Only had one picture because I went alone just to kill time BUT it was such a pleasantly surprising experience. The bartender was SO NICE and friendly - carefully suggested the menu and ACTUALLY made one of the most to-my-taste hojicha latte ever - creamy with half & half and well-balanced. There were seatings and good lighting so it turned out to be such a nice wait zone since I randomly just walked in and didn't expect anything at all. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Hojicha LATTE - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

First time going to this one of many coffee houses on Solano Ave. I was excited to see they had some specialty flavors like ube and black sesame. I got the black sesame expecting it to taste rich and sesame-like, such as Kaizen in San Mateo, which kind of sets the bar for specialty lattes. I was disappointed that I spent 75 extra cents over the price of a regular latte to get a black sesame latte that tasted essentially exactly like a regular latte. The black sesame flavor was completely undetectable. Not sure if this was a fluke or what, but still disappointing. read more

Ordered two drinks- black sesame and ube latte. Black sesame latte rating: 3/5. I couldn't taste the black sesame at all, mostly tasted like a vanilla latte. But the coffee itself was pretty good. Ube latte: 3/5. My boyfriend got the Ube latte. I'm actually not a Ube fan, but it tasted pretty good. It had good amount of Ube flavor to it. Bagel with lox cream cheese: 3/5. Wasn't expecting much, just needed a snack. It was a Boichik bagel. Pretty solid, but slightly on the smaller side for the price. The cafe itself has some tables. I did visit at 5pm on a Saturday and it wasn't busy. It is a cute little cozy shop. The prices are a little high for the sizes. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Black sesame latte, ube latte, bagel with lox cream cheese - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ordered 3 lattes, 1 iced black sesame, hot ube & regular latte. Ube latte 1/5 - looked like ube but did not taste one bit like ube. Black sesame 1/5 - tasted like a regular latte like how other reviews mentioned, no black sesame flavor whatsoever Regular latte 3/5 - decent, coffee was pretty good Service was good, small cafe. Good ambience. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Ive had them at the palo alto farmers market before and have always wanted to come back. I really love their decaf americano. Its so smooth and one of the best decaf coffees ive had. Their pastries are also amazing and made by the same girl at all locations- i cant remember the name but she's so talented! Its one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, and we also had the raspberry donut too The ambience was really peaceful on a Sunday morning while we were on our way to the farmers market. Def a cute little pit stop if you're going on your way there! read more

See all

Cute little coffee shop right on Solano Avenue. The barista was very friendly and made a great oat milk latte. They offer a great selection of interesting pastries as well. read more

They're probably right to close at 4PM every day, but if they would just stay open until at least 6PM, I might be more of a regular here. After all, it's a much needed coffee spot where facing the line at Peet's is your likely alternative. They also offer quite a small bites menu, very carb heavy starting with the locally popular Boichik Bagels with various spreads and toppings. They also offer toasts, egg bites, and of course, pastries. I appreciate they set up counter seating and a few sidewalk tables. However, since I've been here only close to closing, seats were usually occupied by immobile derrières. Because I am a latecomer, I usually get a simple $5 Drip Coffee simply because sweetened lattes don't appeal to me unless I'm on vacation (Photo). I have to say service has been wildly variable here. I was greeted by a chipper barista on one visit but then another time, ignored by a surly one resentful of handling the multiple orders before me. Oh well, at least she got to go home at a reasonable hour. COFFEE - 3 stars...an inoffensive cup of joe AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...they do what they can with the limited space SERVICE - 3 stars...I'll split the difference on this one TOTAL - 3 stars...more for morning sippers RELATED - Exploring Solano Avenue? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/eyjAJU1VZv read more

See all

The normal coffeehouse I visit on Solano was late opening this Saturday morning, so I decided to drive up Solano and see what I could find. SO GLAD I DID!!! Signal is a small spot but with a big punch! I'm always happy to find a spicy/Mexican mocha and they have it. Fairly mild with cinnamon as the spice, but still warming to start the day on a cool morning. The big surprise was their pastries! Raspberry glazed lemon poppy scone?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! Soft and not too sweet. Only wish I had asked them to heat it up. Just a good reason to return another day. And when I do, I'll be sure to order ahead! And also try their ube latte!! Www.signalcoffeeonline.com read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Raspberry glazed lemon poppyseed scone - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

These guys are at the foot of my driveway. Dangerous territory -- I could basically live there, and sometimes I do. The staff is super sweet and the coffee is great! I hang out there even though it sometimes means squeezing in between other happy patrons. And I'll do it again and again! read more

My morning is not complete unless I stop at THIS Signal for my extra hot dulce de leche latte. Audrey always greets me by name with a smile that warms my soul and Brittany's perfect pulls warm my belly. I go to many coffee shops around the country as I travel a ton for work busy this is truly one of the best around. It's cozy and bright and I've had meetings and hangouts here so basically the perfect spot for everything. Definitely check it out if you haven't. Highly recommend it. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great little spot hidden on Solano. I had the Ube latte, had a great creamy texture due to the richness of the Ube. It wasn't too sweet and kept a subtle flavor. They also have a great selection of coffee beans for the enthusiast and it comes with a free 12 oz coffee! read more

See all

This coffee shop is always here for me with great coffee and other interesting coffee concoctions. Good tunes, food people, tasty treats.

Amazing service on the Solano Ave location! Macchiatos are delish. Service is fast and staff is always friendly. Promote them!

$12.50 and 20 minutes for a three bite breakfast sandwich, with just egg, cheese, and slaw. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Breakfast sandwich - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

We love Signal coffee! The coffee itself, the barista's, the customer service and music are all fantastic.

Signal coffee has great coffee. But this is Berkeley California. There are a ton of good coffee shops. There's lots of good coffee. But nowhere else has Audrey and Kylie. These two coffee maestros I see every single day (sometimes twice a day, my wife and I have a terrible caffeine addiction, pray for us). Audrey and Kylie are efficient when they gotta be efficient but, when there is a little bit of a slow moment they make great conversation. At Signal the coffee is always great, the ambiance is nice (can't go wrong on Solano) but the service is incredible. The service is why I come back, I feel comfortable here. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Best on Solano ave! The coffee is excellent. The people are great. It's always good to find indie local coffee.

False advertisement: I walked half hour to make it to Signal Coffee by the advertised closing hour, made it, but to my surprise they were closed. Staff leaving the shop explained it's now open only til 3:30pm (downgrade). But they didn't care to update their advertised hours on Yelp as a sign of respect to customers. EDIT in response to business owner's reply: The reported incident was yesterday, Nov 12th. Opening hours were definitely not updated and still showed 4pm closing time, since I checked before committing to the half hour walk to the cafe. I see they have now been updated. read more

Mexican Mocha (iced) $7.50 EI porteno Empanada 8.50 With tax and tip: $17 Was it worth it? Mexican mocha was good. I asked for one pump of the Mexican mocha to lessened the sweetness. It has all the spices. I wonder if this would have been better hot. The ice version was tasty. I think the price is a bit too much for me. Likely, I won't order it again. The empanada was delicious. I ordered the chard and gruyere one. There are three other ones. (See photo of menu). It was a bit burnt and when I turned it over, a part of the bottom was missing. I'm guessing it stuck to the oven pan. Despite all that, it was still yummy. Would I order it again? Since I don't come here often, I'll try another kind empanada. The price is a bit much for me. This a cute coffee spot. There is seating inside and out. I'm glad I came here a nice and sunny day. read more

See all

I came here before lunchtime and it's such a cute little coffee shop on the Solano. The service was quick and the barista were friendly. I ordered an iced ube latte with oat milk and the ube flavor was pretty subtle. It wasn't too sweet, which I liked. Sometimes I order ube lattes from other places and it's overly sweet but here, the sweetness was just right! read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Iced Ube latte with oat milk - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Made a mobile order on our way over and stopped to pick up, and our drinks were all ready! The prices are fair here and it didn't look like they charged for alternative milks which is awesome, and I wish all coffee shops did that! I was a little confused by the black sesame latte, I almost went back in to ask if it was a plain latte on accident. But we tried it first and I guess it did have a faint roasted flavor from the black sesame but the lack of color threw me off since it looked different for the hot version in the menu photos. It was a good drink but could've used more of the black sesame flavor. My Hojicha was really good though and it was a good call on adding the cold foam to balance out the roasted flavor, so I thought it was worth that extra 50 cents for the add-on. Overall pretty good drinks, I wish we got the ube instead of black sesame, so I guess we will just have to come back again! read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Black Sesame Latte and Hojicha with Cold Foam - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

I went here today to get the milk bread cinnamon roll that they advertised. I paid $7 and it was STALE. Yuck. They should not sell stale pastries. Shame on you read more

- cool friendly barristas - coffee beans you have never smelled before - gluten free muffins Laid back and sunny read more

Even though I cannot wait for the downtown Berkeley location to open, I am pleased that there is a location in Berkeley. This is my second visit after the Alameda location. I can't remember what I ordered in Alameda. Signal was a recommendation from a coworker who loves the drinks and pastries they outsource from different bakeries. I personally am a fan of Starter Bakery so any time they're one of the providers, I usually try one the pastries. Everything I've had is pretty solid. This time, though, I wanted to try something different so I got the *breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese)* from Model Bakery and the *strawberry pop tart* from Souled Out Bakery. I think the pop tart was probably the best pastry I've had so far. It's not overly sweet but the jam filling was tasty and the pastry was not overly flaky where you're having to constantly flick off flakes from your shirt. I also ordered an *oat milk chai* and I thought it was ok; it was more spicy than sweet which I prefer but I still have yet to find a suitable replacement for Rasa ever since they closed. I'm still on the lookout though! Overall, I think this is one of my new favorite cafes for the ambiance and food. I'll have to try more drinks to decide if it can outdo the already many delicious lattes all over Berkeley. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Chai with oat milk - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

This place is a Berkeley hidden gem! Signal Coffee is a small and quaint coffee shop located on Solano Ave in Berkeley. I went on a late Sunday morning and there was no wait. The staff were super friendly! There are a decent amount of food and drink options on the menu. I love trying new lattes so I got the Dulce de Leche latte. The taste had a hint of cinnamon and it was not too sweet. I appreciated how the coffee was still the star of the latte and that it was not too milky. I got a chard and gruyere cheese emapanada that was delicious! It came with a side of salsa and it was served warm. There were some limited seating options available inside and outdoors. I did not have too much trouble finding parking and there were usually spots available within a couple blocks of the place. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - dulce de leche latte - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Sadly wasn't a fan. Was so excited to check this place out but the Ube latte didn't taste like much and the milk bread cinnamon rolls were hard and dry. read more

Such a fuego coffee shop. Literally come here all the time with my daughter and it's 10/10 every time. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is your sign, or signal, to visit Signal Coffee Roasters! Along with being a cute cafe addition to the area, they also roast and deliver their coffee. You can find small-batch coffee here along with their specialty beverages and baked goods that can satisfy many! As a cafe connoisseur, I wanted to try Signal after seeing their specialty beverages. Compared to other cafes, Signal is on the smaller side. There are bar stools inside plus a couple of tables outside. Most diners take their drinks to-go, which is what we did. The baristas are efficient with the ordering process and getting your drinks out but not much interaction aside from that. As someone more of a tea lover, I couldn't pass up their tea lattes! My companion and I shared their Iced Hojicha Latte with Oat Milk. Their Hojicha is extremely strong and tea-forward, it's less sweet or roasted than other drinks. We also got a Matcha Latte with Oat Milk. Both drinks weren't balanced well between the tea and milk proportion. It wasn't mixed well and didn't feel like a latte or complement one another. I wouldn't order their tea going forward but try their coffee instead. They have a reasonable selection of typical coffees, specialty drinks, and teas. You can alter drinks depending on syrups and dairy alternatives. If you're in the Albany and Berkeley area try getting a caffeinated beverage here--easily accessible off of Solano Ave. with street and metered parking. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Hojicha Latte (Oat Milk) - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Love this Signal location-especially the kind baristas! They are attentive and efficient even when it's very busy.

I'll admit I've been on a bit of a Yelp hiatus as a new member of the two under two club. What better place to inspire me to get back into it than Signal Coffee?? If it keeps me caffeinated and tastes great, I'm happy. We are fortunate to have many fresh coffee options in the area. I like Signal because they have excellent pastry options to accompany their caffeine, including empanadas. My first time here they gave me a broken cookie on the house!!! It made a great impression; the broken cookie is just as delicious as the whole one, and I highly recommend it (lemon). I tried their ube latte on that first visit, which was not sweet but was flavorful. The beans they use are fantastic. On a separate visit I had just a latte and it was also made well. There's not much space indoors or outdoors so this may be a better option for picking up or enjoying on a stroll in the area. It's on Solano, so finding parking on the street outside can be hit or miss, but there are plenty of side streets to park on. Happy this place has joined the neighborhood and I hope it sticks around! read more

See all

Signal Coffee is a Gem!!! You can bypass the now very corporate Peets up the street as just a couple of blocks west is our locally owned coffee shop, complete with carefully selected local baked goods , nice outdoor sidewalk seating along with counter seating looking out their big window to Solano Ave. And they have WiFi for those who can't get off of their phones. The frosting on the cake is their offering of delicious hojicha latte - not easy to find in the plethora of the matcha craze though they also offer matcha lattes. In case you're unaware, hojicha is the roasted stem of the Japanese green tea plant . It is lower in caffeine and does not taste like sencha or matcha. Hard to describe so give it a try! So if you want excellent coffee ( they do a great job with cortados ), or the teas I noted, and would enjoy relaxing on the mellow Solano sidewalk, go to Signal Coffee ! And you will be Supporting a Local small business! read more

Ordered a mocha this afternoon. What I got was 98% hot milk, 1% coffee, and 1% chocolate, maybe. Waste of money. If you don't know how to make a mocha, I suggest you go up the block to Peet's. Maybe they can show you read more

The signal is loud and clear at SIGNAL Coffee Roasters, where the coffee and strong and the accompanying bites are even stronger thanks to the local partnerships that they have developed over the years. Located on a busy section of the bustling Solano Avenue at the junction of Tulare Avenue near the Berkeley Hills, SIGNAL Coffee Roasters comes from owners Brendan Doherty and Rebecca Brown and this is the second of their current three locations. SIGNAL's Coffee Roasters claim to fame in the competitive world of coffee roasting is an emphasis on approachable natural-process coffees sourced from great farms, communities, and smallholders that are doing things sustainably right. With this practice in mind, co-owner Doherty brought his passion for building tube amplifiers while considering communicating with the often far-reaching signals that coffees provide from the farm level all the way through to the cup, hence the name SIGNAL Coffee Roasters. I have had the opportunity to try SIGNAL's inaugural coffee shop in the island city of Alameda, where they bought and completely gutted and upgraded a former bank into the coffee shop of their dreams, and I was so thoroughly impressed with everything that I experienced. A visit to this second shop was equally impressive, as they have taken over the former Brazilian Bread and Riveter Cafe and turned it too into a small yet accessible coffee shop with cafe seating in front. When I arrived I managed to get lucky with a hour-long parking spot that required no payment, and I was even luckier that only one person was in line when I ordered. The menu at this location of SIGNAL is separated into their coffee drinks which range from drip coffee to that of chai, matcha and hojicha beverages. And the food menu at SIGNAL is equally as impressive, as they feature English muffins sourced from Model Bakery, Bagels sourced from Boichik Bagels, and Empanadas sourced from El Porteño Empanadas. With so many options to choose from, I had to think fast on my feet, and there was something about their Mexican Mocha that was calling my name. After I asked their associate what their top selling food was, she said their bagels were some of the best, so I ordered their Bagel with egg and cheese. And to top off my meal, I also ordered a Morning Bun for good measure. My total bill was $21.87 with tax, but before gratuity, which was on the pricier side, but what I got with my order made the price tag all worth it. It would take a few minutes for my coffee and my bagel sandwich to be prepared and it was well worth the wait, as I assumed that I would eat in the car or when I returned home, but I would have none of that since the weather was warm enough and their cafe tables were cleared. First my Mexican Mocha was served in a sixteen ounce cup and was a rich combination of their spicy, house-made chocolate, combined with rich handcrafted SIGNAL espresso, and whole milk. My egg and cheese bagel sandwich was warm with every bite and the bagel had a nice crunch to it with a chewy interior thanks to the way that Boichik bakes their bagels instead of boiling them. My first experience with this location of SIGNAL made it loud and clear there is no place better in this area to get an exceptional quick breakfast and handcrafted cup of coffee. I cannot wait to come back and try their Ube Latte and Peppermint Mochas because they are thinking outside of the box when it comes to coffee drinks with a sense of wonder. I am so happy that they made Solano Avenue their newest home as the neighborhood definitely deserves a special coffee shop that's not your run of the mill franchise. They made this space all their own with an eclectic homey vibe that hopefully will be here for years to come, and with another location opening in downtown Berkeley soon, it looks like SIGNAL's domination of the local coffee roasting scene has just begun! read more

See all

Great coffee!! great service! Not giant corporate place. Friendly neighborhood place! Check it out on Solano !

Signal Coffee Roasters opens where Brazilian Bread was. the interior's changed to reflect what their niche is-coffee roasting. though singular in branding, offerings a diverse menu of drink options & bites: boichik bagels, el porteno empanadas, model bakery muffins, starter pastries, mariposa bakes, crispian bakes, and various local bakes on weekends. drink: drip coffee, medium roast (3.5) -smooth, easy sipping, not as bold as a dark roast which wasn't available. eats: "everything" boichik bagel with cream cheese (6) -cream cheese was running, dripping from the bagel, an aberration -nice toasty texture with nice chewiness. 4.5 stars-diverse drink menu, rotating bakes popups drips: -inside seating just for 4 people, outside just a few tables -street parking may be problematic. -menus easy to read, bakes in plain sight in display case. read more

See all

I got an iced dulce de leche coffee & it was SO SWEET. Like dutch bros sweet, you can't even taste the coffee.. I do like that they keep milk options on the counter, so I tried to dilute it with oat milk but... it didn't help. Their crème brûlée donut was FIRE & filled with a cream custard. 10/10 would definitely recommend the donut! read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - dulce de leche iced coffee - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great new coffee shop along Solano. I appreciate the hours that they are open which is usually about an hour earlier than the rest of berkeley coffee shops. Staff are all friendly and more than willing to talk about the various coffee that they sell. Got a latte and an almond croissant. They get their pastries from Starter bakery which is always a solid choice. They also had some donuts, not quite sure from where, but they did look amazing and something I may need to try in the future. Definitely one of the better lattes that I've had in the Berkeley area. And this is a place that I plan on coming back in the future. It was a good balance of creamy and bitter. We even went back inside to ask about some other coffees so that we might purchase in the future to take home. read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Regular latte - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

When I saw that there was a new coffee shop that opened on Solano, I had to give it a try. This coffee shop took over the shop where Brazilian Bread was and they did a nice job with the interior. The downfall of this coffee shop I would have to say is the lack of seating available. Inside, there are only 4 stools where one can sit and then 2-3 tables outside to sit. Just like any other coffee shop, they offer lattes (syrup is extra), cold brews, drip coffee, iced tea, and other cold drinks. They also have merchandise such as coffee mugs, candles, and travel mugs to go with "signal" on it. They also have fresh pastries from donuts (creme bruelee, girl scout, etc), croissants, bagels, and cookies. The person who was working the cashier was very nice and informative on when their beans are roasted, when the fresh beans are out for purchase and what is good to get at this coffee shop. I ordered an iced vanilla latte, a bagel with cream cheese and also pumpkin pie donut. The donut was pretty good, would come back to try out the other donuts they offer. When I received my latte, unfortunately it didn't taste at all vanilla and rather just a latte. I ended up asking for extra vanilla syrup and finally it tasted like a vanilla latte. For some reason my bagel and cream cheese order wasn't in the system so we were waiting a while and finally someone asked if we were waiting on anything else and we let him know that we still had the bagel. He ended up making the bagel with cream cheese quickly for us and we also got a free bag of coffee beans because of the wait. Overall, I would say that the service here is pretty good, when they make a mistake they do apologize for it and because of this I would come back again and give them another chance. read more

See all

Such a cute little spot! The ambiance is nice and relaxing and the workers are incredibly friendly. There's limited seating with only a few chairs inside and a few tables outside, but I enjoyed sitting outside on a sunny day. I got the black sesame latte and it didn't taste too sweet which I liked. I wished the black sesame flavor was a little stronger though. I want to try the ube latte next! read more

SIGNAL Coffee Roasters - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Berkeley, California

I started coming here because they carry my favorite scone from Starter Bakery, but they've been out a few times and the rest of their food and pastry options are extremely good. Prices are a bit high but yummy pastries make it worth it. The coffee is solid too. read more