Coca Cafe

Party of 5 arrived here @ 11:20 am. Was told to wait for 20 min OUTSIDE when it’s freezing. We were seated @ 12:20pm. Food came out @ 1:02pm.

The best brunch place in Pittsburgh, hands down. Located in the super hipster Lawrenceville, this place is my go-​to restaurant for a great start to the day. It has this cute diner vibe and is always packed with people. They don’t take reservations for brunch — you can call and put your name on the list so its first come/​call, first serve. But trust me, it is 110% worth the wait.
For your beverages, make sure you order one of their freshly squeezed juices. They make it in house and have such wonderful concoctions. I’m particularly fond of their pear honeydew pineapple juice. It is just the right level of sweet and tart. You’ll have to stir it a bit occasionally for the consistency to be right. It is SO SO SO good though. I’ve also tried the matcha tea latte, which wasn’t the best I’ve had. The matcha tasted a bit funky, and the latte itself wasn’t made that well.
Anyway, on to the starters. Banana bread with honey walnut cream cheese and fruit? Amazing. Bread is wonderfully moist and soft — not stale at all and not too sweet. Avocado toast with a drizzle of honey? My favorite. Sounds like a strange combo but I promise you it just works.
Brunch menu always changes when I go, which makes it exciting. I’ve tried their pumpkin pancakes with maple butter and caramelized pears. The pancakes are so soft and you probably won’t be able to finish them (HUGE portion size). The pears were my favorite part. If you have a giant sweet tooth, this is your dish.
I’ve also had their scallop eggs benedict. It’s not on their website menu since I guess it’s a rotational one, but I loved it. I think it’s my favorite brunch dish I’ve had there. The scallops were so large and juicy and went perfectly with the hollandaise sauce. Normally, with eggs benedict, restaurants kind of just give up on the English muffin part and it’s just that — a plain English muffin. But they toasted it here and did something with it to make it stand out to me (I don’t know what).
Another thing I’ve tried is their house cured and tea-​smoked salmon omelet with goat cheese, dill, and roasted tomatoes. The goat cheese threw me off at first (wasn’t expecting it in an omelet, or with salmon), but it was surprisingly pretty good. This was your standard breakfast omelet with a twist.
Finally, I’ve also tried the savory duck crêpe with Asian slaw and two sunny side up eggs. This dish was interesting. Slaw wasn’t my favorite, but then again, I never like slaw. Eggs were fine. Duck was fine. I think it was just confusing to me in the way they presented the dish. They hid the crêpe part on the bottom, covering it with the duck confit, slaw and eggs. I completely missed the crêpe part until I ate through the dish and saw it, and by then, it was all soggy and unappealing. I wish they had presented it in a way where it preserved the integrity of the «crêpe,» especially as they were calling it a crêpe dish.
Otherwise, this place is truly a neighborhood gem. It’s also a short walk from Espresso A Mano, a fantastic coffee shop. Smaller groups fare better here and be ready to wait at least 30 minutes if you come on a popular brunch day!

Coca café has this really unique vibe. Their menu items are diverse and the quality of food is good in general. Ive tried the Shakshouka before and it was really good. My second favorite is the eggplant Benedict. However, I wish they would handle customers better. My plate had a hair in it and I called the waitress to take care of it, and she was like «oh I see it» and removed the plate, wiped it off and returned it without changing the food or apologizing or anything. She didn’t even take it off the bill. Customers service 101 when your business makes a mistake try to at least apologize or compensate the customer.

Coca Café is my new favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh. I have never been so overwhelmed by a menu not because of the sheer size, but my indecisiveness on what to get. Everything looked like it would taste great. I ended up picking the shrimp and grits (which were great) and stole some bites from my friend’s chicken curry sandwich (which was equally delicious). I was pleasantly surprised that they made fresh OJ for our mimosas and did not try to shoo us out the door when we stayed pass their closing time. Note: Go during off hours or during the week so you avoid the long lines for brunch. Plus, any time at Coca Café is brunch!

I have intended to dine at Coca Café for brunch for at least 2 – 3 years because so many people said good things about this place. So my friend and I decided to just wake up early, arrive right when it opens, and try to beat the brunch crowd. We get there at about 9:20am and were told that there would be a 30 – 40 minute wait. Great. But we didn’t come for nothing, so we put our name and number down and took a stroll down the street while we waited for our table.
On a typical day, I would have ordered a few other things on the menu before the one I actually ended up ordering: the eggplant benedict. I don’t often like eggplant that much, so perhaps it is my fault that I didn’t enjoy it, but in my defense, Coca Café seemed to be one of those places where everything would be good, so I thought I couldn’t go wrong with any of the items on the menu. I ended up just eating barely half of it and the potatoes and fruit.
Unfortunately, for me, Coca Café wasn’t worth the wait.
Taste | 2
Atmosphere | 3
Presentation | 3
Service | 3
OVERALL | 2.5

Delicious! Great coffee and amazing homemade donut appetizer. The avocado omelette was great, and the atmosphere is perfect. All around a good spot.

Really bad coffee for one. It reminds me of gas station coffee. I came here with my sister and mom, my sisters challah French toast was thinly sliced which is of course not how to make challah French toast (it was soggy and gross). My meal came with toast and had to hunt down a server to get butter then had to wait five minutes to get butter with no apology or excuse from the server. Then I turned the toast over and noticed it was burnt to a crisp and inedible. Because our server was so hard to get a hold of, I knew if I tried to get new toast my omelette would be cold by the time I would get it. I added avocado to my omelette and it was literally brown – very old. Why do they think it’s ok to serve that? Very meh, bad service and chefs that think it’s ok to serve inedible food.

Coca Café may be my new brunch unicorn.
I visited Coca Café for brunch with a few friends on a Sunday morning. We made plans to get there early to put our name in, but we still had to wait an hour. (Which was extremely pleasant because we went to Espresso A Mano.)
The restaurant gives off a homey, diner feel and very charming. We ordered coffees and settled into make some food decisions.
I ordered an omelette and my boyfriend the challah French toast, highlighting only 2 meals out of the several. We all shared bites and everything we ordered was amazing and so reasonably priced! I couldn’t believe how delicious the meal was for the price we paid.
I know it can be a long wait and that’s annoying, but it was worth the wait for an enjoyable visit!

One of my favorite brunch spots in the city! It is surely a popular one and they don’t take reservations unless you have a large group so I would recommend going early or being prepared to wait a little!
The food is absolutely delicious, I’ve never heard anyone with one compliant about their meal here. I’ve only had breakfast food here, but I imagine their dinner is just as good! The Eggplant Benedict is probably my favorite, but the Shrimp and Grits is a close second. They also have a bunch of juices and house sodas which always intrigue me, as well as a lot of different coffee drinks as well.
Definitely do yourself a favor and check this place out! You will not be disappointed!

There is quite a long wait so I suggest making reservations. The appetizers we ordered were palatable and I fell in love with their bahn mi. One of the best renditions I have had thus far in Pittsburgh. I was severely disappointed by the main dishes we ordered. I had the shrimp and grits which was closer to cold than hot with no flavor. It reminded me of bad oatmeal. The shrimp were well seasoned but the egg was overdone. The french toast was not something I would return for. The dish was more of a dessert than breakfast. I may try it again for dinner on the weekend. Hoping for better results.

Yeah, Coca Café’s brunch is pretty alright. The five stars aren’t for brunch, though – Coca Café’s dinner menu is the real winner. You’ll want a reservation and a few bottles of wine.
Get the cheese plate, and then choose a few small plates to share or some entrees. They’ll usually bring out some fresh-​made scones and butter at the beginning of the meal, too. Other than that, you can’t really go wrong. Everything Coca Café offers is fresh and simple. Each dish was the perfect complexity of taste and presentation. Sometimes, food is so good, all you can do is smile and nod your head. Coca Café manages to make nearly every dish with that smile-​and-​nod in mind.

My husband took me to Coca Café for brunch one late Sunday morning. The wait didn’t take too long, and we were seated within 15 minutes. Sadly we came after the brunch rush, and a few options that my husband wanted had run out. I was still able to get what I want — the fried eggplant benedict — though.
I am not that big a fan of eggplant, but from reading my fellow Unilocalers’ reviews, I had to check it out! And I was not disappointed. This was absolutely delicious, never would I have thought eggplant could taste this good, and the sauce, oh my, I could dip anything in the basil hollandaise and eat it. My husband had the braised short ribs with lakes and brussel sprouts which he enjoyed as well.

Coca is very charming and cozy. You’re greeted right as you walk in the door!
I stopped here one morning when I was in Lawrenceville for an interview. I needed a quick breakfast and I felt bad that I couldn’t linger longer — I barely ate any of my food because it took a while to be served, even though they didn’t seem too busy. My salty caramel latte was delicious, even though it was so hot it scalded my tongue!
I’ll definitely be back when I have more time to kill.

Went for lunch on a Saturday around 1:30pm, and waited for about 15 minutes before getting seated. (Street parking is easy to find, btw). We first ordered drinks, which took a little while to be served (10 minutes). Then came the wait. We waited for about 30+ minutes for the food to get onto the table, from the time of ordering. Basically we ate for around 15 minutes, and spent the rest of the time waiting. The other tables around us seemed to be waiting for a long time as well, so I guess it’s just the norm at this spot.
As for the food, it was okay. I wouldn’t come back here for lunch though given the wait times. We got three dishes — Korean beef salad, chopped chicken romaine salad, and the special pumpkin pancakes of the day. The beef salad was pretty good, a ⁴⁄₅. The chicken salad was nothing special, a 3.5÷5. The pumpkin pancakes were pretty good, a ⁴⁄₅.
All in all, I’d give this place a 3.5. 3 for service, and 3.5 for food.

Checked out this place for brunch, and on the spectrum of great brunch places in Pittsburgh it was just eh. I started off with coffee, nice and strong and rich, just how I like it. Then went in for the buttermilk donut with a raspberry goat cheese icing. It was the highlight of the meal and really went well with the richness of the coffee.
For my meal I ordered fried green tomatoes eggs benedict with the banana pepper hollandaise sauce. Fried green tomatoes were thick, crunchy, and perfectly cooked. However, the whole dish didn’t work well together. Instead of the traditional Canadian bacon, they used a thick cut, crisp bacon which tasted good but was impossibbbblleeee to cut through with the wimpy butter knife given to you. It felt like you were supposed to pick up the eggs benedict to eat it, which makes for a messy brunch. The hollandaise sauce was blander than most, and definitely had no banana pepper flavor. The homefries were crisp and delicious. I tasted one of my dining partner’s pumpkin pancakes with maple butter and caramelized pears which was very tasty on a crisp fall day. Service was pretty darn good for a busy breakfast place.
Overall, not bad. If I was in the neighborhood, I’d go, but I certainly wouldn’t travel far for this place.

Given that the quality of the food and service at Coca range from Meh to Wonderful, not to mention the hour-​plus waits, I think there are several superior weekend brunch options in Pittsburgh. They could improve things by offering the option of reservations, and/​or expanding their space and service staff. They always seem to have one too few wait staff, in my opinion. One particularly lousy time at brunch my partner and I waited twenty minutes to get coffee and water, and then an hour for our food (which came out cold). They did give us a gift card to compensate, which was a thoughtful and we appreciated.
As negative as I am being, it’s in part a counterpoint the glowing praises. On the plus side, it is a very cute place, they have more vegetarian and vegan brunch options than almost anyplace in Pittsburgh (big props for the tofu scramble option for the vegans of the world!), and when the food is on point, it’s pretty great. I had the three-​cheese omelette one time with a few added vegggies, and it was out-​of-​this world tasty.
Do yourself a favor: Opt to have breakfast at Coca on a weekday morning. On a Sunday morning, opt instead to show up at Park Bruges or Point Brugge promptly at 10:45.

This place is super cute. The area in general is super cute.
Came here for breakfast with a friend and was splendidly surprised by the awesome atmosphere and eclectic décor. I got the tea smoked salmon, goat cheese omelette with potatoes. It was very yummy and the portions were good for the price. My friend got the avocado omelette which he really liked as well. It’s a family friendly place.
There is ample parking nearby and they also have some outdoor seating. The line can be long, but they will call you when a table is available, which allows you to roam around while waiting.
Will def come by again.

I have been meaning to try out Coca Café for some time now, and my friend brought me here for an end of the semester brunch celebration. Yay for finishing my first year of graduate school!
There is no atmosphere to Coca Café, which I would have expected from the hipster-​ish menu. It’s what I would refer to as upscale Yinzer atmosphere. The tables are too close together so people will continuously run into you, and there will be children screaming at the tops of their lungs while their parents ignore them. However, there are some really unique food options and the servers are pleasant enough.
I ordered an omelette with pesto, tomatoes, and feta. It was presented very prettily, and there was a cute orange slice to give it some more color. I wouldn’t order this again necessarily, as it was too salty for my taste. I did enjoy it, but I would prefer to try something else next time. My friend got shrimp grits, which she raved about.
Overall, I totally prefer Coca Café to Square Café is Regent Square, and I would say that is the closest equivalent.

I had an awesome breakfast at Coca Café for a reasonable price. The menu listed lots of wonderful choices, especially savory foods. Our waitress was superb, very helpful and attentive.
My only reason for staying away from Coca is the long lines, but if you go on a weekday, there should not be an issue.
I looked around, and everyone was having great conversations. There ambiance is sunny and artsy. I liked the art glass displayed around the restaurant.
Most of the negative review have been about the long waits, but I think the secret here is to go here when it’s less crowded.

Worth the wait! There was quite a wait, which is understandable because this place is so delicious. Luckily, there is a coffee shop within walking distance and a park up the street. Just be prepared to wait an hour or two depending on when you get there. You do have to wait outside because there is no where to really wait inside. However, if you want a divine brunch you should definitely check this place out!
I had the french toast and it was amazing. I had such a hard time deciding what to order because it all looked delicious. Their menu changes a bit too so there are different things to try depending when you go. I liked their menu because it was unique and a bit more special than your standard brunch menu. They definitely give you a good amount of food for the price. It smells so yummy that you get more and more hungry while you wait.
It is a bright, little brunch café. There are several tables in the front room and a little narrow room in the back with more intimate tables. There is one bathroom for both men and women that was not very clean. I wouldn’t recommend coming here with a large group. I would say there was maybe one table that held possibly 6 or 7 people, but the rest of the groups were 2 and up to 4. The staff was friendly and checked on us an average amount. We did have to wait to have our waters refilled a few times, but other than that no complaints. I would definitely wait again to eat here.