Fat Apple's Restaurant & Bakery

I admit to being biased, but I'm biased for a reason. When I first moved to Berkeley a decade ago I lived a block from Fat Apple's and went there most mornings for a pastry and coffee, and occasionally for a meal. Now I've moved back to the immediate neighborhood and walk the three blocks there for tea and a scone a few times a week and once in a while get a burger. The food is a little pricey for the menu items but is worth it, you get what you pay for. The staff are friendly and helpful, they seem to enjoy their jobs. They are also quick, at least in the bakery side. I tend to get actual meals only during quiet times so I can't say how well the staff on the restaurant side handle the busier times, but I would expect well since they clearly put the effort into their work. Anything from the bakery is great. They manage to make scones in that all-too-rare way: they aren't just lumps of dough but are truly delicious, sweet but not too sweet, with choices like oatmeal and olallieberry and current scones, and they have a great, somewhat flaky texture, perfectly between too dry and overly gooey. This is the only place I'll get a scone instead of something else. more

Fat Apple’s, the restaurant with a cute name, inflated prices and yawn-worthy food selection isn’t worth visiting. The menu is overrun with the usual “American classics,” but nothing about them justifies the prices. Paying nearly $10 for a hamburger generally entails a little pizzazz, perhaps a special sauce, but no such luck at Fat Apple’s. The only saving grace is the pie, but (surprise) it’s also overpriced. more