PIQ Bakery

I came here for lunch with my friend, and the food was amazingly delicious! I couldn’t read/​pronounce any of the food so I just pointed to this small pizza with a egg sunny side up on top — every component tasted a lot better than what I would I would find in an ordinary pizza, plus the egg yolk was runny which is always a plus! I would come here for lunch again, but the place is pretty crowded and I feel like the food is a bit pricey for my college-​student budget.

Little quaint Italian place in the heart of downtown Berkeley. Food and drinks are reasonably priced + 2 floors of seating! Come in here when you are looking for a cozy place to get work done. They have outlets!
I recommend the cannolis! Super yummy!

Came here to study and sitting upstairs, it felt pretty warm. It’s nice that there is a plethora of food items from desserts to sandwiches and pizzas! I love that they have a fresh orange juice machine and also a bunch of canned/​bottled drinks. The lighting upstairs isn’t that great, it kept flickering the whole time I was there and also wasn’t very bright.
The bathroom is clean and large.

Being from Italy, it’s great to find some pretty authentic home food in Berkeley. The low rating comes from the fact that everything there is really overpriced, and that they put cinnamon in cannoli. That completely ruined the taste. PS: Americans: please stop putting cinnamon everywhere! :-)

Great cappuccino and latte. I was very tempted to get food too. The sandwiches looked pretty bomb.

I just love everything about this place. Its wooden, light, airy, perfect for working or reading or chatting.
The coffee is incredible, very smooth and flavorful. I adore their pastries, especially their many chocolate options.

Great coffee… if you want a can of soda save some money and take a limo to the airport. $ 2.50 for a 12 oz. Diet Coke.

Drinks are always well-​made, people working there always polite and organized, and the pastries are fresh. The croissants are not French-​style flakey, but delicious with a taste of orange water. The chocolate ones have two sticks of high-​quality chocolate to snap through. If you order a cappuccino without a pastry, it usually comes with a little cookie.
Coming with kids? There are mini croissants too.
A note, this place is owned by an Italian family, and every time I’ve gone there, I’ve heard Italian either behind the counter, from a customer, or as piped music through the speakers. Feels authentic!

A very nice array of baked goods, sandwiches and pizza, all out on display and waiting on a quick stint in the oven to warm them up. My friend had the prosciutto and cheese croissant which looked pretty good. I went for the breaded fried chicken on baguette, first few bites were good but part of the chicken was tough and rubbery. I think that may have been a fluke and will try something else next time I’m in.
Atmosphere isn’t much, you order at the counter cafeteria style, pay at the register and grab a seat in the somewhat spartan dining room. This is really a place for a quick lunch or breakfast item to go…
Cheers!

If you gotta meet your friend in the East Bay, this is the spot.
Pizza, cappuccino, pastry. Need I say more? Cute dining area, where you can catch up on all the «chisme» without a random weirdo eavesdropping.
Close to BART.
Andddd they played a few Eros Ramazzotti songs while I was there. I died when they busted out «Otra Como Tu». That’s my jam.
4 stars.

Great place to study. The food and coffee are amazing too! The staff normally is very nice and provides good service. This was my go-​to place for a while during winter break to study. Second floor and the window side tables are great work areas. To relax and just enjoy the food, there’s nice outdoor seating and first floor indoor tables.
I personally loves their pizzas and pastries (Napoleon is perfectly both creamy and crunch). But they have a diverse menu with sandwiches, salads, ice cream, etc.

Pane Italiano Qualita’ (PiQ) is a very real, very good Italian-​styled unique casual café with endless free-​form sandwich– and pizza-​type creations, savory tortas, salads, and other less easily classed eatables.
Brainchild of émigré Italian chef Nicki Rivieccio (who has worked with the like of Alice Waters to obtain locally sourced fresh ingredients, such as Nicki grew up with in Italy), it has two floors of dining area. When I was there, the upper level was filled by people working on laptop computers while the lower had a more diverse clientele, and more conversations. (Nikki, I’m told, disabled the electrical outlets in the ground-​floor dining room to urge the laptop-​squatters upstairs, rather than occupying every seat in the house.)
My long lunch was an attempt to try every savory thing offered (still a feeble effort: I sampled a mere four pizzas, two breakfast creations with eggs, and a tomato salad; at least 20 other savory items were on display that midday, including amazing-​looking sandwiches you won’t find at any Bay-​Area chain) while catching up with friends. Coffee drinks, beer, and wine complement the food, which comes out from the basement kitchen daily. A full cornucopia is presented daily by late morning (as we experienced) and when, as usual, Nicki is in town, unusual or experimental offerings usually appear too, and the kitchen is happy to «spin» custom pizzas or other things on request.
Did I mention the dazzling dessert case? We only sampled the brownies (which were good and mercifully compact, after all the savory food) but you could go to PiQ just for dessert and coffee, and still not have space even to sample everything offered.
Truly an amazing place.
Located very near both Berkeley BART station, and the two downtown parking garages west of Shattuck.
(Background details here are by courtesy of an old friend who is maybe PiQ’s #1 customer, having eaten there almost daily since the business opened five years ago.)

Whether you are there for sweet or savory this bakery has it. Delish mushroom cheese pizza in voluptuous slices that are so big, ladies you may want to share. Gentlemen on the other hand your hunger will be handled with ease. The desserts are very rich so be advised. My girlfriend and I bought a few to share with family so we ycould each have a taste test. The lemon pie/​bar was severly lacking .on lemon flavor but still a tasty treat. There was a a slice of chocolate decadent cake that really two bites was more then enough since it was so rich. The chocolate roll with custard. My son liked it. I thought the roll was a bit dry. There were a few others. My favorite part of the visit was the delish coffee. Very smooth and deep. The setting was both frustrating because of all the noise, smells and such. But it was also somehow enjoyable. As if you were watching a live show

This place is nice. I’m here right now. Upstairs and I’m sweatin like a pig. Seriously feels like a sauna right now. That’s the reason why I only come in once a month or so to study. They need to get some fans upstairs… Need a breeze up hurr. They have AC, but the doors are open downstairs, so I doubt they’ll turn them on.
The bakery is alright. A little on the stale side (not fresh), but for under $ 3, it’s still good. Got the custard cornetto. I think this place is good for chatting with friends, but not so much for concentrating.
**UPDATE The AC turned on! PIQ gets an additional star! Thanks PIQ

I had a very well made fruit tart. The custard was rich and not too sweet. The fruit was not excessively glazed and the crust was rich and of the perfect texture.
I had an espresso pulled to the right volume for a double with proper attention to the pour and the final product.

I’ve always liked this place; great pastries and likely good sandwiches as well. I wonder if the standards for food have gotten so ridiculously overboard that maybe over time this place has plateaued while the rest of the pack (i.e. dessert /​pastries /​pizzas /​fresh sandwiches) has risen. The upstairs seating area is filled with students on laptops, but there is ample room for socializing and meeting up.
The most recent dessert I got (a hazelnut /​flour /​chocolate pastry) was decent, though maybe a bit too sweet.
In any case, highly recommended.

I like this place because it’s clean, has nice furniture, and great service. But there is one thing that keeps me coming back every time — the shakerato. If you didn’t already know, the shakerato is a cold glass of energy that will keep you up for weeks! It’s basically espresso shook up with ice and milk, resulting in milky foam and bold espresso. I like it because it has a layer of creamy, sweet foam on top and a robust kick of espresso underneath. Be weary though — drinking this bad boy a minute too fast could leave you in a state of mania and feelings of invincibility.
Anyways, good stuff! Plenty of seating and plugs for studying upstairs too, so voila!

This place is great. I’ve only been here once, and it is a little pricey to eat here for a college student, but I definitely plan on being back here again!
The pizza we had was amazing, and they have a diverse selection of offered pizzas, and all of them sounded great.
The tiramisu was also delicious, (a little dusty on top with the powder so make sure you have water!!) but soooo good.
They have different table styles downstairs as well as an upstairs that you can sit. I’d say it’s a lot larger than the average bakery as far as seating goes. It also seems like a good place for studying, a lot of people were on their laptops or reading.

Came here for a quick pick me up. Beautiful café in the heart of Berkeley. My girl wanted a gelato and the guy working the gelato counter was friendly and professional. Now for me, I ordered a latte at the checkout counter with the unfriendly, unprofessional, young gentleman. I really like the ambience here. But what dampened my spirit was the rudeness in the cashier. He practically dropped the change into my hand without a care when handing it with not even a thank you. I don’t know who pissed in his cornflakes but I don’t care, you don’t pass on your bad karma to your customers!

My all-​time favorite work/​chill coffee shop! This place has the absolute greatest environment to study, with store-​owned outlets & working people (undergrad, but mostly grad or older) all around! I come here — maybe a little too much — when I need to get a whole lot of writing done, and PIQ hasn’t failed me yet!
As for the coffee, PIQ has the creamiest lattes & café au laits with some maaad latte art skills. At $ 2.50 for a large café au lait, this is my go-​to drink to spend a few hours getting some work done. The pizzas are fantastic and super unique too! The hipster wooden boards they come on and their colorful toppings make for a great photo opp!
Note: for bathrooms — get the keys from the first floor & then go to the basement to find them!