Star Cafe

I liked this place. Been there couple of times already when on my way to work. Very nice people working there, food is tasty and price is fair. I like the sandwiches, tuna the most :)

Great little café near the Doubletree. Cathy is amazing, remembers her customers’ names, gives them true «customer service». I encourage all the SWA crews to leave the hotel and come here for breakfast and lunch! You won’t be sorry. I had the breakfast burrito. It was awesome. Thinking about coming back for the lunch special…

This review is based on the overall experience I had today after visiting this place for a business meeting with a partner, and not just on the quality of food and customer service offered here, which is pretty decent to be honest. Unfortunately, what ruined the good vibe and experience for me was the rude and unprofessional behavior from the person working in the parking lot of the building. I can describe him as an old man with almost no hair and wearing a dark color blazer. If you are the business owner of Star Café, beware of having this maniac person outside of the cafeteria responsible for safety and security, who apparently wants to feel extra-​relevant in his workplace, but for all the wrong reasons.
This individual approached me asking me if I was waiting for someone, which it’s totally not his business. Then he moved on telling me I was on a private property and accusing me of moving my car from one place to another, which was not true at all. Why would I do that anyway? And even if I do so I’m not breaking any rule/​law. Then he got creative and told me he saw a person with the same shoes I was wearing and same car I was driving in another parking spot. Super strange and ridiculous statement, so at this point I started entertaining the idea of talking with someone who is mentally unbalanced, but to my surprise this person in fact works there. I ask him to stop harassing me and he changed the tone immediately. I also told him I could stay in that parking spot for two hours as per the parking sign, and asked him if he knew how long my car have been there, to what he responded: 30 minutes. As I was leaving, I saw him questioning another lady, probably asking about her whereabouts and bulling her to leave the building.
Feel free to report these type of incidents to Laura Hernandez, the property manager of the building, by calling her at 408−487−4178. I also tried to contact her but with no luck. This person behavior is unacceptable and could turn into a bigger problem soon. He’s not qualified to work there and I don’t need to go to Harvard to know this.

I came here because I saw all the raving reviews about Kathy and the pictures of food looked amazing.
Kathy may be just as kind and personable as the other reviewers (who I assume are regulars) say she is to THEM, but as a passing business traveler staying at the hotel across the street, I did not receive such friendly service.
Seems to me like she is very nice to those who come in regularly (and probably built their rapport via tips), but much colder towards those of us who just happen to be in the area. The espresso is also weak. I am giving 2 stars because my sandwich was decent.

In short: If you love super friendly service and superb lunch offerings for a great price, this is the place!
Still deciding between the friendliest lunch or the tastiest lunch in the North San Jose area.
Should you try it: Oh YES. Especially if you want a quick, yummy lunch in North San Jose.
Ambience: The interior has some tables or there’s an outdoor patio with a few iron tables (but beware of bees — we had to move inside after a bee invaded my sandwich for 5 minutes). It’s not upscale or fancy, but it’s a fast, high-​quality deli with lots of offerings. You will eat a solid, filling lunch at this establishment!
Service: You’re greeted instantly by a very nice woman who must really love her job and the community she’s in. I have never had such a happy, friendly, positive person serve me in all my time living in California. Friendly service just doesn’t exist in this area other than at Star Café. You order at the counter and they bring your food out to you at your seat in a few minutes.
Location: It’s a little hard to find, as it’s located in an office building with no large signs or anything.
3 Key Tips:
1) Just follow Google Maps to the address and you’ll find it. If it feels like you’re entering a side/​back door when you come in, you’re at the right place!
2) Sit inside or get takeout to avoid bee invasion.
3) They also have breakfast options from 7 – 10:30am!
Be prepared for a HUGE menu of fun, interesting high-​quality deli sandwich offerings!

My favorite place for lunch. It is a walking distance from work.
The staff is very friendly. The food is made with love and always consistent.

They have a vegetarian soup!
I had the Tomato Basil Mozzarella sandwich. They put an interesting twist on it, which is to have lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and onions as well. Delicious!

The employees are sweet, quick, and attentive.
The café is small, quiet, and clean. They offer a slew of chips, drinks, and even snacks like cup a noodle so you can stock up for your desk.
There is a nice little patio with good shade right outside as well.
I ended up with a turkey, bacon, avocado wrap. It is served warm. Overall it was fine. Candidly I think I’d do better at home myself. The ingredients were fresh, and the bacon had a good crisp to it. It was drippy with a sauce that I couldn’t quite discern, but had negligible flavor. Ingredient quality is on par with your basic supermarket produce. The wrap itself was thin and had nice consistency.
Based on my first experience, come here if you are looking for something affordable, fresh, quick, and simple. No frills sandwiches, soups, and wraps with a warm smile behind them.

I went here for lunch and was bummed that they ran out of their special. However, the food I ordered totally made up for it! I got the sandwich with Avocado and Chicken and totally loved it. I wasn’t a fan of the onions but I easily took them out.
The cashier was so nice! I felt extreme hospitality when I was here, but I really wish they had their special available.

Have had this bookmarked for over 2 years. How slow I was to discover this place even after Michael C. mentioned that it was pretty great when we had lunch together a few weeks ago.
It was last week. I was having a rough week. Work was stressful and I was waiting on my offer letter for a promotion that I thought wasn’t true. I was offered a contracted position at Apple that morning. I was contemplating.
I needed to get out of the office by myself so I drove towards the gym and decided that it was time to try this place. WAZE was not a good navigator but I found it after a u-​turn. I wanted food, something w/​carbs but not too heavy.
I was greeted almost immediately and saw the specials sign before me. Though almost everything on its menu is reasonably priced, I went w/​their special: the turkey, bacon and avocado wrap for $ 6.95. That was my total bill. That includes tax! How cheap, right? I don’t like spending more than $ 10 on lunch. I may be labeled as «cheap» but I do spend responsibly. I work and I have bills. I rely on no one to pay my way.
Anyhow.
The place was still a little crowded. It was after 1PM. I waited about 5 minutes. Not long at all but it seemed forever because I was hungry. The wrap was delicious… fresh and so damn tasty. I was a little sad after finishing it because I wanted and needed more. Really.
The lady was so nice and welcoming.
My new favorite place for lunch.
BTW — at the end of the day, I received my offer letter and I accepted.

I’ll make this short, fair, and to the point:
The Good: All sandwiches are available as wraps. The employees (and who I think is the owner) seem to be very nice people.
The Bad: I was told that making my wrap would take 15 minutes, which I thought was ridiculously long for a sandwich/wrap…but I figured if its good, then ok. It ended up taking 35 MINUTES to get a simple wrap…35 MINUTES! When they finally gave it to me, there wasn’t so much an apology or «sorry about the wait»…it was just business as usual it seemed. I was half expecting a free soup or cookie due to the unbelievably long wait, but absolutely NO compensation was given.
On my walk back to my office I was hoping that at least maybe the wrap would be worth the wait. But to make matters worse, the wrap was absolutely «blah», mediocre at best.
Recommendation: If you want a completely mediocre, normal sandwich/​wrap that is $ 8~$ 10 each, then go here.

Cathy is amazing. She and crew make amazing food for everyone that works in the building. She remembers EVERY SINGLE PERSON’s name!!! And even remember what they want. I’m not a big fan of Western food such as salad or sandwiches, so I usually come here for the amazing SPICY VEGE soup (or other soups that she make). I wish she make more asian specials (rice and whatever) since that way I will be more likely to buy food besides soup. Overall I love Star Café!

Really friendly service and FANTASTIC food. This had to be one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten and that’s not just my stomach talking! I got a roast beef on a roll and my sister got the egg ham sandwich. Delicious.

Decent food for for a small café.
Where they really excell is customer service. I was impressed with how many people they knew on a first name basis and on top of that they knew their order.
They were very friendly to everyone! Even myself and I was a first time visitor.

I’ve been looking for a place that offers a really good breakfast burrito. I searched for it on Unilocal and Star Café was one of the recommendations.
So I decided to try it out this morning since its on my way. The place is relatively small, but very clean and well lit. It seats about 35 people. The lady behind the counter has a very perky, upbeat personality! She has the perfect demeanor to greet customers in the morning.
I ordered the Bacon Breakfast Burrito. It was pretty good! It had bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and cheese. It had very good flavor. They also give you some salsa with the order. I thought the price was very reasonable. Along with the burrito, I also had a Snapple, and all of that for less than $ 8. Excellent value!
So what we have here is a very clean, well lit café, with a very friendly staff that provides excellent service, and delicious food for very reasonable prices!!! What else could anyone possibly ask for!!!
I have found my go to breakfast burrito joint! I’m looking forward to try their other items.
Thanks Unilocal

Nice little hidden gem, great for lunch.
Great service and sandwiches.
A little hard to find, can’t wait to sit outside in warmer weather.

Solid sandwich shop with loyal customers. Seemed like everyone that ordered got their regular. I’d probably be here pretty often if I worked here.
Notes:
* California Sun — I got this as a wrap. Very refreshing sandwich. I asianed it up with some sriracha though, otherwise it would have been a little bland.
* Pastrami Sandwich — Very good. Excellent bread.
* A bit pricey.
* Plenty of seating AND outdoor seating for Lando.

When I used to work in the area, I visited Star Café almost everyday. I LOVE CATHY — she is so warm, friendly, and puts a personal touch to every order you make. She also remembers your name which is something you don’t find in many local businesses.
This is absolutely one of my top favorite lunch places ever because of the great vibes and excellent sandwiches.
PROS
+ California Italiano Sandwich — enjoy sweet sundried tomatoes and sprouts on a turkey sandwich. This is my #1 at Star Café ^_​^
+ Chicken Supreme — chicken, avocado, tomato, bacon. Sooo good.
+ Dutch crunch bread — the absolute best, so crispy and fresh. (sometimes they do not have it available). Other great options include marble rye and sourdough. The bread isn’t as top notch as other places, but it’s more about the sum of the parts and it really is quite excellent.
+ They make sandwiches into hearts here, which totally made my day on a bad days (I think they are hearts only in the aforementioned Dutch mode though)
+ Plenty of parking available on Gateway Pl.
+ Lunch specials to mix things up – sometimes bi bim bap, curry, etc. They’re good, though most of the time I come for the sandwiches.
CONS
— I wish the place was open for more hours! I’d definitely visit for dinner if it was an option.
TIPS
* Restroom in the Gateway Place building.
* Check out the photo of Cathy, Ashton, and Demi!

I got the chicken supreme sandwich and it was just alright for me. The bacon wasn’t crispy, kinda like it had been sitting around for a while. It wasn’t a BAD sandwich, just nothing out of this world. The lady that works there is really super sweet. I’d probably come back to try something else.
Revised review:
I come here all the time now! It’s the most consistently good place in the area, good prices, and good portions. I’m a fan of their half sandwich/​soup combo but honestly have trouble making a decision every time I come because there’s so many options. Great lunch place!

Some days my lunch option makes me feel like the Khaleesi as I have a choice of Sun and Stars.
Pretty equidistant from me is Star Café and Café Sun, which are both excellent local sandwich shops with a bit extra. And with the slightly longer walk than Le Boulanger or Bagel Café, you feel like it is worth more.
Star Café is a classic in an office building café. Even has that smell. They have a variety of regular, toasted, or panini sandwiches, as well as salads. But the real reason to come is the daily special. Ranges from premade kimpbap rolls to fish and chips. They also have daily soup specials while supplies last (they don’t last long) and daily sandwich specials (though these seem to have been up for a while).
Fan of avocado (of course you are, you live in California)? Try any of the California sandwiches (go figure) of special BLT.
Now while the simple sandwiches are good, the real reason to come is the service. The lady behind the counter is super friendly and welcoming, even during a bustling lunch crowd. She recognizes regulars, but is polite to everyone. When ordering my sandwich after a big group, she let me know my order was 10 sandwiches in and a salad or the special might be faster, but I let her know I was ok with that.
I’ve seen the place both empty and packed, so its a shoot as to what it will be when you arrive. Just be patient, and be wary of any older women who may not have the patience you do.