Is there parking at 85°C in University City?

Yes—it's located in University Town Center, so parking is available in the mall lot. Since it's a bakery/cafe spot rather than a full restaurant, you won't typically spend long enough to stress about parking availability.

Can I just walk in, or should I call ahead?

Walk-ins are totally fine and encouraged. This is a casual bakery operation, not a reservation joint. Peak times are likely mornings and mid-afternoon, so if you want the full pastry case, hit them earlier in the day before selections thin out.

What should I order on my first visit?

The Berrytale (berry jelly and cream cheese in a brioche bun) is a five-year favorite for a reason, and regulars rave about the bread quality and their brioche-based desserts. Grab a coffee too—people consistently mention fast, solid drinks.

Is this place good for working or studying?

Absolutely. It's tagged as work-friendly with solo seating at the cafe counter, and you've got the whole University Town Center nearby if you need a bigger setup. Casual vibe, decent coffee, and pastries that won't leave crumbs everywhere (mostly).

The spot is indoors in a mall setting, so outdoor seating with dogs likely isn't an option. Takeout and delivery are your best bet if you're traveling with a pup.

Do they have options for dietary restrictions?

Their strength is in bread and brioche pastries, so gluten-free and vegan options aren't clearly highlighted in reviews. Your best move is to ask staff directly about what they can accommodate—they're described as friendly and helpful.

Is this casual enough to show up in gym clothes, or should I dress up?

This is a bakery cafe in a mall—gym clothes, work clothes, whatever. There's zero dress code. People grab pastries between errands or before work all day long.

85°C Bakery Cafe-San Diego (University Town Center) — Coffe…

“85°C Bakery Cafe brings Taiwanese bakery culture to University City, where bread is treated as serious craft, not an afterthought.”

Where Parfait Paris chases aesthetics and Van Leeuwen leans into single-ingredient purity, 85°C is doing something categorically different: volume baking with genuine technique. These aren't croissants assembled from frozen laminate or muffins from a hotel breakfast spread. The brioche here is made to a specific softness — moist, chewy, and consistent enough that regulars are showing up once or twice a week without being disappointed. That kind of repeatability is harder than it sounds, and it's what separates this spot from the photo-op cafés in the same plaza.

The Berrytale is the one to start with — berry jelly and cream cheese tucked into brioche, and the combination has kept at least one reviewer loyal for five straight years. That's not a fluke. The pastry case rewards exploration; pull a few different items and eat at one of the mall tables rather than rushing out. The coffee and tea program is fast, well-executed, and won't eat your afternoon budget — bread and drinks for two lands around forty dollars, which in San Diego's current café economy is legitimately reasonable.

For the neighborhood, this spot functions as something the UTC corridor doesn't have much of: a casual, low-pressure place to sit with a coffee and something baked that didn't come off an assembly line. UCSD researchers, UTC shoppers, and hospital-adjacent visitors from the medical buildings nearby all end up here for the same reason — it's consistent, it's fast, and the product is genuinely good.

A note: quality seems tied to which staff is working, and reviews mention specific employees by name as the reason a visit lands or doesn't. The University Town Center location draws stronger praise than the Mira Mesa outpost, so the drive here specifically is worth it. Takeout and delivery are both solid options if the mall seating isn't your thing.