For this week of Local Lunches, we went to Bench Café, a small patisserie-style cafe tucked away in downtown Berkeley. It’s located at 1947 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, right around the corner from Berkeley High School, across from Trader Joe's on MLK. It still feels a little hidden, more like a quiet and calm place to relax rather than a typical coffee shop. We were both really busy this week so we were only able to go once to gather information about Bench Café, but both of us have been there before on our own time.
Bench Café is small but calm and well put together. The vibe is clean and minimal. There are plants, soft colors, wooden tables, and a lot of natural light coming in through the windows. There is also a very nice spiral staircase leading to an upstairs area with plants and a wonderful seating layout. The upstairs is like a loft, with a couple tables, and even a section with children's books on a shelf that shows the kindness of the owners. When we went for lunch, it wasn’t crowded at all, just a couple people studying or catching up over coffee. It’s the kind of place you can actually hear yourself think, and you don’t feel rushed to get in and out. It is a great place to go if you want to get a break from all the crowds and long lines.
We decided on a quick treat and got a large cookie and a matcha latte. The cookie was huge and had a nice golden crisp on the outside with a chewy center. It tasted very fresh. The matcha was smooth, not too sweet, and had a rich earthy flavor. It was the perfect shade of green. The menu was also packed with lots of other appealing pastries and drinks. Some other options we are interested in trying next time were the blueberry scones, persian cookies, and the hot chocolate. Also, most of the baked goods there were homemade by the owner, and you can really tell, because they just felt special, tastewise and appearance-wise.
The service was fast and friendly. The barista helped answer all our questions and had our order out within a few minutes. It was an easy, stress-free experience, and the kind of service that makes you want to come back. One thing to know is that it’s kind of expensive, or at least well priced. We paid around ten dollars for just the matcha and the cookie. That’s definitely more than you’d spend at most other student friendly spots in the area, and it’s not somewhere we’d go every day. But the quality is really high, and you get what you pay for.
If you’re looking for a calm place to sit with a really good pastry or drink, we both strongly recommend this place and highly suggest you come and try it! We’d rate Bench Café an 8.5 out of 10. It loses a little for price, but makes up for it with great atmosphere and quality. This is a great spot for getting lunch with a friend. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re looking for a quieter, relaxed alternative to the more common downtown spots.