Had a startling and negative experience here this morning that is causing me to drop my rating from four stars to one. My husband, mother-in-law, and I walked in here early this morning. I was almost instantly accosted by the owner (server? not sure). "I recognize you," she said. "You're the chick from Yelp." I just gave her a blank I-haven't-gotten-my-coffee-yet smile. Then she ripped into me about writing a nasty review. "Am I the 50-year-old with pigtails?" she said, throwing menus down on our table and flouncing away. Then she returned for more: "You have some nerve coming back in here after writing nasty things about us," she said. We left. I was angry and saddened. What the hell had I written? I've always liked the Homemade, a few small issues here and there aside. Since I don't own an iPhone, I couldn't check right away and I fretted that I'd said something horrible to really set this woman off in front of my family members. Just now I checked. See my original review below. I really see very little that's negative ... and, in fact, the 50-year-old women I was describing were the patrons, not the servers. But no matter. If my review angered her, she had many options in dealing with it. The tack she took was confrontational, embarrassing, and ultimately needless. Homemade offers good breakfasts, but so do many places in Berkeley. I won't be back. read more

I always see a line at this place and every time I get the urge to yell and say "You are in Berkeley! You have so many delicious food options available to you! You don't have to do this to yourself!" This place rides on hype. I once believed it. I looked at all the folks willing to wait outside for a half hour just to sit down and thought "Man, that place must be good." So one morning I gathered my mom and friend and took off for what we thought would be a great breakfast. We got an "Eh." at best. Dirty plates (I asked for an extra plate and was given one that looked like it had just been bussed!), confusing rules on orders (I ordered two burritos, one for me and one for my boyfriend to take home. I asked for mine to be in a corn tortilla and his to be in flour. I am informed they have to be the same kind of tortilla. What?) and cramped, dingy surroundings. My mom had an omelette with a side of short curly brown hair, interesting considering she has a long blonde mane. The food is Denny's quality and to be honest, I would rather go to Denny's. At least there I've never gotten a used coffee mug and then had to hunt down a server just to get a clean one. read more

ugh. I used to come here on weekdays (back when I was a retail worker selling shoes to the masses) because I could walk there and it was cheaper than the other walking distance spots (La Note and Venus). Fast forward seven years. I have a better job and eat at better breakfast spots. I don't go places where I have to wait for my food because I can get a bit, um, cranky while waiting for my sustenance (I'm a swimmer! I need to replenish my carbs!). I've never understood the allure of Homemade. I always thought the food was okay, but not phenomenal. Occasionally we have an out-of-town guest that wants to go here for whatever reason as happened yesterday. The hostess was rude, we waited for an hour, she was rude again, and we left. We knew there'd be a wait, that's okay, we're entertaining our guests' desires. If they want to wait an hour for potatoes and sour cream, fine. But the rudeness was crazy. See, I've worked retail. I've worked restaurants. My new career is also one that deals with people. I know first hand that it never pays to be rude to a customer. You bite your lip, smile, and go to the back to yell, smoke, whatever gets you to calm down before heading back out to war. Get a clue, Homemade. For now, the only Homemade Cafe I'll visit is the one in my kitchen. read more

I can't believe I've not written a review of this place, given that I've been coming here off and on for about 30 years. This is not the place to impress your boss or date, to get fawning service, or to be knocked out by the atmosphere. It's a little grungy, sure, but I also have a little inside info that helps me appreciate that. The owners are former social workers, and they don't always pick their help by how beautiful/cute/cleancut/perky they are. You can almost count on piercings, tattoos and a little surliness. The coffee is self-serve, yes, and no they don't always remember to tell you. The bathroom doesn't quite open on to the eating room, there is a small alcove between the two doors, but it's close - heck! the place is small! It's actually amazing how much good food can come out of a kitchen about the size of the bathroom. Everybody has to be very efficient, which may explain the lack of "Hi, I'm Tiffany, and I'll be your server" feel. On the other hand, they have some of the best waffles in town, terrific french toast, home fries & scrambles (love the Mexican Scramble, with chorizo), pancakes, a very respectable eggs benedict, and decent blintzes. I'm not a personal fan of the omelettes, just because I am of the more French "thin" omelet than the "thick/fluffy" variety, but some people swear by them. They have "Kid's" (very small cups) hot chocolates, okay espresso drinks, and more. Also great for lunch - the Tuna Melt is a personal fave. One of the more memorable moments here was when Martin Sheen and entourage were eating there near the holidays a couple of years back, and led the entire restaurant in Christmas carols, even though everyone had been very well-behaved and had not bothered him a bit during his meal. A Berkeley institution hanging in there. read more

Came here on a whim for some coffee one morning and got a chai latte instead. Chai flavor was good though the drink felt a little on the sweet side to me. What really puzzled me was the fact that it was served in a handle-less tall pint glass. I appreciated that the latte was hot, but holding onto the super hot glass proved to be a bit difficult. Luckily I had long sleeves with which I covered my hands while holding onto the glass to sip my drink. (I think my friend jokingly but aptly described my look as "homeless" as I was hunched over my steaming pint. LOL. Decor was quaintly cute, the servers clearly knew quite a few regulars by name, other peoples' portions of pancakes seemed huge, and the prices seemed fair. Wasn't in the mood for real food then, but maybe if I'm in the area again I'll give this spot another go. read more

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Stopped at a friends in Berkeley 12:30pm Saturday to get some brunch. Armed with a couple of Yelp-based recommendations, he mentioned Homemade Cafe first, a two-block walk from his home. Long live Jambi for the nice weather and grabbing an available outdoor table. a few notables: - The service, rotating with four different ladies, was fast and super-sweet. I wish I had gotten one server's name as she was exceptionally accommodating and worthy of a call-out. - Two coffee orders brought not just two coffees but a thermally insulated pitcher of joe for our table. Dunno why but just loved that. - The cafe seems to take great pride in their eggs. My friend's scrambled were perfect. Wish I could make them at home like that consistently. - On the topic of egg pride: if you order "over easy" here, expect not just a runny yolk but a runny white center. I asked our server if I could get them more cooked. She was happy to oblige, but explained that this was their 'over easy' order, and what I wanted was 'over medium.' I've never been to an eatery that had such finessing descriptions for their egg dishes -- and frankly feel the other places get it wrong when Homemade Cafe gets it right. - I ordered the "Home Fry Heaven" which comes with an option of guacamole or pesto topping. Asking the server which she thought was better, she said "how about half of each?" Accommodation -- what an appreciated gesture! Totally enjoyed my H.F.H. with my quickly-replaced "over medium" eggs, as my dining companion did his scrambled eggs, home-made muffin and sausage. Shared my sourdough toast with him, who enjoyed it with the strawberry jam brought as one of the table condiments. Coffee was high-octane diner-style -- decent but potent stuff, be warned! Homemade Cafe is the kind of brunch joint I wish I had two blocks away from my home. I don't know if I'd make a special trip to it from Oakland, but would be happy to drop in again when I'm in the area. read more

This place flat out sucks. And no, I'm not bitter, it's just fact: 1. The staff are unpleasant and make you feel rushed. After you're done with your meal, you pay up front. They'll ask you how much you want to tip if you pay with card. Guilt tripping at its finest. Nice job, guys. 2. The food: It's hard to mess up home fries. Mine were woefully undercooked. The pancakes were fine, but they tasted like I made them at home (i.e. with a mix). 3. The coffee: Even some of the best of breakfast/brunch joints have mediocre coffee. I'm okay with that. This was just bad. My café au lait tasted like an espresso shot in a full cup of water, with something resembling steamed milk. Listen, this place has potential, but the people who work here don't make you feel welcome. It trickles down to the quality of the food. Had I gotten good service, I'd be a bit more forgiving. A smile goes a long ways, including the potential for a repeat customer wondering if this experience was an anomaly. Won't be back. read more

This restaurant provided the WORST customer service I have ever experienced. I brought my little sister out to break on a lovely Sunday morning and the main host (Large woman with hazel eyes) was utterly DISRESPECTFUL and MALICIOUS towards us. She spoke RUDELY and LOUDLY to us in front of other families enjoying breakfast and ORDERED us to leave when we asked for different seating arrangements. Q My sister and I were forced to eat else where before we even had a chance to order. If you value customer service while dining out I highly suggest you consider eating at a different eating establishment. I own a music studio a couple blocks down I would never suggest any of the high end clients to eat there. Have a blessed day :) read more

Apparently there are actually three things you never want to see being made: laws, sausages, and your breakfast at Homemade Cafe. I'm a big fan of counters in breakfast places, so I was happy to find that Homemade Cafe has a small 8-person counter, whereas I had only sat at tables in the past when I had gone with larger groups. On previous visits I had found the food to be decent if not particularly memorable. Unfortunately, sitting at the counter gave me a full view of the kitchen and left me with a much diminished opinion of the food. When you have an open kitchen and counter seating, you need to have a spotless kitchen, even in a greasy spoon. Homemade Cafe's kitchen? Not so spotless -- kind of nauseatingly unclean like you see on episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. The cook's style was slow and careless: he would crack eggs and some egg white would drip onto his shoes, to break a yolk he used his fingers, the range, pans, and grease traps needed some serious cleaning, sausages were grilled on an oily cooktop with additional oil and then put on an old grease-laden towel to sit until the eggs were ready, and the floor was littered with bits of food even early in the morning. By the time my food arrived, I could barely muster any appetite to eat it. Luckily, the food didn't taste nearly as bad as it looked, but that's about all I can say for it. My advice: if you must eat here, sit at a table. read more

If I could give a place ZERO stars, I would. Awful. Just awful. My fiance, his mother, and cousin went here this afternoon. Cousin was running a little late, so I placed our name on the wait-list only to be told by the big, unhappy hostess that our entire party needed to be there before she would seat us. She then called several full parties, openly mocking us each time by looking directly at our party and saying "They're all here! They get the table!", before dashing inside. She actually seemed to enjoy leaving us out in the cold. So not necessary. And not a good first impression either. The other hostess was not any better and actually called me "some uppity woman" to the other hostess...in front of my face. If serving people doesn't suit you, perhaps its time to move into another field. After Cousin arrived, the hostesses recognized her as a regular and the level of service from her changed *dramatically*. She kicked it into high gear, cleared plates and ushered us in to sit. I thought to myself that the food would need to be phenomenal to make up for such an unpleasant seating debacle. Sadly, this part of the experience sucked too. The food is marginal at best. I hated the onion potatoes, and for $6, the cinnamon french toast left a lot to be desired. The only saving grace, the coffee cake. It was decent. Not great. Needless to say, I've had better breakfast experiences at Denny's. Unless you like crappy, overpriced food and wait staff who seem totally put out by doing their job, you can safely skip this place. read more

I visited this place for brunch today and I will never come back. I wish there was an option to give ZERO stars. There were numerous problems throughout the meal, but a few interactions with their staff must be mentioned. 1. The person who looked like an owner yelled at me "HELO?! Can't you see how busy it is?!?!" after I inquired about the long wait for food. 2. When the cashier asked me about the visit and found out that I didn't enjoy it, she asked me for the reason. Before I could even finish explaining what happened, she interrupted me and tried to convince me that it is OK to offend guests, provide horrible service and make them wait for the table that is open for 20 minutes but not bussed because the place is busy. We finished conversation with her saying angrily "what do you expect, that we will stop doing everything and clean the table just so you can sit?!?" Needles to say, I am amazed that they are still open. I will never come back. I will make sure everyone I know will hear about the service in this place. read more

You get what you came for with the food i guess, but the service was a pretty epic fail. When the waitress came we asked for a little more time, then never saw her again. After like 10 minutes we had to get the attention of the woman behind the cash register who the whole time we were waiting was obsessively cleaning the espresso machine in a really jarringly loud way, shaking our table with her banging. Apparently she was now our waitress. When I apologetically asked to change my order to the homefries after stupidly ordering the grits, she gave me coldest eye-roll of scorn, making me feel like an annoying idiot for failing at life. After the meal you pay at the cash register up front, where you get put on the spot by the cashier about how much you'd like to tip. I paid with a card and she actually asked me how much I'd like to tip!! I told her, "um, well we kind of felt neglected in the corner, so maybe a dollar?" Awkward silence ensued. We live like a block away from this place, but there's definitely a reason we've only come here like 3 times. read more

I can't help to respond to the owner's comment on the review I wrote about his cafe: There was no elderly person in a walker trying to get to the cash register nor were we blocking anyone. I assume you have to concoct that lie to justify your employees' rude and racist behavior. There were witnesses, and if we were blocking an elderly customer I doubt that one of your patrons would have come outside to convince me to look past your rude staff. You also assume that a person of color doesn't respond to another person of color in a racist manner. Sadly, that is not the case. That happens all the time, and I believe in is this case as well. And, in that regard I noticed that you do not have any AFRICAN AMERICAN employees at your cafe. I can assume that you prefer a certain type of "employee of color". As I stated prevously, I do not condone my daughter's behavior, but she felt psychologically assaulted! And again, I say emphatically, that we and the many emails from customers who shared with me their rude experience at your restaurant and agree with my assessment, we all are better people for NOT eating at the Homemade Cafe! read more

Food is decent but had real bad customer service. Signed up on waiting list to sit at the counter or wherever. There were quite a few others on the list waiting to eat as well. Two people walked in and the hostess just waved them in and said they could go straight to the counter. I asked her why they didn't have wait on the list. She thought about it for a second and said "Oh they are part owners". Have no idea if that's true or not but from reading other reviews they just kind of bump people up if they know them. In either case horrible policy. Why would an owner just jump in front of his paying customers? Why would you just let friends jump in front of customers who have been waiting? Food is decent but it would have to be damn good egg and potatoes to overlook being disrespected. Unfortunately it's just your standard decent breakfast place. Nothing special, horrible service read more

I HATE THIS PLACE. JUST BECAUSE IT IS 2 BLOCKS FROM YOU DOES NOT MAKE IT GOOD. WHY? 1. BAD EGG DISH #1. The Huevos Rancheros --was just so bad. The salsa was poor and tasted 60-day old. The portion was small. Sloppy. 2. BAD EGG DISH #2. The omlettes. What is so hard? Put some mile in with the eggs and cook under low heat? Do I have to give these directions when I order? 3. PANCAKES - OK. These were OK. Not the best, but a HUGE improvement over any eggs. I cannot go back here ever. It is really bad. Just because it's Berkeley and have an Organic item on the menu does not make it good. I have never had worse eggs. Never. Long lines and below average food. I would recommend any Berkeley breakfast joint above this one. read more

My boyfriend and I just moved to Berkeley in February, and we've been pretty excited to check out all the amazing local eateries. Little did we know that our favorite spot would end up being the closest place to our house! We LOVE Homeade! The coffee is strong, the service is fast, the prices are reasonable, and the food is some of the best brekkie I've ever had. Try the Eggs Benedict. It's the best. read more

They suck! I just walked out! My little sister is visiting from out of town, and i took her here since its right around the corner..i am seething!!! The place wasn't packed, and it was the two of us, were we told that were could sit at the big table and share if a large party came in. When a party of 5 came in minutes later, a waitress told us to move. ARE U KIDDING ME????? She repeated herself..u have to move to the small table, because a larger party came. No sharing, just move. That was the epitome of rude! I guess it doesn't matter if the early bird gets the worm! I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THAT ESTABLISHMENT AGAIN! read more

I went there for a nice brunch and had a horrible experience. It took 40 minutes to get served after waiting 15 minutes just to get seated. On top of that our waiter was unprofessionally dressed and was very rude. We didn't even get water until we asked for some. When we finally got our food we were very disappointed. The Mexican eggs looked like barf and tasted very bland. The frech was ok, but the terrible attitude of the waiter canceled that out. When we went to pay the woman put my tip as $12 when I said 12% and she asked what went wrong. I didn't feel comfortable saying it was in part because of her bad service. read more

I consider Homemade Cafe to be a Berkeley breakfast institution. The food is solidly good and fresh. There seems to always be a wait for tables, even on weekdays. Be prepared to wait outside. You can get an espresso drink from their To Go counter if you need immediate coffee satisfaction before you're seated. Today I enjoyed the spinach/mushroom/feta omelet w/ home fries. They have just about everything else on the menu, but don't expect eggs benedict. It's not an option. Also you'll be getting up to get your own coffee refill(s)...cuz they really don't make any attempt at bringing the coffee pot to your table. It's just the way they do things. I'm a big fan of potatoes and fondly remember the Home Fry Heaven (home fries, cheese, pesto, etc) from my college years, though now it seems a bit overwhelming unless I have about 3 friends willing to share it. I recently found out 2008 is the International Year of the Potato http://www.potato2008.org/en/index.html. I think every year should be the Year of the Potato...don't you? Full breakfast for two was $25 plus tip. read more

This falls into the category of "My gf is in love with it so I gotta go there" It also falls into "Soup natzi" But in reality, this place doesn't even garner a "meh" from me. We went, we waited, we sat, we waited, we ordered, we waited, we ate, we waited, we paid, we left. All of that took 2 hours. Look people,. this is NOT New York, this is NOT Wolf Gang Pucks place. It's some hole in the wall with mediocre food, mediocre wait staff, crappy seating (my back was killing me!), and blown up prices. For the $25, and 2 hours we spent for that one meal....we could have gone to the Brown Sugar Kitchen...waited the same amount of time, but had a meal that filled our belly's and our spirits. Talk about not living up to the hype...this place was a rip off and I shudder to calculate how much work I had to do to afford this meal, or my gf for that matter since I think she treated. read more

-The potatoes were pre done so I could not get them onion free. -The hot chocolate came out room temp -The creme container for the coffee was dirty and empty, we asked for a NEW one, and just got the old dirty one back, just 1/4 full....? -Everyone in the kitchen was cussing at each other, especially the male waiter with the glasses -Got the food, and the sausage was cold when I bit into it. Instead of making me another order, they threw my bitten into food back on the grill with all the other orders being made!!! EEEWW! How many other people ate my germs? How many times has the cook done that? How many people's germs am I eating? All I could do was look around at everyone's mouths full of dirty food, and I had to leave. -Also, by the way... got the order wrong anyways.... so... there's that. WOMP I know for a fact I'll never be back. read more

It's hard not to love a place that has something called Home Fry Heaven which is home fries with cheese, salsa, sour cream and your choice of guacamole or pesto. That's food enough for me, although I always have something else to go along with it. Breakfast sandwiches! I love me a fried egg on a sandwich, and they do one with a hamburger. I've had (and enjoyed) the Mexican eggs, the Italian eggs, the LEO (lox, eggs and onions). It's another one of my favorite places to go after working all night and trying to eat myself into a food coma so I can get back up a few hours later and do it again. If you eat there during the week, they have a frequent flyer card...I normally pass on those but at the Homemade Cafe it's worth carrying around an extra piece of paper in my wallet :) read more

Now, I'll start with, I rarely write reviews. But this place was such a disappointment, I had to. I ordered the huevos rancheros and they were by far the worst I've ever eaten. Nothing on my plate was homemade. Everything on my plate was awful. The staff was cordial but you have to refill your water and coffee. They only come around to take your order and deliver your food. Everything else is on you. Maybe I had a bad experience, but one things for sure, I'm not coming back here. read more

I went here with my family yesterday for breakfast at my brother's recommendation. The service seemed a bit hurried, but not really rude. When we came in, there were only two servers, and it seemed like one was getting the brunt of the work done. The cafe is crowded -- there was about three inches between our table and another, which was a bit awkward. So many people showed up after we arrived, and though there are a couple of small tables outside, I could tell everyone wanted to come inside. There is a policy of getting up to refill your own coffee, which was different. Our server never let our mugs get empty, so we never had to get up for a refill, but some people at another table did. The food was really good. My brother said he always gets the waffle or the blueberry pancakes. I just got the standard bacon and eggs, but they have something called home fry heaven. They just take the home fries and add cheese, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. It was quite good, and all of our food came out nice and hot. My brother had a waffle with chicken/apple sausage, Mom had an omelet, and my dad had ham and eggs with a waffle. By the time we left, there were two more servers. Most of the patrons seemed like regulars. We left feeling stuffed and happy. read more

Came for the 1st time with fiance nd friends they have Great food i had the french toast with coffee the people working their are very friendly read more

The food was greasy, took a long time and the customer service was meh. Try another place read more

Homemade Cafe - American Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is your friendly neighborhood breakfast place. It's not super fancy: the atmosphere is somewhat tight and crowded, the coffee and water is self-serve. But the breakfast is delicious, the staff are friendly, and it's still far from average. Get the breakfast burger on french toast. This burger is the definition of breakfast comfort food (in other words, it's not healthy but it's delicious). The patty is made of sausage and bacon: greasy, heavy, and delicious. They add a fried egg and a slice of cheese. Finally, the "bun" of the burger is French toast, which sounds weird but is actually delicious. Pour some maple syrup on the burger and experience sweet and savory in an unexpectedly amazing mix. If you think you can handle more, get some home fries to go with the burger. If the breakfast burger sounds like too much, the "regular" breakfast foods (pancakes, omelettes) are also pretty great. But why settle for a regular breakfast when you can experience everything you love about breakfast and everything you love about burgers in the same meal? read more

I ordered an omelette. Food was basically like Denny's but without the grease. No flavor and low-quality ingredients, which is surprising for Berkeley. And the water tasted like it had mold in it. With that alone I would have still left three stars. But the service was very rude. It was not busy, and we still had to wait almost 30 minutes to place an order. Then after waiting about 20 minutes to pay after finishing, we finally flagged a server to pay and she was quite rude in her response. Then someone else came to run my card and said it is automatically 20% tip and we can top more if we like. We were only two people and because of how rudely we had been treated, on top of bad food, I had planned to leave 10-15%. But with them not giving me an opportunity to write my own tip, and standing over me while I signed, I just signed for the automatic 20% and left. Especially compared to other places in Berkeley, this place is surprisingly bad. read more

Normal. Run of the mill. Neither terrible enough to incur my wrath, nor wonderful enough to attempt prose. This place serves breakfast. And it serves it very normally. There is nothing exciting about the menu, nor is it lacking. For breakfast, I'm typically in a savory mood. I want just a little bit of home fries, some sausage (NOT chicken apple), and that's it. I'm not really fond of eggs. I think I like pancakes but I really don't after the 3rd bite. Yes, I'm uncertain about my preferences, I can't make up my mind, my world is a jumbled mess of variables! Inhale. Exhale. The home fries here are flavorful. There are nice browned bits and seasoning and herbs and spices. The sausage here is....eh. It was close to something I would like, but not quite there. I really like the breakfast links sold in bulk at Costco. Porky, peppery, perfect. This sausage tasted just a bit too normal. Not juicy enough. Not enough flavor. Just an ordinary slab of ground sausage meat. And finally: breakfast is expensive nowadays! I thought this was suppose to be home-made. But it's priced closer to home-made-served-to-hipsters-who-like-to-pay-more-for-something-you-haven't-heard-of. I really don't need the truck full of starch. I wish they did a half portion at half price. No, I have no friends with which I could go to breakfast and split a meal. I eat all my meals alone. Crying. In the corner. Clutching the remaining shreds of my dignity and wiping my tears away with my expunged soul. On any given weekend, this place is packed to the organic, sustainably farmed, fairly traded seams. BURSTING with hipsterness. When did all these hipsters come to Berkeley? I thought they couldn't travel over water....Or is that werewolves? read more

This maybe would be a 5 star review, and still could be 4 star, but I haven't even had a plate of their food! Their cashier/server bared his teeth at me when I came in for some small to go items and then punched the buttons of the till with his middle finger, and did a third thing which would be identifiable--I tipped anyways. Not having met him or been in before and having simply ordered common to go items with no attitude, maybe it is because I am a head taller than him as a woman? If it is not that I don't know what, because I had no judgement, odd requests or sarcastic lilt to my voice in the one sentence of interaction we had before he acted so. His actions drag them down, clearly. I'm as sure as I am that I did nothing to warrant this, to infer that he has probably left other guests at other times feeling unwelcome and questioning what they did. Which is not what one needs at their favorite neighborhood breakfast spot. read more

Come on guys... no need to be overzealous about your breakfasting experience. Food always tastes better when you roll out of bed around 10am, fluff out your hair a little & stroll on over to whatever local cafe/restaurant sits around the corner. Homemade Cafe is perfect for this. Around 10am, I've never experienced any sort of excruciating wait. In fact, I don't think I've ever waited over 5 minutes for a table. And I usually go on weekends. Yes, this place is a little more than overpriced, but it's all about the ethics. The local-ness. The artistic, homey-grungy vibe. The homemade food. Homemade doesn't always connote 'good' per se, but it does connote 'fresh.' Homemade Cafe makes fresh food for lazy & leisurely morning diners. If you can't handle the (admittedly Berkeley-aggressive) establishment branding... well, you've read the Yelp reviews. You can make your own decision! Don't get bullied into coming if this sort of eating experience isn't your thing. It is, after all, a diner. And a crowded one at that. I personally think that the crowd is partly what makes Homemade Cafe so special. I love how diverse it is. You can be old, young, alone, in a group, or with 3 screaming kids... it's hard to feel ostracized or out-of-place. There's this comfortable sense that everyone is part of a community, and I think that's a hard thing to find in Berkeley nowadays. The food is satisfying. The home fries are salty-delicious, (crispy on the outside, mealy on the inside, sprinkled w/ herbs, served w/ yummy veggie-plenty salsa on the side) the elusive ginger-pear muffin-- besides being the reason why I came back to Homemade Cafe-- is warm, spicy, and filled w/ flavorful chunks of baked pear. The eggs benedict are perfectly cooked to order, and while I have a problem with the blintzes, (who knew they'd be a gigantic cheese-and-sour-cream explosion?) you just have to know exactly what you're getting into before ordering. Simple enough. The coffee is not great (it kinda just sits on a hot burner waiting to be served) but there are free refills. ...That's good enough for me. :) (Shh.) Bottom Line: This is THE place for a leisurely morning followed by an afternoon nap. It's downright blasphemous that Homemade Cafe doesn't get a higher rating. read more

this is my neighborhood spot. it's not perfect, not everything is tops, but they have the best bagels, good coffee, yummy potatos, and an eclectic waitstaff. Outdoor seating is a plus. read more

It is unconscionable and absurd that the homemade cafe doesn't have at least four stars. This is THE platonic brunch. Super groovy vibe, really friendly people, absolutely delicious food (Mexican eggs being my favorite dish), and the line doesn't get too insane. People who rate the homemade cafe poorly are unseeing, untasting, unfeeling zombies. read more

I'm really sad to write this. I've been coming to this cafe for many years and have brought family members and friends, all the while raving about what a great down-home eatery this is. The last two times I've been here (and brought either my mother or my S.O.) I've been horribly embarrassed by the wait staff's behavior. For the record, I've been a waitress before in a similar environment, and I tend to be rather forgiving. But my last two experiences at the Homemade Cafe, I just can't forgive. Waiting tables during a brunch or lunch rush is really difficult. You're physically exhausted, you're likely mentally exhausted, but it really does help to smile and be present for your customers. They'll appreciate it. On the first occasion, my poor mother had already said she'd treat me and some friends to brunch. The food, as always, was amazing. However, our waitress was rude, irritable, and not really happy to help. She fully snapped at my mother (who is a very polite and well-spoken woman) when she asked for a receipt. How dare she? As I said, the food is amazing, from pancakes to anything involving potatoes. So I keep giving Homemade a chance, and lately, I continue to be disappointed by the extremely rude service. This wasn't a problem a couple of years ago. In fact, I remember always receiving a lovely and warm reception, so I suppose I'm hoping this will return. Yesterday, I gave it my second and maybe final chance. This time I brought my guy friend, after raving about how wonderful Homemade is. Well. At first our waitress seemed somewhat indifferent to us as fellow human beings. That's fine. Two other members of the waitstaff seemed friendly, but sadly, they were not helping us. We waited nearly 40 minutes for our not terribly complicated orders of pancakes. When the large group that was seated after us received their orders ahead of us, I decided to inquire, just in case, again, politely. The waitress very rudely said to me "your order is on the next ticket, they're going as fast as they can, OKAY?" Really nice. We get our food. It's great. We leave. We tip way more than I think was deserved (again, something I very rarely feel). My guy friend realizes he left his jacket, we make a quick turnaround back to the Cafe. He asks one waitress who doesn't look busy if he left his jacket. She says, and I quote: "Don't talk to me." He has to ask two more people until someone finally tells him where it is. Even after writing this, it saddens me to say that I don't know if I'm giving this place another chance, after nearly a decade of coming here and recommending it to zillions of people. read more

I love the scene here, it makes me happy to live in east bay. A bustling, cozy, and fun breakfast place. Its tight quarters but they do a really good job of crowd control, you can get coffee or espresso while you wait, and then stand outside and look at the paper/ people watch/violently defend your place on "the list." The real draw for me that sets it apart from other breakfast places is the Jewish comfort food on the menu- Matzah Brei and blintzes. Both are perfect for me, with either applesauce or blueberry sauce. Smother some jam and sour cream on that, and gimme a side of bacon. Mmmmm. All of their food seems good quality and well prepared. Servings are not obscenely large. The service is efficient and mostly very nice. The posts about the service here scare me. Don't take stuff like that personally. read more

it was a tasty breakfast burrito but $20 ? uhm even in the bay that's crazy expensive

Looking for a true greasy spoon with diner food? This is your place. Was driving past and saw "Homemade Cafe" was expecting something more on the healthy side of things. WRONG. This is a straight-up greasy spoon with diner food. Very small space inside with folks sitting elbow to elbow. Servers are hipster types, friendly enough, but clearly too cool for their jobs. They messed up one of our orders, but did apologize and took the item off bill (plus one star). I will not be rushing back to this place. read more

This is the only time I have ever wished I could give NO STARS. I love going out for breakfast on the weekends and the East Bay has some really great locations. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I took my brother here when he was visiting from out of town. I thought, "I've never been there, but it always looks bustling when I pass by. Let's give it a shot!" Big mistake. Nothing was good about this place. Here's the play-by-play: Service: Walk in the door and reach to sign in on the clip-board waiting one foot inside--nasty waitress snaps "Don't sign in! That's why it was turned over!" (It wasn't turned over, but thanks for the preview of the service). We were a party of five and we were seated immediately, so that's good, given the wait at most Bay Area breakfast joints on the weekend. But, we were a party of five so that means they automatically include 18% gratuity and assume a license to ignore us COMPLETELY. Oh, and did I mention they have a nice little sign directing you to get your own coffee? WTF! The service was unbelievably bad and they didn't even have an excuse--the tables were filled, but no one was waiting and the place was crawling with employees. So the food...I can't help but feel disgusted disappointment in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it. I have a standing rule never to go anywhere that announces that the food is "just like home," "home-style," or "home made.' Why oh WHY do I disregard my own rules? The food at Homemade is just like home made if your's was the kind of household that ate out exclusively in order to avoid your "home made" food. Potatoes: gross--home fries are not supposed to be burned mashed potatoes. "Home made" corned beef hash (couldn't make it without bell peppers so I didn't have it, but my friend did): You should have seen my pal searching through the burned mashed potatoes for the tiny bits of flavorless chopped corned beef. Or was it corned beef? Bits of food that small are basically indistinguishable--could be corned beef, or ham, or tofu, or toe jam. French toast: Wonder bread coated in undercooked egg. But they do give you the option to pay a dollar extra for real maple syrup. I had the eggs benedict: tough ham and toxic waste colored hollandaise. Nothing to be thrilled about. Mexican Scramble: my brother had this, ate it all, and said he was happy. But he'll eat anything, and I tasted it--he was either being polite (as the kid should be) or the doctors were right and he was tragically born without taste buds. And finally, the LEO.. another scramble. Nothing worth more than the 2 bucks it would cost and 10 minutes to make actually AT HOME. This place isn't as expensive as most breakfast joints, but given the quality, it is WAY overpriced. Don't waste your money. P.S. I am shocked and horrified that this place continues to get good reviews. Either these people need to get out more or they are the friends and relatives of this establishment. Seriously, this place is GROSS, and for no service at all, you're expected to pay quite the gratuity to the crazy, nasty servers. read more

This place is packed on Sunday mornings, but we were in the neighborhood and were ready for some good homemade food. It was crazy busy but we did not have to wait long for our table near the front. It was cold so we chose to sit inside. There are a few small tables outside though. We got our order taken right away and the server was very friendly. Homemade Cafe is a small place so it was a bit noisy since every table was taken which is a good sign. We did not have to wait long to get our brunch. I had the very cheesy cheese omelette, and a nice portion of very hot home fries, nicely crunchy and well seasoned, perfect! Everything I ate was wonderful. My wife had the eggs benedict with salmon, and she really liked it. Great service, really awesome food, and fair prices. We will be back next time we are in Berkeley and needing a nice traditional breakfast. read more

I started going to the Homemade Cafe back when it first opened, while I was still in elementary school. During High School, when I needed a Micheal Phelps portion of calories just to make it through the day, I used to eat here several times per month and was a recognized "regular." After college, I've only gone a few times a year and so have become just a random patron, but have never seen any of the rude treatment that some Yelp reviewers have mentioned. As for the food, I can whole-heartedly recommend the cinnamon-swirl french toast, especially with real maple syrup. Also, the Homefry Heaven (either with pesto or guac) is incredible. After a meal like that, I feel like I need to be rolled home and put back to bed while I digest all those yummy carbs. Yummm. ;-) read more