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

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

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

See all

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

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

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

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

See all

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

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

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

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

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

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

See all

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

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

See all

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

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

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

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

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

See all

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

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

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

See all

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

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

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

I had the pretzel and was thoughorly impressed. It was slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I am definitely coming back for more. Also got the sprouted whole wheat bread that I'm exited to try. It has 130 kcal per serving and an impressive 4g of fiber and 10g of protein. If you have a sandwich that's about a quarter of your daily value of fiber in one meal! read more

I've been here three times now and have had neutral experiences each time. They have a great selection of pastries and breads, and I've liked most of what I've tried. If I haven't liked something it's because it's just not for me, not because it was poorly made. The layout is terrible in terms of placing orders. The beginning of the line is pretty much directly ahead when you walk in, which is where you order. However, the displays of pastries wrap around toward the back of the store where you pay, so there's no way to see the options while you're waiting in line. There are no signs with the options of the day, and many of the small labels identifying various pastries in their displays are missing, and none contain allergen information. If you want to see your options before you order, it means looking then going back to the end of the queue. The service is also super slow. I've never moved through that line in less than 10 minutes regardless of how many people are ahead of me. Today there were only two ahead of me and one person was ordering about 30 things (not even exaggerating here!) so it was an extra long wait. They only ever have one person taking orders, hence the super long wait time. When the person ahead of me completed their order I moved up to look at the options and the employee taking orders then went to help the person behind me, as I had moved forward a few feet to look at the displays. Then when I tried to point out I'd been skipped and had been there for 15 mins at that point, the employee seemed annoyed. So overall, if you have an hour to spend ordering your croissant, you will definitely get a good croissant! We're very lucky in the Bay Area to have a lot of great bakery options. In the future I'll likely take my business to friendlier and faster places when I want something to go. read more

Oh dear, so many levels of deliciousness. We had been getting the plain Kouign-amann (which are amazing but then decided to try the hazelnut and chocolate ones. With coffee at home, I was in pastry heaven. The cardamom/pistachio pull-aparts are also exceedingly awesome. Bread-wise, the sesame levain we have tried, and it is fantastic. Finally, the service is authentically friendly, which is noticeable, as Bay Area service - especially in SF and the East Bay - can be so too-cool-for-school-you-don't-deserve-to-be-treated-well. Here they treat you kindly regardless of who you are. An all around fantastic addition to the neighborhood. read more

Love this place! I've gone here at least a dozen times since they opened in 2023. What's not to love! It's a cute but minimalist vibe inside. The coffee is great (pumpkin spice latte in the fall was INCREDIBLE), and the pastries are fantastic. My go tos are the chocolate kougin amahn, the breakfast sandwich (herby mayo is divine), anything that's seasonal because they are so good at crafting fun and delicious stuff, the chocolate babka, and more. I haven't tried the salads and have only tried one sandwich, but those look like great lunch options. The staff are very friendly and keep the lines moving. Could not recommend this spot more! read more

For reasons unknown, the hours for this bakery aren't posted online. In fact, you can't find them anywhere, not even on Starter Bakery's website. Which is inane. When I called, there was an automated message that gave the hours for the Berkeley shop, but not the Rockridge shop. It's almost like they don't want our business...? Very strange. That said, Starter Bakery is a great addition to Rockridge downtown area, right across from Zachary's Pizza. We have enjoyed every pastry we've tried, although some run a bit sweet. I highly recommend getting a box of assorted pastries and letting your family plow through them. You can sit inside or take your treats to go. We have also tried a few of their breads, which we first sampled at the farmers market, and you can't go wrong with those, either. The problem is, one never knows when they're going to be open (again, that thing about the hours not being available) so it's sort of a crapshoot whether or not the doors will be open when you arrive. The Berkeley hours are something like 9 AM to 3 PM - but they're only open a few days during the week, and close early on Fridays. Don't make a special trip unless you call first to make sure they're open! read more

Starter makes a number of delicious items, but I especially love their quiche Lorraine. Their sticky buns are also excellent. If you haven't been, you need to check them out. read more

Starter Bakery - quiche Lorraine - Bakeries Near Me - Oakland, California

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