Voila! Cafe

beignets and chicory coffee — good morning!

This place has THE BEST French Dip I’ve ever had! Yummy, crusty baguette and roast beef done on sight. If that wasn’t good enough, myself and the two friends I had with me sampled practically every dessert in the place. All made by the Pastry chef, Elise. We had a slice of Olive Oil cake, moist and almondy. A chocolate pot de crème, which was literally one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten. As well as a variety of delicious little cookies and mini-​eclairs. This was one of the best lunches I’ve had in a long time and I will definitely be back to try the breakfast menu ASAP!

I give very few 1 star reviews, my criteria for just 1 star being that I would never return to the place. Voila! met that criteria. It’s not the food that brought it to this level (which, while not not horrible wasn’t necessarily good either), but it was the service.
Just to quickly summarize the food– I had a piece of quiche, a smoothie, and also bought a couple of macaroons. The quiche was just fine, the smoothie not at all icy & barely cold (kind of tasted just like thick flavored milk), and the macaroons had large pocket of air in the shells, which is a big no-​no in macaroon land. Speaking of macaroons, try the ones at Miette– TO DIE FOR.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd the service. There were 4 of us & we all got easy stuff. 2 of us got the quiche (we didn’t even ask for it warmed up, just cut a piece & stick it on a plate) & we ordered 4 smoothies overall. About 40 minutes later we finally had all our smoothies. 10 minutes a piece. For a smoothie. Now I get it, it was a little crowded (maybe about 10 people in there) there were only 2 people working, things can get difficult. But the people working the weren’t working efficiently– there was only one person making the smoothies & taking orders (honestly, the bulk of the work). The other person was making hot food (which few people were ordering) & dealing with dishing out other food. But quite frankly, I don’t care. It’s management’s responsibility either to a) make sure that their employees are operating efficiently, or b) to hire more employees. When I can go to my local juice bar or even Jamba for that matter & get a smoothie in 3 minutes there’s no doubt in my mind that that’s where I’ll be going, and not returning here anytime soon.
Just a note: This place is apparently under new management as of fairly recently and has undergone a menu change, so the previous reviews are no longer pertinent.

This would have been a 3, possibly 4 star review, but for a few very important notes.
We went here last weekend to get some chow before going into the White Elephant Sale. This is a big event for this part of Oakland; The whole neighborhood gets busy when it’s going on.
We walked in and there were a decent number of people there, ~10.
There were only 2 people ‘behind the counter’, a short order cook and someone manning the counter.
Long story short, it took 30 minutes for 4 of us to get smoothies and slices of pre-​made quiche.
My smoothie was great! Strawberry-​coconut-​cream or something, full of flavor and soymilk and tofu!
This is where I default Voila.
Reason # 1 — They only have one blender. making one smoothie at a time is just silly. youre constantly stopping to wash the blender.
Reason # 2 — Management should *know* that during the times that the White Elephant sale is going on, the place is going to get busier, and therefore they need more staff.
Reason # 3 — Girly behind the counter *seriously* had a talking problem. The last smoothie we got took almost 10 minutes to make. We saw her put a banana in the blender and then walk away. How is this working? no push of the button? She was jumping back and forth between talking and the counter and our orders. Its a simple fix. Take an order. Make a smoothie *while* talking to your friend. Tell next customer you’ll be there in a minute. smoothie done, talking done, ready to take next order.
I really dont want to sound mean; while we were sitting there I really didn’t want to fault the staff, until we saw all of this go down, I was going to fault management for poor staffing during busy times.
I would only go here again if there were no line and I knew my smoothie/​whatever would be made quickly.

I have yet to be disappointed with their soups. I know I need to limit my portions but I can never say no to their soups.
Their daily specials are usually good. A fed days ago they had roasted chicken with rice and vegetables. It wasn’t perfect, I wouldn’t expect a place like this to be perfect, but it was pretty damn close. The chicken, while a bit on the dry side had crispy skin and was seasoned perfectly. I devoured the sides without reaching for any kind condiments.
A good, relatively inexpensive place to eat relatively close to my work. I say that is pretty awesome.

Simple good café food with a few mexican dishes available as well. Jose runs the café and does great work and delivers sizeable portions. Good selection of juices though many are a bit sweet for me. Papaya Perfection is a definite winner!
They have ample space and a relaxed dining area with a community bookshelf.
It is the brightest green building that you could imagine so you will not miss it.

Love it. I love anything local, but this place is just a treat. It gets better every time i go back.
The portions are big, and the prices are low. I expected it to be «bad café” food but man i was wrong!
I had a Chicken salad, heaps of lettuce, loads of sliced roasted chicken.
He had Roasted Chicken w/​veggies (dinners remorse!) Half a juicy roasted Chicken, mixxed roasted veggies, Creamy mashed potatoes. Man oh man am i hungry now.
The atmosphere is one you make your own, their are books and newspapers to read. Fliers from local businesses to browse over.
And the juices are so cheap, and delish, it really is awesome knowing that it was made literally 15ft from where you are getting them from.
The worst part about the place is I cant figure out its opening hours! I used to have to walk by on the way to the Bart, and i would take some change just in case it was open (on the days it was i would always bloody miss the train, but no matter, as i had fresh juice!)
Go there! i worry that little places like this don’t get enough business.

holy smokes ! The Juice prices here are the best. They sell the gallon sized jugs of Apple, Orange, Lemonade for $ 5.50! That would be less than half of the same type of Oddwalla or Naked. We are talking fresh juice from fruits, pressed that day in the same building where you are purchasing it, what more can you ask for? I used to juice at home, but there is no way I could get the same amount of juice if I purchased fruit from a retail supermarket.
I stumbled upon the deli which is inside the juice outlet by accident. All I can say is, come for the juice, stay for the food! Honestly, this place completely over-​acheives. It is basically run by Jose the cook, who told me has worked pretty much at all the high-​end hotels in SF, you name it. After speaking with him for a few minutes, I knew he takes considerable pride in the food he serves. He pretty much does it all, so there are times where you may have to wait since he runs the register for juice sales, takes orders, prepares the food. He has a solo helper appears to be inexperienced. All this in a sort of make-​shift kitchen. (portable grill, toaster ovens, none which look to be commercial quality) If you look at what type of cooking equipment he is using, one could only imagine what he could do in a proper kitchen.
The food? the amount and quality of the food is incredible for the prices. I have been here with other diners who had the Roasted Chicken plate. they both gave 2 huge thumbs up and could not beleive the amount of food for $ 6.50. It came with ½ chicken, a huge slob of potato salad, fresh stir-​fried vegs with fresh herbs, 3 pieces of incredible cheese topped garlic bread. Yes for $ 6.50, something which was comparable (ok, wouldn’t be embarrased by) to Zuni, but at a ¹⁄₃ of the price.
I tried the mexican plate which came with rice, beans, 3 Enchildadas, and a separate dinner sized salad which was as fresh as their juice for yup, $ 6.50.
I have heard they will be expanding the menu this week to include seafood dishes, including prawns and fish.
Why should you go here? It is one of those places which you would never expect to find, and never expect to have this level of well-​prepared, fresh food made by a person who is passionate about what he does, all for the cost of an Extra value meal at a fast food joint. It is a real hidden gem, nestled in the middle of no-​where, but still in a safe, interesting area filled with mostly artist work/​live spaces and industrial business.

Mmmmmm my mouth is watering just thinking of the amazing juices and croissants… seriously probably the best croissant I have ever had… ask to have it toasted… better then Paris, I swear… I haven’t had one in a long time, since I started my faux diet, but I might just have to get one tomorrow morning with my favorite apple juice… Super cute building… You can’t miss it, it’s bright green… and the guy that works there is ridiculously nice…

I love this building – open and airy and bright.
I think I need to give this place another shot, but in my one experience, it was okay. I had been warned by colleagues that they are very slow to prepare you meal, but it wasn’t that bad, in my experience.
I had the huevos rancheros, and it was kinda weird. The egg was like a big egg pancake and there was no salsa, just grilled onions and peppers. It was okay, but very greasy.
I’d like to come back and try the smoothies and some of the other food.

The place is zeniouos!
Okay, I will get right to the point about the food. Kudos to Jose, the cook is a new addition since the beginning of the year. Friendly and personable, he prepares everything alone, including cook the soups, Mexican dishes and even BBQ. So far, I’ve had chicken soups prepared with rice, with vegetables, with pasta. I’ve had bagels and hot croissants with juice in the morning. The chicken taco trio is light and savory for the value. Salads are amazing! I favor the classic Greek with feta and kalamata olives plus you get hot garlic chibata bread made to order. zzzzoooooo… I give the food 4**** and 1 added for the atmosphere.
Light, spacious, airy. This is a pleasant space anchored with a huge n’ happy Ficas near the entry. Tan wooden tables and chairs, one comfy couch covered in a funky faded southern hemisphere tribal print; scattering of 4 – 5 green mother-​in-​law plants amongst other live green vegetation. White walls to the sky that act as an occasional canvass for local artist. I really like this space.

I love Voila and the veggie omelette. The juice is also amazing and very inexpensive compared to the grocery stores.

The food here is delicious! The first time I walked in, I expected to see a mostly juice bar/​smoothie/​salad menu but they actually have a fairly extensive menu that includes sandwiches, mexican fare, soup, salads and breakfast foods.
I was slightly skeptical that any of the choices would be good with the eclectic menu, but I’ve tried many things from different parts of the menu and have not yet found something that did not taste good. My favorite things are the black and blue smoothies (black berries, blueberries and apple juice) and if you’re and adventurous eater, whatever is the chef’s special for the day. The chef’s special generally allows the chef to take advantage of whatever produce is in season and make something yummy out of it.
The portions are huge! The salads are about three times bigger than you’d imagine them to be. Many of the entrees come with a side of mixed greens which is really what I would call a small/​medium-​sized salad. The prices are a little steeper than I would expect them to be but with all the high-​quality produce, fresh ingredients, and large portions they make a great value.
The fresh squeezed juices are also very good. For the price you pay for a carton of juice from concentrate at a grocery store, you can get some really refreshing and interesting combinations like raspberry lemonade and orange passion.
I agree with the other reviewer about the sometimes long wait if you have multiple people in your party or there are a lot of other customers but I’ve found if you avoid going between noon and 2pm the wait is much shorter. Plus the staff is super friendly so I don’t usually mind the wait.

The food and juices are delicious, but if you go there with more than one person, it will take you – at least – 45 minutes to get all of your food.
That said, the sandwiches are quite good, if slightly overpriced.
Of course, if you’re just running in to grab a quart of pomegranate juice, it’s lovely.

First a foremost a juice factory outlet, the café in the front has a loyal local customer base on Jingletown who long for the comfort of their favorite sandwiches and consistently good organic coffee.
The café’s been through some interesting changes since its inception 2 years ago. A raw vegan chef made her mark here, and while the place never abandoned its traditional American fare, she left behind several exceptional smoothies on the menu — try the mint-​green tea-​cacao for a refreshing lift and sustained boost of energy on a hot day.
Salads are pretty good here. The greens and basil are all organic and fresh. Most of the salad dressings are kinda yucky though. Stick with olive oil and lemon juice and you’ll be fine.
With no natural walking traffic, this location is a tough one for any business. Voila needs to create a buzz and a distinction in order to rise above the «baseline» of quality and service (which as one reviewer noted, can be pretty unimpressive to say the least).

voila’s combination of natural light, friendly staff, free wifi, easy parking, and delicious fresh squeezed juices at wholesale prices is automatically five stars! this oakland institution is not to be missed!
note: i tried their tropical smoothie, and chicken pot pie with salad, and both were delicious!