Cafe Zoe

Blah

Best Coffee and prices in Rockridge. Recently added WiFi is a huge plus.
*NO LONGER IN BUSINESS*

A quaint and quiet place during my visit. Good affordable food and kind customer service.

I went to Café Zoe to have breakfast and for iced coffee. Plenty of natural light, which is always great. Coffee was ‘meh’ but not bad. And the staff is very friendly.
Although I was disappointed in…
— Size of my bagel sandwich. It was pretty small for $ 5.
— NO outlets to charge labtops, cell phones, etc… and yet they have wi-​fi.
Though it is expensive to get a electrician to come in and do outlet work.
Pastries did look good… Especially the red velvet cup cakes. :)

I really don’t see what’s up with all the negative reviews.
It was a cold rainy morning, and I went it, and the atmosphere was nice and cozy. I ordered a double dry cappuccino.
I usually have to put a lot of sugar in my coffee, to tone down the bitterness of the espresso, however, this cappuccino was PERFECT.
The espresso was smooth, the milk was steamed perfectly, and to top it off, the entire staff was just as nice as can be.
I didn’t try any of the food or pastries, but the next time I come in, I will.
I think Café Zoe is my new coffee house of choice!

I didn’t patronize Zoe’s before because they supposedly (according to some Unilocal reviews) don’t have wifi. I finally stopped by with a book and no laptop, and discovered that they do indeed have wifi. It’s nice, bright, and clean with interesting people-​watching in Rockridge.
Staff was really friendly, coffee was not amazing but totally fine. It’s a nice place and I’ll be back.

Café Zoe was the place we chose after walking up and down Rockridge to find a place to chat with friends. We just got standard hot chocolate, cappuccino and tea so really can’t comment too much on the quality of food.
The location was fine, nothing super unique that I noticed. Definitely could see myself stopping by here to study if I lived in the area.

I was very excited when this place opened up but the first time I went a was sadly disappointed. I thought, ok, they are new, they have some kinks to work out still… unfortunately I have returned numerous times and each time I regretted it. The place is super cute, the staff friendly… that’s about all it has going for it. They are sooooo slow.
Some pointers:
— Pick up the pace… I should never have to wait 10 mins for an iced coffee, especially when I am the only one with an order in.
— Cupcakes should never be refrigerated, it dries them out.
— Simple syrup is not water with sugar in it. This just waters down the coffee and you have to use waaay too much of it. To properly make simple syrup use equal parts water and sugar, simmer until it reduces to half. It will be the consistency of syrup.

I wandered in here by accident on a rare day off from work. Awesome environment in the sense the café has huge windows, lots of natural light, clean, and feels really open. Love the flying goat coffee from Healdsburg. I also had a salad, which was ok (iceberg lettuce? Really? we’re in east bay foodie central here)
My main suggestion would be to take out a few of the café tables, put in a nice couch, some comfy chairs, and I think more people will be induced to linger and have that conversation they want to encourage!
I’ll be back for sure.

When I search for a café, coffee rarely has anything to do with my decision. I’m looking for a spot to hunker down with my laptop and camp shamelessly for hours on end. A place with comfortable seating, hidden nooks for peaceful productivity, and a friendly staff that won’t make me feel like a hobo for buying a cup of tea and staying until dinner time.
I hit the jackpot with Café Zoe.
I love the prime Rockridge location with big windows — natural light and people watching are a must. It feels like an old school coffeeshop in the sense that service isn’t rushed (they bring your drink to your table after you order), and shockingly they don’t have wifi (I guess this is more of a newspaper-​readers joint, which is cool). If you can BYO-​wireless this place will please. Good, good vibes.

Hungry and driving around College Ave. I see Café Zoe… so bright and airy. So empty. I find parking and try my luck.
This place is beautiful. Large windows frame the front of the building and provide the perfect place to sit and people watch. Since it was breakfast, I ordered a bagel sandwich. Green eggs and ham (eggs have pesto) on a jalapeño cheddar bagel. That was worth 3 stars alone. The bagel was perfect in size and flavor. I also got a cup of coffee… that, was ‘meh’.
I am not sure why the bagel took forever to make, but I would totally return for that again.
There is a shelf with magazines in the back (by the bathroom), but I agree with other reviews wifi would guarantee more customers.

Great coffee, decent prices. A bit slow. And the ambiance was just okay. But the main thing is that the coffee was great, so I’ll probably go back. =)
Parking in that area is tough.

A perfect place to cozy up on an overcast day! That’s what I did here last week and it was wonderful. I got in pretty early in the morning on a weekday and easily found a table where I could settle in with my peach blossom tea. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t offer wifi (the sign on the register said they ‘encourage conversation’… but what if having a conversation requires using the internet?), but they didn’t frown at me when I plugged in my laptop and used my wireless card to work away.
It’s really clean and bright in there, and though they were playing Taylor Swift throughout my visit I forgave them because every other element was so conducive to a great café environment!

People who absolutely need Wi-​Fi can go to Spasso across the street, or buy a Mi-​Fi. It’s great that they’re bucking the trend, and only time will tell if the strategy is successful. I’ve found it helps sometimes to be off grid when having to read, or focus on work.
Has Wi-​Fi become the norm of coffee shops? Sure, but don’t think it’s a deal breaker.
The café’s interior feels spacious, yet underutilized. It would be nice to see a couch, and some lounge chairs.

This just happened 10 minutes ago:
I’m walking down College with my laptop, see this place is open and there are other people on their laptops, I haven’t had any breakfast or coffee yet, so I go in and up to the counter, where some awkward gangly kid is working. There are about three muffins under some glass, and a quiche that looks 2 days old.
Me: I’ll have a regular decaf and one of those muffins.
Kid: Which flavor?
Me: Um. what flavors are there?
Kid: They’re all blueberry.
Me: I’ll take the blueberry one, then. You don’t by chance have yogurt, do you?
Kid: Sorry, no.
Me: Do you have orange juice?
Kid: No, the closest thing we have is apple juice.
Me: So the closest thing to orange juice you have is no orange juice? Okay, just give me the apple juice.
Kid: That will be Eighty dollars. (I’m making that up, I don’t know how much it cost but he rang me up and I paid him)
Me: What’s your WiFi password?
Kid: Actually, we don’t have wireless internet here.
Me: Wha. You know what, give me my money back. I’m sorry.
So, I have no idea how the coffee tasted. I’m sure it was better than Starbucks. I went across the street to Spasso’s. They’ve got everything! One star for Zoe Café, only for being conveniently located across the street to Spasso’s.

This is the coffee stop for the Barefoot Contessa crowd, the upscale type who idolizes Ina Garten, wishes they were gardening in the Hamptons, and pretends to know their fishmonger by name. How bad can that be? Well, Café Zoe is bright and airy with everything looking like a Food Network set. The serenity of the interior can be captivating in a somewhat off-​putting way. Maybe that’s because I’m not their target audience, which seems to be the Claremont hausfrau.
No surprise that it’s dog-​friendly with a watering dish next to the door. I had one of their large cups of Café au Lait for $ 2.25 and one of their freshly baked croissants last Saturday morning (see photo). No complaints. It was exactly what I wanted after getting my hair clipped. But somehow the quiet blandness of my surroundings pushed me to make a beeline to the door about ten minutes after I arrived. That and the fact that Trader Joe’s was opening its doors in five minutes.
COFFEE — 3.5 stars… steamy but not quite a standout
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… pristine Stepford vibe by way of Ina… how good is that?
SERVICE — 3 stars… pretty good
TOTAL — 3 stars… here’s to the ladies who sip…

Compared to a corporate coffee shop Café Zoe is ok. But compared to all the other coffee shops on College or actually in Berkeley or in Oakland it is mediocre at its core.
I had a veggie sandwich that lackluster and a latte that was weak and cool in temperature.
I was interested in trying this place because it seemed like a bright, open space, which it is, but that doesn’t make up for the Ok food and drink.
If you want a place to sit and do work, A Cuppa Tea down the street is far better, and if you want good coffee go to Peaberry’s in Market Hall.

A café that is geared toward coffee and conversation… What a concept! They served me my latte in a cup on a saucer with a spoon on the side with a smile. Smiling? Is that allowed here? Seldom receive those (especially while wearing a pre-​caffeine death face).
The latte was good! Much better than the gets-​the-​job-​done/​take-​it-​or-​leave-​it lattes that seem to be in overabundance all around Berks. And it had foam art! Definitely something you can sip without wincing (much) while mentally assaying quality versus price versus how much of your parents’ money is bled into espresso machines.
I think Café Zoe’s only shortcomings are its limited hours and lack of personality. Besides the art deco typeface of its sign and its friendly staff, there is nothing that architecturally or visibly differentiates Café Zoe from the drone of (closed) independent coffee shops. And that’s not to say that they should create an exoticized, Starbuckian safari — they shouldn’t — but they should think about creating a memorable space to compliment the conversations their customers will have. However, it does have one thing going for it: it’s not a café study hall hell (AKA place where young people go to log onto Facebook and Hulu amirite?). This is something blessed and beautiful.
This will sound weird, but what I remember the most is their restroom. It was immaculate and had an emergency lemon-​scented can of Febreze on hand — I think the only other café in Berkeley that has a pleasant smelling restroom is Au Coquelet. Finding a café with a bathroom that didn’t smell like a freshman’s dorm room was a bit of a (pleasant, lemony-​scented) revelation. So, props to Café Zoe for figuring out a way to operate a café sans pungent zones of funk.

This is a great shop! Bright with lots of seating, good customer service and great coffee too.
I’m so glad we picked Zoe to finally meet up with fellow Unilocaler friend Eric B. on such an amAzingly beautiful afternoon in the bay area, especially for November — it’s insane
:-D
Zoe offers light lunches and some snacks for non gluten/​non dairy people like me and I certainly appreciate that.
The area around this café is great for walking around and window shopping.

When I bring up the subject of my Unilocal friends, Gayle sometimes asks — Are they really? She might be implying that these mostly virtual contacts are a modern version of imaginary friends. On the other hand, Gayle and I have actually met a few of my many Unilocal friends in person, and we continue to be impressed with what a nice group of folks it’s been an honour to know.
This trend continued yesterday as Gayle, my son, and I met up with Roanna Z. (formally from Toronto and San Francisco) and her +1 (AKA — The Big Guy) at Café Zoe. They both live in Vancouver (BC, not WA), and were down in Palo Alto for a week of house sitting. And I really appreciated them taking the time and the going the distance involved. However, our get together was delayed for about 30 minutes, as our planning took no account of the Cal-​Oregon game being played later at Memorial Stadium. Street traffic and parking were indeed challenging.
As for Café Zoe, it’s roomy with lots of comfortable seating, and has great natural light and a good neighbourhood vibe. The coffee and snack items that we ordered were tasty and reasonably priced, although I thought the delivery was a bit slow. I also enjoyed the latte art, and although I’m not gluten intolerant, my son’s mother is, and I am glad that Café Zoe has decent options.
Best of all, Gayle and I enjoyed our conversations with Roanna and her husband. We chatted about a bunch of stuff, including hockey rivalries, Portland options, cultural differences between SF and Vancouver, cross border phone plan options, hiking and our love of the outdoors, and employment challenges in the nonprofit world. My only regret is that our time together went too quickly.