I'll preempt this review by saying that I've only ever bought start a bakery as it too good to go deal in which I would get well over the estimated value of items. The main reason I don't buy the baked goods regularly is just that I live so close by that it seems unnecessary and I would be even more overweight than I currently am if I did. That all being said, the quality of the pastries and breads here are top notch. you can find the croissants you're looking for as well as trusty sourdough loaves. My favorite item I've ever received is the chocolate babka. you can taste a rich chocolatey moistness with dense, but not heavy cake texture. they're reasonably priced, and if I were bringing a gift to a friend, it would definitely be at the top of my list. read more

Yummy yummy yummy!!! I was on the area due to having to take my partner to a medical appointment. I use this app to find great deals and let me tell you... I found an awesome deal! In my bag I had some delicious choices. I had a croissant, chocolate babka, a little cute moist banana bread, and this walnut croissant that tasted like a mixture of a donut and croissant!! The bread! Sooooo soft!! I mean so soft! This is going to be used to make some Italian sandwiches. The nice woman who opened the door, I told her it was my first time and she said "you'll be happy" and let me tell you! I am!!!! I'll be back and order some other stuff now that I know this place is good. The only complaint I had is its location.... And google maps isn't really precise. At first when pulling in I thought I was going in to a Tesla dealership in a warehouse looking building. There is parking right in front and easily accessible. read more

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Cute, bustling bakery super close to Rockridge station! Lots of people but minimal wait around 10:30am on a Saturday. Staff was friendly and very efficient with taking and packing orders without making you feel rushed. I ordered a strawberry horchata and a lemon/blueberry kouign-amann with white chocolate ganache. The pastry selection was overwhelming! There were dozens of different types of cakes, tarts, croissants, and kouign-amman. The display cases were beautifully arranged and noticeably clean. Pastry quality was top-tier. It was flaky, fresh, and the perfect level of sweet. The filling was equally good, with no flavor overpowering another, creating a perfect balance. My only note is that I wish the horchata had a stronger strawberry flavor. read more

Starter Bakery - strawberry horchata - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Hidden gem for Too Good To Go! (4/5 Green Stars) A couple of years ago, I wrote a review of the Starter Bakery café on College Ave, near Rockridge Bart. Since then, I've had the good fortune to try various Starter goodies - sometimes at other cafes of stores that they supply but also at the main bakery on Gilman. The secret that I'm not sure I want to share is that you can get bags of goodies from this Gilman bakery through Too Good to Go - the very useful app that reduces food waste. You'll get a bag of mixed items that are close to expiration for a third of the normal price. I've picked up two bags now and I have to say that every item that I've had, whether it's sliced bread, a quiche, cookies or little cakes, they are pretty much all delicious. The flavors are often subtle but usually sophisticated, and they are always baked to perfection. If you do pick up a bag from the bakery, make sure to support Starter Bakery by dropping by the Rockridge store too! If you are closer to Gilman, you can place an order online and then pick it up at the bakery (just give them a call when you arrive at the door). Last time, I wasn't sure how to score the Starter Bakery for social and environmental impact as they were just getting started. Now, I think I'll rate the bakery 4 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact. I increased the rating because the bakery is taking part in the Too Good to Go program to reduce food waste. As you probably know, around a third of our food is wasted, and this is a big deal since food systems are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, water use, land use and eutrophication. Starter bakery doesn't provide much information on things like ingredient sourcing but most items are vegetarian and when meat is included (in a couple of quiches) its bacon, which has significantly lower footprints than beef. Would be great to see Starter show us their skills with vegan pastry, but for now you can pick up bread if you're strictly vegan and want to try out their stuff. Packaging is minimal - paper bags for most items. read more

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This is my favorite East Bay bakery! I love how efficient pickup is. There is no walk-in, so you have to order online and then call a number when you arrive at the door. The Kouign Amann is really good here, we always buy a lot of items from them. Highly recommend! read more

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An amazing local bakery with incredible treats for family and friends. The staff is super friendly and attentive and you can see their love for baking in every baked good they make. We have a box of goodies to be shared with friends for tonight's festivities. A special thanks to Ali for taking such great care of our family and friends by helping to select Starter Bakery's greatest hits! Be sure to order ahead for a streamlined pickup. read more

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Good stuff here! This is their main bakery and not really a retail location but you can order for pick up here on certain days. I used the Too Good To Go app to get some day old items and the pastries and bread were all really good. I'm glad they participate in that program. Delicious and seems high quality! They have a retail store on College Avenue a couple of blocks towards UC Berkeley from Rockridge BART. read more

Amazing pastries and the bakery always smell like "fresh-dough". Always a favorite to go to if you like fresh baked goods

My wife and I stumbled upon this bakery while wandering around Berkeley on a Friday afternoon. We found it on Yelp and it took us a while to figure out where it actually was. It's a tiny storefront in between Ripple and Tesla with 3 parking spots that you can park at for a short duration. Our initial excitement turned to confusion when we tried to open the door. It was locked and the front room that we could look into had no lights on and no visible employees. Ok, so here's the deal. This location primarily serves as a wholesaler, but services the public by delivering on Fridays or through pickup orders. Pickup orders work by placing and order online and setting a pickup time between 8 AM and 3:40 PM on Fridays. When you arrive at your appointment time, someone preps your order, unlocks the door, hands you your goodies, and then disappears back into what I imagine is a baked good fairyland. Almost everything we have had here has been top notch - various flavors of kouign amann and croissants, chocolate babka, and the sesame pain au levain. The pan de muerto was ok as is, but when we sliced and toasted it, it was pretty good - kind of like orange flavored brioche. Planning a pickup or delivery around Friday treats at a bakery is a bit cumbersome, but I think it is well worth it. They also rotate their menu with seasonal items to keep things interesting. I overheard the employee saying the Oakland location is more friendly to the public (cafe style), so that could be a better option for folks. read more

Starter Bakery - Sesame Pain Au Levain - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The kouign amann for which they became famous at farmer's markets is indeed delicious, although overpriced at $4.50 for a basic, $5 or $5.50 for just a tiny piece of fruit on it. Also delicious is the babka and cardamom pastry. Other items are nothing special, including the croissants and breads/ It's great they open at 7:30--perfect for pre-work coffee near BART or on the weekends when, later, they and everyone else is crowded. read more

Just bit into their kanelbullar-- the cardamom was generous and perfect to go along with organic earl grey. Another robust roll is their chocolate babka--- very nice balance there too. Perennial face: croissant au buerre read more

Starter Bakery - Clearly, Mollie Stone's offers their viennoiserie! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Great quiche, best I've had and I'm not a big quiche person. We go there everytime we are in Berkeley.

Starter Bakery quickly became a favorite of our family. We first discovered it through Too Good To Go, and since then have returned to try a variety of their items. We love their large selection of breads, ranging from their sourdough to their focaccia. They also have one of the best quiches we've had - even with reheating the texture is still excellent. As for their pastries, we find ourselves always wanting more. The kouign amann is solid, and their variety of croissants are all great as well. I look forward to my next visit to purchase some more of their pastries! read more

I love kouign amans and have been able to satisfy the craving with Starter Bakery! Whether I get them at the actual bakeries or from Berkeley Bowl....they never disappoint. Recently ordered from the Gilman location and had a hard time finding the place, not realizing that they are in the Tesla Parking lot, in one of the suites there. But I would have never known that...should be in the description of the location. One would think they were in the wrong place, not knowing and if you have never been there before. I ordered different variations of the kouign amans...the pecan one is friggin' amazing!!! Do yourself a favor and visit this place, you will not be disappointed! read more

Delicious!!!! There's nothing I'd tried that I didn't not like. From their pies to pastries to their breads! It's a little far for me so I order a bunch and freeze what I can't finish. Definitely worth the drive, every single time. I actually discovered this place when I had my car serviced when I noticed a bakery in the parking lot. But realized it was pre orders only. They have reserved parking for their store right in front and pick up is easy. They make waiting around for my car to be maintenance a lot easier. Staff is very friendly! If no one's at the door, there's a number to call. read more

We stopped by the other day for their apple cider kouign amann and a ham pear gruyère tart; the kouign amann, as usual, was wonderful. Good bake, good layers; the dollop of cream cheese frosting on top barely sweet to balance the filling. It's a pity that this pastry was only available this weekend; I'd love to come by again for it. The tart was constructed nicely--pastry, ham, whole grain mustard, gruyère, pear, latticework. Perfectly nice, though I'm not sure if I got the pear; the sweetness either overlapped with or blended with that of the ham, and what tartness there might have been was covered by the fat of the cheese. Any other notes there might have been was overwhelmed by the mustard; that said, I don't think I could have done without said mustard. read more

I'm a super fan of Starter Bakery and tell everyone about their kouign amanns But I was super annoyed today to buy a fruit scone at the farmers market, and it had 0 fruit in it. See photo, $4 for plain sweet flour. Also they are so slow and inefficient at Temescal. 3 ppl in the booth to help 1 person at a time. I don't know why they don't have 2 payment people like Midwife and the Baker read more

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The East Bay is home to some of the finest homegrown bakeries in the entire region, and Starter Bakery may feature some of the finest of said finest. Founded in 2010 by pastry chef Brian Wood, Starter Bakery has been a labor of love of Wood and his hard working staff thanks to the creation of some of the sweetest and savoriest pastries and breads, and selling them wholesale to some of the area's best restaurants and markets. Over the past dozen years or so, you could also find them on the weekend, at your local farmer's market in the East Bay with their signature blue and white logo surrounded by stars, where their loyal customers know they are going to order their reliable locally made baked goods. I was first introduced to Starter Bakery at a workplace event, in which their croissants and quiches were served, and upon first bite I was in buttery heaven and I knew I had to make it my mission to find the Starter Bakery tent whenever I got the chance to. And with their new bakery location that finally opened a couple of months ago along College Avenue in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, anyone who loves Starter Bakery's baked goods well enough now has the chance to. But for those who live close to Starter Bakery's Gilman Street headquarters in Berkeley can sometimes get lucky, especially around the holidays, as they offer the chance for ordering online and picking up one of their signature pies, even on Thanksgiving Day! Luckily for me, a recent visit to their Gilman Street location was only due the fact that they were having some issues at their new College Avenue location. I previously made the decision to join their email list in order to be made aware of any deals on new treats they were selling, and one day I open my inbox and Starter Bakery sent an email to their signups telling to come join them at their Berkeley wholesale location as they are selling their signature pastries while supplies last. With this rare chance to order their pastries so close to my home, I was down to make a quick drive to Gilman Street. Starter Bakery resides in a huge warehouse that also now houses both Ripple Foods and a Tesla Service Center, and was the previous home to Pyramid Ale House. Now with plenty of parking for both employees and customers alike, on this rare occasion, anyone can saddle up to their entrance along Eighth Street to see what baked goods they still had for sale in an impromptu open air market. Although they had a wide range of products still for sale including everything from Olive Oil Sourdough Bread to Pecan Topped Sticky Buns. I opted to order four items including their Twice Baked Almond Croissant, Twice Baked Ham & Cheese Croissant, Cardamom Pistachio Twist, and their Chocolate Babka Brioche. My total bill was $21.50 before gratuity was added in, which was rather reasonable considering how much food I received upon my visit. I went home and I made sure to savor each treat in due time, and of course as I savored over every pastry that I ordered. Everything was so delicious, even when I was able to save some of my treats to enjoy over time, as I ate a bite of each pastry, I kept thinking to myself "god this is so good!" Among the highlights were their Pistachio Twist and their Chocolate Babka Brioche, as they were not only tasty thanks to the amount of butter added in every bite, but I also considered how thoughtfully prepared everything was, so biting into every pastry was a simple joy. Both savory croissants were so luscious that they could have been full meals unto themselves. If I am lucky enough to find their signature Kouign Amanns upon a future visit, then you better believe I am ordering those, in addition to their savory quiches, made individually with meat and vegetables, and the aforementioned pies during the holiday season. If I am at a Farmer's Market and I am lucky enough to see their blue logo on their tent from afar, then I am making a beeline for them, as I consider Starter Bakery the gold standard of quality made baked goods in the Bay Area. read more

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This Starter Bakery location is primarily a wholesale location and only has limited retail hours for online orders. If you subscribe to their newsletter, they have different fun weekly specials including the recent kouign amann sampler set that they did for kouign amanm week (who knew that was a thing??). The sampler box was really cute and definitely made for a good gift. They have wonderful pastries and breads. They also participate in Too Good To Go and have great discounted goody bags of day-old pastries and breads. The parking lot can get crowded because of the Tesla service center, but there are a few parking spots near the front door designated for Starter Bakery. read more

You know when you try something for the first time and your eyes go as big as saucers and your taste buds are super happy and excited? That's what happened to me when I had their cardamom pistachio twist. I thought it was impossible for them to top their kouign anann, but they did. The cardamom pistachio twist is like a glorified baklava and akin to eating candy: a sticky sweet cardamom infused crispy flaky pastry with subtle yet aromatic flavors topped with pistachios - divine! read more

Starter Bakery - Cardamom pistachio twist, chocolate kouign amann, caramel poached pear kouign amann - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Just picked up a Too Good To Go surprise bag of KA's, chocolate babka, a chocolate croissant, and the sweet friendly worker threw in a full size bread as well. read more

Starter Bakery - Challah at ur girl! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ordered from TooGoodToGo and was pleasantly surprised! Their location is only where they make the goods and isn't a shop where they sell directly to customers. I believe they sell at grocery stores and farmers markets mainly. They have a few options they sell every week but a lot of weekly specials. The location is located in an industrial factory building right next to Tesla and the pickup was really quick. Received about a dozen pieces of baked goods with a great variety! Of course, gotta go home and toast each one up a bit and they taste like they just came out the oven! Tried the: 1. Pretzel Croissant ($4.50) 2. Twice Baked Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant ($4.50) 3. Bacon and onion croissant 4. Spinach and Feta Croissant Etc!! read more

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I tried the: Strawberry vanilla custard kouign amann and nutella! The crunchy crust on top was yummy almond croissant which was slightly soft but once you reheat in the oven you can get back that flakey crunchiness! My favorite was the sourdough baguette especially when you toast it and make a homemade sandwich! read more

Starter Bakery - Assorted Twice Baked Almond Croissant Baguette Kouign Amann: nutella and strawberry vanilla custard - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I bought an expensive loaf of Starter Bakery multigrain sliced bread at Mollie Stones Greenbrae. . Meh. Tasted a lot like cardboard. Too thinly sliced as well. I won't buy one again. I threw most of the loaf out. read more

First timers, this place can be challenging to find. It's along the outdoor wall of the old pyramid building, inside the parking area, adjacent to the Tesla repair shop. Lots of parking which is nice. I'm consistently impressed with this place. Flaky, buttery, delicious pastries. The best cinnamon rolls (think croissant dough cinnamon roll). The korgiuns are great too. I love that they regularly bring out new seasonal items. Quiches are excellent too and super reasonable. Hotdog and hammer buns are also A+. My only complaint is that I wish they were open earlier. They start pickup for preorders at 915, which is long after this mama has had her coffee and breakfast. I do feel this place is a hidden gem in the area. I would recommend shaking up your pastry game and trying them out! read more

Starter Bakery - Morning bun and Traditional Kouign Amann - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

The Starter bakery is definitely a word-of-mouth type of place. I only knew of this shop because we were taking our Tesla in for service and it's right next door. I'm a sucker for good Almond croissant and they make a good one. BB read more

This has easily become a go to bakery when available! Located next to the Tesla service center (they have a few parking spots in front of the bakery). Ordered a variety of items including: * Traditional kouign amann * Blackberry raspberry & blueberry kouign amann * Hazelnut praline kouign amann * Coffee cake * Croissant cinnamon roll * Twice baked almond croissant * Morning bun Pros: - Online ordering was easy - Upon arrival staff provided items in a timely manner - Baked goods were fresh and incredibly delicious Cons: - Limited availability read more

Starter Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Some very good things here. My favorite is the pretzel croissant. I got a mystery bag from Too Good To Go today. They used to be half the price, and completely loaded with wonderful things. Now, it's $9.99 plus tax, and not a very good value given that you're talking about day-old stuff and a pretty small quantity. I got a loaf of sliced bread, which is fine. That can be held for a bit And a bag with some cookies and pastries. The stuff in the bag is kind of sticking together, and the texture, well, the items are from the day before, so really not great. Instead of being chewy and complex, the cookies are all soft and fluffy. The stuff made with puff paste is pretty tough. Nothing that can't be fixed with a little oven time, for the latter. When I was there to pick up, they had numerous bags ready on the table next to the door, so my guess is that they are using this leftover food thing for higher profit now. I'd stay away from the discount bags for the pastries. It's just not worth the effort and the money. Just spend more and order fresh. When their stuff is fresh, it is fantastic. You really can't go wrong with pretty much everything. read more

Starter Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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We give up. It's too hard (for us anyway) to negotiate this bakery's ordering process. Beyond trying to navigate the pre-order reservation maze, we had been driving up to Gilman --the only location for pre-orders --stand in line in the cold for their precious box of baked goods. Then they finally made their treasures available for pre-order at the Rockridge location -- hallelujah, much closer! Responding to the email for the Pi(e)-day promo of special pies -- 2 of them, the Strawberry Chiffon & Irish Coffee () -- really got our attention even at the somewhat steep $18 for a 5-inch "pie". So we ordered for 3/15 pickup at 11:15am because we had workmen coming 3/13 and 3/14. The date and time were confirmed. Then 2 hrs before our scheduled pick-up, we got a call to say that our order was no longer available. Why? Because the pre-orders were only for either 3/13 or 3/14. And all the special pies were sold out. What? So why did they confirm 3/15? "Want a banana cream pie?" No thank you. read more

It is not safe to leave me in a bakery, much less in a room full of kouign amanns. The traditional, hazelnut, chocolate, and I don't even know what the seasonal flavor was but they were all decadent and delicious. Further doing more damage, I decided to just go big and added the chocolate babka, the financiers, a ham and cheese croissant. No, I didn't eat them all myself. In one sitting. Be patient and thankful for the glass case protecting these baked goods from drool and all that heavy breathing, read more

I finally made it to the Niles Farmers' Market this morning in time to shop at Starter Bakery. They are pretty much sold out if you arrive at the end of market. I picked up a sourdough olive loaf (smells heavenly), a multigrain loaf (ate some of that all ready, wonderful!), two kouign amanns (small pastries) and a butter croissant. Customer service was great, the multigrain bread and the chocolate kouign amann are very good. Will sample the rest tomorrow. We had planned to go to Golden Gate Park this weekend and stop at two of the fine bakeries on 9th street. Learned (in time!) that there is a BIG music festival there this weekend and changed our plans. My disappointment at missing out on the bakeries in San Francisco was completely dispelled by getting to the Starter Bakery booth in time to get a great selection of fresh breads and pastries. read more

There's always a long line for this bakery at the San Ramon farmer's market. We finally gave in and lined up this morning. We got a few pastries and we ate the kouign amann (strawberry custard) and the plain croissant right away. The kouign amann was very delicious--It's buttery as expected and just the right amount of sweetness. However, I was disappointed with the plain croissant. It was mediocre/not flaky enough. It's like the ones they sell at the supermarket bakery. Stick with the kouign amann! read more

Starter Bakery - Kouign Amann - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Originally we were turned on to Starter Bakery because Zero Grocery carried their delightful bourbon and chocolate pecan pie. After moving to Berkeley we discovered (well into Covid19) that they were wonderfully located down the street from us. So why not five stars you ask? Well, and this may be Covid19 related, but they don't consistently carry anything beyond pastries at the moment. We would regularly purchase pecan pies, but they only seem to offer them during the holidays. Everything else they sell (quiches, kouign amann, morning bun) just aren't things we buy that often or would schedule ahead of time - since you buy up front from their website and schedule in a later pick up. Starter Bakery's location is a bit hard to find, and they are currently located in the parking lot of the Tesla center. Once you drive up (there's plenty of parking) you stop by the window, give your purchase number (or purchase your additional items if they have them for sale) and they hand your box. It can sometimes be a bit of a issue if you don't have that purchase number, so just make sure you have it ready when you walk up to the table. All in all the service was friendly and the pies are always delicious, I just wish they carried more pies or had a more physical location to purchase directly from. read more

Heard good things about Starter Bakery from Yelpers and it's been on my to-try list. Their products are sold at smaller supermarkets and currently at six farmers markets. I checked out their website and they have a pop-up store at the bakery the first Saturday of the month on a first come first served basis, which I decided to check out. The bakery is off Gilman next to the Tesla service center. I was able to find street parking a block away. I got a variety of items to try including sweets, savory and a loaf of bread. Sourdough batard - I love artisan breads and this batard fits the bill. It was a light sourdough with a nice chewy texture. Ginger cookie - a soft chewy and crunchy cookie with full flavors of molasses, spices and candied ginger and topped with raw sugar. Cinnamon roll - made with croissant dough mixed with cinnamon, sugar and raisins. I liked that it was lightly glazed instead of drenched with a vanilla and cinnamon glaze so it was not overly sweet. Cheese and bacon croissant - it had a bacon bits filling and topped with cheese and poppy seeds. I usually get sweet croissants, but this savory one was good. I enjoy artisan bakeries and Starter hits the mark. Looking forward to trying some of their other offerings. read more

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Fantastic. I've loved everything I've devoured - croissant, baguette, wheat loaf, muffins, babka, scones. My favorite items are olive sourdough and stoneground wholewheat miche. Delicious and great textures. Nice people too. read more

The best bakery finally opens their own shop. Thank you. Long time fan, first time at this new store front. Delicious treats. Bought mini quiches, sandwiches and cookies for a family lunch. Everyone loved it. Check it out. Expect lines. read more

Starter Bakery - Menu - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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A few years ago I went to a barbeque where friends served sausages in Starter Bakery hot dog buns. I never thought much about hot dog buns before but these were the best I ever had so I found out where I could order them and did so periodically. I ordered them from the wholesale location on Gilman. Since then the retail location opened on College Avenue. But when I'd go by there I never saw the buns for sale so I forgot about them. I'm giving a birthday celebration for a friend on Sunday so yesterday I called Starter Bakery on Gilman to see if I could order some hot dog buns. I was told I could pick up two packages of buns today at 7:30 AM when they opened on Gilman. I went to pick them up at 7:30. There were no buns but the general manager, Mr Suk, took my number and said they would call when they had some buns. I received a call saying they had two packages of buns for me at the College Avenue store. So I drove there and picked them up.Thank you all for your kind help! read more

Starter Bakery has consistently had delicious treats with seasonal specials that keep me coming back almost every week. They can be found at various farmers markets on the weekends, or MWF here at their West Berkeley location that requires an online order. Not to mention a lot of coffee shops stock their pastries! Here are the items that I keep coming back for: #1 kouign amanns - this is what I would recommend to anyone for their first time, their seasonal flavors, which seem to change almost every week or so, always use fruits that are in season and are absolutely delicious. Every kouign amann I've had here has been extremely buttery, flakey, with the perfect amount of carmalized sugar to make it the perfect decadent treat. #2 ginger scone - ideal ginger flavor here that is not too candied, and the scone itself is not dry. Try this with some morning tea! #3 Quiche lorraine and vegetable quiche - they offer their quiches in an individual serving for $5 or a full quiche for $28, which in my opinion is a steal. The quiche keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and also changes slightly to incorporate seasonal vegetables. If you're looking for the best bang for your buck- this is where you'll find it. read more

Starter Bakery - Twice Baked Almond Croissant, Seasonal Citrus Pie Kouign Amann, Seasonal Poached Pear Danish with Lemon Cream (Jan 2022) - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I use to purchase their baked goods at the lake Merritt farmers market when I use to live in Oakland. I've moved out of Oakland and don't go to the farmers market unless I the area during their hours which is once in a bloom moon. I was excited to see they are at the Berkeley bowl which is where I go grocery shopping at.... Yipeee! read more

They are at San Ramon farmers market on Saturdays, and I have tried a few items. I love their sourdough multigrain bread, sprouted wheat bread, and double baked hazelnut chocolate croissant- decadent! read more