Cafe Mattina

The best salad I’ve ever had came from this restaurant. You know the best thing about it? It’s the best, and they make it the same every time. So I can go in there are reliably get the best salad of my life when ever I want. That’s something special! I recommend bringing someone to help you eat it, because it’s just too big for one person!
The only thing that sucks is the tight and limited seating. The tables are tiny and squished together. Take your salad and eat it on the Berkeley campus lawn and watch the people go by.
Again: Best… Salad…Ever.

I am not a salad person. quite the opposite actually. i like my meat. fried, dipped in oil, lathered in grease… but if there were a place that would make me a vegetarian, or at least start to eat healthier, it would be this place.
they give you a lot of food. seriously. i have the metabolism of an olympic triathlete and the appetite of a horse, but their servings will fill you up. both their chef’s salads and sandwiches are made for a king. everything is made in front of you.
the place is small, but very homey. the inside feels like you’re outside on a french/​italian (take your pick) sidewalk. but decorated like its a hip/​modern rooftop backyard. i know what i just wrote does not make sense but trust me, this place rocks.

I likey this place!!! And this is coming from a person who can eat a 16 oz rib eye and finish off 12 more ounces of steak! I have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical that I would like a sandwich/​salad spot, but I do. The one salad fed me and my husband and we split a sandwich, too. I think the key is that the veggies are fresh. The price is good and I have to admit that being in Berkeley, I wanted to be «healthy.» So this was a natural place to go to. If my daughter ever decides to go to school here, I’m so for it so I can eat the fresh salads and sandwiches! Oh and it would help if she gets a full ride scholarship.

Hungry in Berkeley on a Wednesday night & not wanting to eat anything too guilt inducing, the girlfriend & I resorted to an old standby. Being a Cal alum, the girlfriend was familiar with this place in its previous iteration. She introduced me to Café Mattina some time after adopting its new name, though apparently the name may have reverted back to Café Intermezzo.
Service is minimal by design. Go to the counter, order your food, pay for your food, pick up your food when it’s ready, take your food to wherever you seated yourself. This, along with only accepting cash for payment, keeps costs & prices down. The menu is pretty basic: soups, salads, sandwiches. This focused approached produces impressive dividends. The food is exceptional quality & gigantic portions with fresh ingredients for a truly surprisingly low price.
The gargantuan Chef Salad & mountainous B.L.T.A. sandwich were just the perfect choice for the girlfriend & I. Lots of veggies, very filling & absolutely delicious. We both ate very well & still took home half a sandwich. Having filled up on mostly fresh veggies, healthy & indulgent is not paradoxical at Café Mattina.

This place used to be called Intermezzo (back in the day when I was around). I’ll save you lots of money for silly sandwiches and salads: it’s not that great! While the portions are huge, it kind of sickens me to eat that much lettuce and veggies. There are waaaaaaaaaaay too many sprouts on both the salads and the sandwiches. Overall their dishes seemed pretty dry to me. bread was dry… and the huge quantity of salads just was plain and unsettling in my stomach.
Its disappointing to see simple food go for such expensive prices, and I’ve heard they have hiked up the prices as of late. This is a college town!
If you want a good salad, good side of cornbread, or a good sandwich, walk 5 minutes to Smart As and have yourself a great meal for less. (their cornbread is amazing, much better than Café Mattina’s side of «wheat bread» gross!) and if you want an overall more fantastic dining experience, go next door to Marios La Fiesta (see other review).

Huge salads with giant chunks of the most delicious whole wheat bread I’ve had before = PERFECTION.
If you’re ever getting the salads to go (which I suggest since it can last 2 maybe even 3 meals) make sure you get the dressing on the side otherwise you’ll have mushy greens on your hand. Not fun.
Try their soups too! The Veggie Chili has a really different flavor from than any other chili I’ve had. It tastes weird at first, but grows on you until you’ve annihilated the bowl.
Gets busy during lunch so expect to order to go. Plus side is the service is super fast.
Have yet to try their hot drinks, but as for the pineapple juice/​strawberry juice? I’m a fan. Definitely not the best fruit juice I’ve had, but it is fresh and you get some pulp so that on its own is pretty dericious.
If you feel like being «healthy» mattina is the place for you. (like you could possibly be healthy eating that huge of a salad, COME ON.)

Still as awesome and as wonderful and healthy as it was eons ago, when I was at Cal for university, and its incarnation was called Café Intermezzo… just shared a chef’s salad this über-​rainy day with dear friend. Certainly was enough to satisfy 2 hungry gals, with a full portion of leftover taken in to-​go box!
It’s truly amazing how some things don’t change after 20 years!!! Really takes me back, and lots of memories flood me. Prices haven’t changed that much either. Our chef’s (humongo) was $ 7.75, and they still sell bread ends (YAY!!!), cuz I just thought I’d ask. =)
Oh so good… fresh pie still avail, sandwiches are $ 6.50, and overall, a great atmosphere to have a very filling and healthy salad, sandwich, or soup! 3 cheers for the now Café Mattina! Nostalgia sets in…

I was in the area and thought of no better treat than to bring home a delicious meal for myself and my fiancé than a veggie salad and sandwich from Café Mattina. Fortunately at 5pm there was no line, so up I went and ordered. Love love love their honey wheat bread. Their salad, even in the to-​go box was huge that we had a hard time finishing it. Love the poppyseed dressing and their sliver of a pineapple. I also ordered their eggplant sandwich, and it still tasted good after driving back home to SF.
Cash only, but prices are so reasonable, you shouldn’t have any problems.

My 1^st 5 stars since 2008!
This is my favorite Sandwich/​Salad shop on this side of the Bay or actually… the entire Bay Area.
Great prices, large portions, delicious bread on the side of the salads. Their most popular, and in my opinion, best dressing is the poppyseed dressing. During lunch hours its pretty hard to find seating. You order in a way that reminds me of a school cafeteria line and you clean up after yourself (or you could leave it for the bus boys to come around… eventually. But you can’t really because sometimes they’re so packed that people are standing around waiting for a seat).
If i had to pick between the sandwiches or salads. I’d go with salad just cause it’s that good. It’s always so fresh, love the ingredient options, and I never leave feeling guilty. I always walk out feeling fulfilled and healthy. Best salads ever! mmm bean sprouts and cherry tomatoes… I want to get one now but too bad it’s traffic hour across the bridge.

I’m new to Berkeley, so I never knew Mattina in its previous incarnation, but I have to say, it is a very efficient place to get huge salads and sandwiches, which I am all about, all the time. We arrived in the midst of a lunchtime rush, the the line moved quite quickly and we were eating w/​in 5 minutes of arriving.
I for one think that the atmosphere is kind of endearing, I like the tere in the middle, the cheesy paintings on the wall, but yes, it is dirty. That is correct; however, only in terms of what is on the tables, I didn’t feel that my food was not well prepared.
Will you have better salads? Yes, the greens are mostly romaine/​iceberg. However, it is bountiful and they all come w/​a large slab of honey whole wheat, which just begs to be slathered with butter, and is quite tasty – mmm the texture is the perfect mix of doughiness. For the price you pay, you get a decent amount of food – a sandwich will definitely stuff even the most massive Cal athletes (or myself, after 30 min on the stairmaster…).
I am not a huge cash-​inly person, but it’s fine, all around.

I wish I knew how to quit you. Café Mattina, Café Intermezzo — which ever way you choose to swing, we could have had a real good life together. Now all we have is Brokeback Mountain.
I put up with all of your shenanigans. Cash only? Sure, I’ll just go to the ATM. Less than clean tables? It’s okay, I’ll wipe down my own. Raising your prices 50 cents across the board? Fine, I’ll go get more money from the ATM.
Remember that time when you forgot my order and gave me chicken salad instead of tuna salad? Common misunderstanding. Chicken… Chicken of the Sea… Jessica got a little confused on that one too. I forgave you. I even laugh about that one now.
Or those cucumbers that looked more like rubber because you left them out for too long. Those were good times.
I didn’t even make a peep when you thought I was getting fat and started slicing my honey wheat bread a little smaller. You didn’t say it, but I know that’s what you meant.
I mean I loved you. Your salads were just — well I’ll be honest, just so well-​endowed. And I mean it’s not like I really had to pay much for them either.
But our last date? That was just too far. I stood in line for you for 20 minutes. It was cold. It was raining. I was outside. But I loved you even then. I ordered my usual, the half BLTA and half salad with Bleu Cheese. Remember? I was so happy seeing that fresh bread being sliced, that thick spread of mustard.
Oh wait. Who are you? What are you doing here? Mouse? Café Mattina, have you been cheating on me with a mouse? Don’t lie, I saw her scamper across my open-​faced sandwich, stark naked. That floozy! How dare you! We were involved!
How am I even to look at you? We’re through. I’m done. I don’t want to ever see you again. Ever.

I lack the words to describe how much I truly love this establishment. To dispel any rumors, Café Mattina food is exactly the same great-​tasting food as Intermezzo’s. I’ve eaten here about 20,000 times and have always been satisfied and that makes it one of my holy grail places to go!
Everything is pretty much great here, but my FAVE things are the chicken salad sandwich with avocado and onion, the tomato bisque, lentil, and chili soups, and chef salad with turkey, onions, and light poppyseed dressing mixed in. BLTA is great, especially if your bacon happens to be fresh out of the oven. All the bread is baked on premises and are ALL delish, so be brave and try a different one on your sandwich next time! The hummus is amazing, and makes for a great sandwich, or salad topper. Marinated tofu is definitely worth a try. The strawberry fresca is to. die. for. Ohh, and before 11am you can get a good-​sized $ 4 breakfast burrito with your choice of about 10 – 12 different ingredients in it.
DON’T get the PBHB (you can make this yourself at home), or the roasted eggplant with pepper (some people like this, but it’s ick in my book).
Don’t be afraid to ask to have things your way here. Turnover rate here is pretty quick, so you might get some variation from visit to visit; sometimes the bread might be a little thinner or thicker, you might get more or less meat, for example. The best way to guarantee your satisfaction is to ask for what you want. LOTS of onions, please! Hold the mayo! Extra cheese! Deli mustard instead of yellow. An extra egg. Make it extra large (and wink)!
I have TRIED to get the people in the back to give me recipes for some of this stuff, and no can do. Sigh. I guess I just have to keep coming here.
For the combination of taste, value, healthiness, and speediness, I can honestly say that Intermezzo food is truly the best! (And if someone wants to argue with me on this I will gladly engage in a verbal WAR. Then stuff your face in a humongous bowl of salad! Rawr!)

This place will forever be Intermezzo to me.
If you’re a Cal student and you haven’t eaten here yet. that’s just blasphemous. Do yourself a favor and take a trip down Telegraph!
This place does wonders for my soul.
Try both their salads and their sandwiches. Don’t miss out on their honey wheat bread; its moistness, light sweetness, and nuttiness is pure heaven. While it’s absolutely delicious served as an accompaniment to the salad, definitely have it as a sandwich. As for the salads, try their poppyseed dressing, which is not quite what you might imagine, such as the poppyseed dressings sold at your local grocery store.
Be forewarned — the portions are huge, and that goes for both the salad and sandwich. I prefer ordering one or the other, which I then share with a friend, but it might be better to get the combo so you get the best of both worlds.
This place captures the atmosphere of the city of Berkeley so well. It’s charming, a niche all on its own for Berkeley students, a hole in the wall so to speak. It’s not exactly what you would call clean, and the people who make your food are there to do exactly that.

I’ve always been a fan of Intermezzo… err I mean Café Mattina.
I came back here the other day only to find this place changed names, but my usual fare delivered the same awesome taste: a half green salad with poppy seed dressing with a half pastrami sandwich. I don’t think I could ever tire myself of this place.
If you separated each out separately, they are ginormous meals within themselves. So if you really wanted, you could share this dish with a friend.
I feel happy knowing that I ate somewhat healthy on a day I didn’t go to the gym.

WOW. just WOW. To this day, I can’t believe a place like this exists! GIANT TASTY salads for LOW prices! just wow…
Come here with a big appetite or with friends because the size of these salads are extraordinary. I ordered the salad + ½ sandwich combo to split with a friend. We were able to finish the sandwich but failed to even make a dent in the salad. So we recruited some help from 4 other friends and even with 6 mouths we couldn’t reach the half way mark on that salad. It was a beast! My favorite part about Care Mattina (other than their large portions for low prices) is their poppy seed dressing (sweet and very light) and their honey wheat bread (fresh, very delicious).
Service is friendly and efficient. Seating is good for groups, but uncomfortable. Close to campus. CASH ONLY.

YUM. Ginormous, cheap, fresh salads. the hubster & I spilt a chef’s salad (no egg, w/​marinated tofu) & an extra piece of bread & we are set for the day. the kid is not a fan of the salads, but loves to nosh on the PB, banana & honey ½ sandwich & strawberry lemonade.
it is DEFINITELY not the cleanest (be prepared to bus the table for the previous diners) & I would love to anonymousely mail them a pack of hairnets… but I love the salads so much… I just can’t quit this place!
it just dawned on me that I have been eating here since my freshman year of college (1991– we used to drive up from Stanford to cruise Telegraph Ave back when it was cool & funky…) & now I suddenly feel very very old…

I had the ½ sandwich & ½ salad combo for $ 7. I got the veggie sandwich (hummus, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumber)
The salad had romaine lettuce, sprouts, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons. I got the poppy seed dressing on the side.
I’m a big eater but I only ate 2/3’s of it and had a nice lunch the next day.
No complaints about the food. I didn’t go to Café Intermezzo often enough to compare the two.

Veggie Delight: $ 6.50 exactly.
Changes since Café Intermezzo: Overall, not much.
Details: more plastic wrap, more croutons, more lettuce, less avocado, different tomatoes, different carrot slices… salads are still huge, but not as heavy because they put in more croutons and lettuce.
I hate that they use excessive amounts of plastic wrap.

I’m always trying to get myself to eat more greens and veggies and this place is THE place to go. The salads are HUGE (with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, a boiled egg and croutons to name some), especially for the price you pay, and you get bread with it too. I go to Whole Foods sometimes and make my own salad and always walk out wishing I’d had more time to go here instead. Haven’t tried any of their sandwiches or soups yet, but their strawberry lemonade is yummy.

I had never paid a visit to the former Café Intermezzo – how charming Café Mattina is, with its totally funky Berkeley-​esque interior! Love the ‘60s tableaus and motifs on the walls. I really think it’s awesome how they sport so many varieties of coffee and not only that, but they make your coffee to order, brewed right in front of you! Many choices of sandwiches, and some great looking bread. I want to try one at some point. Today, I had a breakfast burrito. And what a lovely idea for a breakfast burrito, when you can have any, up to all the following ingredients in your burrito, for just $ 4:
— Eggs
— Potato
— Salsa
— Cheese
— Black or pinto beans
— Bacon
— Sausage
— Spinach
— Mushrooms
— Broccoli
— Red pepper
— Carrots (shredded)
What a great deal! For my burrito, I chose eggs, potato, salsa, cheese, black beans, spinach, and red peppers. Very creamy texture with the melted cheese and the juices of the veggies, not to mention so flavorful. But not overly too juicy, and the burrito was wrapped very well despite huge amount of filling.
I hope I get to come back soon to try more menu items – awesome stuff!