Espresso Roma

Coffee is alright. Came here after a long day of shopping and eating for a little pick me up. Got a latte (which was crafted very cutely with the foam topping), but tasted kind of flat — I forget which roast we got. Seems like a really cute place to study if you go to UCB!

Great pizza, horrible customer service! The guys working there are kind of shady. I was charged an additional tip on my credit card receipt after I had already signed it. A few weeks ago I tried to place an phone order at around 8:00pm and they simply told me that they were closed and hang up. After looking at their business hours posted on their website, I called back again thinking it was a misunderstanding but no they guy who answered the phone told me that they close their kitchen at 8:00pm even though their website says otherwise.

Awful place. Came there as watching a movie next door. Was told Calzaone will take a couple of minutes. After 15, still not there. My wife had black bean soup. Mediocre at best. Good location, but bad service and attitude. Avoid it.

Summary based on several visits over many years:
–usual Berkeley coffee house fare
–usual prices
–better than average service
Good for this area.

Coffee is good. Pastries and food are good. Don’t allow dogs on the patio, really?

One heck of a hangout space, with super high ceilings, an awning, poster art from Rome (reprints yeah, but still nice), and some other imitation Italian attitude. But geez, the coffees are only decent. To me, better than «Starbucks,» I mean there’s a splash of old world magical fairy dust in the cup, but I got the sense that the baristas are a little slapdash in their preparation. That goes for the pizza, too, if you like cheap pizza with lots of thrown on toppings. But heck, despite the missing of full blown magic, it’s still a good hangout spot. #fistpumping

No dogs allows on the outside patio. Napkin dispensers empty. Good food. Lipton iced tea.

My favorite place to relax and get work done. Also, best WiFi in town!

By far the best wifi connection in the hood. They serve beer (bonus)…good beer (BONUS)…and they are open late on a Sunday. Plus they are nice. I like nice people. Plus a free slice with a pint at hh? Great find tonight. #blessed

Food is good but drinks are not. Drinks taste very bland. Go to starbucks

Espresso Roma is a great place to relax and chat with friends or do some work. For food, I’ve ordered their eggplant sandwich and several pastries (cookies, muffins, coffee cake, etc.), all of which were tasty and filling. For beverages, I drank their regular coffee, lattes, and teas and all have hit the spot: The coffee doesn’t taste bitter or burnt, but just right, the lattes were flavorful and not too sweet, and their teas have always relaxed me. I have also tried their hot chocolate, but I wouldn’t recommend it because it was bland. Not bad, but not that tasty either. I usually just go with a regular coffee, since I need the caffeine boost to get work done, and a sandwich. Also, they offer free water that you can get yourself, so no need to wait in line again whenever you just need water!
In addition, it is a nice and big café with plenty of seating, free WiFi, and a good amount of plugs for laptops, tablets, or phones. The only downside is that some of that tables are shaky and it gets really crowded at times, so moving around to order again becomes annoying, but that seems to happen a lot with most cafes in Berkeley. Also another big plus is that their bathroom has always been clean and well-​stocked. (If you have frequented many Berkeley cafes, you know that most cafes don’t really maintain their bathrooms too well.) There are also cool paintings on the walls, for people that like to be surrounded by art.
Another cool thing: They accept PayPal, so if you prefer to pay with your phone instead of credit cards, this is one of the few cafes in the Elmwood area that takes phone payments.

I like the hot coco, food is good. Would have rated it higher… but just a warning that if you don’t ask for a receipt when you pay by card, they add $ 1 tip without your knowing it. Both my fiancé and myself got charged on separate accounts. We weren’t sure because you can’t see what they enter, but we had the suspicion and were confirmed when we checked our credit cards with their free Wifi (which is a plus too).
Hopefully this review will save you some money. So do yourself a favor, ask for the receipt and tip them when you want and not when they want. I normally tip anyways but this totally ruins their reputation for me. Unfortunately I won’t be coming here again and will warn others about it.

I had a soy milk Chai and it wasn’t too sweet which I liked, but it tasted more like soy milk than it did Chai. I also asked for a single shot in it but I’m not sure if he remembered and I should have reminded him when he asked me what drink I ordered after he just rang me up…
I also tried one of their tiny scone-​looking things which was quite bad. It tasted old and dry. I was so disappointed. Even though there are lots of tables here and lots of outlets along the walls, the place is dingy. The restroom is dirty and it just doesn’t look great inside. Also, the internet was really quite slow and I couldn’t stream a video. No thank you, Roma.

I don’t know why I come here so often. Probably because the 51B drops me right in front, and there’s such a lack of good pizza in the area.
So the pizza: mediocre or miss. And when it’s a miss, it’s a HUGE miss. On the last occasion, the pizza was so soggy I couldn’t even lift the slice without everything falling off. Barely edible and very disappointing.

This is a not-​too-​bad place to get your study on. There are plenty tables in 2 rooms with outlets along the walls, and free wifi. I’m a fan of natural light in my study space; plenty of that here with the large windows looking onto College, and it’s open late.
Coffee wise, I got the caramella latte. The coffee was bitter and probably burnt; $ 3.35 for a small.
I don’t really get that «clean» vibe here though. Especially since there’s only one bathroom for such a big place, and an endless line of users. Scrolling through prior reviews, came across a few mentioning the bathroom… not a good sign if you want to spend a good chunk of time here.
My friend waited two hours in our study session before using the bathroom and came back saying it was gross. I definitely held it the next few hours…

Big spacious, old people and students flock this café. Food is decent nothing to rave about. Lots of coffee drinks, tea, beer and whine. free wifi. Clean bathroom. Y tuna sandwich had too much mayo and event though it was supposed to be grilled my sandwich was cold. The play loud classical music which was not welcomed.

I had a special, turkey sandwich for lunch and it was good. The service was not very efficient. Even though there was only a few people ahead of me in line, it took a while to order. There were 3 people behind the counter, so I don’t know why it was taking so long. When my friend came in, the line was so long that she gave up ordering anything so that we could start talking at the table.

I fear that I’ll come across as a total snob after this review, but here it goes…
This place is cool. Lots of seating and an outlet next to each table on the periphery (that’s like 15 outlets!). The oldish guy who works here is so sweet! Got me to smile at 7:30 AM before my Neuro final :)
I didn’t end up staying as long as I thought I would because this place gave me nightmares of my scary experiences back when I used to go Caffe Mediterraneum. Same mugs, same taste of coffee, same food items (that look GREAT & healthy btw), and same seating style. So if you’re looking for a cleaner/​bigger version of that place — Espresso Roma is definitely for you! However, I like my coffee shop bathrooms extra clean, my working space as minimalist and comfy, and my coffee lightly roasted (the café au lait I got was too burnt tasting). So, I probably won’t be coming back to study here — and that makes for one extra table + outlet! You’re welcome.

I used to come here weekly as a kid, blending in with the crowd with my homework, cup of hot chocolate, and chocolate chip cookie. This place has gone through so many changes since my childhood– from menu items to exterior changes and new additions to the décor inside.
My mom loves the caramella lattes here. I ordered one today and I realized I’m not a huge fan of it. The latte is too bitter in my opinion, despite having caramel in it. The drink got sweeter as I got to the bottom of the cup. I haven’t tried the food here before other than the baked goods they used to have displayed, so no opinion on those. If you’re looking for a café to study at, this place is pretty good for late nights. They also have free wifi here.

This place is perfect for an afternoon of studying! It’s a pretty big space with 2 large rooms. One seems geared more towards students, with lots of outlets, and the other is more «restauranty.» Me and my friend spent our afternoon here today. It’s very bright and open, and it has great food as well! They have free wifi that’s decently fast. It’s in a great location and really close to Ici’s too if you’re craving ice cream on a hot day.
I got the sample platter today. It comes with 3 pre-​made salads of your choice and toasted foccacia bread. I had the curried cauliflower, marinated beets and roasted brussel sprouts. It was really delicious and filling, and the platter was reasonably priced at 7.95.
I’ve never had their coffee, but I definitely want to try their café au lait next time. We’re definitely coming back for future study sessions!