I'm reading this newish bakery is all the rage around here, so I had to check it out. I think you better get here early or a lot of the stuff will be sold out. I picked out something that looked scrumptious, I dunno even what it was called, it just looked good. It tasted really good too, so airy and flaky inside with a nice crust outside. Prices are kinda high, well compared to regular mainstream bakeries. I wish I had a high end bakery like this where I live. read more

Starter Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

I had a chance to try their pastries for the first time, specifically the strawberry & passion fruit kouign amann, and the cardamom pistachio twist. There was a creamy part toward the middle of the kouign amann that I thought was some kind of flavored cream cheese, but it might've actually been some of the passionfruit puree. Overall it tasted similar to a croissant but denser and I appreciated the sweet flavor and the fresh strawberries. I also enjoyed the cardamom pistachio twist a lot, it's also quite sweet. The pastries were both around $5 each. read more

Starter Bakery - Strawberry & Passion Fruit Kouign Amann - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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Love it!!! I love kouign amanns and to find a place that has them all the time, I am a FAN!!! I have been getting emails and texts re: this bakery...have ordered through Locale previously. But really wanted to see the bakery for myself as I am in Oakland/Berkely from time to time. The Gilman location seemed to be complicated with ordering and picking up...so I opted to take my chances just going to the College location. As their pickup ordering also indicated everything was sold out. So I went there and was pleasantly surprised...I was able to get my kouign amanns and a pecan sticky bun!!! Will be back soon! read more

Very impressive pastries and bread! The coffee was perfectly fine, but nothing special. I had never had kouign-amann before and their chocolate one and hazelnut ones were very tasty, sweet, kinda denser than a croissant, but very flaky still. The ham & cheese croissant was very flaky, large, and packed full of nice ham and gooey cheese and had a nice little sauce and jammy onions on top. The sandwiches are lovely on nice rolls with super fresh and flavorful ingredients. The prices are a bit high, but you do get what you pay for! read more

Love the energy, personality of the staff, and Brian is the best of all. The food is amazing, never had bad service or order was incorrect.The variety that comes with this business is so much different from other bakery which makes them so unique. read more

Went on the opening day and understand that the bakery provides their products to other businesses. We got there about mid-day and a short line was formed outside. There wasn't a lot to choose from once we got to order so we decided on a almond like croissant with some chocolate on top and supposedly had a some slight coffee tastes added. The croissant was super good and only wished there was more options to choose from. Will go back and definitely try some other things ! read more

Excellent Pastries I have been buying pastries at Starter Bakery on College since it opened and always feel that the quality and range is excellent. My personal favorite is the butter croissant but the kouign amann and variations on it, blueberry muffin, and seasonal tartine also regularly make it on to my shopping list. Service is friendly and, while I have not stayed to try the coffee yet, the ambiance seems great as well. One piece of advice: if you are buying a number of pastries, ask the server to ensure that they are boxed carefully and not to try to pack too many into one container - sometimes a server can be a bit over-zealous on the boxing and pastries arrive at their destination not looking their best, even if they still taste delicious! read more

Congrats on heir store front ! Worth the drive out from Sacramento for some affordable varieties of baked goods Services was friendly and prompt! Their passionfruit Madeline was a big surprise for me it was the best one I've had so far just wish that layer of passionfruit icing was a bit more sour then sweet read more

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Amazing pastries! Every item I've tried is better than the last. You can also buy them at Koin coffee!

Starter bakery is stellar! Delectable desserts (legendary kouign-amann), tasty breakfast treats (try the orange cranberry scones) and classic breads. Polite and helpful servers and a comfortable environment make it a worthy early morning go-to! read more

Starter Bakery - Tasty orange cranberry scone - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

I come to San Ramon farmers market and buy from starter bakery every week and lately I am wondering why I still do. There are plenty of other great bakeries present and although I love the starter bakery goods, the customer service is the worst and it's no longer worth the hassle and irritation. They are incredibly slow and moving with zero sense of urgency. I alway know this so I come prepared to let it go, but it seems as if they couldn't care less that the line is building and building. I feel like it's no longer worth it because if they don't care about being friendly and reasonably paced I can't deal. They also refuse to help anyone until 9am on the dot even if the products are ready they will just stand there and not even acknowledge anyone or let them know their intention to open at a certain time. Disappointing. read more

Awesome bakery to go to when i visit family in the bay area. Great variety of items to choose from

Had the almond croissant at a farmer's market. I didn't finish it. Not worth the calories in any way. Having just had fabulous ones in Paris and NYC this one was dry with almost no almond paste in it. I see them every week at the farmer's market and sadly I take a pass. read more

I'm so excited to have Starter Bakery in Rockridge. Let's get to this: Sliced olive oil bread is soft and works well as toast and sturdy enough to take on some turkey and it's accoutrements. Caramelized Pear kouign amann is flakey and buttery, with hints of orange and cardamom. The almond croissant is also a favorite of ours. Starter Bakery Folks, congratulations and keep on with the deliciousness! To the good patrons, they're just starting, so give them a bit of time to get adjusted, like 3 months. If you have to wait, that's usually a good sign. read more

Starter Bakery - Caramelized Pear kouign amann is so delicious with a cuppa Earl Grey. - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

Wow this place is a gem. Everything we tried here was amazing. Place is very clean and service is friendly. This is a place we will make sure to visit every time we are in the area read more

The olive oil sourdough loaf is amazing. We use it for toast in the morning grilled cheese sandwiches or any type of sandwich for that matter highly recommend their college location love that they are closed for the holidays for their staff. read more

The pastries are incredible. They are well known for their variety of croissants and breads. The olive sourdough loaf comes pre-sliced and makes incredible grilled cheese sandwich at home. The outside gets super crispy and the inside is fluffy, which meets nicely with melted cheese. Almost anything, and everything that you will buy here you will enjoy and want to come back for probably the next day. The only thing that is kind of a bummer is the service is lackluster, and sometimes even rude. There may be all sorts of legitimate reasons why the service is so unfriendly, but for our do you believe one of the best bakeries in the bay area it kind of sucks to buy a big box of goodies, and somehow still have a bad taste in your mouth... it would be awesome. If the people selling the goods would be as excited as the customers that sometimes drive from a pretty long way. read more

Always loved their pastries at the farmers market. The Kouign Amann are amazing and the coffee was good.

Starter Bakery was such an unexpected and great find! While visiting a friend in the area I wanted to get a wax (so I hit up nearby EWC) and happened to see Starter right next door. So glad I went in! The place was busy but well-staffed so I hardly waited long at all to be served. I got an excellent croissant, and unreal molasses or ginger cookie of some description, and a really solid latte. I'd definitely make a point to go out of my way to have this again if I was in town. read more

We like several of their products but especially perfect (to us) is the Quiche Lorraine: Perfect crust (not soggy) and perfectly rich smooth filling that's not too cheesy or salty. Better than in France. All the puff pastry items are crisp and flaky. Pies are fruit generous and (thank goodness) not overly sweet. We would, however, wish for more passionfruit in the passionfruit items but then we are passionfruit fanatics. Their kouign amanns are very good but the ones from the dearly departed Montclair Bakery were much better. Those were our first encounter with kouigns outside of France. Those used to make us swoooon from the crispy buttery goodness. They were 3-napkin wonders often leaving sugary buttery crumbs all over. We do have one main beef with Starter which is having to reserve the weekly specialty items in advance which are then ONLY available for pick-up at the Gilman place. So we have to trek 6.5 miles on #80 or if traffic is heavy (when isn't it?), then deal with stop-go of San Pablo Ave. The College shop is 1.9 miles away from us. Why don't they just make all their products available at the retail store so we don't have to deal with extra drive? read more

This place is a must-visit! The service was friendly. The interior is clean, bright, and perfect for enjoying a sweet treat after an early morning workout. I ordered a cappuccino, and the foam was perfectly crafted. I also tried their almond twice-baked croissant, chocolate croissant, cardamom bun, with pistachio--everything was absolutely delicious! I will be back for sure to indulge again. read more

Starter Bakery - Cardamon Bun w/Pistachio - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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Very friendly staff and incredible pastry selection. My favorite was the seasonal kouign amann with pumpkin cream and pumpkin seeds on top for a little crunch. I also picked up the focaccia which was perfectly soft with a little onions on top with amazing flavor. Overall 10/10! read more

Starter Bakery - seasonal kouign amann with pumpkin cream and pumpkin seeds - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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pastries are fine.. service problems.. the line wont move along when the baristas are just having fun.. wont take advantage of 2 registers. just let people stand in line longer.... not kool read more

A warm and wonderful neighborhood bakery! Their all-stars (though I haven't tried everything) - Sourdough -Baguettes -Focaccia -Blueberry muffin -Cardamom pistachio twist -Passionfruit madeline -Recent savory pastry -- ham, gruyere & pear (PLEASE MAKE THIS PERMANENTLY A PART OF THE MENU!) read more

Yummmmmmm! I have rarely had pastries this good. Best comparison is Ansel bakery in NY (origin of the cronut, and very good at flakey pastries) and I actually like Starter Bakery better because of their pastry flavors. Favorites so far: hazelnut kougin amann, pistachio cardamom something flakey pastry (holy yum). Pastry has excellent width of layers, baked right to the stage of glorious brown edges, and is perfectly favorful. read more

Fast & friendly service! There wasn't much of a line when we stopped by on Saturday morning. We ordered the butter croissant, kouign aman, chocolate babka, and the twice baked croissant. I really wish there was an option to warm up the goods. There was plenty of indoor seating but we had our dogs with us so we had to walk around the neighborhood as there is no outdoor seating options. I loved the chocolate babka and would get that again. Would skip on the coffee here. read more

Starter Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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My husband FaceTimed me from the Oakland location. The service was fast and efficient. We got to enjoy the baked goods when he brought them home! We had an Almond Croissant, the Cardamom- Pistachio Twist, a plain Kouign Amann, and two Raspberry White Chocolate Croissants! One RWCC was big enough to share between my husband and I, which we found it to be delightfully stuffed with more raspberries and white chocolate! My daughter had the second one, and definitely did not share ;) The Kouign Amann is sweet and crispy on the outside, and deliciously flakey on the inside, as I've heard they should be. The Cardamom-Pistachio Twist was a similar texture to the KA, but the flavor made it stand out! I love cardamom, and the Twist reminded me of a less sweet baklava with the crunch and pistachios, perfect for my adult taste buds! The Almond Croissant was had a lot of almonds on top, and the croissant was nice and flakey. If anything, the AC could've used a little more almond extract in the almond paste inside it. They all would go well with a cup of coffee! Thanks, Starter Bakery!! read more

definitely the best bakery in the east bay. [4.8/5] twice baked almond croissant 9.6/10: maybe this is what heaven is like. i cannot describe how beautiful this eating experience was. it was perfect or almost. i wish it was slightly more flakey like arisicault but to be fair this is a twice baked. i left room for improvement just in case one day i change my mind. it was incredible. just the right amount of everything. i could not even save the rest for later and in minutes my bag was spotless. a must try. my friends enjoyed their other offerings like the chocolate croissants and tarts and loved those too! read more

Starter Bakery - twice baked almond croissant - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

Great coffees and the pastries and bread are on another level! I'm so glad they opened a brick and mortar

Everything at Starter is delicious! Unbelievable really... I go there at least 3x a week. The service can't be beat, everyone is very friendly & accommodating . read more

Starter Bakery - Two of my faves... house specialty! - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

They've recently opened a branch in Oakland, across from Trader Joe's on College. I wanted to try their croissants as I found the ones at Forma and La Farine (which has amazing bread) sort of disappointing. The plain croissant was superb. I was less impressed with the Kouign Amann, which the server said could not be warmed. I don't see why. It's good but not something I'd order again. The least successful was the pear tartine. But there's a lot of pastries to explore, so we'll definitely go back. BTW, going before 9 on Sunday, there was no line and no wait. We also bought a fantastic whole wheat round loaf of bread. That alone is worth the trip. read more

I was excited for their new storefront so I went there on their grand opening day on 4/4/2023. They opened at 8 but I got there at 9:14am and waited in the long line. It was moving very slowly but a nice old lady was passing out samples and it wasn't raining hard so I didn't mind. When I finally got into the store around 10:20am, there was a lot of stuff out of stock already, the kouign amann were all out of stock except the hazelnut flavor, amongst a lot of other things. To be honest I only went to the grand opening because I was craving their twice baked chocolate crossiant but I was disappointed to find out they don't even have it at their new store. I'm hoping more things will be in stock next time. read more

I had to try the newly-famous Kouign Amann pastries, after reading a review about them. Although I live in Kensington, when I tried calling the West Berkeley branch, they basically said they weren't selling any pastries there and I should check out the North Oakland branch, so I drove half an hour to the N. Oakland branch on College Avenue, which is basically a really nice café, and bought some there, as a special dessert for a potluck I was attending. It was worth it! Starter Bakery owners, please open a branch in Berkeley or El Cerrito. You will do well! The Kouign Amann pastries are truly great, along with the other pastries I tried. What's special about the Kouign Amann ones is that they have an amazing combination of crunchiness plus sweetness and butteriness that I haven't found together in a pastry before. My favorite was the "plain" Kouign Amann pastry, which is basically sugary and buttery. There are ones that have other toppings added, but to me that was not necessary, and kind of detracted from the new type of pastry. Perhaps later I will become jaded and crave more than a plain one? I also tried the lemon custard pie, which was excellent. Best graham cracker crust I've had in years, and the filling was also excellent. The other one I tried was a cardamom and pistachio pastry, which was good, if not my favorite. Nice to find cardamom in a pastry, though! read more

The pastries at Starter Bakery are delicious! There is a great variety and it's hard to pick favorites. I had a pastry with powdered sugar and chocolate drizzled on top. The filling was out of this world. Be sure to try the blueberry muffin with crumb topping. You won't regret it. read more

Starter Bakery - Cute logo napkin holder - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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cute bakery would come back! if you ask they'll also warm your pastries for you if you plan to eat them right away. read more

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Fresh and delicious, fast friends and full of variety. I love the European quick sandwiches with simple bread and cheese, the bread is fresh and this is an amazing snack. The pecan cinnamon, sticky rolls were to die for. read more

The seasonal quiche was phenomal with the butternut squash inside. I loved how the quiche was light and fluffy and not overly greasy at all. I also ordered a cappuccino which is perfect. Both of those totaled $10, which I feel is a fair price. The service was great and I also had a sample of focaccia which was divine!!! read more

A history of Amazing treats of the freshest quality now come to a storefront on College avenue in the old Jules Pizza location. Everything is so good here but I strongly recommend the pecan sticky bun, the chocolate babka and actually, everything else!!!! The loaves are surprisingly reasonably priced at between 5-7 dollars each. And they have a full coffee bar and the cutest little tables to sit at. What a great new bakery!!!! read more

Pro: The Kouign Amann is amazing. The best I've had in this country -- both coasts! Cons: the ordering line is poorly run and it takes a long time to even get through a short line. read more

Had a really interesting time here - an attempt to eat. I wanted something to munch on while I walked . I tried to order a sandwich but asked if they could cut it in half to make it a little bit easier to manage. They said they can't cut sandwiches in half. Weird , but ok. Instead I settled on a vegetable quiche and asked them to warm it for me ( I buy their quiches regularly at Red Bay). They said they do not warm food to go, it's against policy. I left. I felt like these were both reasonable requests from a customer at a bakery but after this poor interaction I probably will not be back. read more