Way Station Brew

Way Station Brew

Way Station Brew is a dark and mysterious restaurant, cafe, and beer garden. It is decorated in dark colors and dimly lit, with jazzy instrumentals playing in the background. Half the walls are dark red exposed brick; the other half are painted a dark teal that seems to absorb the light, leaving the room with a dark appearance. There are two black leather sofas, a black leather booth running along one wall, and several black leather bar stools, some at the high-top tables and some along the bar. Both of the long walls are adorned with bright, colorful, modern art displayed on them, adding some childish personality to this mysterious den. 

The door opens to Dwight Avenue. The storefront has windows that overlook the street. Upon entry, you will see a piano pushed up against one of the walls, and beyond it, a lounge area, and even beyond that,  a small bar.  Behind the bar, you will see an espresso station that extends for the length of the restaurant on that side. Tables line the other side of the restaurant. This leaves plenty of room for people to sit, but many of the customers circulate in and out, placing to-go orders. 

This cafe serves a variety of breakfast items, many of which include eggs or bacon. The menu also includes a French toast option, some scones, and an avocado option for breakfast. For lunch, they also have other options that include a salad, some hot sandwich options, and a selection of smash burgers, and various sides. 

As you might be able to tell from the dark and captivating design, Way Station Brew is also a beer garden. They have a variety of alcoholic beverages, including mimosas, beer, and wine.

But in the mornings, this establishment does a bang-up business selling coffee. They offer a drip coffee, an espresso, an americano, a cappuccino, a flat white, a Kyoto cold drip, and a latte. Any of these can be made with house-made syrups like sage/rosemary, lavender, vanilla, and mocha.

That said, they also offer a chai latte, a matcha latte, and a hot chocolate. 

My iced vanilla latte had an appealingly sophisticated flavor; it had a mildly bitter coffee flavor cutting through vanilla-flavored milk. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and bitter, but not too bitter. The complexity of the flavor made it an interesting beverage to sip. It was refreshingly cold and exactly what I needed to start my morning. 

Overall, I enjoyed the darkly fascinating ambiance; this restaurant, cafe, and beer garden certainly has a lot of personality, which is fun. My drink was a high-quality, well-made beverage, and their free wifi worked quite well. I would definitely come back.

2120 Dwight Way (off Shattuck), Berkeley, CA, 94704

Open everyday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm

The kitchen closes at 3:00 pm