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    Cafe Gabriela

    4.6 (456 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Cafe Gabriela Photos

    Business Info

    CAFE GABRIELA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for working

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    Recommended Reviews - Cafe Gabriela

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    Caprese salad & pork adodo (half salad, half sandwich)
    Brianna R.

    I've been here a few times for lunch and the pork adobo sandwich is my favorite. Tons of flavor and the portion is really good for the price. The pork was really tender. The bottom slice gets soaked from all the adobo juices, so towards the end of eating it was a bit mushy. The staff is really friendly. It's a cozy space with just a few seats inside and a few outside. Park around the corner in Chinatown, there's no parking out front

    Pulled pork adobo sandwich
    Sydney J.

    I ordered ahead via their website for a pulled pork adobo sandwich, which is described as follows on the menu: tender pork simmered in soy sauce, cane vinegar, garlic and laurel leaves with sweet sautéed yellow onions on a toasted French sweet baguette. I got a text notifying me it was ready a little earlier than my scheduled pick up time. Service was friendly and efficient at the counter. The adobo was nice, the texture is stringy for the pork as you might expect but not unpleasantly so and it's a good balance of sweet, salty, and savory in the flavor - I do love that soy sauce. Other than the meat, it's mostly just lightly grilled bread plus a lot of grilled onions. I liked the onions since they are cooked to be more on the sweet side rather than tangy, but if you're looking for a sandwich that has a lot of vegetables (especially leafy greens) or a lot of different ingredients in general, this would not be the one to go for. It was a pretty good sandwich, but I only wish that Cafe Gabriela had more vegetarian options; it would be awesome to have more sandwiches or other types of main dishes to choose from that have plant-based protein, for instance. I have always appreciated seeing the social justice themed posters in the walls of Cafe Gabriela when walking by, as it's nice for me to also know this is a business where the owners have values aligned with my own.

    Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich & Arugula & Spring Mix Salad
    Reeven S.

    Small cafe with friendly staff and delicious food. I ordered the 1/2 Arugula and Spring Mix Salad and 1/2 Pulled Pork Sandwich. The salad was pretty decent - tangy flavor from the vinaigrette and lemon and crunchy texture from the almonds and dried cranberries. Pulled pork sandwich was also really good - really appreciated the sweet sautéed onions, which really brings the flavors of the pork altogether. This is a convenient spot for a quick lunch or coffee break - definitely recommend!

    Pulled pork sandwich with side salad
    Adem M.

    I just keep getting blessed with wonderfully tasty places to eat! This juicy little cafe was a great find in the heart of downtown Oakland. Greeted with a friendly smile upon entrance as choice hip hop plays in the background, the pulled pork sandwich was in my sights. Outside seating was appropriate for such a beautiful day. The barista brought us our food and was kind enough to offer us some type of short bread cookies resembling macaroons but better. The sandwich was messy and delicious with a salad on the side which was ever bit equally satisfying.

    Fried egg sandwich
    Kaitlyn I.

    Work ordered for a meeting, and I had to come back. I ordered online and had the fried egg sandwich to-go both times. It's the perfect walking distance for anyone working in Chinatown or Downtown, and the staff are friendly. My order was always made faster than the estimated time (more lunch time for me to enjoy!). The fried egg sandwich comes with 2 eggs, arugula, lemon vinaigrette, Canadian bacon (or you can choose tomato), and parmesan cheese. The bread has the perfect crunch, and the high quality ingredients together create a very tasty blend. I find myself thinking about this sandwich often... My only issue is that the vinaigrette--while a delicious, irreplaceable ingredient--tends to leak through the takeout box and create a tiny mess wherever you put it. Make sure to have napkins under the box while holding or setting down.

    John H.

    I was in town for a conference and wanted to get breakfast off-site on my last day. I saw the pulled pork adobo sandwich on the menu and made the call to come here, and it was absolutely the right one. I'm always looking for Filipino fusion and this was a great example of it! Plus the guy working there was nice to chat with and gave me a few other recs

    Tomato mozzarella and pork adobo sandwiches!

    I was working on the set of He, a short film, and for lunch Cafe Gabriela donated sandwiches and salad. Holy Moly they were so good! Everyone just devoured their meals! The bread was soft and delicious, the vegetables were bright and perfect, and the deli meats were so flavorful yet not heavy. The perfect sandwich! We also had the Arugula Salad, and it was beautifully dressd with cranberries and almonds. The people who run it were so nice to work with getting such a big order done. And next time I want to actually eat at the cafe because it looks so cozy.

    Adobo Sandwich
    Chad M.

    Finally made it in for some sandwiches. Service was fantastic. The two people working greeted us and were very nice. Adobo was the favorite. Of the three sandwiches. The onions were so good! The Turkey and the Soppressata were good sandwiches. Smaller. Balanced. Nothing special imo. I would prefer Modgilianis or Rattos for a non Adobo sandwich.

    Pulled pork sandwich
    Natalie N.

    Hidden (in plain sight!) gem. The food was excellent and the staff super friendly. They delivered to the table out front and it was a perfect lunch!

    Arugula salad...so fresh & light! I was so impressed with the freshness of the greens!
    Loan D.

    I attended a work conference at the Marriott City Center and luckily this was just across the street. My bro that worked in Oakland told me about this must have spot. We ordered the adobo pork sandwich and the arugula salad. Boy will I crave this! The salad was fresh and dressing was light. The sandwich was perfect! I enjoyed the flavorful meat and onions on a soft yet crusty bread. The owner is so friendly! Please go support this small business, you'll love both the food and the people! I'll be making my trek from San Jose!

    pulled pork adobo sandwich
    Caden L.

    If you're looking for the juiciest pulled pork sandwich in the world that's made with lightning speed stop by Cafe Gabriela! I was in the mood for a tasty sandwich and decided to check this place out. Just from smelling the aroma outside of the cafe I knew this place was a gem. We need more pinay owned businesses because this sandwich was delicious! The bread was soaked with the juices from the pulled pork making it flavorful and soft. The pulled pork was so tender, there was an even amount of lean meat to fatty meat. The onions were grilled to perfection, a delicious addition to the sandwich. The man taking my order was a very kind older gentleman who was very patient. The service was quick and efficient. I had my order in under ten minutes! In addition to the wonderful service, this cafe is also pro social justice, you can find many posters plastered on their store front!

    Famous egg sandwich...
    My C.

    Sandwich had a Sunnyside egg and a fried egg....arugula salad with oil dressing, Parmesan cheese, and a thin slice of ham. It was good, but could use some black pepper. Tried the mocha coffee iced drink too...not bad. Service was quick. People were friendly.

    mmmm mozzarella and tomato with balsamic vinaigrette - it smelled so good!

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    8 months ago

    Literally the best sandwich I've had in a while. The homemade balsamic is amazing, I enjoyed every bite!

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    Ask the Community - Cafe Gabriela

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    Crave Subs

    Crave Subs

    4.3
    (284 reviews)
    4.8 mi
    $$

    I don't really enjoy writing negative reviews of restaurants, especially smaller businesses but…read moretoday's visit to Crave really left a bad taste in my mouth. One of my biggest pet peeves is when restaurants reduce the guality or quantity of their meal to cut costs while charging premium prices. I will say I didn't mind paying a few dollars more for their subs in the past. I went there today for the first time in a couple of years, ordered a regular size basic ruben sandwich (no add-ons) and was ok paying nearly $18 dollars for just the sandwich until they handed it to me. what I got was a small 6" sub. When did their subs shrink?? in this economy we are all struggling. I get it, things cost more but Craves' owner is not doing his patrons a service by charging them premiums while cutting back on the meals. If you're ok paying that much for a shrunken sub, more power to you. I l, however, will not be going back there.

    Expensive for a small sandwich and was made to the taste of cartoon character's taste instead of my…read moretaste which is weird. The veggie meat was ultra salty and the Beast sandwich had sweet strawberry jam. Did not see that on the menu and didn't correlate the names of the sandwiches to the tv characters my kids watched when they were younger until I opened up the sandwich and saw the red jam. I prefer peanut butter and jam instead of meat and jam. Only veggie was chopped lettuce and barely saw anything else. Overwhelming flavor was the jam which was squeezing out of the sandwich. Disappointed- was hoping for an impressive sandwich at this price point.

    Photos
    Chips
    Chips
    Steak Storm Fries ($16.99- weekend special!)
    Steak Storm Fries ($16.99- weekend special!)
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    Patrick Star ($14.99)
    Clove and Hoof

    Clove and Hoof

    4.1
    (944 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    My only question is....WHY haven't I been here sooner?! I…read morewas craving pastrami, so I looked on yelp for pastrami in the area. My mom and I came in around 2pm on Monday (8/11). It's a cute delicatessen/restaurant. You order at the counter and they bring your food to you. Immediately the staff was so friendly and welcoming. The woman at the register was very nice and asked if we had any questions. My mom and I shared a pastrami sandwich, Brussels sprouts, fries, and slaw. It was reasonably priced for the Bay Area. When they brought the food to the table I was shocked. Everything looked amazing and very appetizing, and the portions were much bigger than expected. Before she brought the sandwich over, she asked if we were sharing it and was so nice to split it into 2 plates for us. That was very kind for her to do. Let's start with the French fries. Omg they were perfectly crisp but still fluffy on the inside. They had so much flavor probably because of the beef tallow and had just the right amount of salt on them. There was a side of mayonnaise with the fries, and it tasted homemade. I meant to ask them if it was. It was very good lol I couldn't get enough. The poppyseed slaw was very refreshing and it was tangy and sweet. We loved that the cabbage remained crispy and it was great for a warm day. The fried Brussels sprouts were full of flavor. They were a nice balance of sweet and salty. I loved the bacon on them. The hot pastrami sandwich definitely satisfied my pastrami craving! There was just the right ratio of meat-cheese-sauerkraut-mustard-dressing. The bread tasted freshly baked as well. It was full of flavor. And the side salad that came with the sandwich was excellent. We loved the tanginess of the dressing. We were shocked that there wasn't more people inside, but also for 2pm on a Monday, it probably was just an off hour. We had so many leftovers as we both don't eat very much, but lol as soon as I got home I started eating some more of the slaw and salad. Can't wait to eat the rest for lunch tomorrow. We are already planning on coming back to try the meatballs next time and definitely trying their Indian cuisine! I'll have to bring my husband here next. Thank you guys for an amazing lunch!

    I'm sure there are other good things here but I keep just getting the cheese steak. The picture…read moredoesn't do it justice. It's a warm, crunchy roll, the chopped steak and cheese are perfect, and there's a salad next to it so you can take a bite of that while you're waiting for the next bit of your sandwich to cool down. Do yourself a favor and order this in instead of carrying it out. The roll is warm and crunchy and I think too much time in a bag would make everything less delicious. (I'm sure it's still good, it's just *better* if you can eat it when it's fresh.) I swear one of these days I'll try something else on the menu.

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    Clove and Hoof
    Clove and Hoof
    Clove and Hoof

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    Star Meats

    Star Meats

    4.1
    (299 reviews)
    3.9 mi
    $$

    Discovered their sandwiches when we were having coffee next door and kept seeing ppl walk by with…read morebutcher paper pink sandwiches in their hands. Glad we were able to track them down cause their sandwiches look so basic in pics but are so darn good. The market is cool too but I'm always gonna start by bee lining it to the deli in back of the shop to order one of their daily sandwiches. They make 3 flavors each day. 18$ a pop. Delicious.

    This review isn't based off of one interaction that I've had, but several in which I felt Star…read moreMeats customer service was non existent. Awhile back, I tried to bring as much business to Star Meat as I could because 1. it's a small business and 2. it's inside Star Grocery (which I LOVE, so it's convenient). When I would go there, there would often be 2 or 3 people behind the counter and oftentimes I would be the only customer. I felt like I had to stand there forever before anyone even acknowledged I existed. Each person would be busy doing something, but there was no "I'll be with you in 2 minutes." Finally, I went one day and there were 3 workers behind the counter chatting with each other. I was the only customer and was standing around 6 feet away from them, looking right at them. They went on with there conversation (not doing any other work) for a full 5 minutes. Finally I thought, "OK, they really don't seem to want my business, so I can go to any one of 4 other places and get what I want." That was a year or two ago. So, today I thought, why not give it another try, it's certainly convenient. Again, I'm the only customer at the counter. One guy is washing equipment and two guys are making sandwiches. I know that they know that I'm there, there are mirrors all along the back wall exactly for the purpose of seeing the customers. After around 4 minutes I think, who knows how long I'm going to be standing here. Maybe they have to make 20 sandwiches and I'll be here for a half hour. So, I left. I don't have anything like this experience at the 4 other meat counters I go to in the area. I'm totally fine waiting if I have some sense that I'm waiting for a purpose and that the worker will get to me as soon as they can. But at Star Meat, it feels like I'm more of an inconvenience than a customer. "Hi, I'll be with you as soon as I can," goes a long way.

    Photos
    Brian Allen 18$ yes.
    Brian Allen 18$ yes.
    Brian Allen on the Beach
    Brian Allen on the Beach
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    Brian Allen Sandwich
    Krispy Joe's

    Krispy Joe's

    4.6
    (69 reviews)
    2.6 mi

    Amazing Service and the best Pastrami Sandwich I've ever had. Will definitely be coming back soon!!!read more

    Want a free sandwich?…read more Complete this puzzle and it's all yours! The pastrami sandwich here is sooooo good I actually ordered two of them. This is the first place in the world that had me eating rye. I hate rye bread, and was worried because there are no substitutions, but the sandwiches here were so good and the bread didn't taste like the traditional prison food hard rye bread. You changed me Krispy Joe's, and had me eating stuff I never would have. Also, drinking stuff I never would have. I bought their chai and lemonade, both were 5 stars, and they offered me their pickle juice electrolyte drink to try. I was skeptical at first, but again they made me a believer. I hate pickle juice and pickle flavored anything in general. Yet, they converted me once again when they offered me a sample of their pickle-aid. It tasted like a mild tasting plain Gatorade. If I were still training for a marathon, I would totally buy this! Back to their amazing sandwiches. They are made with such care, dusting every sandwich that's made to order with their secret spices while toasting the meat and bread. The slaw was fresh and herbaceous. Again, made with care and craftsmanship. I am rooting for this business to expand and take over Ike's Sandwiches. I believe in you Krispy Joe's, you have my vote!

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    Cool mural
    Cool mural
    @ifoodiejenn | The OG - hot pastrami sandwich
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    Order area

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    Order area
    Heroic Italian

    Heroic Italian

    4.4
    (163 reviews)
    4.6 mi
    $$

    I've been here before love this place. It has indoor outdoor seating. Service is friendly. The food…read moreis great and we love the pizza here!

    We ordered via DoorDash, and I wouldn't call our experience "heroic."…read more The pinsa was very good. We got the Calabrian shrimp. We found it very tasty, but paying over $25 for this on DoorDash--certainly not worth the price even though we really enjoyed it. The spicy chicken parm sandwiches were not good. The chicken breast was flabby, and came across like it was one of those frozen cooked Tyson jobs. I would be very surprised if they actually breaded chicken breast, fried it, and made the sandwich with that. It was mushy, and the breading was like paste on the chicken. Pretty awful. They charge extra for sauce, which is a little much, given that we paid $21 for each sandwich. But we figured out pretty quickly why they do this: there was hardly any sauce on the sandwiches. And precious little cheese. We each ate half of our sandwich and figured we doctor the leftovers up the next day with a jar of Rao's and a bag of shredded Italian cheese. That helped, but nothing could save that chicken. The meatballs. We paid $15 for four, and we had high hopes, but they were so mushy that they fell apart in the sauce, and I couldn't tell what was sauce and what was meatballs. The only flavor that came across was fennel. Why any meatball should be so fennel-forward strikes me as bizarre. We got what we thought were pretty basic things, and they were fails. If an Italian place can't make a decent chicken parm sandwich nor a decent meatball, that says something. If you go, try the pinsa.

    Photos
    Inside counter
    Inside counter
    Come enjoy an OMG on the patio in the sun before the next storm hits! An organic Italian soda pairs nicely as does a glass of wine.
    Come enjoy an OMG on the patio in the sun before the next storm hits! An organic Italian soda pairs nicely as does a glass of wine.
    Calabrian Shrimp! Wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp roasted with brown butter sage, garlic, lemon juice & Calabrian Chilies ..Comes with crostini

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    Calabrian Shrimp! Wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp roasted with brown butter sage, garlic, lemon juice & Calabrian Chilies ..Comes with crostini
    Mezzo

    Mezzo

    4.2
    (1.1k reviews)
    4.5 mi
    $$

    Right next to UC Berkley this sandwich shop Mezzo lemme tell you this place was so BOMB and the…read moresandwiches are freaking huge (last piz for reference) it was so fresh and every bite dead ahh got better it was so so gas. I also had their pozole it was the special for the day and it was really good as well it had a lot of flavor and was a good side with the sandwich So what I got for the sandwich was the Cheese topped ciabatta roll and in my sandwich I had the following: * Turkey * Bacon * provolone cheese * Tomato * Lettuce * Alfalfa sprouts * Red onion * banana pepper * Pickles * Avocado * Mayo The service was great. I love how they make the sandwich in front of you and the ambience is great as well.

    first time here and they been popping on my fyp on tiktok, finally had the chance to try it before…read moreheading to a concert! line was by the door was it was moving fast. Reminds me of chipotle, poké, subway etc but healthy version! soooo many options to choose from so I went for the combination (half sandwich and soup or salad) : marinated tofu sando and thai chicken coconut curry on my marinated tofu sando I chose honey wheat bread with everything on it along with the pickles and onions. It was very big and generous for a half sandwich (love it!) but I do wish they can toast or warm up the sandwich because I like my sandwiches warm. thai chicken coconut curry was sooooo delicious I would come back for a big bowl of that! Taste very coconutty and creamy, not too sweet or spicy! I am not a picky/germaphobe customer but my friends and I noticed they dont change gloves for each orders they are in the making touching all of the toppings, meats, and vegetables. I don't mind it but I am sure if other customers have certain food allergens or germaphobe I would be more cautious and do cross contamination . Provide tongs for the workers. can't wait to come back and try other sandwiches on the menu!

    Photos
    Entrance
    Entrance
    Veggie delight salad
    Veggie delight salad
    Chef's Salad

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    Chef's Salad

    Cafe Gabriela - coffee - Updated July 2026

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