Leila's is consistently delicious featuring the freshest ingredients and the best service! The outdoor seating area is so perfect for lunch on a hot summer day. Highly recommend the Salmon Salad. I love the yogurt dressing, herbs and generous portion of avocado. Always love how the edges of the salmon are nice and crispy, too. Bring your sun hat!

Mary and I met here today for lunch. Although I hadn't updated my review, Alan and I returned many times for lunch, bringing Jordin and possibly Clara, sitting outside. We also sat inside. Today parking was difficult. Mary and I arrived at about the same time. The lot was full and there were no parking spots on the street. We both pulled out of their lot and went searching. After driving around the block I found a spot almost directly in front and pulled into it, figuring someone else had pulled out after lunch. I was dismayed to notice when I came out of the car to discover I was in a red zone, in front of a fire hydrant. I decided to leave my car there since we wouldn't be there that long and joined the line which was out the door. Mary joined me quickly. I knew what I wanted: a tuna sandwich on wheat bread and some of their basil ginger lemonade. Mary looked at the menu and decided on a lamburger, w/ the same lemonade. As we moved down the line I noticed that they had rugelach from Outbaking, which I have had bookmarked to try. It's a collective of Ukrainian refugees and the profits from their work go back to Ukraine. They had poppy seed, apricot and strawberry, but by the time I got to the front of the line to order they were out of poppy seed, which would have been my first choice, so I went w/ apricot. We were given a number and went out to the garden to find a table. Mary brought out the drinks and my rugelach. After a reasonable wait our lunch dishes were brought, along w/ cutlery wrapped in napkins. My sandwich had tomato slices in it. Generally I don't like tomatoes w/ my tuna because I have found that tomatoes make the tuna taste more fishy than I like. But these tomatoes didn't do that and I enjoyed my sandwich. The sandwich was accompanied by a salad of spring mix dressed in vinaigrette. Mary's lamburger came w/ a smaller version of that salad and w/ a huge pile of hand cut french fries, which surprised her, as she hadn't noticed either on the menu. She offered me some of her fries and I enjoyed a few. My sandwich was delicious. The lemonade was full of ice and weaker than I remember. The rugelach was good. Mary liked her lamburger a lot and took half of it home, along w/ what was left of the fries. It was a delicious lunch in the sun and I didn't get a parking ticket, although I wouldn't knowingly park in front of a fire hydrant again.

Great ambiance, relaxing space, delicious fresh food, and they have a private parking lot too. Will be coming back again!!! Staff were really nice and not too much rushy with the customers very laid back. Very pleasant and cheerful place.

This is hands down the best spot in California. It has delicious food, convenient location on San Pablo, beautiful garden, excellent service and Parking Lot!!! What a gem of a spot! Kids get pancakes = happy Adults get the delicious omelettes (date is my favorite). Their drinks and pastries are sooo good as well! (The Ukraine rugalach)... yum with the tumeric latte. Heaven!!! Families and friends check out this secret spot in Berkeley! 10/10

Visiting this cafe on a sunny weekday morning was such a delight! As you enter in, the staff take your drink order and then your food order to get you started. They make your drink on the spot so you can sip on it while you wait for your food to be prepared. I liked this approach a lot because it saved time from having to wait for a waiter to come over. The outdoor patio was beautiful and very peaceful. There were lots of plants and a fountain trickling softly in the background. As for the items that I ordered, everything was very delicious! I got a sweet red rooibos tea latte with almond milk. It had a mild but comforting flavor. The veggie tyab was the true star of the show. The entree came with perfectly sautéed mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, and diced zucchini. The veggies were seasoned with lemon and sumac, making them savory yet refreshingly zesty. The side salad with grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumber, and feta had a nice light dressing on it. The baba ganoush was smoky and scrumptious. It reminded me of the baba ganoush I've had back home in Lebanon. The plate was also garnished with thick, creamy hummus that went very well with the veggies. The dolmas were tasty as well, and the bread was great for scooping everything up. I also ordered a blueberry scone to have for breakfast the next day, and it was wonderfully buttery and lemony at the same time. It had a good amount of dried blueberries and was the perfect texture. It went very well with a nice cup of tea. The staff were very friendly and welcoming, especially the man making the drinks. Despite the ever growing line of people, they kept up the hustle with cheer and got my food order out very quickly. I would definitely recommend checking out this lovely cafe. There was plenty of outdoor seating options as well as ample indoor seating, although it began to fill up as it got closer to noon, so I would suggest coming early.

Cafe Leila Starts at five stars, cause my buddy raves about this place, literally goes all the time. Out of requested tea. Small pot of earl gray instead. It was around 11:00, so we will call this a wash. Pancakes and eggs order dropped the rating to 2 stars. Eggs and bacon cold on arrival. Lump of unmixed flour/salt in pancake, really put me off the rest of the meal and didn't eat hardly half. Steak hash. Wife seemed to like it? Stopped caring by the time I could have asked. Seemed quality, and she didn't spit anything out. $50 for this? Hefty price tag for two meals and a bit of tea, especially with how poorly prepared and presented, not to mention the minimalist 'order at the counter instead of wait staff' style. Ambiance is classic Bay Area, which I actually appreciate. Lots of art. Brick walls. Patio garden is nice or would have been nice on a sunnier day. Nicely stocked bakery display is a plus, and maybe I should have just gotten a pastry. I would say barely 3 stars, but bumped to 4 out of deference to my friend. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

This is an order at the counter, grab a number type spot. The menu is varied and lots of options to choose from in addition to baked items in the window, and a full coffee bar menu. The parking lot is small but plenty of neighborhood parking, you can walk around the west Berkeley neighborhood to build up an appetite too. If the weathers nice eat outside on the back patio. I ordered the Vera Cruz eggs (I think that's the name) and had an almond scone too. It was super tasty and a healthy portion.

On our way back to Marin from Oakland airport we decided to stop in Berkeley for breakfast and wait for the traffic to die down. My daughter did a search that pointed us to the cafe so we figured "what the heck" and headed here. I've gotta say you sure get your money's worth at this place. I ordered a typical bacon & eggs breakfast and was floored by the amount of food that came out - home fries, toast, and a fruit bowl that would have been a good breakfast in itself! Everything we ordered was DEE-LISH, the coffee was strong and not bitter, and the service was first-rate. It was raining so we ate inside but there is a just beautiful outside garden/seating area that would be lovely if it ever stops raining in the Bay area. Anyway now I'm looking forward to coming back to try Leila for lunch - I suspect it'll be another great experience. Kinda out of the way but they do have parking which is great!

We were across the street and this cafe was recommended to us. There was 4 of us and when you walk in you place your order and pay before sitting down. It looks small on the outside but once you start heading in it really opens up. The garden is so relaxing. I ordered the chicken pesto and really enjoyed it. It comes with salad and fries so you will be filled up. We're putting this cafe into our lunch rotation