I always take it to-go because the tables are usually taken up or incredibly sticky. Yesterday I went in with my two friends who are also regulars, and unfortunately a coffee got spilt on the floor. I want to add that this occurred due to the faulty cups/lids and it's usually a battle to put them on the cup. Anyway, we notified the staff and a woman came to mop it up and handed a rag to my friend. They kindly made us another drink. However, as we were leaving the woman yelled at my friend that she needs to clean up her mess and "I didn't spill it so i'm not cleaning it up." As a restaurant owner, I was shocked and appalled that an employee could openly cause a scene, yell at a customer, and demand that the customer clean up with their dirty rag from the kitchen. To make things worse, we were walking across the street from the shop about 10min later and the woman flipped us off from INSIDE and behind the register. Ridiculously unprofessional and sad that one of my favorite coffee spots supports such service. Every single person in that place looked appalled.

C Abz

Clerk is nice. Matcha latte tastes like foamy milk. Not matcha latte. Pricing posted is out of date and not accurate. Asked for no foam and got a 1/4 in of foam in my mouth... Thought this would be a lovely change to my morning routine but I'll be going back to peets starting tomorrow. Well decorated though