Caffe Mediterraneum

A tad expensive but not bad! Very nice people let us have large groups there, perfect for our game get-togethers in a large room with many tables and chairs we can scoot together. The food is delicious with a lot of variety to choose from (unless you can't eat gluten like me) although I wish they had more gluten-free food. But they Very nice and peaceful. Great drink variety and great tasting drinks too.

Great cafe, has a more local vibe to it that may throw visitors off. But it has excellent food and even better coffee to go with it. Try out the Cafe Latte (since they claim to have invented it there). Plus the unique history of the place includes Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, Allen Ginsberg writing Howl there, and even the Black Panthers had meetings upstairs.

I have been living next to this place for years. It has a lot of history. I think the food and coffee has improved. Yes they do have Peets but this place is good, has great character, cozy at times. They are tolerant to the homeless and outside sometimes smells of weed. The house coffee used to be a little nasty imo but I like it now, less bitter than Peets. This is one of the hubs where travelers meet. 5 stars for real character. I would be sad without it.

The med is classic Berkeley- sort of old and run-down looking with a beautiful layout and balcony. I used to come here in the early 90's when it was crowded all day and all night, people chain-smoking and writing comics, zines, and great-american novels. The two times I went there a few weeks ago it was a subdued, almost empty cafe with a sort of lonely vibe. The baristas were cool and made great drinks- The prices were insanely high and I honestly can't see the Med lasting much longer, at least in their current space. Just down the street corporate shops like Peets were booming with business. It's a new day.

Great place to swing in for a feel of back-in-the-day Berkeley. According to a placard behind the bar, The Med is also home to the first caffe latte, invented here by Italian founder Lino Meiorin, who used additional milk in the 1950s when consumer tastes were not yet used to the one-two punch of an espresso or cappucino. Plenty of space to grab a self proclaimed original latte, spread out across the roomy shop and mezzanine, and catch up from a day of book browsing at Moe's across the street. Staff is super cool and nice. And Dustin Hoffman may or may not have filmed a scene from The Graduate here.

As a patron since 1996, I can report that while some things changed - a kitchen was added, for example- most everything else is the same, and awesome. The funky vibe remains. The lattes are smooth. The chai latte is one of the best out there. Try it with only a touch of milk for an extra spicy experience.