Cafe Talavera

Every time I go I love it. When I do the aimless wander thing at lunch, I always end up here.
Makes me happy.

I dropped off the wife at work and found this little café on Frank Ogawa Plaza offering South American (Venezuela?) style empanadas for breakfast. I’ve had pretty good empanadas in Raleigh (Bolivian) and Boulder (Argentinian) of all places. I’m not sure if there are regional differences in style.
Today they only had spicy chicken empanadas. Add an organic black coffee and its an under $ 6 breakfast. For me, the chicken filling was good — moist and flavorful. I felt it had too thick of a crust though — flakey and crumbly. Maybe to the point where the ratio of crust-​to-​filling is too high. Not bad overall, so 3 stars.
The place does look to have a pretty interesting lunch menu. If you do decide to have breakfast here, they do have combos with eggs, fried plantains, and black beans at a bargain price.

This place is a gem! Amazing food and consistently good. Great breakfast special! 2 eggs, plantains, beans and tortillas for under $ 5!
Fresh food, great flavor! I love their tacos, Tortas, potato cakes, empenadas and chips!

Time: 11:52am/68°F partly sunny
Purpose: On my way to Alameda for a schedule meet up. Wanted something light with protein to tie me over time being.
Ambiance: Located at Frank Ogawa building place is just hidden opposite side of Broadway. This cake batter interior wall place with a couple of face mask décor has only inside seating. Building structural support beams run through with a V-​shape. Theres a six person front window seating for people watching. The rest are all put together table set up for two to four sits thirty. Chairs are very comfortable as they’re contour spine hugging bamboo like design. Utensil area with self help water dispenser set up nice and tidy. The counter area with stand alone open fridge fill with beverages. There are no huge hanging menu overhead. Menu are seen laminated stack in container. Hard to spot at first. Behind counter is kitchen and prep area. Music genre (Raggaeton) Vico C. Con Eddie Dee. Medium volume not overly loud, but still can manage a normal chat.
Staff: Two girls and one older lady behind counter could be owner. No problems here as I ask if, I can get taco without rice, bean, and fixings. They told me yes, its possible, but price just a tad more. I was ok with it, told them yes, thats fine. Front clerk girl ask if I wanted mild or hot sauce? Double or single tortilla? Didn’t expect it, but nice that they ask me first to prevent a re-​do.
Cleanliness: Grade A, no visible problems here. Place is clean with posted health department (Pass) sign. Self help utensil station organized.
Eats/​Drinks: Two tacos chicken and pork $ 2.75 each. Very tasty freshly made with love. Both tacos had generous meat portions without being dried out or flavorless. Didn’t care for the grilled onion/​pepper, but it made a difference. Later, I found out they use grass fed kobe beef here. Which is even better considering the price point that is. Chicken were grilled perfectly no graying or doughy looking (processed) just fiber strands breaking apart when eaten. Fantastic tacos made with love and fresh ingredients.
Main Features: The $ 8.25 special lunch plates (changes daily), taco plates all $ 8.45 across the board.
Products/​Services: Quesadilla, torta, taco, salad, combo plates, sides, soup, flan, bread pudding, banana bread, chocolate cake, assorted can/​bottle beverages. House made salsa verde picante. Kobe beef. Open M-​F lunch only 11am-​3pm, takes plastic.
Punch Lines: Friendly, efficient, inexpensive, pleasing flavors, open for lunch only, close early, kobe beef, kitschy décor, choice of tortilla (s), single purchase, better than average, drool-​worthy, laid back, well-​prepared, can’t go wrong, casual and delicious, unpretentious, satisfactory, within steps from Bart/​transportation.
Tradeoffs: Its proven that their tacos are good enough, but strangely no deals for taco Tuesday are seen. Successful enough not to offer deal.
Final Thoughts: In the beginning, I almost didn’t walk in. The reason was because proximity of downtown serving office crowd during lunch. Anyone who works in Fi-​Di area knows how that is. They want to serve you what ever they’ve just to make a buck. Most places that close early don’t stock up on ingredients as much. No reason to and I don’t blame them. Why I came? Well, I saw Victor G’s, Ruthie V’s review, and Ed U FTT. Base on those accounts, it convinced me to go.

I pass this place often since it’s on my way to my dentist. Of course that means I haven’t stopped in because I would have just flossed to make sure the hygienist doesn’t scold me unnecessarily. However, this one morning after my appointment, I had time to stop by on the way to the BART station before getting into the office. I honestly thought it was just a place to get a cup of coffee and maybe a bagel if I wasn’t feeling too constipated. Too much information? Sorry. Anyway, much to my surprise, this is a tiny café that serves small Venezuelan plates for breakfast.
I guess I could have guessed it had a Latin American bent had I looked at the overhead mural. I’ve never been to Venezuela since Wikipedia states some scary statistics on the number of murders and robberies there, but at least they have the most former Miss Universes. As you can see, my knowledge is severely limited, and among the very few options for Venezuelan cuisine in this city, I’ve only been to Pica Pica, which was successful in eliciting only a middling fondness from me. The menu here is small with the $ 3.75 Empanadas particularly tempting.
They come in three variations — spinach-​feta, bacon-​potato-​sharp cheddar, and chicken-​corn-​poblano chile-​Monterey jack. Next time, definitely next time. Instead, that morning I went for the $ 4.50 Cachapas de Jojoto, a pair of specialty corn cakes with green onion and ladled with a chile crema, corn kernels and queso garnish (photo:
). It was a bit bland for me with little guidance given by the preoccupied staff on how to spice it up. Still I’m intrigued and probably don’t have the steely courage to make it to Caracas myself, so this may do in a pinch.
FOOD — 3 stars… uniquely Venezuelan breakfasts served here though I may have chosen the blandest of the dishes
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… except for the mural, it’s a pretty generic café space
SERVICE — 2 stars… rather indifferent even as I asked for a recommendation
TOTAL — 3 stars… Oakland may be safer than Caracas… I think

Omg the best breakfast in the vincinity of Ogawa Plaza! Bacon potato empanadas are incredible. Breakfast special with 2eggs/​fried plantain/​tortilla chips, black beans = delicious and perfect. Good strong organic coffee too!
Close super early which is sort of a bummer.

Today I had my second lunch special here and everything is good! Just two complaints i wish they would give more beans and rice!
Three bites and its gone. For the best value providing a little more would be the right thing to do. Offer a different salsa cause the one provided has no flavor other than ‘burn’ your mouth!

I love this place. Everyone is so sweet and the cook gets down in the kitchen! Sad to say, I have the steak chimichurri almost every day. I can’t help it, it is delicious. I love the potato that they give with it. I’ve also had the mole quesadilla and that was delicious as well!

Yay, daily lunch specials with free agua fresca. :) Breakfast (eggs, beans & plantains) is great. Coffee is superior. :) Nice folks, too! Right next door to Saint Harridan (and Laurel Book Store) in downtown Oakland.

Seriously, what a gem! I am writing the review for breakfast only, and I’m obsessed with the fried egg, with the yummy sauce drizzled over it, plantains, beans and warm corn tortillas wrapped with love and ready to go. My coworkers have ordered the lunch, and rave about it.

Did we go on a bad day? Perhaps.
They ran out of ever.y.thing.
They had no empanadas. The little potato patties that were supposed to come with my meal were also out (I got beans with my salad instead!!!). There were no sandwiches. There was no agua fresca. So that special that was advertised on the street that said any lunch item with agua fresca was $ 8. I paid $ 9 for just the lunch. Irritating.
I got the mahi mahi tacos which were like fish sticks in a taco. Not good.
My friend got the tostada salad which was a slightly baked spinach green tortilla. So it wasn’t crispy, but it was a semi flacid bowl shaped wrap. And do ‘authentic’ places really use spinach/​tomato tortillas?
They also use meh tortillas on the taco.
Also, it is not hard to find. It’s right in the plaza. Come on people, stop making this sound like a hidden gem.

The food was very yummy and had a reasonable price but I will not be ordering any café drinks from here anymore. First time I ordered a latte, the whole freaking cup was straight foam, and I ordered a Chai, with no foam the next time and still had a cup full of foam :/​not to mention the lady seemed inconvenienced to take my order and give me my food and drink each time. didn’t feel very welcome and disappointed with my drink but overall 3 stars for having good food.

Yummy empanadas, I had a spinach/​feta and a potato/​bacon/​cheddar. $ 7 for two! I will definitely come back :-)

I have had both breakfast and lunch here.
I ate dishes I couldn’t pronounce.
I tried things I thought I wouldn’t try.
And why?
Why here?
Because every goddamned thing I’ve had here is SO GOOD.
EVERY.
GD.
THING.
Um, they have a «traditional Guatemalan breakfast.» This is my new favorite thing. And the empanadas are amazing.
Today, I got a latte and assumed it’d be good, but not great. Guess what? IT IS GREAT!
This was a very good start to my day. Thanks, Café Talavera!

This place is a great diamond in the rough I feel. Chimichurris are awesome as well as the empanadas. The menu is kinda limited which allows them to focus on quality food. It’s also very affordable compared to other places nearbye. Hopefully they can stick around for a while.

Great addition to the Plaza. Food was really good, service was great and the price was right! Had enmoladas special. I had never heard of this dish (basically a chicken enchilada with mole sauce instead of the regular red sauce). But it was super good, the rice and beans that accompanied it were kinda meh, otherwise it would have been 5 stars. The special also includes delish agua fresca. all for just $ 7.50. pretty awesome deal for the quality and quantity of what u get.
1÷22÷15 Update. Had to add a star. This place is terrific. Had their breakfast this morning and it was awesome. Eggs cooked to order, refried black beans, plantains and tortillas. sooo good !!! and only $ 4

Just had two more small empanadas & great coffee. The green sauce was a lot hotter than last time so be careful if you can’t handle the heat like me. I think my lips would melt off.
This time I had spinach & feta and a potato. I’d order the spinach one again but no the potato since it’s supposed to have bacon but I can hardly taste or see it.
I’ll be going back to try the fish tacos for lunch. I asked the lady if she had a take out menu but she said they are currently changing it so I’ll have to wait.
I tried to study the menu there and there are a few other items I’d like to try such as the masa cups filled with chicken & shredded beets. The fresco (honeydew juice) looked amazing in the glass vat so that’s on my list as well.
I love this little place a lot because the elderly cook behind the counter reminds me of my grandmas who were always cooking and enjoying it!~

Café Talavera wasn’t easy to find. it’s almost straight across from city hall. (or on the back end of the Awaken Café building
offering mexican eats, coffee, aqua fresca
eats: Talavera Tacos de Mahi Mahi (7.95)
–fish in panko breading, chili corn, pico del gallo, in non-​gmo tortillas.
fish flavorful, breading barely noticed.
–small daps of black beans and tasty white rice.
–made to order.
–not sure if it’s on regular menu, fish taco highlighted on post in front window.
crumbs:
–not the usual taco, burritos here,
–every item is exotic, probably tasty
–closes at 3, not open weekends.
good value.

I was so impressed by this café! I’m pretty hard to please on places like this but the food and service was spot on. I had heard a lot about it from friends who work near the café so I decided to check it out with a friend of mine who works in downtown Oakland.
Walking in, the first impression was very clean and up to date. There was definitely a welcoming feeling from the staff. The menu and ordering takes place up front at the register which I actually prefer because it keeps things moving and I know everything is paid for and now I just have to sit back and relax. The menu had a great range of options and was priced appropriately. The woman at the register and the chef were very pleasant and informative on the menu. The menu offers a wide range of Latin food which I really enjoy. She offered my friend a taste of their mole sauce when he was undecided as what to order. He went with the mole dish and I got the mahi fish tacos. Both plates were great and portioned great.
Overall this café is a hidden gem. I will definitely return. It’s in a great location in the middle of Frank Ogawa Plaza and has very tasty food. Check it out! I’m certain you will like it.

Bright yellow cheery walls, lunch specials, Latin American food (not sure if there is a concentration tho)… count me in!
You don’t really get «served,» there is a water dispenser and condiment table on the side so you pretty much help yourself and take your time. The cashier was super friendly and answered any questions I had.
I had the Chimichurri Sandwich (that was included in the lunch special) that came with your choice of meat (chicken sausage or steak), organic salad with mango vinaigrette, potato soup, and cantaloupe agua fresca. A painted wall reads «Made fresh daily,» so I am assuming nothing is pre-​cooked… cool. Total came out to a little less than $ 9.
Agua fresca: Blended cantaloupe with water and ice, possibly some sugar/​syrup added because it was SO sweet. Had to water it down but it was pretty good.
Salad and vinaigrette: small portion of greens with one sliced cherry tomato, fresh and tasty.
Soup: Hearty broth with lots of potatoes, carrots, celery, and corn! Really yummy and filling.
Sandwich: YUM! Very fresh, soft roll with chimichurri sauce, a halved chicken sausage, and sauteed bell peppers. Great blend of flavors and textures — the bell peppers were cooked and seasoned perfectly. The sausage was a bit dry for my taste and there could have been a little more sauce but overall I was very happy.
I have passed by here a million times without coming in and it was a great choice! I have seen restaurants come and go in this particular space but I think Café Talavera is here to stay :)