85C Bakery Cafe - Berkeley
| Address: | 21 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-540-8585 |
| Site: | 85cbakerycafe.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 7AM–10PM 7AM–10PM 7AM–10PM 7AM–10PM 7AM–12AM 7AM–12AM 8AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
JO
Jo W
Another Taiwanese establishment that has popped up in Berkeley. Why must all these Taiwanese treats tempt me so? This is my current guilty pleasure in Berkeley, a step above Sheng Kee on Telegraph, with great cakes and breads. My favorite is the seasonal mango pumpkin pie. What a genius concoction of mango and pumpkin by the award-winning chef Li-Che Chen, though Im rather disappointed that they discontinued this now that November has rolled around. I went twice this past week to see if it was still offered, thinking that it would at least be around until after Thanksgiving. I wish this was offered year-round. But you cant go wrong with any of the cakes here! Theyre all so beautiful, especially how theyre displayed in their glass case by the counter like jewels in display cases at a jewelry store. Doesnt hurt that the lighting in here is very flattering to the dessert too (though probably not so flattering to our waistlines! A highlight of a few of the offerings here: TARO BRULEE: I love the taste of taro, and this sweet, but not too sweet, slice of cake is topped with half of a taro macaron as well. RED VELVET: Too damn sweet. Ive never had a red velvet Ive disliked, and Im sorry to say that this is the first red velvet Ive disliked. CALAMARI BREAD: Hilarious and adventurous choice for the daring. Its a garlic bread dyed with black squid ink. I nickname it "The Goth Bread" because its so pitch-black. Mwhahaaha. EGG TARTS: You cant go wrong with egg tarts ANYWHERE. RED BEAN SMOOTHIE: Delicious and ice-creamy! I swear, this eased my menstrual cramps. I came into 85C with raging cramps on the first day of my period, and after drinking this and eating a red bean bun, my cramps were gone! Hallelujah! TARO SMOOTHIE: Taro. Nuff said. MANGO SMOOTHIE: Delicious fruity goodness. There is wifi! The password is "ilove85c," and while I was able to connect with my phone, Ive been struggling to get it connected to my laptop. I dont know why. Maybe it was a doozy, and I should try again. With all the open space, I wish there were more tables and chairs. Its very awkward to walk around, looking for an open seat, and being reminded of your awkward years in elementary school when every seat in the cafeteria or lunch patio has been taken.
ME
merah maroon
HORRIBLE !!! Last month I ordered Birthday Cake and when I picked it up, they do not have "Happy Birthday" writing on the cake. And the person who is in charge on this left for the day. And since no one in the cafe know how to do it, I asked the Store Manager if I can do it. Just because its funny for having Birthday Cake without any writing on it. The Store Manager gave me the horrible shape of chocolate plate and the chocolate and I wrote "Happy Birthday" on the cake that I paid ? Second experience, 2 weeks ago I ordered another Birthday cake. And when I ready to pick it up, the Store Manager told me, they do not have the cake that I ordered. She said that the cake I ordered came from another store and its damage. So this cafe does not make their cake onsite and they receive shipment/cake from another place. Not only the the service is worst, but the cake also not fresh? Unbelievable. What a shame, thing like this can happen in big cafe like 85. I put 1 star just because I have to.
MI
Michael Manguinao
Two words that always bring a smile: Fresh. Bread. Whether sweet or savory, the variety of breads, tarts, rolls, cakes, and drinks are sure to delight. Everything is rather inexpensive, and they occasionally have seasonal specials or combos. They usually have quite a varied selection of goodies and teas. Sometimes, its hard to pick just one. My personal favorite is the milk bun. It is absolute bliss. The location downtown is convenient for a quick snack or a place to study. There are plenty of tables, and they do have tea and coffee options. The staff is always friendly, and it always smells like something delicious is in the oven. Overall, its a nice chain addition in Berkeley. You can get better and even cheaper baked goods like these in Chinatown, but the close location and variety are what make this place great.
ST
STEVEN VONG
This 85 is the traditional Taiwanese bakery with the Berkeley charm: slightly more diverse staff, students studying everywhere, but the same fresh bread popping out of the oven into the display cases for your picking. They have most of the same sweet and a few savory baked goods that other 85C offer, and an extensive drink and dessert/cake menu as well. They also have a lot of space here, so its a great spot to grab a drink/snack and plop down with your laptop for a few hours if you can find a spot. Theres tables upstairs and a bunch downstairs along the large glass windows. I recommend staking out earlier though as it does get busy and Im not sure if there are ample outlets. But now there is wifi provided at the bottom of your receipt if you make a purchase.
CL
Clare Lin
I was so excited to try this place! Im such a big fan of the chains stores in SoCal and couldnt wait to get my fix of grapefruit green iced tea here. Unfortunately, I found my drink WAYYY too sweet; I went home and diluted it with 100% more water, after which it tasted more normal. o.o On the positive side, I looove me some Japanese milk custard buns and sweet cream buns! Aaahhh, fresh out of the oven, so soft, and perfectly creamy- not too rich, nor sweet- Asian buns cant get much better than that! I definitely prefer this place for bread both over ShengKee on Telegraph/Bancroft and over U-cafe down on Durant. Didnt see their famous rose cream buns when I went, but Ill definitely want to try that some other visit, along with their sea salt & mountain teas!
ZI
Zi Lin Sim
I really really really like their boba drinks (sea salt mountain green tea) and have been spending a ton of $$$ there. However, there is this young asian lady (i think shes a supervisor, her name is Gina I think) who often makes me feel upset to be spending there -- as a customer, I always make it a point to hand my card/cash directly into the hands of the cashiers/servers, because placing it down on the counter just seems rude. But the supervisor, on multiple occasions, has placed my receipt (needed for collecting the drink) on the counter to the side -- she doesnt event bother to hand it to me! I may be way over thinking this, but do watch out if that is also a pet peeve of yours. I would probably just request to be served by someone else in the future...
DA
darcy ting
The bakery is good, while most of the workers are young and helpful, the management team needs to be more professional,as well as responsive to the community request. I have once asked the store supervisor if they are willing to consider to donate breads to a charity project, who never got back to me about their decision as promised; another occasion being a pre-ordered cake was left out for cake writing after Ive been told to pick up after certain time, when they finally did, it takes twice for them to do a simple job right., and not even offer an apology after kept me waiting for nearly half an hour.....A popular store like that serving a diverse community needs to have a more friendly customer service policy
SA
Sareh Hajipour
Oh my this is the kind of place I was looking for. Christopher Columbus found the lost coffee shop finally! :P It is spacious, the music isnt loud so you can work or study if it doesnt need enormous concentration, the deserts and cakes are so creative, the ones I tried were really good! In fact the Hokkaido Cheese Tart was a dream, if you like light sugar cheese cake try it and youll want one more! It is also clean and tables are not crappy dirty like some Starbucks coffees. You get lot of light downstairs. The prices are really cheaper, you can get a croissant with $1.50 which is almost half its price other places Ive been to. In general Im loving it so far :)
