85C Bakery Cafe

85C also reminds me of home! Other than loving it for nostalgic reasons, the pastries, bread, and cake are always tasty.
I brought one of my roommates here for her first time and now she’s a regular! This spot is always on my way home from work and with its bright lights on, I’m always lured in! I know most of the staff by name now at this point.
It’s also my go-​to place for potluck, dinner parties, and birthdays. If you invite me to any of the above mentioned, you’ll most likely be getting a cake from there. Here are my fav selections:
— cookie bun: it’s the choco bun on crack! The crack being crumbs of Oreo cookies.
— ham & cheese pastry: the perfect light meal for when you have a smaller appetite.
— strawberry roll cake: it has these strawberry white chocolate swirlies that give the cake an extra crunch and creaminess
And oh goodness, the drinks! The only one I ever drink is the sea salt foam Jasmine green tea. They do it right with a good balance of milk: tea:sweetness.
Lastly, the staff is the sweetest. Amy usually rings me up and there’s another kid who is getting his masters/Ph.D. (I forgot which one) who always greets me with a big smile every night!

I love this place! It’s so spacious and they serve the most amazing milk tea: Iced Sea Salt Mountain Green Tea. I highly recommend everyone to try this drink at some point. I used to love getting the Taiwanese Borough bread, but now it’s pretty hard to find it whenever I go there. It also really doesn’t help that they don’t label all their breads and that’s something they really should do just in case people have allergies or specific preferences and can know exactly what they are buying.
I love studying here as well but more so at night and on weekdays because there are less people. The venue is so large and has lots of seating, so it’s perfect for studying away from all the libraries and study halls on campus. It can get quite crowded on the weekends, and in turn this causes the place to get super loud, so that is usually not ideal.

I really like this location for its big space, yummy bakery and desserts. Only down, it took them 10 min to just make a simple tea; they didn’t even leave the teabag in :(but overall it’s good. You could study there, if you don’t mind the music.

I don’t know why it has taken me this long to finally go to this location! This location beats the one in Newark by a land slide!
This place has more options of breads! Some that I’ve never seen before. The one in Newark are constantly running out of bread and they never make more. They told me that they stop baking at around 5 or 6PM when they close at 10PM on weekdays and 12PM on weekends. Everytime I went there would only be 1 of each bread out or barely. The shelves would already be gone! BUUUUUUTT, now that I found the berkeley location, it looks like this is gonna be my go to 85!
When I went in, i looked at all the bread and noticed that my favorite (ham & cheese) was not on the shelves so i asked a employee if they had anymore and she said «yes! we just made more, let me bring them out for you!» This was at 5PM! I love how this location keeps it stocked up and keeps baking past 5PM! Whats better than ham & cheese? FRESH, OUT THE OVEN, HAM & CHEESE!!!
This place is also a great place to study! They have tons of tables and have a second floor with even more tables! The only downside is that there are NO OUTLETS. I probably spotted 1 or 2 in every corner and did I mention how many tables they were and to have a total of like 4 outlets is ridiculous!!! It would be nice if they added more outlets to charge our laptops/​phones. Nonetheless, i would still come here to study! Just make sure your laptop is on full charge or snag a seat near the only existing outlet. & THE WIFI WORKS GREAT!!!

I came here during their soft opening when they were still trying to work out the kinks but I think they’ve become much better at getting through all of the customers in line in a timely manner.
Their pastries are a bit pricey but the size to price ratio makes it worth it. This morning I picked up a chocolate croissant topped with powdered sugar and almond slices ($ 1.80). It paired well with my Philz fresh chai tea so I’m definitely a happy camper right now. The croissant isn’t too sweet and is extremely flaky. I also appreciate that they didn’t over-​powder the sugar on top. The last thing anyone needs is white powdered sugar on their work clothes.
They often have fresh bread coming out of the kitchen and what they have often varies day to day with the standards (taro bun) always being available.
If you’re in need of a quick snack, this is the place to come. Soft, warm bread is an amazing thing.

I’ve heard about the long waits from friends that have ventured to the South Bay for the infamous Taiwanese bakery, 85C. Not venturing into the South Bay often, I’ve never had the chance to check out 85C. Then I heard that a branch of 85C had opened in Berkeley and we made a point to stop by to pick up some items after our dinner in the area.
Located at the corner of Shattuck and University, 85C has two levels with the bakery on the first floor and tables for the customers on the both floors. Take a tray and a pair of tongs and check out the bakery items in the display cases. Pick out you choices, place them on your tray and head to the check-​out line. A worker will put your items into plastic bags before you get to the counter to pay.
They also have a desserts, cakes and a large coffee, tea and smoothie menu. Though there was a line to pay, it did move quickly. I heard about the marble taro, but they were sold out. Now I have to come back to get it. But I’m happy that 85C is now only 15 miles away.

I’ve had 85 degrees before so I knew that it would be good. The ONLY thing I am giving a 3-​star for is the drinks. I ordered all the bakery and gosh they are some fatty goodness — yes, I would eat them all day, gain 10 pounds, feel bad, then come back and eat some more.
But the drinks… sighhhh. Ordered a green milk tea (which is a jasmine milk tea basically) at 75% sweetness and it was so bland. Blah! Did I order 75% or 25%? Ugh. Go harder on those drinks 85! Why you make your desserts sweet and not your drinks? Sadness.
So combining the 2 reviews, it adds up to 4 stars. Will be back but not for the drinks.

I love the place! Plenty of tables and sits for the customers.
The bakeries are freshly made, and there is a wide variety of options to choose from! We had a small apple pie tart and it tastes great with a cup of Americano. My friend also loves their matcha rolls.

Perhaps I’m just not a Chinese pastry type of girl, but I was more impressed with the tea I ordered. The savory breads all had a sweet aftertaste, which defeated the purpose of it being savory. Plus, I’m not a huge fan of sweets :/​All the pastries were extremely greasy, but I guess that’s normal for Chinese bakeries? Felt really guilty eating it, especially with my wedding coming up.
Drinks: sea salt foam anything! I liked my green tea, and how the foam mixed well together.
Will probably only get their drinks if I’m ever back here.

I’m really glad that they finally brought 85 Degrees out this way. Driving to Newark almost every other weekend was starting to get tiring, no matter how much I liked their pastries.
I’ve been here on many occasions and each time I would leave with at least $ 40 worth of pastries.
This location definitely has more seats compared to other locations that I’ve been to, but parking here is almost a nightmare on its own.
My last trip here the girl who rung me up overcharged me for two items that I didn’t purchase and when I brought it to her attention, she was kind of rude about it. Not even an «I’m sorry.»
The customers here are kind of weird too. Most of them are pretty nosey & always wanting to look through your trays to see what you bought. I’m very anal about my food sanitation so I hate having someone breathe on my food, especially strangers.

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.
My favorite snacks are the Portugese style egg tarts and taro breads. The egg tarts are usually slightly warm and so rich and buttery but the filling is nice and soft while the crust is perfectly flakey. The marble taro is filling and tasty, and for something slightly sweeter I opt for the croissant taro twist with powdered sugar on top.
Ambiance: They also have a lot of space here, so it’s a great spot to grab a drink/​snack and plop down with your laptop for a few hours if you can find a spot. There’s tables upstairs and a bunch downstairs along the large glass windows. I recommend staking out earlier though as it does get busy and I’m not sure if there are ample outlets. But now there is wifi provided at the bottom of your receipt if you make a purchase.

85 is something that expanded from socal! Being a socal native, i’ve always been around the 85 hype! It is a hype that is well deserved.
I actually usually come here for their cakes. It is my favorite go to place to get cakes to celebrate birthdays. Being a college student, these 30 dollar cakes CAN get expensive but worth it. They are definitely tasty and aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, the same can be said about their breads, deserts, and drinks! I’ve tried a lot of the things there and can’t really pin down my favorite. The mango tart is definitely up there. It CAN get a bit pricy because you kind of just want to get a lot of food.
The Berkeley locations is pretty big. There is a LOT of open space and even with that there are lots of tables and seats. Though because new, and with prime food and drinks it tends to be crowded and finding seats CAN be difficult (depending on the time).
The staff is nice! Always friendly. Definitely check it out!

I was always a fan of 85C bakery, but this particular incident changed my mind.
My friend was surprising me & my boyfriend with a birthday cake, so she ordered it and picked it up. When she went home and opened the box, she realized the worker packaged the box INTO the cake. As in, the cardboard box cut right into the middle of the birthday cake.
Anyway, she called back, hoping to resolve this issue, but instead, they told her that they could TRY to fix it, but there’s nothing to be done. This was pretty disappointing considering it was their fault.
My friend didn’t want to go all the way out there again if they’re not guaranteeing that it will be fixed so she took one of the chocolates on the side and nicely covered it. The chocolate covered 90% of the cut but a small part was still noticeable. (See pictures).
Besides the service, the cake was pretty good. It was sea-​salt coffee flavored. The frosting was a little bit too salty, but the rest was delicious.

I first discovered this bakery when I visited Irvine and fell in love with their desserts. I’m so happy there’s one close to my hometown.
Parking was a little difficult, considering it’s downtown Berkeley but just park wherever you can and walk. I went on a Sunday evening and there were tons of people here studying and getting food. I liked that they had an upstairs seating area. If I went to Cal, I would definitely find myself studying here. This place just opened so it was really clean and nice.
Since it was later in the evening, they had limited pastries left but I was told all of their breads were bogo free. SCORE. I asked if there was a certain hour that they do the bogo free but he said it all depends on how busy they are and how much they have leftover. I guess we just went in at the perfect time. I spent about $ 10 for 8 pastries.
I got a few different breads like the berry one, the chocolate croissant, a bunch of taro ones, and the egg pudding tarts. All of their pastries are super tasty and fluffy, sooo good. I have zero complaints about their food.
As I was paying, I wanted something hot so I ordered their taro latte. I ended up waiting a pretty long time for it which was pretty disappointing. About five other people who ordered their drinks after me got theirs before mine and my taro latte wasn’t that hot. I know hot drinks take awhile and I noticed that the people after me got iced drinks so it was easier to make… but I shouldn’t be making excuses for them. I was pretty annoyed at that.
I would definitely come back for the bakery but wouldn’t order any drinks. Just because of the wait (there was only one person) and the meh taro latte.

FRESH BREAD!!!
They holler «fresh bread» when bringing out endless trays of fresh yummy bread. Love the sound & smell of that =) I’m ecstatic to find a closer 85 °C Bakery Café in Berkeley. One stop shopping in the East Bay, first I get all my Chinese groceries in El Cerrito at Pacific East Mall (Ranch 99), then I go into Berkeley for more boba and fresh baked goods. Life can’t get any better than this!
This location has a spacious 2^nd floor and free WiFi. We can kick it here for hours, no more driving to Milpitas or Newark for some bread. I wish someday SF Northbay will get their own 85 °C Bakery Café. Maybe Santa will bring me one next year if I’m nice (wink, wink).

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 I’m 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 can’t go wrong with any of the cakes here! They’re all so beautiful, especially how they’re displayed in their glass case by the counter like jewels in display cases at a jewelry store. Doesn’t 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. I’ve never had a red velvet I’ve disliked, and I’m sorry to say that this is the first red velvet I’ve disliked.
CALAMARI BREAD: Hilarious and adventurous choice for the daring. It’s a garlic bread dyed with black squid ink. I nickname it «The Goth Bread» because it’s so pitch-​black. Mwhahaaha.
EGG TARTS: You can’t 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, I’ve been struggling to get it connected to my laptop. I don’t 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. It’s 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.

5 stars because they finally made an 85 degrees bakery that is large enough to accommodate the crowd they attract. I’ve been to all the ones in Southern California and this is the biggest one of them all. There is a lot of seating on the first floor and extra seating upstairs (which is literally all tables and chairs).
I suggest getting your food early before dinner so you have more of a selection to choose from.
I highly recommend the cheese dog ($ 1.50) and ordering one of their tea drinks to complete your snack. I mean I honestly have nothing bad to say about this location as they’re fast, it’s the largest location, there is a lot of seating, and their drinks are delicious.

I have officially been to all 85c’s locations in the bay. Upon entering I was surprised to see how spacious this locations is. They have plenty of seating and even upstairs seating. I think this 85c is bigger than the one in Newark. A bit disappointed that this locations doesn’t have much variety. Same goes to their Milpitas and San Jose locations which lack variety. 85c in Newark offers more. I don’t know about the SoCal locations because I haven’t been to any of them.
Very convenient for colleges student and a hassle if you’re not because of the lack of parking. Even though 85c in Newark is my main spot to get my fix. I can always come to Berkeley when I don’t feel like driving all the way over there.

Two blocks away from the downtown Berkeley BART station, they opened an 85C Bakery Café! How glorious!
Although their bakery selection isn’t as big as the ones in Newark, Milpitas, or SoCal locations, this store makes it up with all their table space, both upstairs and downstairs. I think it’s a great addition to the Berkeley scene for all the college students! They can grab a drink (sea salt coffee, sea salt tea, and more!) and/​or a snack (mochi egg tarts, hot dog buns, and lots of cakes and bakery).
No WiFi though, but it’s good to turn off all those electronics sometimes!

Was lightweight excited when this place opened in Berks. I’ve only heard about them via Instagram and it seemed like a place I would be interested in, which it is. I mean dessert and boba. Yes pls.
First off this place is huge! There’s plenty of tables (big and small) and seating (there’s a 2^nd floor too), limited outlets tho and yeah no wifi. Which is a good and bad thing. You can’t really study here if you’re dependent on your electronic devices, but hey! at least you’ll be less distracted if you’re studying from those overpriced textbooks. But yeah. enjoy your food and talk to the person you’re with or you can just people watch. Lay off the world wide web for a bit!
Oh man, when I saw the bakery selection, it hella reminded me of the bakeries in China. Haven’t been to a bakery with the same look since I left, back in Summer ’12! Thanks for the dose of nostalgia 85C! Same layout, grab a tong, grab a tray and go cray! Similar bread and desserts in the ‘serve yourself’ display case. The only difference were the prices (I paid dirt cheap for some bomb asssk pastries over there)! This place is actually quite pricey. A small ham and cheese roll was almost $ 3, the chocolate mousse cup was $ 5+ and the cake slice was $ 3+. Yeah I was a baller the day I came in here. Paid about $ 12 – 13 for 3 little items.
Taro brulee cake was good but not great. It’s a ‘try it once’ type of pastry. Same with the matcha red bean roll, it wasn’t good or bad… just edible. Ham and cheese roll was topnotch. Would’ve even been better if it was warm. Guava roll was yummy but it needed a little more cream cheese. The chocolate mousse I highly rec. Wasn’t too sweet, had ferrero rocher toppings, a thin layer of ganache and hidden cherries underneath. AND you get a fancy looking plastic cone cup.
Overall, think twice before adding a pastry to your tray. It may look good, but taste? ehh… your tongue will be the judge of that. Service was good. I’d come back to give their other savory rolls/​bread a try and their drinks look interesting too.