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Cafe Intermezzo - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Sandwiches Restaurants Soup Sandwiches, Soup [Edit]
2442 Telegraph Ave(between Channing Way & Haste St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
Neighborhoods: Telegraph Ave, UC Campus Area
(510) 849-4592
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
851 reviews for Cafe Intermezzo
Review Highlights
-
"Salad's are gynormous, poppy seed dressing is awesome." In 120 reviews -
"Also the fresh baked honey wheat bread is awesome." In 88 reviews -
"The huge salads are perfect for sharing." In 44 reviews
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- A Yelpy Insight: Vegetarians go nuts for this spot. See more places they like.
851 reviews in English
-
Review from Sarah D Z.
Los Angeles, CA
5/14/2012
Intermezzo was THE restaurant on Telegraph. If it weren't for this spot, I wouldn't have dabbled in Vegetarianism as long as I did (ahem, about a month). The salads were monstrous mounds of ruffage, topped with bits of garden and drowned in delicious dressings. The poppyseed dressing was everything that others have said it to be; sweet yet tangy, creamy yet not too rich. The single sliced, hearty peices of bread that accompanied the salads could feed an entire family of ravenous tourists and if you were daring enough to order a sandwich, it was damn near impossible to take a bite without having to dislocate you jaw to fit it in your mouth.
The place was a dream to every broke college student (a week's worth of salad for 6 bucks?!) and I was truly saddened to hear of its closure upon my recent visit to Berkeley. I sincerely hope the owners keep their chin up and install another Intermezzo for the next generation of students. So many of the spots along Telegraph sell pretty unhealthy, yet delicious, food and Intermezzo was a true beacon of health/quality in that town. -
Review from Jeffrey S.
Seattle, WA
5/2/2012
Students and faculty at colleges and universities aren't solely connected via academic, social, nor sporting events. We are connected by some things more powerful; that being, the subconscious sensorial interactions retained while cultivating newly stretched gray matter. Tactility, smells, sights and sounds that surround campuses (ergo: neighborhoods, streets, buildings, etc) producing a geographically and culturally unique memory recall.
So I can't believe the place I ate at for over 10 years of my life, is alas, no more.
I was so looking forward to eating here on my next trip down to Berkeley. It just won't be the same. Berkeley in general will not be the same.
Apart from a personal loss in hopes of reliving a portion of what I strongly recall of my academic past, what I am more disappointed in is that future generations will no longer experience the same poppy seed dressing elation as I have. One may laugh, but these salads added greatly to the overall Cal experience. Fine greenery, which I have no preponderance of doubt, many an ode has been authored surrounding.
I'd feel less anguish had it been the Greek Theater or Campanile that had been destroyed. What a crying shame that no one has plans to phoenix the Intermezzo for future generations.
No sir. I will not collect wood for your burning Viking vessel, nor offer an "RIP". Get your act together and rebuild. It's your duty.
If not for the alumni, then for the sake of Harry, Mary and Grace's offspring. -
Review from Tammy T.
3/15/2012
Dear Cafe Intermezzo,
Please come back or at least sell your poppyseed dressing recipe to some other food place so the rest of the world can appreciate and enjoy its delicious-ness. I don't care what other people say about your location or large quantities--your salads are freaking amazing. -
Review from Steven J.
Berkeley, CA
5/18/2012
Really yummy sandwiches! Their bread is fantastic and flavorful. My one problem is the price, $7 is a lot to pay for a to-go sandwich (no table service). Free refills on soft drinks though!
-
Review from B H.
San Francisco, CA
5/15/2012
I am so sad to learn Imtermezzo is closed! I am craving for a huge, healthy, delicious sandwich and salad and was planning to tell my husband we are taking a trip to Telegraph this weekend! So sad, it was absolutely delicious and a staple of my teenage years.
-
Review from Bruno B.
Hayward, CA
2/28/2012
Love the Chef Salad here but the place was SUPER DIRTY. Tables and floor were never cleaned. And they have cockroaches.
Hopefully if they ever open up again they will get their act together. -
Review from Daniel S.
12/12/2011
Cafe Intermezzo burned down, and that sucks. Sadly, it was the fault of the business owners themselves, who were the same slumlords who owned the old tenement it was attached to. Like many old Berkeley building owners, they had let the building fall into such disrepair that a basement fire managed to total the entire structure, leaving yet another gaping hole on Telegraph Avenue.
Nevertheless, I'm posting this long-overdue review as some sort of magical spell, hoping that Cafe Intermezzo will be magically resurrected, if only enough Berkeleyites simply wish for it in a grand harmonic convergence.
This sandwich-and-salad place was awesome: they made their enormous sandwiches with fresh, thick-cut, honey wheat bread, sprouts, and god knows what, setting the standard for what a Berkeley sandwich should really be about. And yes, I don't give many 5 stars, but this place rocked a sandwich like no other. I know people who leave Berkeley for years at a time, and they have to come back to eat at this place.
And the salads were freakishly enormous. It was hard to say whether such a massive salad doused in so much dressing was actually a healthy object, or had gone so far to the extreme that it had wrapped around infinity and become unhealthy again, but it was a glory. Even a definitive carnivore like myself could gorge on a salad and emerge sated.
So let's all join our hands and say it: Cafe Intermezzo -- life, return to thee. Life, bestow to thee. Life, from all to thee.
Did it work yet? That was the best spell I could find on teh interwebs!!! -
Review from Alessandra G.
Port Costa, CA
4/14/2012
This is my favorite place for a chef salad! It's around $7.00 but it can feed two maybe three people! I love it because it is loaded with stuff you get your choice of meat I get the tuna salad..then it comes with 1 egg, tomatoes, kidney & garbanzo beans, sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, croutons & 1/2 avocado! Their poppy seed dressing is absolutly delish as well! They also give you a slice of their homeade bread & a piece of pinapple! Sometimes I get serious cravings for this salad & go to berkeley just to have lunch! Yum Yum Delish!
-
Review from Jana S.
11/28/2011
I'm seriously gutted to learn of its news. Mourning the death of anything is a process and does take a toll. My most regular go-to place for my young college years is gone and will live on in thousands of folks' hearts.
I will miss the fun memories, the great salads/sandwiches/food/cake, and my regular table. Rest in peace. I say goodbye and appreciate you for all the comfort and warmth you gave to me. -
Review from Marti L.
11/21/2011 1 photo
I still can't believe you're gone like that.
Engulfed in flames.
I will miss your chef salads.
A single bowl amounting to a whole month's fresh veggie intake.
I will miss your poppy seed dressing.
The sweet and nutty goodness completing the salads.
I will miss your vegetarian chili.
Hearty with a layer of gooey cheese warming my Winter afternoons.
I will miss your prime location.
Never a dull moment people watching by the window.
You've been good to me and to many many people alike.
Please come back soon! -
Review from Danny F.
Van Nuys, CA
3/11/2012
I ate at Intermezzo every other day while attending college until my graduation in 2005. I would get the tofu madness chef salad for lunch and halfway through my meal, I'd look down at my food and realize the bowl still looked uneaten. These salads were filled beyond the brim! Since I was NEVER able to finish it alone in or inone sitting, I would often take that huge portion of leftovers and eat that for dinner or share it with my roommates.
I live in LA now, but I go back up to the bay area to visit my best friend in SF every couple of months, and I would always make sure to hit up to Berkeley to eat there. On my last trip in November, I ate there on a Friday afternoon after the 5 hour drive before crossing the Bay Bridge. Delicious, per usual, with plenty of leftovers to take into the city for dinner. I stayed in SF for a week, then went back only to discover that the previous week's meal was the final time I would dine at my favorite restaurant, my epicurean heaven.
Though I often ate till I got disgustingly full to the brink of puking my guts, swearing I'd take it easy next time, it's really sad to know that there won't be a next time.
Had I known I would never be able to indulge in that sweet and spicy tofu and delicious salad dressing (poppyseed & herbal vinaigrette), I would have gobbled that salad in it's entirety... and I probably would have thrown up.... happily.
As it turns out, when I arrived in Berkeley, the building was still steaming from the fire that raged the night before. It was surreal. I literally saw right through the building and into the backyard of the apt behind it. Now realizing the building would be condemned, it hit me that Intermezzo would only be a memory.
Berkeley has lost many great eateries over my time there, but none will be met with more heartache than Intermezzo.
PLEASE COME BACK from the ashes. The city needs you.
Does anyone know if their are any plans to re-open? -
Review from meshell c.
Oakland, CA
11/21/2011
I'm sad that this place will be closing down, not sure for how long or where it will relocate due to a fire in the building. But let me just say, this place has always been consistent and like all the great reviews, their salads and sandwiches are always on point! You can have it made to order or just pick one of their specials. I was fortunate to have one that was not on the menu but a special that one of the workers their had made. Didn't quite catch the name of it, but it worked.
Everything is fresh so I can't complain. I hope this place will get to a new location soon! -
Review from Jasmin L.
San Francisco, CA
11/22/2011
Goodbye, goodbye, my dear salad friend.
I "grew up" on your salad. Your ginormous bowl of salad with poppyseed dressing and wheat bread has kept me a healthy skinny 20+ year old girl for years.
Those were the good old days and I had many fond memories. Thank you.
Please, please arise from the ashes because not only I need to look like I was an anorexic girl again although I have turned into an attractive voluptous hot mama you would have been proud of, but because I want you to be always be there to feed the next generation of nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, etc.
You will be very, very missed! "tears"Listed in: Adieu & Godspeed.
-
Review from Juana S.
11/3/2011
These portions are made to feed you brunch, lunch, and dinner! Unquestionably adore this place, I've never left empty handed, and I've always had plenty to take home.
* Veggie Delight salad w/ Poppy Seed dressing.
* Chicken Salad Sandwich, no mayo.
This place gets very busy, and sometimes it's hard to find an open table.
Quick Tip: call your order and take it to go it's ready in 5 minutes.
once 3 once -
Review from Shaina T.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012
Its funny how there are guys out there that think there needs to be meat in their dinner for it to be a "meal" or they start to feel like rabbits. I'm pretty sure thats how you get gout.
Anyways, I've only been here a handful of times but it's rare to find a restaurant that gives you so much value for your buck. They are known for their salads ($7) which are huge so if you can split one it's like you're paying 3.50 for a meal. Their sandwiches are alright but what is really cool is their free refills on the agua frescas (rare). -
Review from Akvile H.
Nowhere else can I say I have engorged myself in such delicious ruffage! The salads here are gigantic...so big, you could probably feed an entire continent with one. They are as big as they are delicious...massive amounts of awesomeness in a salad bowl.
For $7 you can get a salad to feed two people. I have made the mistake of trying to eat one myself, but failed. If you've never felt full on a salad, I bet you this place can change that. Share one with a friend or get dressing on the side so you don't waste this deliciousness.
They also have sandwiches but I can't seem to stray away from their salads. The chef salad is amazing, as is the one where you can get marinated tofu on it. The salads come with an entire egg, half an avocado, lots n lots of beans, and other healthy garden yum yums. Salads come with a delicious fat slice of their bread, which is sweet and amazing (sauce fiend tip: dip it into your salad dressing as well!). Their lemonade is rad as well, highly recommend you try a glass! ps- try the poppy seed dressing...SoOoo good!
One of the best spots in Berkeley, hands down. Friendly staff, best bang for your buck in terms of how much food you get, fast service, and most of all, scrumptious food!
ps- has anyone ever consumed one of their salads all on their own? lol.Listed in: East Bay Bites, Veggie-Saurus-Rex
-
Review from Angellica Y.
San Francisco, CA
10/13/2011
GROWL. That would be my stomach.. and the bears! GO BEARS!!! :)
Mmm, I love the huge salads and $7 sandwiches here. If you're starving and yearning for something made with fresh & healthy ingredients, then come on in! This place never disappoints me when I'm super hungry. I like the thick, honey wheat bread that they use for their sandwiches. I always leave satisfied. It's the perfect place to grab a sandwich and share it with a friend. I prefer to take it to-go because the place itself doesn't seem too appealing. Happy sigh, I always feel so nostalgic whenever I'm in this area. Once a bear, always a bear. xo -
Review from David F.
Davis, CA
10/31/2011
Upon entry to Cafe InMez (awesome nickname huh?) you're greeted by a the whimsical decor and the large counter servicing mostly what appears to vegetarian food but after an more thorough study, it has a nice range of sandwiches (with fresh made bread), salads (huge portions), and soups (changes everyday).
Bottomline (Ranging from Pros to Cons):
-Healthy food
-Quantity wins over quality
-Fast service (unless during lunch/dinner times)
-Poor Cleaniness (the floor, table, and even food can get neglected when it gets busy and when it gets late)
-Poor bathroom cleaniness (this is a fast food place and its bathroom emulates this fact) -
Review from Grace C.
10/11/2011
CASH ONLY. I really wanted to love Cafe Intermezzo because the ingredients seem fresh, and they have a lot of vegetarian options, BUT:
- It seems dirty. If your restaurant is dirty, who knows about the cleanliness/sanitation of food prep. . . .
- There was a roach crawling up the wall right next to our table. Ew.
As for the food itself, the salads are HUGE & have lots of great fresh ingredients.
Their housemade Honey Wheat bread isn't that great (not very flavorful, sweet, or distinctive) - I'd suggest getting your sandwich on a different bread option, like Ciabatta.
My BLTA (BLT with avocado) was tasty - bacon was nice and crunchy.
At 12pm on a Sunday, there was a line out the door, but it moves decently fast & they make the food right away, so once you order, you should be shoving food in your mouth within 2 minutes.
Next time I come here, I might just do take-out... IF I decide to return. Parking is horrible in this area & I can still picture that gross little roach crawling up the wall. Shudder. -
Review from Cindy L.
10/17/2011
Intermezzo basically puts all SoCal salad places to shame. Portion shame. Their serving bowl for 1 salad is the size of a bowl I would use to bring a salad...to a POTLUCK. And $7 to boot. My bestie loves this place & I can see why. These salads are most definitely on the sharing side...might even be 3 meals for me...
I got the Veggie Delight (comes with LOADS of lettuce, an egg, an avocado, sprouts, carrots, garbanzo & kidney beans). Their ingredients are fresh & they do not skimp. Typical ordering for me (when w/the bf) goes: I will order an entree, bf will order an entree. Bf finishes his entree, and then works on my entree (I usually eat about half or so). No leftovers. When at Intermezzo: bf gets a sandwich (Hugeeeeeee, very bread heavy). He finishes it. Moves on to my salad...we end up taking 1/3rd of it home. Their poppy seed dressing is the way to go (we tried the vinaigrette - it was a bit tarty).
Honey wheat bread is kinda mehhh. And yeah, there seems to bit a layer of ickiness around the restaurant...I think I will get my salad to go next time. Cash Only! -
Review from Sarah B.
New York, NY
11/1/2011 1 photo
Over the years I have traveled thousands of miles for the Intermezzo BLTA sandwich. Seriously. I have wooed others to come with me, and I have made the journey alone. And I will do it again, and again, and again.
An Intermezzo sandwich might be my chosen last meal. For reals!!! -
Review from V.J. C.
Berkeley, CA
10/7/2011 3 Check-ins Here
VEGETARIANS BEWARE!
So, I generally love Intermezzo and there was a point in time when I would go there almost everyday to enjoy a chef salad with their marinated tofu and poppy-seed dressing. The portions are huge as everyone says so it's really quite a good deal for a healthy meal.
However, based upon their large percentage of vegetarian/vegan patronage, I would expect better from Intermezzo in terms of attention to detail. I ordered a breakfast burrito this morning (they've gone up in price - which was the first negative thing I noticed) and checked my standard eggs, potatoes, cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. (non-meat items) onto their order form. A few minutes later, I received my order and had to rush back to work as I only had 10 more minutes to eat this thing.
In the first bite, noticed a strange brown cylindrical piece of food, which turned out to be sausage. It was horrible!
*If you're not vegetarian, imagine it's like you've found a cockroach in your breakfast burrito! *
I picked it out because I was starving and thought it might have been a one-off. Then, I noticed more pieces of sausage in the burrito and realized they made a huge error. This burrito was now inedible, I lost $5, and am hungry until lunch.
I called Intermezzo to inform them of the situation and no manager was available to take my claim or offer me a resolution.
Intermezzo used to be one of my favorite spots for seven years and in one instance of horrid service and a horrible experience, they have turned me away. Great job. (sarcasm) -
Review from Monica M.
8/29/2011
On the way back from SF, we stopped and hung out in Berkeley as it's always an interesting place to just hang.
I hadn't eaten any breakfast and was starving. I was told I would not be disappointed by Cafe Intermezzo. I wasn't.
The line wasn't too long and was moving pretty fast. I ordered the half salad & half sandwich combo. I had a tossed green salad which comes with a mix of sliced carrots, cabbage, and assorted lettuces, sprouts, tomatoes, and croutons with a side of their homemade "herbal" vinaigrette. For my half sandwich, I picked a B.L.T.A on their homemade wheat bread.
Let me say that their portions are HUGE. They certainly don't skimp on anything. Everything is very fresh. I wish I would've shared a plate because the servings were a lil' too big for me.
Next time I'm in Berkeley, I would not hesitate to come here again.
Bring an appetite! -
Review from Steph R.
Pleasanton, CA
3/12/2012
I join in the great regret that this place is no more. Not only because it had one of the greatest Strawberry Lemonades I've ever had and fairly hefty sizes when it came to their salads and sandwiches which were crafted beautifully but that I only had the chance to try it once.
-
Review from Keilin H.
11/13/2011 2 photos
Let me begin by saying I am a HUGE salad fan! HUGE!! But WOW, the salads here might've been TOO big for my love of salads!
I got the Veggie Delight salad(avocados! beans! sprouts! eggs!) and that "portion" was probably enough to last me for the whole week! My friend got the same thing. We should've just shared one.
There's not much else to say that other Yelpers haven't mentioned. The honey wheat bread IS amazing, the salads ARE ginormous, and the place DOES feel kinda dirty...maybe because there's lots of wood and that gives it a natural, earth-y feel?
You might think $7-$8 is a lot for a salad, but it's DEFINITELY worth it. If you think about it, it's like 5 servings of salad for that price, which evens out to less than $2 per serving! :O
If I'm ever in the area again, I'm stopping by! Their veggie sandwiches look UH.MAZE.ING. -
Review from Julius O.
Berkeley, CA
10/9/2011
The freshest, most generous salad I've ever had, at very good prices. Usually, you're still hungry after eating a salad. Not here, you'll be filled to the brim. The Chef Salad with a choice of sandwich meat is excellent, loaded with kidney beans, chickpeas, half avocado, and fresh cherry tomatoes are the highlights. Unfortunately, I rake out the croutons and avoid the bread to keep carbs low.
A great meal to get lots of protein after a tough workout.
Update 16-Dec-2011: Very sad that it's closed from the fire. Damage to the building was extensive as it's impossible to walk by it. Hope they re-open. -
Review from Allie E.
Danville, CA
10/11/2011
I would explain this place as... "an ideal lunch place for anyone who works or goes to school in Berkeley"
However, I probably wouldn't suggest it under any other conditions.
Probably similar to what everyone else has said...
The salads are huge and yummy and fresh, but the place has a dirty feel to it, especially when there are stinky people sitting around you and bugs in the air. The people behind the counter aren't the nicest.
The sandwich is on a very sweet honey tasty bread which depending on your mood, could be good or bad. The one thing I wish I had known the first time is there is this very strong tasting mustard on it that I scraped off because it was pretty overpowering, so next time I'll have to icksnay the ustardmay.
But hey, I'm a poor college kid and if a salad and half sandwich are enough to last me for two meals, I'll take it! -
Review from Gypsy J.
Berkeley, CA
8/28/2011
I would love to give this place a half-star more, just for the friendly employees, but after a long wait they gave me the worst egg salad sandwich I've ever had in my entire life. The worst. It quickly became inedible. I can make a better one, and I can't cook. It was huge, chunky and dry and gross, tasteless in most places but with odd, unexpected pockets of tartness (mustard blobs?), and I don't think there was any salt. It tasted like a bunch of rotten hardboiled eggs diced onto plain bread, dressed up with a lettuce leaf.
But judging by the crowded interior of the restaurant, no seats available and hardly any space to move, it's quite popular.
I could tell the bread was really good, just not what was between the slices. -
Review from Bunneh L.
Seattle, WA
7/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
Yes, their salads are ENORMOUS. Yes, they're cheap. But because their dressings suck, it ruins the salad. Both the poppyseed and the herbal vinaigrette dressings were cloyingly sweet. And the blue cheese dressing was thin, bland, and decidedly un-cheesy.
These awful dressings spoiled what would've otherwise been a great salad full of lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, avocado, carrot, garbanzo beans, kidney beans*, and your choice of sandwich meat. Why on earth there was a line out the door is a mystery to me. What a waste of time and stomach space. Blah!
P.S. staring at the group of young, homeless ruffians sitting right outside the window while I tried to eat my salad did not exactly do wonders for my appetite.
*I got mine sans beans because I hate them! -
Review from Key D.
San Lorenzo, CA
3/1/2012
Does anyone know if they are going to re-open????
-
Review from Erin B.
Costa Mesa, CA
11/15/2011
The salads are big. Like, obnoxiously large.
I ordered the Veggie Delight salad with turkey and poppy seed dressing and a cup of clam chowder to go, lugged it back to my office, and then attempted to eat it at my desk, much to the amusement of my co-workers. Lettuce, croutons, garbanzo beans... everywhere. Plus a huge slice of wheat bread and a honking wedge of watermelon. I didn't know where to start. I barely made a dent in the salad and only finished a quarter of the soup.
It's great bang for your buck and I can see how this place gets such high ratings in a town full of starving college students, but seriously? Do I really need a WHOLE avocado in my salad?
The turkey was good and the dressing was tasty. But it was just too hard to eat! Every fork-full sent ruffage plummeting over the edge of the plastic to-go container. My desk needed a thorough wipe-down.
The clam chowder was meh - bland and had a weird texture.
I guess it's my fault for not reading the reviews beforehand, so Yelpers be warned - the portions are frustratingly huge. Nothing spectacular, it's just salad. Definitely quantity over quality. -
Review from Petra S.
8/28/2011
This place boasts long lines and my husband and I have been meaning to try it so we decided to tonight.
As expected there was a bit of a line and while browsing the menu, we noticed there weren't too many salad options. I was expecting a better list of toppings on the few salads they did have, however, several of the ingredients consisted of beans and basic salad entries. So we decided to forgo the salad and got a half cup of soup with a sandwich. I got an egg salad sandwich (OK but nothing special) and a cup of the thai chicken soup (really, there was nothing "Thai" about it.) I was expecting some lemongrass broth but it seemed like regular chicken vegetable with a lime thrown in. My hubby got tomato soup and a roast beef half sandwich, again, not too impressive. We both had the agua fresca's which would have been good if they were colder but seemed only luke warm.
I'm sorry guys, I love that the place is natural and uses mostly organic ingredients but as far as salads go, I prefer a wider choice, to include BEETS and Bell Peppers at the very least and NO beans. That's why I still love going to Pluto's in the city for salads or Sweet Tomatoes in Fremont.
For me, Cafe Intermezzo was just OK and I may even try it again sometime, however, I just wasn't feelin' it as much. -
Review from Amy P.
Alameda, CA
8/17/2011
Their salads have always been at the top of my favorites list until last night. I've experienced my fair share of terrible customer service and mundane food quality, but nothing turns me off more than the sight of mice.
Yes, mice.
Well, it was one but that strayed me enough to not go back. While my BF and I were waiting at the front counter to pay, I noticed the furry creature lingering around on the top of the back counter. My boyfriend, who saw it clearly as well, pointed this out to another customer and that person got the attention of the cashier; yet the mouse had gone down into a small hole behind the counter so it was too late by then.
My pleasurable dining mood went down the drain. I'm sure that there are plenty of businesses out there who deal with rodent and other pest issues, but what bothers me is that this particular mouse made itself visible during daytime (especially during a peak of activity around the area).
As far as I know, mice hide out during the day and come out at night when there is no one around. My boyfriend and I finished our salad that evening but there will be no future plans for another visit. -
Review from Katrina T.
Cupertino, CA
A definite YUM place to go to and its open late!
My cousin and her boyfriend, fellow UC Berk Alums decided to take me here for dinner, since I am on a salad diet. This was seriously the perfect place. It was really busy on a Friday night and this place offers simple food options, but there is uniqueness to their menu. I got the half salad, half sandwich combo. I got the regular tossed salad with the apple chicken sandwich. Their food portions are HUGE! FYI! Their salad's are best known with their poppy seed dressing. It sounded kind of ehh to me but my salad came out tasty! Ohhh I loved the cherry tomatos and croutons in the salad. Definitely gave it a kick! The sandwich was only a half size but goodness, gracious it was so difficult to bite into! The bread was super fresh and packed with whole grains (so you definitely know you're eating right) but it was so thick! I had to break my sandwich and eat it with a fork.
This place reminds me of hippie town or something stuck in the peace, love, and joy days. I swear this place had a funky smell to it...and if you catch my drift on the hippie days and a weird smell..I think you will get the idea of what sort of smell I was sniffing. -
Review from Mario L.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/22/2011
So sorry to hear about the fire. This was one of my favorite places to eat in Berkeley. The salads were amazing and the sandwiches were always on this really delicious home made bread. And it was just a fun place to be--part of the reason I wish I lived in Berkeley.
I don't know what the owner is planning...but please rebuild and open again -
Review from Chris W.
Fremont, CA
12/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ridiculously huge salad
Didn't write this review until way after i ate here.
5 stars for the portions and because it is now gone...
:( -
Review from Eva V.
7/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ugg! What happened to this place?! This used to be a regular haunt of mine a few years ago during frequent trips to Berkeley, but it has seriously gone down hill since then if my recent experience is any indication! I came here for a quick lunch on my most recent trip to Berkeley and found it to be filthy, smelly, and fly-ridden. It looks like nobody had bothered to clear tables in hours and there was nowhere clean to sit. The floor was sticky and covered in food, and there were flies landing on the discarded food piles around us. It was so disgusting that we left in a hurry, even though I thought I'd be OK with sitting at a dirty table.
I really loved Cafe Intermezzo... I hope someone get this place to clean up their act soon! -
Review from Lan G.
Berkeley, CA
9/5/2011
The variability in quality and service makes me really wonder whether when I go I'll get a wonderful salad (deserving of 4 stars) or a shit salad.
Today is a case of the latter.
When the guy making your salad has to smell the alfalfa sprouts (and then decides to put them in anyway), you know it's all downhill from here.
I'm a regular of Intermezzo--to the point where I can tell on which days they bake their bread, who in line can make you the biggest 'n best salads--but I may be a regular no more after today's salad.
Keep these out of my salads:
(-) Nasty wad of sprouts
(-) Small brown piece of avocado
(-) Off-color pastrami
(-) Croutons when I asked for none (today they're stale, too)
What you are known for and what I expect is a big, fresh salad that doesn't skimp on the necessary ingredients. So live up to your name and pile on heavy the fresh lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, beans, egg, and meat. I could show you a photo of the salads from when I started going here, three years ago, and a photo from today, and you might be surprised that they were even made by the same place.
Perhaps Intermezzo just had a bad day. But perhaps I'd be more forgiving if this were the first time this has happened. (Get your act together and I'd be glad to revise my review.) -
Review from Kevin T.
7/23/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Berkeley has always been one of THE most fascinating cities to me. Although I've been been visiting since I was five, I never tire of strolling through it's streets because I seem to stumble across something new at every corner.
Enter Cafe Intermezzo: I love it!
Should you miss out on a lunch invitation from one of Berkeley's many green-conscious denizens, Intermezzo would definitely be one of the closest consolation prizes.
There is absolutely NOTHING petite about the salads here. The salads are ridiculously GINORMOUS and are chockfull with enough fresh greens to satisfy even the most devout Tree Hugger. The kicker? I had only ordered the HALF salad. If that's not worth $5 of your hard earned cash I don't know what is.
I'm just as red blooded about my steaks, chops, and ribs as the next guy, but eating here, I could almost stomach the thought of going vegetarian....
...ALMOST.... -
Review from Jennifer S.
Fremont, CA
10/23/2011
I took my mom here once, and she did not believe me when I said their salads were THIIIIIISSSSSSS BIGGGGGGGGGGG. She ended up ordering a full Veggie Delight, plus a soup, even though I offered to split a salad with her instead. Long story short, we both ended up leaving with 1/2 of our salads to go.
Anyway, so this is my gold standard for salads. Gigantically filling, fantastic for the price, makes me feel better when I eat it because I'm eating my daily dose of vegetables and not some overtly fried concoction from Sumo Grub. I used to stick to Veggie Delight until I discovered how magical the Chef Salad was. (If you haven't gotten a Chef Salad before, do it!) If you have some time to spare and you like saving money, you can get a salad for here and then get the rest to-go - they seem to give you more that way.
Also, there's some sort of crack in their poppyseed dressing. I never ate salads with dressing before Intermezzo (perhaps I am the one who is on crack). I have no idea how I managed to not ask for poppyseed dressing mixed in for the next 30+ times I came for a salad.
Sandwiches are great too, although I don't think they're as much of a value for your money as the salads are. It's not that they aren't generous - it's that the sandwiches simply aren't as humungous as the salads are. The few times I gave in and bought myself a PBHB (peanut butter honey banana sandwich), the sandwich was so big I could barely get my mouth around it!
Detractions are the cleanliness (just a little icky); cash only; the lack of ventilation makes it stuffy; the inability to get a table; and the small size of table once you do get one. Also, the workers preparing my salad would occasionally forget to leave out cherry tomatoes even if I asked.
