The Best Coffee Shops for a Date in Berkeley

Meet under high ceilings and plenty of natural light at Sightglass Coffee on University Avenue across from UC Berkeley. Floor-to-ceiling windows face the street, while a hand-built fixture hangs above the bar. The cafe is open from 6:30am to 5pm on weekdays and from 7am to 5pm on weekends.

Baker & Commons in the Elmwood gives you an easy coffee-and-baked-goods date with breakfast, lunch and sandwiches available if you want to stay longer. We'd start with the lavender latte.

Caffe Strada, at College Avenue and Bancroft Way, is a familiar spot for coffee chats and studying, with seating both inside and outdoors. The menu covers espresso drinks, lattes, mochas, baguette sandwiches and panini, along with beer.

Have coffee where Peet's began at the original Vine Street shop in North Berkeley, where thick wooden counters and roasting equipment are still part of the room. We'd start with the drip coffee, since fresh pots come out every 30 minutes.

Cafe Leila on San Pablo Avenue in West Berkeley pairs artisanal tea drinks and breakfast with an outdoor patio, giving you the option to sit outside or take your order to go.

Grab coffee and a bagel at Berkeley Espresso, the downtown cafe at Shattuck and Hearst with plenty of seating indoors and out. The menu includes locally roasted organic coffee, handcrafted espresso drinks, pastries and sandwiches, plus beer and wine if the date stretches later.

HeyMa Coffee gives a University Avenue coffee date a more distinctive setting, with a U-shaped Majlis sofa at the center of the Yemeni cafe and alcoves lined in black-and-gold arabesque. We'd start with the cardamom-infused Heyma Latte and add honey-soaked pastries or the Dubai chocolate cheesecake.

Keep it simple at Philz Coffee's Gilman location on Ninth Street.

Settle in at a big table at Victory Point Cafe on North Shattuck, a board game cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. The cafe side serves coffee, craft beer and wine on tap, sandwiches and pizza. If you only want coffee, come earlier in the day; game players get seating priority after 6pm when it is busy.

Watch coffee roast while you drink it at Artis Coffee Roasters Cafe, a Fourth Street coffee bar and roastery in West Berkeley. The cafe is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm and weekends from 9am to 6pm.