Julie’s Cafe

It took me such a long time to try the place even though i’ve passed it numerous times. When you walk in your surrounded by tons of natural light and cute patio seats.
I went here with a few friends during lunch as we got quesadillas and shwarma, The portions were huge and the staff was inviting. However, the food was nothing too special in my opinion. It’s a great spot to grab something quick and affordable to eat before class because their service is very fast.

The three stars are for a couple of real positives. First off, the menu is varied and exciting to choose from, and everything I’ve had during my three years of patronage has been tasty. Secondly, the chai latte really is good. Thirdly, the owner is friendly and does nice things for the international student community.
The minus two stars is because this restaurant has transitioned within the last year to using disposable everything, while they used to have real plates, cutlery, and cups to use. Being put in a position where I have to create disposable garbage in order to eat a meal IN a restaurant is absurd.

The rating is for the chai latte. Best I’ve ever tried! I come here several times a week in the mornings just to get my chai fix.
I personally love all things creamy and milky, and their chai latte has the perfect blend of milkiness and not-​too-​strong chai flavor. I’ve tried chai lattes in Starbucks and Peet’s and they always tasted way too fragrant and would end up giving me a headache. I also really like the owners, who are very sweet and take care in making the drink.
The layout of Julie’s is very open and inviting. There is wifi and there are also lots of outlets for people who want to study at a café. It’s also canopied so it’s a perfect place to frequent even when it’s raining.
However, I don’t really know how good the food is. I just know that they make it in the back where there’s a kitchen area, and you get called to pick it up when it’s ready.

down hill slide. so sad. got the breakfast veggie omelet, mostly onions inside~ Table was dirty (and this was right when they opened – eww)
Employees so lethargic… this new ownership is just not working. The guy is a bully and the staff is wearing down. Go somewhere else.

This place is ok for a quick lunch, but nothing more than that. I got the veggie pita wich, which was basically like a quesadilla but with pita bread wrapped around the outside. I thought it was pretty good and filling, but obviously all the flavor came from their chipotle sauce. It was also extremely messy to eat, and the sauce was dripping all over the place. Also, it’s something that I felt I could easily make at home if I wanted to… It’s a good place to try, but I wouldnt recommend this place as a go-​to for meals or studying.
Not a fan of the café structure. You pay in the front register and then theres a kitchen in the back where you pick up your food. You essentially get a number on your receipt and then then kitchen staff will just holler the number out when your food is ready. It’s pretty difficult to hear what number they were yelling out, especially if you decide to sit more near the front of the store. The seats and tables in the back are in this more dimly lit area, which also did not appeal to me.

Loved my wrap! I was grateful for their vegetarian options and devoured my delicious falafel wrap. There’s a decent selection on the menu both food and coffee/​juice-​wise. It was well balanced with crispy tasty falafel + fresh greens including crunchy pickled cabbage + flavorful sauce (a must).
Friendly and efficient service but limited + dated seating options. This place could use some renovations. It seems it has been serving the UCB students well for awhile.
I would recommend avoiding the seafood spaghetti that was inedible due to the really poor tasting frozen mixed seafood they had in it. I felt bad for the people in our group who ordered that.

I’ve been to Julie’s a few times, always because it’s really convenient to grab a quick bite right off campus. There is free, strong wifi & lots of table space to get work done.
Buuuut. The food is kinda weird. The menu attempts to please everyone by having everything from Pad Thai to burgers, which inevitably misses the mark on all the foods. A bagel might be a safe bet, but some of the other things ain’t right. Last time, I got a burger and fries. The burger was a solid 3 star experience. The fries tasted fishy. That is not a taste that should be included in a french fry.
Quick and convenient, good work space, but don’t come for the food.

Very mediocre place… have had their omelettes, breakfast sandwich and spaghetti but just isn’t THAT great. I was excited that their omelettes come with fruit salad or hash browns and I chose fruit but the fruit both looked and tasted as if it was from yesterday. The breakfast sandwich was very plain and the spaghetti was insanely salty. Maybe I just haven’t gotten the right items though because a lot of my friends love their food!

My friend recommended the place and the menu looked promising but my lamb/​beef shwarma plate was cold (cold meat, cold rice) and also cost $ 12.
Nooooo thank you. At least the workers were nice.

I wish I had discovered this place sooner. Julie’s is usually the first place I suggest when hanging out with friends. Why? Wide variety of food, quick service, and ample seating.
The food: Admittedly, the food here is pretty average. But, the wide variety makes up for that. They have mediteranean, asian, american, and other random cuisines here. My go-​to is actually the omelette, because it’s filling and comes with an ample side of either a hash brown or fruit-​which they don’t skimp out on. They also have a a great mediterranean salad, that is large, filling, and has a good variety of food. I’ve also gotten the pitawhich which is just the right amount of spicy. Also get the chai! It’s perfect – spicy, creamy, and overall, amazing. Seriously, this is the best Chai I’ve had in Berkeley.
Atmosphere: Great place to have a coffee or meal with a friend. There is wifi, and you can study here, but be aware that the wifi can be a bit spotty around peak meal times, so don’t rely on the wifi to get you through streaming any lectures.
Recommendations: The mediterranean salad, the veggie omelette and the chai.

Oh Julie’s, where have you gone? Had it been a year ago, I would’ve four starred this in a heartbeat but now that management has changed – and it’s gotten more stingy – I just can’t say I love it the same.
You enter in and you’re surrounded by this beautiful greenhouse space with strung lights below their wide skylight. They have plenty of café chairs, a set of bar stool seating, and occasionally a little piano music filling the space. Their food is on point; I exclusively come for their chipotle sauce/​aioli they used to generously hand you in cups but now pre-​place on food. I typically avoid their Italian/​Thai fare, which is not to say it isn’t good, I just prefer the Mediterranean eats since they taste less generic and spiced up.
My regular orders:
1) CHAPLI BURGER: the best flavor – it’s literally Afghani chapli kabab meat mashed into a patty and served juicy and grilled. If you ask really nicely you can sometimes get a side salad instead of fries if you’re feeling a little health conscious. However I’ve been less confident in ordering it since one time the ground meat had too much «fibrous tissue» that left a third of my burger inedible (devastating times.)
2) PLATES, typically Chapli: it’s pricey but the helpings are huge for a nice rounded off meal. They load it with hummus and pita (not your softest, but does the trick), a small side salad with pickled cabbage, spiced rice, and chapli doused in that chipotle sauce I’m all about!
3) SHAWARMA WRAPS: nice little grab and go meal where they stick in shawarma spiced meats with hummus, chipotle sauce, and veggies wrapped in pita.
The prices are a little much for the average college student as in $ 9ish so I’m not always hitting this place up, but plates satisfy me for two meals. Also environment is nice for studying though wifi is WAY iffy.
What gets me is how the service has declined incredibly. I loved the cashier in the front who used to always remember you and went the distance to satisfy. Though he still works here they now have other staff running the register, a series of people who don’t really know how to manage a queue and always forget to give you your order number. :/​
I hope Julie’s can get back to what it was because what it had was so so good while it lasted.

I’ve passed by Julie’s many times walking home but I never thought much about it. I’ve heard that their sandwiches are pretty good, but it wasn’t a place that my friends brought up to eat, so I didn’t feel inclined to try it. After a long Saturday of studying, I decided to try this place with a friend. I saw someone eating a pita-​wich as I was walking in, and it looked pretty good, so I ordered the chicken pita-​wich. The space is really well light by natural lighting, and there are plenty of seats. It’s a good place to study in that the tables aren’t super small, and it’s not super crowded. The food came pretty fast, and was a decent amount for the price. The pita bread was warm and nicely toasted and filled with chicken and red bell peppers. The chicken was tender, and the bell peppers were super flavorful. It reminded me more of a quesadilla since there was cheese too. I wish there were veggies in the sandwich, and that it was less oily. It was kind of hard to eat because the sauce and oil were dripping all over my hands and the sauce was a bit too spicy for my taste.

Oh new owner… food NOT the same. Prices are higher… sigh. Employees seem very unhappy, kind of gloomy now.
The owner did keep the two kitchen chefs which make me return. I asked the owner to lessen the portion and lower the prices, but he is not interested. I told him that for the working poor, paying $ 8.50 for a slab of lasagne (no salad, no drink)…was just too cost prohibitive. Add a cup of coffee and bam, over $ 10 without a tip.
He listened – sort of): Newly added: pasta special for $ 8.50 you get pasta (choice of three kinds), a salad and a fountain drink. NOT the lasagne, but a penne pesto, veggie pasta and meat sauce choice.
So, in a pinch, I still go there BUT for my old standards (burger fries, sandwiches and med. plates), I go elsewhere as I can get a better price point for my lunch expenses.
With the choices in Berkeley, I think one can find better. But, if in the area. An OK spot if you are feeling flush.

Very good atmosphere and the food was very impressive.
We have tried the pasta dishese and they were spectacular. Bbq like Texas style that i have in Huston, can’t complain. Top notch café in Berkeley campus area.

Pretty average. I’ve heard Julie’s changed ownership recently, so perhaps that explains why my opinions on the spot differ from the average.
I ordered the Julie’s Burger and an iced coffee. The coffee came with an incredible amount of ice — the cup was pretty much filled to the top with ice. The burger was pretty solid (although the bun disintegrated as I was eating it) but the curly fries were very obviously frozen fries that they just threw into a deep fryer.
Couple this with an eating area that errs on the grungier side and a rogue pianist that plucked around off key as we ate lunch — it wasn’t the most pleasant eating experience. I think perhaps i went about ordering wrong (I’ve heard really good things about their breakfast and chai lattes). Perhaps I just need to give Julie’s another chance. But I don’t know how willing I’ll be to go back anytime soon.

Not too bad. Close to Cal. Open atrium. Wifi.
Caprese Salad has good cheese but today at least (early October) the tomatoes are hard. Maybe better when they are in season.
Salads are big enough to share.
Nice people. Easy lunch.

I eat here a 2 – 3 times a week, usually for lunch, sometime for breakfast. It’s a solid 4.5 stars. Here’s what I like:
–great ambiance, set in an enclosed courtyard, atrium.
–good breakfast, omelets
–the hash browns are cooked perfectly. Please keep them crispy.
–the burger is great, any of them — lunch special is the way to go.
–all of the mediteranean food is good.
–the Broccoli Chicken (can get with shrimp or beef) is the best thing on the menu. I’ve been eating it for years, and it spicy.
–Ali, the owner (?) is great.
–Order online and pick up your food! Only way to go.
For the owners, to improve:
–Please get a TV or screen where the numbers can display for food that is ready. The shouting (31, 45, 87) is louder than being on a football field sometimes. And please stop using the speaker system. You can hear it from across the street. It’s hard to have lunch meetings there or even enjoy lunch sometimes with the loud number calling.
–Please bring back the cauliflower stir-​fry. It’s just like the Broccoli stir-​fry except with cauliflower. Ask the cook about it. She knows — it’s been on the menu for years and years until this past year.
–Please get a second register. Ali is great and pumps through the line but with how popular you are, you need it during lunch. We sometimes peek in and if the line is too long, we go elsewhere. The cooks seem to get the food cooked fast and fresh so it’d be great to cut down on the ordering time. Or have a kiosk/​Ipad where people can put in their own order online and pay with Square.

Really a 3.5 but why lower their rating? I stopped by for a quick eat and coffee so i could do my homework. they had a great amount of seating available and free wifi, along with a lot of electrical outlets! the service is as helpful as can be — minus the cheeriness, but they weren’t rude! The interior is considered outdoor seating with overhead cover, perfect for people who want to enjoy the weather without the sunshine burning you to a crisp.
I was in the mood for pasta and got the spaghetti amatriciana, along with an iced coffee for a pick me up. the food is made fresh, where you can walk further down and see all of the chefs preparing the food. Portions are good, however the taste of the S.A. was really unimpressive. The tomato sauce is just enough to cover all of the noodles, and they use fresh herbs. But it was so oily… First bite was nice but the overwhelming oily-​tomato-​cheese flavor got old pretty quickly. And what is their focaccia bread? it’s like. Crumbly.
I guess I should be trying their other specialties. It seems like they make a lot of halal dishes? Idk just from the spaghetti I am afraid to try the rest of their pastas lol.
The iced coffee was alright. peet’s beans? Owner or manager contacted me and informed me that the coffee is cold brew.
TLDR: good seating, wifi and amount of outlets; pasta no taste too good; Iced coffee slightly above average — 3.5 stahs.

Set aside 30 to 40 minutes if you are going to order at this joint.
Every once in a while, I go here to see if it may have gotten better, ironed out its troubles, etc. No, the wait time is now over 30 minutes to get your order. The coffee is awful, threw it out (that bad), and the counter people are so flustered that the extra things like ketchup are forgotten. I feel sorry for people working in this establishment. I was ready to walk out but I was take out and had already paid. Wait time… expect over 30 minutes. The food was okay… when it finally arrived, but not worth waiting for, by any means.

A solid spot tucked away in an atrium of a building. You order, settle down and wait for your number to be called and pick up in the back kitchen area. Honestly, this spot has something for everyone. The offer a wide variety of food from omelets to burritos, mediterranean eats and even some BBQ and burgers.
Wifi was iffy, but available.
I opted for the chicken shawarma (I opted to do half falafel) platter and it was large and tasty. Served with salad, rice, hummus and pita on the side, I could barely finish (the key word being barely), but it kept me full well through dinner time. The chicken was on the dry side, but other than that zero complaints. Service was friendly. I opted for an unsweetened iced tea, but they had an array of sodas and coffee.
Minor note — hot sauce is hot! Like, really hot! Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Great for lunch.
I only recently discovered Julie’s. Their menu is crazy. They have hamburgers, Mediterranean dishes, salads, pasta, and even some Thai dishes. The Mediterranean combo plates with rice, hummus, and salad are a good choice for a filling lunch. I’ve tried both the capli and chicken kabob plates and both have been pretty tasty. Food does take a while to come out, but it comes out hot and fresh. The food is definitely a notch above the average South-​side café fare.
If you have a longish lunch break, check out Julie’s.

Breakfast in a nice little courtyard on Bancroft, right across the street from school. Veggie omelette is rather large and filling, full of cheese and spinach, which I love. I’m not a big fan of the cashier though – an older man who kind of hovered over me while I was thinking about what I want. He also didn’t give me my receipt, so I wasn’t aware of what my order number was. I just sat there, waiting for my omelette for about 10 minutes, and then walked over to the kitchen in the back and realized my egg omelette had been sitting there for a while. At least it was still warm when I started eating.
I might come here for breakfast another time when I still want an omelette and coffee, without becoming bloated at Crossroads a couple of blocks away.
BONUS: Free wi-​fi!

I can’t believe I never had the opportunity to check out Julie’s Café until today. Chances are, you have probably walked past this little breakfast/​lunch spot and never paid another luck, but I’m here to tell you that you should check it out.
The prices are pretty rad, the items are a plenty, and best yet… the food comes out pretty well!
I ordered the schwarma with beef and lamb and it came out to be around 10÷11− that’s not too bad, considering how hot a commodity mediterranean food is in Berkeley. Not even 5 minutes past before the cook called my number.
I was pretty blown away by the portion sizes. You get a full on cuisine with the plate size. The salad on the side was good, the hummus sauce was great, and the meat very flavorful… at first. The big downer was that I couldn’t really tell whether the meat I ate was beef or lamb. It all tasted soft and chewy after a while. Thats not to knock this place though. Julie’s Café is a great gem in berkeley for a quick meal.
Come check it out and tell me what you think. I honestly would come again, but I’d probably check out their other times.
Eat well and prosper,

I recently obtained most check-​ins for Julie’s Café (so now I’m ego trippin). Here’s why I fund this place with like half of my college tuition.
1. Ambience. It feels like i’m sitting in a sunny protected green house, It’s a lovely place to enjoy some fresh air and Vitamin D and it’s way better than having your soul sucked out by Main Stacks.
2. Convenient power strips located every few feet and nicely stapled to the wall.
3. I feel relatively healthy/​not bloated/​energetic after eating the food here. Veggie omelette in the morning will give you much needed brain power to ace that midterm! Bonus points because i love anything they squirt their spicy sauce on.
The Boos:
Chai latte is a bit of a let-​down. Actually so is anything coffee-​related here. Which kinda sucks considering it’s a café. Minus one star for that.
Basically:
Study here. You’ll get smarter and you’re brain will thank you.

Reasonably-​priced, decent food! The owners are quite friendly and warm. I also love the sun-​room style outdoor seating because of its natural lighting. My favorite here is Chapli burger. Everything else is quite standard-​tasting. I’ve ordered the Pad Thai a couple times and found it to be lacking on the necessary Thai sweet-​tangy sauce. I think it’s part of their attempt to make the food ‘healthier’?
Overall, this place is great for Halal-​eaters because the all-​encompassing menu incorporates most mainstream cuisines — from Mexican to American burgers or brunch to your typical Asian curries/​noodles.

Tried this place out once more hoping that the quality and service changed over the course of one year.
Unfortunately not. I got the Mexican Salad which was literally ‘eh.’ Minimal ingredients and not everything that was listed on the menu was thrown into the salad.
My friend got the pitawiches and it took forever for them to make!
I was really annoyed and the workers are not that nice either.

I absolutely love this place! I love the owners. They are so sweet and is always smiling!
This place is a great spot to grab breakfast and lunch or spend your gap hours studying. They have plenty of big tables and chairs! The half outdoor and half indoor seating offers great lighting!
I always order their fresh squeeze juices. It is so delicious and healthy! Makes getting up at 8am for class more bearable!
I usually pair the juice with a chicken sausage muffin sandwich! Coming out of the griddle nice and hot, it’s a perfect meal to eat sitting down or on the go!
Definitely would recommend to try this place!

Genial sitio para disfrutar un café, wifi, alargarlo hasta comer y disfrutar de su maravillosa cocina.