
What People Are Saying
from Google & Yelp"Overpriced soup and decent pastries in a lovely space (4/5 Green Stars) Kopi bar and bakery is accessible by entering the Berkeley Art Museum and taking the stairs or elevator to the left of the entrance desk. You can access the café without paying for museum entry. I actually discovered Kopi through the Too Good To Go app – if you’re lucky you can snag a discounted bag of bakery items at the end of the day. I turned up early and ordered the soup – potato leek and lemongrass ($12) and a side of bread ($3). Including tax, tip and a 3% credit card charge (the café is cash-free but then charges for credit transactions) it came to around $20. When the soup arrived I was kinda shocked – such a tiny bowl of soup! Potatoes and leeks are not expensive ingredients and a bowl of soup and bread should not cost $20. I happened to catch another customer’s expression when her soup arrived – it clearly said: is that it? The soup was tasty (I may try lemongrass and chili oil in my next potato leek soup) but besides being overpriced, it was oversold on the menu. It was touted to come with micro nasturtium leaves and they certainly were micro – two of them! The bread was a complete miss for me – it might be good with jam but didn’t go well with the soup at all. I get the sense of overconfidence in the concept and I’m not sure that the average hungry museum visitor would be thrilled with it. On the plus side, staff members were friendly and pastries were good. I received three pastries in my Too Good To Go bag – the almond berry teacake and cinnamon raisin swirl were both good. The latter was almost like a good pain au raisin, with not too much cinnamon. The third pastry – the chocolate babka knot – was just ok for me, but I’m not a big chocolate babka fan. There’s a sign asking laptop users to limit their visit to one hour. I’m also giving Kopi 4/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, based on the following: • A lot of the menu is veggie-friendly: four of five toasts were vegetarian and two out of the three lunch dishes were vegan. My soup was also vegan but I don’t think any of pastries are vegan. • For animal products, most of them have lighter environmental footprints (compared to beef and lamb): chicken, tuna and egg. • There’s no information on ingredient sourcing – this is surprising for a café affiliated with the BAMPFA. • Coffee beans are Indonesian (from Mr. Espresso) – I had to dig to find that info cos it’s not on the Kopi website. Considering how the coffee industry impacts Indonesian rainforests it would be appropriate for some assurance on these beans – a comment on the website, a certification, even just naming them! Mr. Espresso has a good reputation, but for a café to have no info on beans… That might fly in Walnut Creek, but not in Berkeley! (Especially for a chef with a background in coffee joints like Farley’s and Blue Bottle.) • A participant in the Too Good To Go program, mitigating food waste."
"Very excited to finally try this place, a big fan of Chef Nora. The coconut milk in the latte tasted sour. I asked the barista and they said "that was normal" I've been drinking coconut milk in my daily lattes and they are sweet/fatty. This one was just off. I shared with my coworker, also a coconut milk fan and great barista, and his immediate reaction was sour/off. The chicken dish was good, $24, pricey for a small box of rice, 4 oz of chicken, a small ramekin of a good sauce, and good broth. The salted chocolate chip cookie was excellent. The register person was very nice and helpful. I was surprised that the baristas did not offer to check the milk or make me a latte that did not taste sour. That would've changed my first impression and kept me in the fan club."
"I considered gatekeeping this place because it feels like a local hidden gem in Walnut Creek. I decided to visit after hearing about their famous avocado kopi coffee and wanted to give it a try. It was amazing! The mellow and neutral flavors from the avocado paired perfectly with the strong bitter notes from the espresso to create a delicious balanced drink that wasn’t too sweet. Inside the decor is modern and clean. We unfortunately came in the afternoon when all the pastries were sold out but excited to try them next time. Glad to have found a new spot locally!"
"We came in as they were closing shop so we couldn't taste any of the pastries. We could order coffee though, the Kopi Avocado was delicious and my husband ordered a Coconut Cappuccino is on the sweetish side. It's like drinking 'Malagkit' - Filipinos will know what I'm talking about 😂. Great friendly customer service! Will return to try their pastries...and Kopi Avocado again! Attached to the SanDai restaurant."
"Quite nice! Good coffee. Lots of seating. Do note that they have a one hour limit for laptop users, which is totally fair so people don’t camp out all day. There’s seating on the lower level of BAMPFA that does not have a time limit."
"I've been following Chef Nora since around 2017, back when she was serving some of the most memorable baked goods and dishes I've ever had. Over the years,..."
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