Raphael’s Shutter Cafe

O em geeee, this is the neighborhood place to eat. I go here as often as I can, and am very happy with the ambiance as well as the quality of food. Great breakfast. Stop in and enjoy some of the best home style cooking you’ve ever had ~away from home.
p. s. there is an outside area in the back that is really sweet.

Love this place! — best grits — good and thick, not soupy! Awesome bacon, pancakes and friendly service… oh and your dogs will always get a piece of bacon! Want to come back for the gumbo!!!

Raphael’s harkens back to a simpler time and a tuna melt with colorful side salad.

The reviews posted on Unilocal are very representative of my experience. That’s not always the case. My friend had an omelette that looked good. I had the pork burger, which sounded intriguing, but was a little disappointing. The burger was thin and the bun was a bit stale. From what I can tell breakfast is the thing here. Even though the food was just OK, I would come back because the ambience was so nice. Jazz music was playing and the proprietor or cook/​server was a really nice person, engaged in his job and with the customers. It was a good experience.

There food isn’t spectacular but for breakfast it’s quite good considering the price. The owner is a super nice guy and always treats my dad like an old friend. We go here about twice a year but that’s only because we don’t eat out much, but we always get our food quickly and its always good

Great! I had pancakes, eggs, and bacon… excellent!!! It’s along a busy San Pablo Avenue, but it’s clean, with some contemporary artwork, and some light jazz music in the background. I’m going back next week for the gumbo… yum!

Came here for lunch with a friend on a Sunday and seated ourselves since I guess the one waitress was busy tending a table. It took about five minutes before we received menus.
I ordered the salmon salad and a side of vegetables. The somewhat mushy vegetables were a sautéed mix of Italian squash, bell pepper, onion and I believe some mushroom. Not all of my salmon was cooked all the way through but I ate it just the same, atop some wilted mixed greens.
My friend ordered the BLT with fries and we were both a bit surprised when her sandwich arrived with what were more like breakfast potatoes. She ate them anyway and half of her small sandwich.
This place is more of a small diner style and probably good for simple breakfast food but I wouldn’t go too far in terms of entrees.

Driving down San Pablo ave all the time, I always pass this place. What always caught my eye was a hamburger and gumbo sign. I also noticed that there was always this older gentlemen sitting outside. So I finally decided to go check it out. The older gentlemen (I’m assuming he’s Raphael) sat us down and took our order. They have two tables outside in front so you can see what’s happening on San Pablo ave. The inside has several tables and there’s also a small makeshift beer garden in the back. I ordered a Apple sausage sandwich with the homefried potatoes although I wanted to try the gumbo but I wasn’t in the mood for anything hot. The menu is very small. Just consists of breakfast options, burgers and sandwiches. There’s also coffee and lattes and things of that sort. The food was good, the service was ok, could have been better. Overall I’d come back just to try the gumbo but that’s about it.

Quant setting, delicious food, good customer service! Small café with cute outdoor area. Mimosas are great and affordable, brunch was delicious

I don’t know what happened. Both of us ordered the gumbo and they looked nothing like some of the Unilocal photos. Our bowls each had 3 pieces of small shrimp with the shell on and 4 –5 chunks of chicken. My bowl had half a piece of sausage. My friend’s bowl had no sausage whatsoever. There were tons of rice. Very disappointed. Our server was nice, attentive and efficient. That is the only reason this visit review gets two stars vs. one.

3 ½ stars for food, 4 for pleasure. This is a modest, good, comforting place to eat. One of my half-​dozen Go-​To breakfast places in Berkeley (and that includes Bette’s, Gilman Grill, ‘M’, Meal Ticket, Lama Bean’s, & Guerrilla). Peach pancakes are great. It’s not gourmet, or even gormand, but it’s good, & satisfying. Nice jazz influence. Otis is a bonus.

Had a delicious breakfast/​brunch for the first time at this local establishment. The food was tasty – I had the gumbo and my girlfriend had a hotlink breakfast plate. Service was good and very friendly. The owner, Otis, is very personable. Bonus: college football was on (it was a Saturday) and they serve beer and mimosas.

We’ve been searching for a good breakfast place in the east bay without having to go to Berkeley or Oakland. This place was not the answer.. .
There was only one other table when we got there so we thought we could grab a quick bite to eat.
I ordered a simple breakfast of sunny side up eggs, sausage, and potatoes. My boyfriend had pretty much the same thing. It seemed like everything was cooked in the same, dirty iron skillet because it all had this black crust on it. Gross yes. To make matters worse, at least one of the eggs had fibers in it, like fibers from a towel or something. And it wasn’t just one… The whole under cooked egg white was covered in it. I’m not sure what in the world they did to the hot sauce bottles on the table, but the tapatio was this weird light pink color. We chose not to use it.
And I have no idea what happened, but while we were there a family came in and went to be seated outside. It couldn’t have been more than two minutes before the same family stormed out of the restaurant. Either way, it added to the already horrible experience.
Everything about this place was underwhelming.

«Delightfully mediocre» is how my boyfriend put it, but to be honest, «delightful» may be too strong of a word.
The service was great and I liked the employees there so I don’t wish to be too critical. However, to begin with, the coffee was pretty bad (even for diner coffee standards). Simply making the coffee stronger would make a huge difference. I ordered the vegetarian omelette (eggplant, onion, and squash) which turned out… Okay. The eggs were a bit runny for my taste, but overall better than any omelette you could get at a Denny’s. The home fries were cold, burned, and hard as a rock. To be fair, the potatoes that were used are difficult to cook thoroughly without burning. I would suggest different potatoes or different cooking technique. One last thing, that isn’t a huge deal, but the plates the food was served one were very large plates. It wouldn’t have been so much of an issue but the tables were small which made it very awkward for two people to eat at one table.
Overall, it had a small, homey atmosphere so there is a lot of potential there. I don’t think I’ll return here though, at least not for breakfast.

Friendly neighborhood café. It seems as if there are always regulars there. They serve beer, as well. I got a run of the mill breakfast– veggie omelette that comes with toast and potatoes. My omelette was good, but I was just kind of taken aback by the veggies that he put in there. there was eggplant, and I just didn’t really enjoy that part even though eggplant doesn’t bother me. The eggplant was slightly undercooked. I liked the potatoes though. More on the blander side, but that’s what I like since I like to douse my stuff with ketchup and hotsauce and sometimes I like to eat bland food. Seriously… us Americans need to enjoy food for it’s taste, and not how much salt we add on it. With that said, the omelette was bland as well, but I didn’t mind. I mean, the WORST offense is making something too salty.
Coffee…was really watery. I didn’t even finish my first cup.
Cleanliness: pretty good, but then I lifted one hot sauce bottle and the bottom was coated in pancake syrup or honey… so I left it there because it grossed me out. No hot sauce for me. :(
I work really close by and thought this could be a lunch spot that I can come by to enjoy but… I don’t know. I’ll give it a try again and order something that everybody else really enjoyed.

We took our two sons there one who is 8 and another who is 1.5. They do not have high chairs so don’t take a baby!
Also, the food was just OK… the potatoes tasted like they were from days ago, we had to ask for ice and they didn’t have basics like sugar free syrup and Splenda for my coffee. The coffee also tasted like Folgers. We should have gone to IHOP!

Giving a generous 4 stars here. Came in for breakfast on the run before a tax appt around the corner. It was pretty much empty save for 2 ladies. Small, cute décor — lots of random posters and artwork hanging. Seems like they serve various alcohol as well.
Got 2 breakfast sandos to go. Egg sausage and cheese on sourdough and egg bacon and cheese on a croissant. Both came with potatoes and pickles. Friendly service and quick turnaround on our sandos. Nothing exceptional, just normal breakfast sandos.
Interesting twist was the bathroom. There’s only one… and it’s HUGE and it seems to double as a storage room. Plus there was about 25 pieces of art hanging on the wall, a bistro table with 2 chairs and plates and jugs on it, baby highchairs and all other assorted glassware and china… not really where I want to see it stored… but the bathroom was HUGE and it was really clean. Odd…
I would come back here again though. Just a nice, local eatery. Nothing fussy.

Stopped in for late breakfast on a Monday and were the only people there so we got to choose a place to sit. It’s a small place on San Pablo so keep your eyes peeled for it. We parked on the street, not sure if there is parking elsewhere.
I ordered a latte that was served in a glass mug which I thought was cute and the one egg plate which came with one egg, home fries and toast (bread of my choice.. . the whole wheat raisin was delish). My significant other ordered the special of the day which came with two pancakes, bacon and eggs. It didn’t take long at all for the food to come out and we bought thought it was pretty good.
The overall service was pleasant and efficient. I would return to Raphael’s again if I was in the area.

Yummmmmmm!!!
I was walking by and saw a sign that they have the best ¹⁄₃ burgers in town. So I had to try it out.
And guess what?
It is true!
It tasted magical.
I think anything that they cook will be good. So I have to come back to try the gumbo, omelettes, blueberry pancakes and other burgers. Probably not in the same day. ;)
Another thing is that the vibe is really really great! I could have stayed there all day.
The owner is definitely doing something right.
Apparently starting in June they will be open two nights a week (probably Friday & Saturday).

On our way to Portland, my incredibly thoughtful guy decided to take me to breakfast at this little spot that he had been telling me about for months. Having a solid breakfast before traveling is important to him and I love trying new places.
We were welcomed in by the owner who poured us two cups of coffee and took our order. While my guy is a creature of habit and always orders the same (two eggs, bacon, potatoes and english muffin), I ordered something a little different and had the Vegetable Omelette.
The food came out quickly for a one man show and I got a omelette filled with sauteed zuchini and onions, amongst other seasonal veggies. Although it was more than I could eat, it was delicious and filled us up before our trip.