Tag: cute cafe

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MY Coffee Roastery: A Whimsical Cottage with Chill Vibes

Cute Café in Berkeley, CA

If you search “cute cafes to visit in Berkeley” in Google, chances are “MY Coffee Roastery” will pop up. And being the ever-tireless fan of cute cafes, I set my heart on visiting MY Coffee Roastery a few weeks ago. Sure enough when I got there, the café was a whimsical cottage sitting at the intersection of Addison St and Martin Luther King Jr. Way:

The café from across the street. It’s super close to Trader Joe’s on University Ave.

But when I got closer…

Closed doors. ☹

MY Coffee Roastery is CLOSED on Mondays and Tuesdays! I made the mistake of visiting on a Tuesday… Make sure you visit on any days EXCEPT Monday/Tuesday, from Wednesday to Sunday. And beware, this cute cottage opens and closes early as you can see from the photo below 👇:

Be aware of their business days & hours!

✨Straight Out of a Fairytale✨

Now being aware of the cafe’s hours, I successfully entered the cottage on a Thursday. It was like entering a whimsical cottage straight from a fairytale! The cafe reminded me of the little cottage in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With its pretty iron fence, pots of plants and succulents, red flowers, cute bench cushions, parasols, blue and white mosaic tables and stony walls, MY Coffee Roastery was as lovely and unique as it could be. I mean, there were literally butterflies flying about in the outdoor seating area!

The entrance. Love the red bench and flowers! 🌹
The whimsical storefront.

Once I entered, I was immediately at the counter, where baked goods and coffee beans were displayed. I wanted to try their waffle, but as they had ran out of them, I ordered their almond croissant instead with a cup of iced Americano.

I think the cafe is owned and managed by a Chinese lady and her family – I’m not sure. But I have a hunch that she is the one behind the lovely cottage and its design. Even the interior is chic, with black chandeliers and stoned walls with wide windows that are left open.

Looking out from the inside.

The Menu

My drink and food came out quickly, as I wasn’t done marveling at the chic interior when they had finished warming up the croissant. Sitting outside in the patio area, I took a bite of my almond croissant and I must say, I like it better than other almond croissants I’ve had!

The delicious almond croissant & Americano. 🥐☕💕

It had sweet stuff inside – I don’t know what it’s called. Whatever it is, it made the croissant more flavorful and went perfectly with the iced Americano.

I personally wished there were more menu options, like sandwiches to eat for brunch or lunch, but the café is still great as is. I think their focus is on coffee, not so much the food.

Conclusion

In conclusion, MY Coffee Roastery is one of those chill cafes where you can get work done. They offer free wifi that works – they have the wifi password posted on the walls inside the cottage.

The inside seating area had the wifi banner with the password (see above). There was another wifi banner facing the front counter.

And with sufficient outdoor seating, it felt safe to eat and work there amidst the pandemic. Though cars drive by and many people frequent the cafe, it wasn’t distracting at all.

And the parasols create just the right amount of shade! ⛱

With friendly staff, good food and drinks along with aesthetic architecture and natural decor, MY Coffee Roastery is a cafe for students, professionals, and writers alike. It’s for anyone who appreciates uniquely chic spaces with chill vibes!

I can’t wait to go back to try their waffle. (And their latte, too!) 😊

P.S. To learn more about MY Coffee Roastery, visit their official website HERE. Or their IG account HERE.

P.P.S. And here are more aesthetic shots of the café:

P.P.P.S. 8/18/2022 Update: I revisited to try their waffle! But the waffles aren’t made at the cafe; they are premade waffles packed in wrapper that are unwrapped and placed on the display. Though it tasted alright, I wouldn’t deliberately come here to eat it again. Regardless, the whimsical cafe always has GREAT vibes✨ and good coffee.

The waffle with iced Americano.
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Rendez Vous Cafe in Corona Del Mar: Best Beignets, Worst Latte 🥐

If someone had asked me where my favorite café was just three months ago, I would have readily answered: Rendez Vous French Bakery & Cafe in Corona Del Mar, CA! But now I can’t. Because despite their still delicious beignets and food, it saddens me to say that I’ve tasted one of the worst lattes there.

So let’s talk about Rendez Vous Cafe.

Heavenly Beginning

Rendez Vous French Bakery and Cafe is an “authentic artisan French bakery” and café where “everything is made from scratch” with the best ingredients. They serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner and offer catering.

The restaurant/café banner outside.

I chanced upon this café when I was driving by Corona Del Mar one day. It has an eye-catching aesthetic exterior, with a blue and white sign and outdoor seating area adorned with garlands of pink florals.

The lovely exterior of Rendez Vous.

When you walk inside, you come face to face with lovely Parisian decorations, including this beautiful wall of pink, white, red, and purple roses and a chic white cart displaying macarons and caneles:

Quelles jolies roses! 🌹🌹🌹 *Click HERE for another aesthetic café that abounds with roses.

Not to mention the tempting pastries and bread surrounding you when you stand at the cashier to order!

The first time I visited with my family, I ordered a French toast, veggie panini, cream filled beignets, and two cups of latte. And we remember it like it was yesterday: it was HEAVENLY. Everything tasted great – not too sweet, not too salty. Fluffy French toast with fresh fruits, flavorful panini packed with cooked vegetables and side salad, doughnut-like beignets packed with rich cream, and foamy, rich lattes.

I wish we had taken photos that day, but we were too busy devouring the food. Click HERE to see the official photos of their French toast and HERE for their cream beignets.

*Visit their IG page for more mouthwatering photos of their menu items💕💕

The heavenly taste continued every week we visited the café, and for the past few months, visiting Rendez Vous was our family’s little ritual. We would order, take the food and lattes, and watch the beautiful shores of Corona Del Mar:

Sunny or cloudy, the coast of CdM is always a delightful sight to behold!

The Ever-Changing Quality

But sometime around late March, things began to change. We were surprised to find our beloved Rendez Vous French toast, which had been fluffy and yellow, coming out too burnt to eat. Our lattes had become foamless and tasteless.

But we loved the cafe so much that we went back week after week, in hopes of tasting the gastronomical heaven we had experienced in the beginning. But the French toast always came out with black bits on the bottom, some weeks worse than others, while our lattes tasted different every week. *Sometimes, it would be like drinking hot water and espresso separately. Other times, it was like drinking lukewarm milk and espresso. Our lattes always came out with barely any foam, and the milk and espresso that should blend together came out tasting like they hadn’t been mixed.

*5/29 Update: Delicious foamy lattes are back!

How the latte was on 5/29/22. 👍

And at times we would come home with the cream beignets only to discover that we received plain ones. 🙁

Photo by Matthew Henry.

After weeks of giving the French toast and lattes multiple second chances, we gave up on our favorite items. So we had no choice but to find quality lattes elsewhere, which we did at Rose Bakery Café a few blocks away.

Rose Bakery Cafe’s ever delicious latte with foam. The great thing about them is that they are ALWAYS good, week after week.
Review of the café is coming soon!

Food’s Still Great Though 👍

But I’m happy to share that they always have great beignets and paninis.

Their chicken panini is delicious! (Comes with side of salad or fries. Their salad is always fresh, too)

The best beignets I’ve ever tasted!
The bread and the pastry cream feel thick & taste real – they’re not some cheaply made pastry.

And croque madame!

I’ve also tasted some of their pastries, including the fruit tart and pear almond tart. And they’re as good as they look! 👇😉👍

And the café is as chic as ever, with pink roses and decorations reminiscent of Paris itself. They’ve got great food and lovely, friendly employees. I recommend Rendez Vous Café to anyone visiting Corona Del Mar, CA but just be aware of their French toast and latte.

⚠ The French toast might come out very burnt on the bottom, and the latte might come out tasteless & foamless. Hopefully they go back to tasting phenomenal!

To wrap up, here are more photos of the chic interior & exterior:

Here’s the exact location:

P.S. To visit the cafe’s official website, click HERE. Like their motto, they really do have real food and real people! 😉

P.P.S. During Christmas, this pretty French café becomes even more aesthetic with a pink Christmas tree!

Pink boxes, ornaments, and roses galore!

P.P.P.S. Update 5/24: I visited again and ordered a panini with cream beignets for take out. The panini was delicious as always, but I was given plain beignets again… 😔

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Cafe Lola Summerlin: An Aesthetic Café by Red Rock Canyon

This summer, I had a chance to visit Las Vegas with my family. But as we are in the midst of a pandemic, we chose to explore the outdoors around the city instead of lingering in the populous hub. As we had already visited Death Valley, Grand Canyon, and Sedona, we decided to explore Red Rock Canyon this time.

On our way to Red Rock Canyon. It was unusually cloudy and windy. It eventually rained when we arrived at the visitor’s center.

On our way to Red Rock Canyon, I proposed that we stop by a café to pick up lattes and whatnot. It was June but cloudy and chill; which means it was perfect to sip some warm drinks on the way. Besides, I had researched online and found out that there was an aesthetic café in the area. And I am all for anything aesthetic, especially cafes.

When we arrived in front of the cafe, the exterior was neat but nothing noteworthy. And as the sky was cloudy with rain starting to trickle, it almost looked gloomy.

But when my sister and I went inside, it was a feast for the eyes!

The interior was so pretty that I stood there gawking it all in. I had to collect myself before moving forward to the cashier to order. My eyes feasted further on the chic decorations set up all throughout the cafe.

Roses galore! 🌹 🌹 🌹
Every corner was Instagram-worthy.

I ordered Lola’s Signature Vanilla Rose Tea Latte (plus three macarons) while my sister got the Americano. The drinks weren’t bad, but they weren’t stellar either. I wouldn’t drive all the way here again for the drinks. But I definitely would for the beautiful interior!

The pink folder in the back is the menu.
The pink drink is Lola’s Signature Vanilla Rose Tea Latte.
The small pink cup with a rose is a decoration set on each table. ❤️

I highly recommend Cafe Lola to anyone who loves visiting aesthetic places. The interior, decorations, drinks, food, and everything inside the cafe were too pretty to not take photos of. If you’re ever visiting Red Rock Canyon, or Las Vegas even, stop by Cafe Lola! 😉

*NOTE: The location I’ve been to is the Cafe Lola in Summerlin. There’s another Cafe Lola in the Henderson area. They’re both in Nevada but the Summerlin one is next to Red Rock Canyon.

**UPDATE 7/19/22: Cafe Lola opened another shop at 7379 S Rainbow Blvd – in Southwest Las Vegas! Check out their IG post for all the deets!

Visit Cafe Lola’s official website here 👉 Café Lola

P.S. Check out my post on their Henderson location HERE. It’s as aesthetic as the Summerlin location! ✨