Top notch! really the best around here. I was never disappionted. really inovetive as well. highly recommanded.

The Twice Baked Croissant here is the best croissant I've ever had--more crunch and flakiness than a croissant while maintaining the lightness/airiness of a croissant. They always have 3 to 4 varieties of kouign amann. The layout is nice to get some work done if you like. Highly recommend read more

This is my fav bakery in the Bay Area. Everything is delicious. Best bourbon pecan pie I have ever had. Cookies are nice and chewy. Nothing is too overly sweet and is just right. read more

The best ham & cheese croissant I've ever had!!! Hands down the best, I will be back all the time. Everything else is good I'm sure but I don't know if it's as good as this! read more

Carb goals for at least two months met in one seating... avo toast is refined simplicity at its best. Don't sleep on the chocolate kouign-amann read more

I live in San Jose, this bakery is located in Oakland. My wife and I drive up purposefully for this bakery. I think that says enough. Everything is delicious from their croissant, Kouign-Amann, focaccia, seasonal viennoiserie. Each pastries baked perfectly and flakey, not dry but still moist and soft. Delish!!!! read more

Great spot with THE BEST KOUIGN AMANS IN THR BAY!!! Free parking below at the College Ave location in Oakland too! Friendly staff and people's re always flowing in and out. If you know you know! read more

Okay, so I have been here an embarrassing number of times at this stage-- especially considering the short amount of time they have been open! I began with a passion for their hazelnut kouign-amann which I would pick up from the farmer's market. Then I began visiting Big House Coffee as they stocked their pastries during the week. My Starter Bakery Problem really began in earnest though when they opened this charming, light-filled cafe in Rockridge. First, it is right by the BART station, which makes it easily accessible for my non-driving self. Then, it is across the road from Trader Joes, so (you know) I might as well pop in before grocery shopping, just so I don't shop hungry--ha! and then, as if the listed characteristics weren't enough to make the place irresistible-- the staff here are so friendly, so charming, so welcoming, that I just keep coming back! They make wonderful coffee! The place is cute, the servers are great, the location is inconveniently perfect considering that I am trying to stay away! Aaaargh! And then, to finally finish me off, they suggested trying the chocolate babka one day while I was there. That was me, sold. I dreamed of this place while in Italy, for heaven's sakes!! BEST. CHOCOLATE. BABKA. IN. THE. WORLD. When I popped in recently, there was only one left and I would have fought the lady in front of me for it if she had ordered it. Thankfully she got a cookie instead so all was peaceful and orderly-- close call! I am so glad they're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I think my family might stage an intervention if they ever allow me in seven days a week. read more

Saw them at a farmer's market in Livermore. nice peeps and pastries, only thing is i bought, what i was told a coffee cake but doesn't taste like one at all. no brown sugar but had nuts and fruit in it. read more

OMG!! My croissant, outside was extremely flakey and the inside had the taste of a quality butter with visible layers. Sourdough wheat grain loaf gets, 2 thumbs up. read more

Very nice staffs working there. Good service. Food / pastries are out of this world. Even panettone cakes read more

There is no better bakery for my taste. I've sampled at least a dozen within my world and none come close to their chocolate almond croissants. The chocolate babka is second with pecan roll third. I am very reserved with eating such non nutritious sugar filled delicacies so I insist they be of the highest quality. 10/10 for me. read more

Good food BUT -- their stand at Sunday Claremont Farmers' Market doesn't take cash! C'mon, folks. The pandemic is over. I found myself with nothing but real money and they wouldn't take it! Dunno whether their College Ave takes actual money. I'm wondering. read more

This ubiquitous Bay Area wholesaler's mediocre pastry can be found at a large variety of independent cafes. A few things are decent (kouign amann is a standout), but most items have the flat two-dimensional flavor/texture typical of mass production. All you need to know can be found in the "croissant," which has nothing to do with the decadent and delicious treat you find in France, buttery and crisp with a toothsome soft center. Their croissant is BAD. It's like the baker never had a real one, so he based his recipe after a bag of day-olds he got at Safeway on discount. if you can mess up the most basic French pastry this bad, it doesn't bode well. read more

Came by on a Friday morning and there was no rush and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. They were well stocked too! I love getting my favorites from their Farmers market stand without the crazy long line. Their coffee is really good too! They said that they are only really busy in the weekend. Love their twice baked game and cheese croissant and their single serve quiches! My kids go nuts for their chocolate chip cookies too. Next time I'm going to get a pie - they have so many types available! read more

For years I've been buying Starter Bakery's delicious pastries through my local Martha Brother's location but you can't beat getting them from their new retail location FRESH & WARM! Do yourself a favor and make sure to get a pretzel croissant and a chocolate babka in addition to everything else you plan to buy. And while you're there get me a few, too! read more

I had the sourdough baguette which was subpar and overpriced. It suffered the lack of a crispy crust, was not chewy, or airy inside with large holes like a well made baguette should be. read more

I love Starter Bakery! All their baked goods are heavenly. And the Kouign Ammans are sinful little French butter pastries that make me want to buy them all up and hoard them selfishly for myself and no one else! I finally made it in to their brick and mortar shop on College Ave; it was just ok; kind of just meh. And definitely doesn't match up to the amazement of their bakery goods. The place needs some pizzazz. And the servers were very blasé. read more

Nice selection of pastries, but waaaay too expensive! Not sure if I'd spend that much for pastries or bread.

looked forward to these guys coming to the neighborhood. oh my goodness, though, the service. we won't be back. this morning we were the only people in line. 6 workers standing around talking. we waited, and waited and waited- and waited. one guy was at the front. finally asked him for help. he told us rudely he was busy packing an order to go, and even more rudely that we should learn patience. this isn't going to work, folks read more

Been here twice now and I gotta go back, I've also had their almond croissants at Philz coffee as well, but they taste more fresh straight from the source here at starter bakery. So yeah if you normally like almond croissants these are probably the best you can get around the bay area, it is insanely good paired up with your morning coffee. Pricey but well worth it here. I gotta go back and try a bunch of other stuff!! read more

The absolute best bakery in the Bay. Quality is incredible and the greatest Kouign-Amann you will ever have

Updating my review. Been back a few times. Gotta say the line management is completely unacceptable - even for a new place. It shouldn't take over 30 minutes to service a line with 10 people in it for baked goods. Need more staff to help customers select or need to give customers a sheet to select what they want before getting to the front. Visit ACME for example - a line twice as long takes about a quarter of the time. read more

My wife just brought me a traditional couign-amann from Starter. I had never heard of either the pastry or the bakery. Given the outstanding bakeries Fournet and La Farine being within walking distance of each other, I didn't think South Berkey/Rockridge could offer any more to pastry fans. But I have now been struck dumb by Starter's couign-amann. Based entirely on that experience I feel confident in saying that Starter Bakery has made my world a better place. With gratitude, I wish them the best of luck. read more

kouignn amann is Outrageous! try the hazelnut!! This is better than B Patisserie!!! come here ! fast ! delicious !! read more

While Starter Bakery might be fine as a walk-in customer, you can't count on them for any pre-order, especially before Thanksgiving. I placed a $92 order on November 8, and on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving they had buried and forgotten it. After recovering it they could only fulfill half of it. And finally, if you think you might be getting fresh Parker rolls for the day, no, its just a pack probably previously frozen. I am assuming frozen because otherwise they must not have been fresh as they felt somewhat hard. I then cancelled the whole order and bought an alternative elsewhere. They did promptly refund the $92 later on Wednesday. read more

The kouign Amman is amazing and the ham and cheese croissant is the best I've ever had (heats up VERY well in an air fryer if you take it home for later) read more

After taking a half hour to get there, park, walk, and wait in line, I got to the head of the line to hear they were out of what I wanted. I was curious why everyone ahead of me in line also turned around and walked out and it was because of too many out of stock items. Better to get product at one of the shops they supply. Maybe after a month or two they'll figure out how to run a retail operation, but until then, l'd steer clear. read more

Delicious pastries and a beautiful spot. Service was fast and pleasant. I'll be back for sure!

Starter Bakery has the best pastries and assortments. I'm glad they opened a store front. I didn't like rushing to a farmers market standing in a long line just to buy their pastries. Now I can visit their new location when I need something delicious to eat. read more

I LOVE starter bakery. Breads, pies (my absolute favorite pumpkin pie), pastries, kouign amann-they have never let me down, and I was so excited to visit their storefront. I am now considerably less excited. The service was terrible. My husband and I were the only people in line and I could see at least 4 staff members and yet the staff member helping us was impatient and rude. I could understand if there were a line or if there were only a couple people working but neither of those things was true. On top of that, they refused to sell us pie slices, saying they were only for eat in? Baffled by this. It's a gorgeous space and I'm excited by the savory options, but if today's service is indicative of the experience I'll keep going to the farmer's market or Berkeley for my fix. Five stars for the food, one star for service. Disappointed. read more

DELICIOUS!! I'm working my way trying different items and all have been yummy. However, I ALWAYS include my favorite the twice basked almond croissant. Yes, maybe a little pricey but each item I've purchased has been excellent. read more

Expensive, ratio of quality to price is just not there and services leaves a lot to be desired.

We usually get our Starter pastries from Philz but after reading a newspaper article about the retail location, we drove 30 miles to discover this gem. We were second in line as it opened on Friday morning and the staff was ready to go. They were warm, and friendly. We tried the traditional and poached pear kouign amans and a delicious almond croissant with two cappuccinos. Everything was exceptional and crave-worthy. The beautiful, soft layering in the pastries, the perfect balance of (not too) sweet to buttery layer was such a treat. The cappuccinos were outstanding. We loved the small tables, beautiful blue accent wall and cheery seating area flooded with natural light from the storefront windows. Our only regret is that we couldnt try everything and that its 50km away. We will be back. read more

So far I've tried the chocolate croissant and veggie quiche. They were amazing. The best I've had!

This place is amazing. The food is soooooo good. We've tried a few things and my favorites so far are almond croissants, cardamom pistachio croissants, and ciabatta which is the softest bread I've ever eaten. I hate to say it but the pastries might be better than Fournee (which I feel really guilty writing). I could go here every day. Service has been great, friendly, and efficient. read more

nothing special here and too $$$ for average food. sometimes the help is friendly sometimes not again still don't understand the thing with the metal tray and everything having to go in the metal tray, then handoff the metal tray and then put it on the metal tray and everything about a metal tray just put my pastry in a bag and give it to me. read more