Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery

This is place is my worst enemy. Right at the end of the steps to Bart you would think the spot is crappy by default, but you usually have too little time to judge. With those few extra minutes before your train… Your f%*@d once you gaze in. I’m guilty of inhaling random cookies and muffins on my way back to the east bay one too many times. Don’t judge ;)
If you crave something sweet, go for the cookies. They are so eewwy gewwy and best when fresh out of the oven. I’ve only had the chocolate chip and it really does the job. I’ve also had a muffin here called the «black bottom» suggested by older man that was probably a rich FiDi hedge funder and somehow I trusted he knew his muffins well enough. The black bottom was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and swirled with cream cheese batter throughout the top. I want more!
Gah this is a good spot in a baaaad way.

Ok. I went in there again and I take back the 1 extra star I gave them. I ran in on my lunch break the other day to get one of those dinner roll things for a soup I had. First of all, it was 1pm and they had NOTHING in their display case. No pastries. No rolls. Nothing. I went up to the girl at the counter, once I was called up after 5 minutes of her standing there and fumbling with her keys (lucky me…) to be greeted as if I was a virus. I asked if they had rolls. She said «whaaa?» I said «like bread. but small.» she said «uh…like whaa? Huh?» I said «they’re like buns? kinda.» She had no idea what planet she was on. I quickly turned about-​face, said never mind and ran out while she was still processing. That was painful to say the least. I went to Boudin across the street and got a couple of dinner rolls. Never entering specialty’s at this location again. And I don’t really like their cinnamon/​morning buns — too oily. Gross.

Excellent tuna sandwich and the soup was also delicious. Seating for a longer time was a bit uncomfortable because there was a draught. I will go there again and would recommend this place.

Well I just waited 24 hours for a salad.
24 hours.
A WHOLE DAY.
And really, I would have forgiven them for this; it wasn’t exactly their fault. I came in here yesterday during a non-​busy time, maybe around 11:20 a.m. or so. I waited around 15 minutes before asking where my salad was. Five minutes later, a fire alarm went off. I’m a journalist, and I had a tight deadline, so I had to leave. I was a little miffed, but honestly, it’s just a freaking salad. Like who has time to get so upset over it?
So today I came back in, expecting some grand apology, «Oh I’m sorry sir. Oh that never should have happened. You want a muffin basket? An order of cookies? We’ll get you that salad immediately and credit the $ 9.99 it cost you.» Or even just a healthy «coming right up!»
No. I explained the situation, and their first response was, «Oh.» Followed by some glib girl who was like «Oh yeah that! I took it home and ate it.» So I actually had to ask them to make the salad that I’d bought and not received. Then, as she’s writing down the order, I told aforementioned girl it was a large salad, and she grins and looks like she’s going to wink, «It was a small, wasn’t it?»
Honey. I really get that you’re trying to lighten the mood. I appreciate it. I really do. But this shit is just not the time and place.
And since I’m now on a rant, readers should note I’ve been going to this place for years and paid attention to their mismanagement. The big issue with Specialties and its neighbor, Boudin, is even though you walk in and no one is there, they are handling about 10 million corporate lunch orders on any given day. Well that’s great, but queuing me 30 minutes behind some epic sandwich order is something I should know before I just pop in for a salad.
It’s a shame because this space is just that, spacious, and nice, and I would go in here more often if the staff ever looked like they had a clue at what they’re doing.

30 – 40 minutes for a damn BLT? Never again.

I had the Caprese sandwich and asked for it to be toasted. It was delicious. Plus their cookies are awesome. Do plan time for a good nap after lunch. Because you won’t feel like going back to work after this meal.

I go to the Peet’s kisok at this Specialty’s almost every day. The guys are great and know my crazy drink order by heart. They always have a great attitude and are super nice and efficient.
I wish the restaurant would order more raspberry syrup for my coffee because that’s my favorite. but despite the the workers at the kiosk requesting it, they haven’t gotten another one and it’s been months!

Easy, fast, filling. And the place smells like cookies! This specialties has a nice vibe. The people are friendly and efficient. I especially like the napa Waldorf salad or the turkey and cranberry. People talk about the cookies (which, let’s face it, are incredibly high calorie, but worth it when you need a treat), but I’m a bigger fan of the bread. My mom always made bread when I was growing up and the bread at specialties comes close.

Convenient location, average food.
I’ve had it a few times at the café and catering at the office but all times weren’t extremely memorable.

Halloween is over and all the gooey chocolate chips must have been given away from this store. So I come to Specialty’s usually for their cookies and it seems that their wheat germ chocolate chip cookie has morphed.
The cookie that I had today was quite awful. First of all, it was cold. And it’s not a day old cookie either. It’s a fresh one. And the chocolate used to melt which makes the cookie very gooey and amazing is now small little chips that dot the cookie and the wheat germ tasted stale. Gee, for that type of cookie, I can get that anywhere. Why would I want to buy this from you Specialty?
I am so disappointed. You are not getting a 1 star because at least I like my sandwich.

This to me is the West Coast equivalent of Panera Bread. They have a large, reasonably-​priced selection of baked goods, sandwiches, and salads.
Specilty’s gets busy during lunch hours, but they give customers the option of ordering at computers when they walk in, or at a register, moving people in and out of the restaurant quicker.
So, nothing ground breaking here, but you can get a quick lunch for a good price that tastes great. They also have a pretty large selection of vegan and gluten-​free menu items (Because, California).

We had ordered a veggie sandwich using the self service kiosk. We had customized the veggie sandwich. We are vegetarians and do not take non vegetarian food at all. It so happened that we ended up getting a different sandwich, I had placed this order for my mom, but unknowingly she had the sandwich after which we found out that it was chicken.
it left us reallt frustrated and disappointed. We had placed the order on 09/​28, token number 120.

Wow! 12 preppie in line at 7:45am today. 1 register open and 1 barista working.
I asked them to open another register and was stared at like I was speaking a foreign language — how dare I ask a company to serve their customers.
Clearly, I need to find a new morning breakfast place! Pastries are 5 star, but good luck getting one. I was in line for over 15 minutes this morning!

Hello,
I’ve ordered a javiva at this place four times. Two times I got what I ordered. One time I got the wrong kind of javiva, coffee instead of chai. One time I got a latte, then when I explained what I had ordered I received the same latte, but colder. I tried asking for the thing I has actually ordered, but the manager insisted that a javiva is the same as a cold latte.

The three stars is for the service. I have wanted to comment on the service for some time — putting it off in hopes they would fix the issue. Every time I go to this location I do not get good service.
Here are a couple examples: after the gym one night I was craving one of their amazing cookies, so I tried to buy two. After the girl got me my cookies, handed them to me, and saw me pull out my debt card she stated, «oh, I’m only taking cash right now.» I let her know I only had my debt card and would not be able to purchase the cookies then. She did not apologize, so just stared at me and I left the store. Another example: this morning I went in to get a quiche. The cheese one was not ready yet so I asked if they had the veggie one ready by chance (sometimes they are in the back cooling early in the morning), but the lady helping me stared back and just mouthed «no».

Food standards has definitely slipped over the last couple of years, at least at this location (work next door).
It’s good they are community-​minded and employ so many special-​needs staff though.

Specialty’s needs to revisit their kisok/​tablet ordering system.
I used the kiosk because there was a line and took a pager and waited patiently, pager never went off, I got up to check and they had no knowledge of my hot drink order and the yogurt parfait i ordered was just in the cold case, but they were out of them anyway.
I’m guessing there needs to be some revisions to their system e.g. «hey dumb dumb, the item you ordered is in the self-​serve cold case, go grab it» — but i was mistaken that i would get a tray with my beverage and drink after the pager went off.
Work it out!

UPDATE. *Said in Unsolved Mysteries Robert Stack voice”: The cookies are now just over $ 3.00. AND they got smaller – less chunkier. The thing is, I DON’T CARE. I will still pay for it. They still taste the same and they still give me that warm feeling in my crotch. The only difference is that I can now eat the cookie in one sitting whereas before the cookie was just too sweet and big and chunky to finish all at once.
OR, maybe the cookies are the same size but it’s just that my hands and mouth got fatter.

These are the type of café’s that I could easily get hooked on… mmm. hmmm
We had lunch catered from here recently for work, and based upon what I had, I was greatly impressed.
I did not get a chance to visit this actual location, however, based on my tasting and feedback from others on this wonderful place, I have a feeling I will be visiting fairly soon :)
I ordered their Turkey Pesto sandwich consisting of: Oven-​roasted turkey breast, muenster, cream cheese and basil pesto with fresh spinach, red onion, dill pickle, bell peppers and mayo on toasted ciabatta. I just requested on dill pickle. The sandwich turned out just as requested and tasted absolutely fantastic! Fresh, savory, and utterly delicious. Especially considering I’m not much of a sandwich person.
They also serve an array of additional decadent treats as well as salads, breakfast sandwiches ect.
So, based upon my tasteful experience, I now anticipate on stopping into one of their locations and getting my grub on!

Lately I have been in no mood. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean that I’ll be in the mood anytime soon, or that you’ll be able to subtly cajole me into a better mood. It means to get me a sandwich before things start getting hectic.
To this end, I will accept any sandwich from Specialty’s (is it Specialty’s or Specialties? I would love to have a compliment war over this – definitely send me a bunch of compliments about it). I have yet to have a bad sandwich from SB&C. They. Are. Decadent.
Today I stole two of them from the catering cart in my office. I already felt pretty good about myself, but after I ate the salami sandwich that was on some kind of insanely delicious poppyseed roll, I felt downright great. Dammit if that wasn’t a fine sandwich. I can’t say enough good things about SB&C’s sandwiches, and I speak with the utmost authority because I have had all of them (twice), except anything that involves tuna or chicken salad.
SB&C’s salads kick ass too. Their Caesar salad with chicken is frakking delicious-​rich and cheesy with chicken in every bite. Their Cobb salad is also a great choice – I feel like SB&C should get an extra star just for that ranch dressing. Damn Gina, it is the perfect ranch dressing. I would not think twice about dipping my slice of pizza into this ranch at all.
Oh, the cookies, the cookies. My goodness, those cookies are something to behold. I regret to inform you that I have done some extensive web-​based research on their calorie count, and believe me when I tell you that you can’t have one. Hell, you probably can’t even have one half. These cookies are like a full day’s worth of calories. And they taste like it too-​those things are good! This leads me to my main point: they have the food part of this operation on lock down.
The problem is that there is nowhere to sit down and eat. If you wanna grub down for reals, you have to go back to your office. Awww… Bummer!
At any rate, I love this spot. It’s delicious.