We were extremely pleased. The dining room had a perfect cafe chatter. Our waitress was so lovely. The coffee was nothing to write home about but the food was bonkers. The ratatouille was fantastic smeared over the crusty sourdough. The potatoes were amazing. Our servers suggestion of adding goat cheese was amazing. The garlic was heaven. The pancakes had a fluffy and moist texture with a delightful ginger flavor. I would like to eat it all again soon. Highly suggest! read more

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Came to La Note on a busy Sunday morning but we were seated right away. This little restaurant is decorated so cute and cozy, the latte was just okay. Their hot chocolate is really yummy though. The food was sooo good, big fan of the creme pancakes with that berry sauce! read more

La Note - Creme Fraiche Pancakes - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great Brunch spot, with exceptional customer service. The Irish coffee was made to perfection and the ratatouille was so refreshing in the winter. The pancakes were also good, but similar to other brunch spots. I would give it a solid 4.5 (rounding it up to 5) read more

Amazing omelettes! The decor is so unique and the staff were super attentive. I had the omelette with ham (~$19) and a side of brioche toast ($~15). This was probably the best omelette I've ever had. The potatoes were cooked and seasoned to perfection, and interspersed with grilled garlic. The side of brioche toast I had was equally amazing. A bit pricey but it's Berkeley! 100% coming back here for a delicious and fancy brunch. read more

La Note - Omelette Fromage Et Jambon, and a side of Brioche Pain Perdu. - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

La Note has been on my list of "must tries" of the East Bay for a while. My first attempt coming here was for a Friday brunch and to my surprise, the wait was 2 hours at 10 am! Unfortunately, I was short on time that day, so the next time I came here, I made sure to make reservations. I managed to make one for 1 pm on a Monday and to my surprise (again) there was no wait. We got seated immediately (yay!) Now, the service here was definitely...okay. It gives you the vibes of mostly college students working part-time here. I didn't hate the service here but I also didn't love it. Now the food... I got the lemon gingerbread pancake with poached pears and the Cote Sud. I really enjoyed the pancakes, it was flavorful, not dry and the pears were a great addition. For the Cote Sud, I think my favorite part was the "spicy" lamb sausages. The potatoes were more on the bland side. Overall, the food was good but La Note wasn't anything special. I'm glad that I didn't have to wait 2 hours for brunch here. read more

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I love that my friends and I got to experience a little French sliver in the heart of Berkeley this Sunday morning. We put our name on the waitlist and 40 minutes later, our table was ready. We got sat at the table next to the front window and immediately ordered some mochas for the table. BOWLs of coffee arrived and it was so incredibly comforting. We proceeded to order the Omelette de Pommes de Terre, and 2 Cote Ests (one with a Lemon Gingerbread pancake, and one with a Oatmeal Roaspebbery). Whatever you order will be seasoned and balanced beautifully. The MVP of the meal was the Toasted Cinnamon Brioche with Lavender Honey. As my roommate described it, "it's as if I'm a fairy getting drunk off nectar, laying in a field of lavenders". VERY accurate description. I can't wait to explore more of the menu! read more

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Definitely the place to go for brunch in Berkeley! This place is poppin' on weekends, so be prepared to wait! We started off with the Toasted Cinnamon Brioche with lavender honey. I love how it comes out hot and fresh. The lavender honey was really good! We continued the brioche kick with Brioche Pain Perdu...Cinnamon brioche soaked in orange flower water batter, sprinkled with lavender honey. Similar to the Toasted Cinnamon Brioche but a much larger portion. I was impressed with how light and fluffy the brioche was! I wouldn't recommend getting both at the same time (it was a lot of bread), but definitely get at least one of them! Their Oatmeal Raspberry Pancake was also yummy...they swirl raspberry compote on top and dust it with powdered sugar. We also enjoyed the Omelette de Pommes de Terre (potato and caramelized onion omelette, served open face, with Provencales tomatoes and sliced toast)--a nice savory brunch option! read more

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Visited from out of town & saw this was highly reviled on both Reddit and yelp. My two friends & I ordered three different dishes to split and honestly that's the way to go because everything we had was incredible and tasted so fresh!! The service was amazing & the atmosphere was so cozy, added to the quaint experience. Would love to return in the future! read more

wonderful ambiance, food, service. all around yummy. so refreshing to find this place ! read more

La Note - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

Recently dined here with my family. Ambience inside is lovely, and we very much enjoyed the food. Lemons gingerbread pancake is fantastic, and would also recommend the spicy morgues sausage alongside the eggs served over goat cheese. Knocking one star off for service as it was more chaotic than I would have expected given the restaurant wasn't close to being full. read more

La Note is a delish place but not a 2 hr long delish- maybe a 30 min delish kind of place. I've come here 2 times- both times when the place opened (at 8am on the weekend) and was immediately seated. I usually come with a group and have tried a few things: 1. COTE EST- ALWAYS choose the homefries option (and pro tip: as for creme fraiche on the side to dip into it). 1A- I've tried 2 pancakes - gingerbread poached pear and creme fraiche and surprisingly, I liked the creme fraiche one more. The gingerbread poached pear pancake is quite dense and tastes like the holiday season. The creme fraiche is a more simple pancake but it's so fluffy that it makes up for the plain flavor 2. OMELETTE DE POMMES DE TERRE- again, like a i said, their homefries are delish and when you have that + eggs + roasted tomatoes, you really have a perfect combo. They really grilled their onions well too. If you love eggs and feeling savory, this is a strong contender 3. BRIOCHE PAIN PERDU- I'm a sweet kind of gal. I love a french toast but also love pancakes so coming here with friends are great because this order is 1 flavor all around (just 5 slivers of french toast bread - but not eggy). I can't say I would order just this and eat JUST this but it adds great diversity to a table of food. read more

Terrible experience beginning to end. Our server barely gave us the time of day when asking for our order while she was actively checking on the 3 tables next to us (who were white by the way). Never got a coffee refill even though she would walk around with the pot to refill others mugs. And to top it all off, our food got brought out to the table next to us by accident. Our server noticed they had the wrong food, grabbed the plates (they had been at this table for a couple minutes now) and GAVE US THE PLATES. No acknowledgment, no remake, just gave us plates that were just at another table and left. How is that in any way hygienic or acceptable for any place, let alone a place that is supposed to be nice? How disappointing. read more

I have been going to La Note for about ten years. The reservation process has always been a bit iffy. However, I have always excused it because the food and service (once you get in) is very good. I familiarized myself with the reservation process; no reservations on weekends, reservations okay on weekdays. For context, this takes place on a Monday. I called to ask about a party of 9, they told me that they could accommodate a party that large if we were to come in person and put down a name--fair. My party figured that we would be okay splitting up and eating separately. I called and asked if I would be able to split the party and make separate reservations; one table for five people, and one table for four people, and both with separate cards! I was told that it was against company policy to split parties. I then reiterated that there would be separate cards and no interaction between tables, and they shortly told me that splitting parties was against policy. I was not even told whether or not I would be able to make a reservation over the phone. In the past, I have made reservations on yelp on weekdays, and since yelp was not available for use today, I just wanted to verify if making a phone reservation was possible on a weekday. I am entirely disappointed with this experience, and it really sucks to write this since I love this place so much. I recommend this place so often to friends and family. I even try to replicate some of the recipes at home when I'm not able to come in. The food is good, the prices are approachable--I just want to share my experience, hoping that it changes something. read more

You cannot have a better tasting breakfast with a French flair. Pricey? Maybe; but every breakfast dish is sooooo "tasty". The textures and ingredients has just a little "something - something" that brings a smile to my face. Have not tried LaNote for dinner, but will try soon for sure. If the weather is nice, eat in their back yard; cannot beat it. read more

I love this place. They're always busy but they're quick seating you and the food is always yummy.

Review update (tl;dr not much has changed, honestly my love for this place has grown stronger) - Went back for the first time in about 4 years. I think this is my favorite brunch spot in the Bay Area. :) Maybe it's the food, maybe it's the vibes, maybe it's the memories from my undergrad days at Cal and the stories behind the times I've come here. But I love this place so, so, sooo much. We got there around 10 AM on a Sunday, and there was a line to put your name down on the waitlist. I'd say it was because it was Sunday, but it was also Mother's Day, so I think there was even more of a brunch crowd. Once we put our name down, we walked around Downtown Berkeley. There's a ton of cool stuff to check out - coffee shops, bookstores, you could even make a short trip to campus. About 45 minutes after we put our name on the waitlist, I received a text saying that our table was ready. They do waitlist through Yelp. You'll need to put your name down in person, but if you have the Yelp app, you can check what place you are in line. This time, we were seated in the outdoor back patio area. What we ordered: - Cote Nord: This is two eggs lightly scrambled with goat cheese, over toasted levain bread, with homefries and tomatoes. By default, this comes with cream cheese, but you can pay a bit more to substitute goat cheese. The eggs were scrambled well, the provencales tomatoes were AMAZING (cooked in olive oil, with herbs), and the homefries ugh *heart eyes & mouth watering* they've perfected the taste. The rosemary isn't overpowering - it's just right, and the garlic (actual cloves of garlic) is perfectly roasted. - Brioche pain perdue: This was made with cinnamon brioche, soaked in orange flower water batter, and sprinkled with lavender honey. This is my favorite sweet brunch dish anywhere. They give you a pretty generous portion. The cinnamon brioche + orange flower water batter + lavender honey combo works together SO WELL. The texture of the bread is amazing, and once you drizzle that maple syrup, there's no way you can resist. I'd like to try recreating this at home!! I think I've tried several pancakes off the menu, but I'd definitely recommend this over the pancakes if you're looking for a sweet menu item. It was absolutely DIVINE. Pro tip: Make sure to ask for the jam. - Extra order of rosemary-garlic homefries: Why not? SO GOOD. Zazie in Cole Valley, San Francisco is comparable (in terms of vibes and food), but I think La Note does sweet brunch dishes better. Don't let the line at La Note scare you away. It's definitely worth checking out. :) read more

La Note - Cote Nord, brioche pain perdu, rosemary-garlic homefries - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

The wait was around an hour so we decided to grab lunch some where else and get drinks and dessert here instead. While the Cinnamon Brioche Toast and drinks were good were they worth the 30-40 minute wait while seated? Debatable. Between the two mimosas, the grapefruit was better one, definitely recommend it! read more

La Note - Toasted Cinnamon Brioche / Brioche Pain Perdu - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

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trying to eat here was stressful but it was worth the long wait. service was friendly and quick and the food was beautiful and delicious. read more

La Note - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

actually some of the best bacon i've ever had. it's so smokey and thin, almost like it was barbecued!

Itsa Meh for me folks. The service besides getting tabled is p good and the food is pretty capital OK. Eating here is if you wanna meet up with your parents that are visiting for the holidays cause if they're footing the bill then you won't go back slightly disappointed that you could've bought anything else with that money. Been here multiple times thinking I'd change my mind but each time it was like getting elevated dining hall food for double the price read more

After hearing about La Note for the past few years, I'm glad I finally had a chance to try their brunch. It has a beautiful French garden seating in the back for a perfect brunch atmosphere. With a hot tea or espresso, I honestly can't think of a better brunch setting I've had. I would highly recommend the outdoor seating over the indoor if you visit. I waited about 30-40 minutes on a Friday noon for a table of 2 without using the waitlist. The brunch combos were simple and cute, consisting of plates of eggs with toast/potatoes and some form of protein. I thought the strongest food selection were their pancakes, specifically the creme fraiche version recommended by our server (though the other flavors such as lemon gingerbread also sounded delicious). You're definitely paying most of the cost for the ambiance than the food here though, but I would love to come back to enjoy their garden brunch again! read more

La Note - Cote Est with bacon and creme fraiche pancake (pancake was great) - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

The food is very overpriced for what it is a lot of it can be made at home and the service is terrible they put customers in a crowded area and are not accommodating. read more

Good service and food. A bit of a crush with tables so close but charming atmosphere.

Came for my bday meal with a friend!!!! Loved the quiche and tartine mistral (baguette, goat cheese and red peppers) with a side of oven roasted tomatoes!! and the Star of the day was their outstanding coffee cake!!! warm, walnuts (finely diced) and swirls of chocolate inside!!!! A must!!!! been coming for years and first time indulging!!! service was smooth and pleasant! out back seating was lovely !!!! read more

Fantastic spot! I was visiting San Francisco and a gentleman on the plane recommended this spot to me. It did not disappoint! The coffee, pastry, and our breakfast choices were fantastic! We sat indoors then finished coffee on the patio. read more

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The service was quick! Was given an estimate of 45-55 mins but ended up only being 30 min. The inside is a little crammed but it's in Berkeley so it makes sense. Now the the best part, the food. The pancake was really good not too sweet. And the cappuccino I'm not sure which (all in French) one it was i just asked for the most popular. It was in a small bowl and it was a good amount for what i was paying for. For the cote sud, i shared with my friend because it was a pretty big portion. I did not like the sausage because of the texture and taste but everything else was pretty good! read more

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Having lived in Berkeley for a couple of years now, you always hear about La Note because it is such a popular brunch place. Unfortunately, my boyfriend and I were disappointed when we finally tried the food here. I ordered the cote nord and my boyfriend ordered one of the omelettes. The prices are expensive for what you get, considering the ingredients mainly consist of toast and cheese. This would be okay if the ingredients and their preparation were noteworthy, but they were not. Even their homefries/potatoes did not have a good texture to them. They weren't crispy at all and had a slightly undercooked texture to them. The flavor of the food was average, the cote nord erring on the side of having too much cream cheese and too little flavor. We definitely needed to add some salt to the dish. I don't regret trying La Note; the place itself is cute and the service was quick and efficient. It reminds me of Berkeley and all its quirks. However, I think that there are definitely better options for brunch around Berkeley. read more

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Yummy, charming, pleasant place for brunch with friends or clients. Also a great birthday choice- something delish for everyone, plus bubbly! read more

Food is amazing. Wait times can be extremely long but worth the wait. Our server was amazing! Didn't get her name but we had her this morning in the outside seating area. read more

Dry pancakes lacking in flavor. Good cup of coffee. Pleasant staff. Nice atmosphere. Not sure I would go back for the food.

Was delicious until the mouse started running around and the employee started banging the broom on it to kill it.

La Note is a little one note, but it does do a nice breakfast/brunch if you can handle the wait. If you've been to Zazie in San Francisco, think of this as Berkeley's close cousin. La Note is a favorite French bistro brunch spot with the Cal Berkelely crowd, close to campus, and you can see why it is popular, given large portions, backyard garden seating in nice weather, and classic brunch offerings. Their French provencal bistro vibe inside (think copper pots, bistro chairs, French prints on the walls and roosters and you'll get the picture) is a little heavy handed and some might say cliche. The food is solid and reliable, although not terribly memorable. I have been here a few times and find it a good, honest option for a solid breakfast on a weekday, especially if you appreciate eggs, a baguette and a gorgeous Parisian saucer full of latte. Come weekends, the waits tend towards the ridiculous. I waited it out once, but never again. Its weekdays only for me, when there is often no wait at all. Good options include eggs with their bread loaf and grilled tomatoes, their buttery croissants and their lovely pancakes. read more

My friend and I are so excited to finally get in! The awards on the wall made us want to try everything on the menu but our budget was saying no! So we got the ginger lemon pancakes, eggs, and bacon! The first bite was the bacon it was delicious! The second bite was the eggs, ummmm needs salt and pepper and more salt, little too runny, and lastly the third bite the ginger lemon pancakes, ooookkkk where's the flavor??? Trader Joe's makes a better award-winning box of pancakes! We were so highly disappointed! Never again I will go back. We have no idea, who is giving these awards to this place but they should be slapped with seasonings! I could've spent $6 at Denny's and been happy! I want my $25 back! read more

La Note - Tasteless breakfast! - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

A neighborhood treasure. Great food and service. Always dependable and delish! The brunch is great all day long.

This was a good find on a quick whim . The gingerbread pancakes with poached pear were the best tasting pancakes I've had. The only thing I would change was the pear, it was rather cold and plain which I think a warm caramelized pear would have made it perfect for me. But this is just my preference. My chicken sandwich (poulet grille) had a great taste to it, chicken was perfect and the aioli spread was absolutely tastey. Our waiter was definitely friendly and attentive. The table we were sat at was rather small and also had a wobbly leg but he noticed and made sure to fix it for us. This is something so simple but I really appreciated especially because we did not have to ask! Overall this place was good, location is small and compact but if you don't mind that it's worth a try ! read more

La Note - Poulet Grille Mocha Lemon Gingerbread Pancakes and Poached Pears - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

Before starting off our fun filled day, we needed to fuel our bodies. My date mentioned this place at least 183 times so it must be good. This place opens at 8am so we thought, lets grab brunch at 9:30am because who wakes up at this hour for brunch... As we pulled up, we already notice a line so I quickly entered and placed our name down. A 20 min wait wasn't so bad especially when you scare off the guy standing by the bookstore-- a good laugh makes time go by faster. Cote Est, Lemon Gingerbread - My friend raved about the raspberry pancakes but since he was getting that flavor, I decided to try something different. The flavor was nice and subtle however, the texture was indescribable... it had this gummy sort of paste consistency which made it hard to swallow (insert dirty joke). Cote Est, Oatmeal Raspberry - After being slightly disappointed with my pancake, I tried his and understood why he suggested this place. Now this is a pancake; light, airy, good fruity flavor. Free coffee refills are a plus, and service was great. read more

Reservations highly recommended especially for breakfast. I submitted my name for a 45 minute wait for 4 adults and 3 children and ended up paying for our bill 3 hours later. Did not get seated until 1 hour and 15 min later. Food was amazing but service was very lacking. Had 3 kids in our party who were starving and because of the long wait we ordered a bread basket (Starter bakery bread) which did not arrive until after we almost finished our meal which later was comped. When we sat down we gave our server 3 of the water glasses that were dirty to be replaced, asked for an extra serving of utensils because there was not enough for our party and ordered a glass of orange juice with our meal. When food arrive i had to get up to ask one of the random servers for utensils. However we did not get our OJ until it was time for the check and we never did get a replacement for the 3 water glasses. Because the restaurant charged an automatic 20% gratuity for a party 6 or more, the server was not attentive and forgot what we requested mentioned above. Sad because the food tasted great, though the lack of service left a really bad taste in our mouthes. Unfortunately you can not pay me to eat here again. read more

I was given a $50 voucher for La Note ; I had never been so I invited my best friend and off we went. So it is a French cafe with some twists in what you can get. We ordered quite a range of food and I also bought some pastries to take home to family. Drinks are served in a large bowl as we do in France - yes I am French - for a typical family breakfast. Then the menu as typical real French items along with elevated ones for the Berkeley peeps. I had the brioche French toast and that was so delicious. Service is efficient let's leave it at that. The set up is super crowded , even though I am not traumatized by post pandemic sitting issues , I still did not feel comfortable. But clearly it is a business, more tables , more customers. Bathroom is kept clean ; I am not sure about the rustic look of that specific area. read more

I went here for brunch today with my friends and it was a great experience! Upon entering, we were greeted by one of the employees who asked to see ID and our vaccination cards, which I really appreciated. We were seated inside, and loved the decor and ambiance. For the table, we ordered an Oatmeal Raspberry pancake to share and I ordered the Cote Nord. The pancake was really fluffy and thick and was perfect to split! The raspberry was very delicious and it was balanced and not too sweet. The Cote Nord came with two eggs scrambled with cream cheese, toasted bread, roasted potatoes, and tomatoes. This dish was really amazing! The eggs were really creamy and well cooked (highly recommend adding hot sauce), the potatoes were really flavorful and also came with whole roasted garlic (which was so good with everything else), the tomatoes were well seasoned and delicious, and the bread tied everything together. Service was pretty fast considering that it was pretty busy. Overall, I really loved this place and look forward to coming back! read more

La Note - cote nord - French Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Price: $$ Customer Service: I came here with a party of 6 people on a Sunday and we were able to get outdoor seating within 10 minutes. The customer service here was okay. It was a bit hard to grab our servers's attention as it was pretty busy. It also took us a while to get our food. Food: Aside from the cons of how slow things were, the food was delicious. My favorite was the cream cheese omelette! Overall: I would recommend this place for those who are looking for a cute brunch place! read more

La Note - French Near Me - Berkeley, California