Bittersweet: The Chocolate Café

For the last month the place has been closed down, with the windows papered over with signs reading, «Back soon with a new look!» Actually, for a while the sign indicated they’d be back open Sept. 22, but as the date approached that sign came down and there’s no indication of if or when it will reopen. Here’s a telling anecdote: About 2 weeks after the «back soon» sign appeared, someone posted their own sign on the outside of the window saying, «It’s okay, stay closed.» Apparently I’m not the only one who’s not a fan.

I can’t stop gushing about the my jasmine green tea with DARK CHOCOLATE. Yep, somehow, in my zenned out, yoga state of mind, that sounded delicious and I went for it.
Wow.
It was fantastic. My only complaint were the chunks of chocolate I so gladly chomped up at the bottom of my cup but still, this place really can deliver with the unusual.
I’m still not sure if the hot chocolate can rank with any of the decadent European versions I’ve had the privilege of tasting but this really took the cake.

Honestly, I really wanted to like Bittersweet. Their drinks look/​sound really great, and the atmosphere from the outside makes the café look so cute and cozy. but I was so sad with my visit here.
I went on a weekday afternoon and ordered a Spicy Hot Chocolate. It ended up being around $ 4.30(ish). And I get it – it’s actually hot chocolate (unlike the powdered/​watered-​down hot chocolate you get numerous cafes).
LET ME WARN YOU: The serving they give you is very small.
For the price I paid, I would have rather gone to Philz and gotten a large drink rather than pay this amount for something that’s HALF the size of a small 13oz coffee.
The spice was definitely there, as I felt it in the back of my throat when I sipped it. But it ran out way too quickly.
In addition, seating is limited. Not comfortable. It got a little stuffy even though there were around 4 – 5 other people there.
A pro is that the service and people who work here are very nice and accomodating. I won’t be coming back unless I know a drink I order will be worth the price.

After all the hype, it was not what I expected. The décor was fine, but the chair and tables were uncomfy and wobbly. My sandwich was alright, but nothing to write home about, and I like the hot chocolate at Elmwood Café better. All in all, it was just meh.

Came here to get a cappuccino for after lunch coffee fix. I liked the strength of the coffee but that was it. There wasn’t any latte-​art. I mean, okay, I get that that isn’t much of a valid judging point as opposed to the quality and taste of the coffee, but I think we all expect indie coffee houses to make their coffee with a special kind of attention and detail. RIght? I didn’t get that here. That didn’t really impress me — I could have easily gone to Peet’s for a better experience.

Oh my god– their chocolate zuchini bread.
Gluten and dairy free.
Rich, thick, delicious, nutritious chocolate cake. Woah.

I have been here once. The décor is a bit vintage-​drab, the seating fairly uncomfortable, and the music oddly curated. But this place still deserves 4 stars, and here’s why: this is the only place I have been in the East Bay that serves a dead-​serious, committed, thick and dark and lusciously bitter hot chocolate. This is not sweet, pale Swiss Miss crap. It is what chocolate is meant to be.
So that’s what you should come here for, and about what you should expect. Don’t come here for a sandwich and a coffee. It’s a chocolate café. Buy that badass $ 4 hot chocolate, be reborn, and part ways with the place.

Everything is Meh. Crappy customer service, would not recommend to anyone that actually loves chocolate.

Bittersweet has finally moved to Berkeley! Granted, the original location is right outside, within the far regions of North Oakland, but it’s always nice to have an amazing chocolate shop close to campus!
The place is a bit small, and doesn’t have the same charm as the original location. A lot less chocolate goodies to browse through, as this Bittersweet location seems more like your typical café.
I couldn’t really decide what to get, so I just got their Chocolate Milk. It’s pretty much a chocolate smoothie, as they blend everything into a really thick chocolate milk. Really tasty stuff — thumbs up!
The café is a bit hidden down University Ave, so hopefully they’ll be able to attract customers to journey down for their delicious goods!

I had a sandwich with quinoa and a giant Oreo. The quinoa was bland and the sandwich was just some oily squash on bread, but the Oreo was fantastic! I did not try the hot chocolate or coffee but what others had looked good. The lack of wireless makes this a poor place to hangout and work, which is high on my list of requirements for a coffee shop.

Wonderful rich chocolate. Cute little place, been there twice now and the chocolate always makes me feel good :)

Boyfriend and I were in the area, doing some eating and some shopping at the Trader Joe’s up the street and I had parked my car right in front of this café. So, me being me, I had to stop in. The name in and of itself drew me in. Who DOESN’T want to go to a chocolate café? And if you don’t, you’re a broken person.
I ordered myself a Chocolate Thai — dark chocolate mixed with Jasmine green tea. And I think I was transported to heaven. No lie.
So there’s nothing «Thai» about this drink so far as I can tell (unless the tea is Thai?), but it totally blew me away. There’s something amazing to the palate that happens when you mix the tea and chocolate tastes together. I wish I could put my finger on it. Not bitter, but not sweet. This drink is the epitome of the store name.
Thank you, tea gods (and chocolate gods) for making this drink. Or, better yet, thank you to the baristas at Bittersweet for coming up with it! This drink instantly propelled itself into my list of top 5 drinks. This is definitely going to be a spot that I go to whenever I’m in the area.

I walk by this place every week and I finally got an opportunity to stop in. I was looking for a place to stay dry (it was a rainy Saturday morning) and have a warm coffee or tea. Bittersweet Café smells of chocolate as you walk in — yummmm. I had to try the chocolate chai latte, it sounded so enticing. At first, I was a little worried because it was under the hot chocolate category — I wasn’t really looking for a hot chocolate. However, to my surprise it was a perfect mix of bittersweet chocolate with the spice of chai. It wasn’t too sweet, but just enough to keep me wanting more!

Staff is friendly and helpful. Ambience is retro and pleasant.
Sometimes the baked goods are ok — sometimes good — but not infrequently they are absurdly bad.
I am attaching a picture of what was sold to me as a «raspberry muffin,» for example. I think the cook took the phrase «raspberry muffin» literally and included a single raspberry.

Staff is wonderful! Prices are not so good and the fact that this is not a «small» shop (there’s already another one in Oak) makes me even more upset at their prices. I’m willing to support good food… but when your coffees are a $ 1 to $ 1.50 more than good coffeeshops around you, it’s not worth it. Food and pastry is hit or miss and I’m underwhelmed with the pastries I’ve tried so far. Not worth my money for sure.

We got a sea salted caramel milkshake for around $ 5. The cup was tiny, and the milkshake was too sweet for my taste :(
I love the ambiance though, and I would recommend this place if you’re super cool and hipster and you love overly sweet drinks and you like friendly servers and you appreciate classical music.

Three stars for the drip coffee being drinkable (most of the time) and the availability of soy milk to put in it.
They offer one vegan muffin per day, and they usually run out by 10am. Why even bother having them at all? Also, one time they gave me a non vegan muffin by mistake and barely apologized after I took a bite and discovered their error. If I ask if they have any vegan muffins left, the dumb asses who work there always try to offer me non vegan gluten free stuff instead. Basic knowledge of their products is severely lacking.
In general, the staff is unfriendly and sarcastic (not in a fun way). They’re obviously too cool to be bothered to do their jobs well.

I’ve always wanted to try this chain of restaurants in hometown of Oakland, but I work in Berkeley… so the opportunity eluded me. Until now. Bittersweet opened next door to my office building on University Ave.
I forgot to eat lunch and headed out to get something at 1:15pm. Saw their signboard and went in. There were about five customers in the store. People did not look happy. Ordered and waited… and waited. Something went wrong with the folks making the food and one lady ahead of me was really upset over her long wait and demanded her money back. Snarky dude working says, «Well, if that is what you want.» and hands back her money.
I finally got my order $ 9.00 for a tuna melt, kale side sald and chocolate chip cookie. I scolded the snarky dude for the rude remark especially in front of crew members and patrons. Dude you never know who is watching.
Got back to my office and looked at the meal. Small. $ 9.00 worth of small. Cookie is a good size but personally I could’ve done without the cookie. The salad fit exactly in the small well of a 3-​section take out tray. The sandwich is a ¼ (barely) of a french roll toasted. The tuna salad sandwich taste good but is so loose it keeps squishing out with every bite, which I did not finish. The dressing for the salad, orange-​something-​vinagarette is so strong and is the cheese (parm, reggiano) this is all you taste.
Well, I will return to Au Coquelet for my tuna melt with salad or fries for under $ 7.00
As for Bittersweet, well the office I work in next door handles the construction on campus for the univeristy. These folks are always having meetings over meals and we have been in the neighborhood for 13 years. We most likely will not be using Bittersweet for catering the way we did New Amsterdam and Au Coquelet.

tried to come here.
posted address of 1918 university ave. is wrong.
they are further up the block at 1952 university ave.

This is my new favorite coffee shop in downtown Berkeley. Good quality brew at an affordable price. Friendly staff and excellent proficiency.