Gerad Gobel and Alexis Rorabaugh are on a roll, expanding their award-winning Rose Pizzeria outside of Berkeley into San Francisco. But the couple is also taking a new direction, opening Berkeley’s Cafe Brusco in September 2025, a restaurant centered around bagels, pastries, and coffee (plus a wine program). It’s become a fast favorite for locals.
Cafe Brusco has an extensive coffee menu with both standards and not-so-standard drinks. Specials may include items like a fennel-orange latte or a shakerato. There are also wines by the glass, bottles to-go, or open a bottle at the shop (with a $10 corkage fee).
Cafe Brusco is one of the few shops to regularly offer pastries from the popular East Bay pop-up Good Luck Bakery. Find the goods here, Wednesday through Saturday.