Cafe Rio

Went to eat here one morning. Food comes out fast and I was on my way to work with my partner. The man making my food DROPS A KNIFE on the floor, and uses it to cut my sandwich in half.
I go to pay and ask the man if he dropped the knife he used to cut my sandwich, giving him a chance to think and be honest– he lies and says no.
I paid, I have no idea why I paid. Took my sandwich, put it on a table and left it there. Trying to send a message of «I’m still paying for it because you made it, but I’m not eating it and you know why.»
Don’t make the same mistake I did. Watch your food being prepared if you decide to go to this place, or don’t go at all if you want to eat food you can trust was handled right.

Wednesday, 3:45 Pm.
Quickie:
+ Food quality
— Hygiene
– Customer service
+ Turnaround
And then???
Did I catch the folks at Café Rio on a bad day? The staff was rude and abrasive.
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Hummus, tomato, cucumber on sesame bagel
— Each bite was mundane; had to be the ingredients.
Constructive comments:
*Option to compost
*Source ingredients

Came in here to buy lotto tickets and guy is rude. He lectured me on how I better have money before I order. So I gave him my direct orders, screwed up my tickets and said I had to take them. First time in this establishment, it will definitely be my last. You would think he would be more welcoming and nicer considering the store would get a cut of any winnings.
RUDE!

Sweetest man working the counter! I ordered a veggie burger tonight on my way home from working in SF all weekend and wanted to split the payment between my card and the $ 10 bill I gave to him. After checking my bank statement after I got settled into my apartment, I saw that he charged me the total price instead of it without the $ 10. I was a little annoyed at first but I called the café to ask if I could have my dollar bill back and before I could even ask he said «I just noticed that you left it here, I owe you ten dollars, you can come pick it up whenever you like» because I guess he works there every day.
A lot of negativity in the reviews, but maybe I’m just stoked that he didn’t try to pocket it or accuse me of lying. I’ll be back for another veggie burger (which hit the spot!!) and my ten dollars, lol.

Nice place for simple old fashion sandwiches, with an unusually large selection of cold drinks. It could be a little cheaper though…

2 stars because this review is JUST for their cappuccino, which would otherwise deserve 1 star. I’m known by my friends as someone who will eat anyone’s messed up cooking, but I literally could not get past the first sip of this. The milk could best be described as the taste of a pool cue, or maybe chalk? I’ve had at least ten generic airport cappuccinos and they were all a full rank above this one. I am shocked by such un-​Berkeley quality. On the plus side, the cashier seemed nice. I didn’t try the cappuccino until I was nearly home unfortunately.

Went in for a single shot of espresso, it was more like a cup of coffee flavored water. Sometimes small cafes can be great but I’d rather eat the ass off a low flying duck 6 ways to Sunday that buy anything from Café Rio!!!

This is a truly down home place. I loved it not busy high section of snacks and drinks. fresh ingredients !! Breakfast all day awesome ! And the man who served me was SO sweet :)

Never had their food, only coffee. It’s good, and there is never a line. People waiting in line at Starbucks at the end of the block — get over here to Café Rio and support some local business would ya?

I’ll never eat their food again. I paid $ 6.75 the most boring turkey «panini». They used the most generic brand wheat bread and turkey, it had lettuce and pesto, but no cheese!!! My mom made better sandwiches than this for me when I was in elementary school!
The two stars I gave where for the decent falafel sandwich and chai latte I had a previous visit.
But if you are interested in a sandwich, go to Sandwich Zone close by. Same price range and 10x better!

I came here at 6AM before my final and the man at the register was quite friendly.
I ordered an omelet which also came with two pieces of toast. The omelet was alright. Quite frankly, there was nothing special about it other than that it was round shaped.
If you’re looking for a quick bite in the morning, I would come here for that. Nothing too special about this café other than friendly service!

My favorite place to study! Wifi is super quick and the service is the best in Berkeley. I mostly stick to breakfast sandwiches and the owners are unbelievably sweet! Roy gives you a tray with salt, pepper, ketchup, tabasco, etc. with your meal and is genuinely happy to serve you. Another plus is that it’s hardly ever crowded.

Quick service, decent coffee (and soy milk is available!).
I came here on a Sunday morning, when almost everything else nearby was closed. All I ordered was a coffee, but the coffee was good, and they had soy milk. I’d rather spend my money at a small mom-​and-​pop store than the Starbucks that’s just down the block from Café Rio.

We always get the best croissant sandwiches here in the morning! They’re hot, delicious, and fresh and I couldn’t be happier with the amazing service we get. The owner is sweet and extremely attentive and goes above and beyond to make sure we enjoy our breakfast!

I think if Starbucks wasn’t so jam-​packed, I wouldn’t have ended up at this café.
The pros would be that this place was super empty with a decent amount of outlets. The owners are pretty friendly. The bathroom is not nasty considering it’s unisex. Oh they sell lotto tickets and scratchers here, not many but a few.
Onward to the cons? They do have wi-​fi here for free, but very weak and spotty. Drinks here are not exactly worthy of their prices, Americano for $ 2.50 tasting like a regular house coffee. If I’m using Starbucks as minimum, then their coffee here is worse than Starbucks for the same price. Food here is overpriced considering how it’s deli ham or turkey with Kraft American singles, unchopped veggies, canned soup heated up, etc. That’s one hell of a premium to pay someone to serve me food out of a package. Bathroom is constantly out of seat covers, so learn how to make your toilet paper temp covers.

I don’t know why but I have a soft spot for this place. They usually don’t get much business and sure their menu items are so random and diverse that you get the sense they’ll sell pretty much anything you can think of.
So why do I continue to eat here? The owner. He always delivers the food to you with all the possible condiments you could ever want. He’ll also ask you if you need anything and once in a while ask if the food was good. Also, if he sees you have a smart phone or a laptop he’ll run over to give you the WiFi password. That’s what I call quality service.
They also have bottled drinks, packaged snacks, Costco muffins! It’s kind of a convenience store merged with a small café.
I recommend:
–bagel with cream cheese (simple. classic. delicious)
–veggie burger (surprisingly flavorful)
I would avoid:
–blended drinks or basically any of their drinks on the menu (overpriced and when you realize that Purple Kow and Starbucks are right next door you’ll regret it)
–pastries (you don’t know how long it’s been there)
Other than that everything is decent tasting but it’s their warm friendly service that has me returning for more!

Café Rio is a modern looking café with average food/​drink/​snack offerings.
eats: lunch special (smoked ham sandwich w/​coffee, 5.99)
–or chips, water, soda, other options too
–ham didn’t taste smoked, just 3 thin slices
–regular mayo, lettuce, tomato, dressing on cold bread.
–coffee average.
–just ok, filling.
\
crumbs”
–smiling service
–ok value, ala carte would be pricey.
–snacks, sodas, expresso also available.

This is my favorite to go place to work. The place is nice and quiet, and the owners are a cute couple that are very friendly. The wifi here is super fast, and the espressos are like a triple shot that get me going in the morning.
If you need a place to hang out and do some work, not like the slow wifi at Starbucks, I highly recommend the place!

The Honest Truth: Small sandwiches, more bread than meat, bread is dry, price is decent ($ 6)
The Details: I needed a quick bite to eat before heading to class and I decided to stop here since it was on the way. I got my sandwich and headed off to class. When I decided to eat it, I was a little disappointed. There were only 3 flat slices of pastrami and the bread was pretty thick. The bread was also pretty dry, so the combination didn’t make it very good. The price was decent (6 dollars including tax), but if you’re near shattuck, there are a number of places that would give you better sandwiches… Sorry Café Rio!

Café Rio. I wish the title would stand up to it’s name.
Am not saying I will never go back here but it’s shame that the really sweet husband and wife haven’t figured out why they aren’t busier.
Maybe the should read their Unilocal reviews.{wink wink}
The place is huge and they have a variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches to your hearts content. Although the prices are quite high for a Mom & Pop café, they do have great service.
They offer free WiFi and really comfortable chairs to relax in.
And they have the most beverages I have ever seen. You name– they got it!
I ordered an egg salad sandwich. By the time I grabbed a bag of chips and decided upon a drink, my lunch was ready. That’s great and all, but do I get to pick my bread or let you know which condiments am allergic too? Guess not. I should of been more specific when I placed my order. Not sure how I ended up spending $ 9.75 but I did enjoy the chair I parked my butt in as I write this Unilocal review!