This is a place that makes great food period. And it's special because the folks that work here have a passion for this food art form and want others that come to understand and enjoy it. The person who helped us was patient kind and shared his knowledge to help us choose an option that we would likely enjoy the most since this was our first time there. We stumbled upon this place based on a recommendation of a friend that had heard good things. We didn't manage to get a seat for their bowls and unfortunately they were completely sold out of the dill pickles but we got to try something else! We bought a watermelon rind pickle that was nearing the season end that was really just amazing. The flavor profile was dynamic. I left somewhat complaining that their prices were expensive, ate a piece from the jar, and immediately regretted we didn't grab a few others to try!! That's alright because there will definitely be a next time! read more

We made a reservation for 10:00am on a Sunday morning. We arrived at 10:05. Three couples were ahead of us; they got seated along the island in the middle. We were seated at a small side table next to the island. The owner proceeded to put napkins/utensils/glasses of water in front of these couples but didn't put anything in front of us. The owner then started to talk about his pickle business. He not only didn't put any utensils and water in front of us, he also didn't make any eye contact as if we didn't exist (there were only 11 people in the room that day). We find his attitude extremely rude and arrogant. I raised my hand to ask if our reservation was for "observation only"; the owner's response was that his wife is responsible for serving the "peripheral tables". His wife, in the meantime, was busy dealing with walk-in customers, so we just sat there at an empty table. How much work is it for the owner to put 2 more glasses of water and 2 more sets of utensils on the table to make every diner feel welcomed? The meal consists of a big scoop of rice topped with 12 -13 different types of pickles. Most of the pickles tasted sour and salty, nothing very memorable. The meal was $30 + 20% mandatory tip. Considering the way we were treated by the owners, we felt the 20% tip is uncalled for. I can think of more enjoyable ways to spend $36 than eating pickled cucumbers and watermelon rinds and be ignored. read more

The cultured pickle shop is more than just a shop, it's an experience! You will find more than just pickles here, and please don't expect it to be a restaurant. If you'd like to have the sit down experience, know there is limited seating but the wait is extremely worth it. Experience a fine dining meal like nothing in this world! The timeframe this place operates on is over years! Enjoy flavors that take immense amounts of time to develop. The dining experience will change your viewpoint on food guaranteed! The people that own and work here are wonderfully passionate and delightful to talk to. The bowl is prepared intimately for you with everything explained as it's added. Their dessert is to die for, I highly recommend the warm rice drink they offer!! It feels like drinking a piece of home by the fire place. If you're looking for a gem in Berkeley, the cultured pickle shop is the place to go! read more

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WOW. Such an incredible and unique dining experience! The guy working there created the bowl in front of us, walking us through each component, explaining how each pickle or item was made. The flavors were unlike anything I've ever tasted and so so delicious. The dessert was literally the best dessert I've ever had. read more

The Cultured Pickle Shop - Dessert - poached quince, dried persimmon, and matcha pudding!!! - Specialty Food Near Me - Berkeley, California

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If Picasso made pickles, not paintings, and operated a stylish-yet-unassuming lunch spot, this would be it. One of the best dining experiences I've ever had. Take your time. Get the bowl and just get everything. read more

This is a true gem. If you read my other reviews, I don't give such high scores unless there is something exceptional about a restaurant. Cultured is an amazing, amazing, amazing culinary experience. A simple bowl contains so many flavors, it's remarkable. If you love your mouth, you need stop in. read more

Looking over the Soleil Ho list of "88 Best Restaurants in the Bay Area" I was intrigued by this one -- Rice & Pickle bowls, in a small shop in West Berkeley, only on weekends. Finally this Saturday the timing was right at last to check it out. It was easy to order over the phone and the setup was straightforward and fast once I got there. The bowl itself was phenomenal -- all kinds of flavors and colors and textures somehow coming together in perfect ferment-y salty umami harmony. And don't forget to ADD THAT EGG, it's the best part! read more

The Cultured Pickle Shop - Daily menu - Specialty Food Near Me - Berkeley, California

The owners are wonderful, and so is their son. What a fine young man. Walk into an impeccably managed, well cared for space, and you will feel not only the vibe of the passion of this beautiful family, which translates to the wonderful, high quality and over the top tasty products. Great gifts and when Covid is behind us, great tastings and group gatherings. I suggest you refrain from buying off a store shelf -- you won't be disappointed when you come here to experience what a true rice and pickle bowl should be. read more

I have always purchased these products in stores, but to visit where all the magic comes from, is such an experience. Very exciting to find my classic favorites along with new products I've never tried. read more

The Cultured Pickle Shop - Fantastic Ferments!!! - Specialty Food Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Yow! I read about their mixed Pickle and Rice bowl (only on weekends) and was enticed. Here, the reality exceeded expectations. Each bite featured a special flavor: unique, intriguing, wowing (or is that wowowing?) I got the add-on egg, pricey but worth it at $3. I also picked up a jar of the strawberry omeboshi fruit preserve because it sounded so weird. I'll have to report back later... read more

Rice and pickles were a complete delight. We loved the food as well as the entire scene. read more

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Came in for lunch last week to try their weekend rice and pickle offering, and it blew my mind! We did a tasting of kombucha as well, and the entire meal was thoughtful with an abundance of flavor. The service was incredibly pleasant, as the staff was more than happy to chat about their products and process. Since then, I've tried 3 more of their kombucha flavors, each distinct and special in their own way. I can't wait to come back for lunch and for my kombucha fix! read more

The Cultured Pickle Shop - Specialty Food Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I've been eating these cultured krauts for over 20 years, first encountered at the Berkeley Farmers Market. The quality has remained and the flavors and ingredients ever changing, though you can always find many standards. This is a unique small business that provides an amazing product that I'm happy to support. read more

The Cultured Pickle Shop - Specialty Food Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I tried their dine-in service a few weeks back. It was spectacular. I had what they call a "rice & pickles" plate, which was a sort of extremely intricately assembled vegetable plate with surprising and delicious ingredients, most very complex. It sounds kind of bland but was amazing. Actually this is without a doubt the most understated restaurant I've ever been to, serving such great food in simple surroundings sparsely and sparingly described. read more

We purchased the Japanese cucumber Kim chee...very good and spicy!! The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable!!

The owner was very gracious. I remember her at every meal because she patiently and cheerfully answered all my questions and then in reality once I arrived back at home with her fermented foods I began to put everything on everything. You really can't go wrong short of putting kimchi on a brownie, but then again, I haven't tried that. The vintage sauerkraut and Umeboshi plums are true delicacies, but everything else is outstanding as well, and you can really tell how particular they are about everything that goes into their wonderful fermented products. read more

I love Cultured products - they make such excellent krauts and pickles that it is tempting to give up my Harsch crock and just rely on them for my cabbage-y goodness (except that the cost of one of their jars would more than cover the produce needed to entirely stuff a 7.5L harsch crock for kim chee or kraut). They have such excellent flavor combinations that I find them to be a real inspiration - I'll pick some flavors and test them, then experiment in reproducing them at home. The kombucha offered at the farmer's markets is also a delight - you can get Cultured products at the Saturday downtown Berkeley Farmer's Market. Yum! read more

This place is unbelievably fantastic. I went a couple months ago during a time I guessed they wouldn't be busy, as I am just starting to learn about pickles and I wanted to be able to ask questions. Just as I had hoped, the woman running the front (I'm sorry I forgot her name!) was willing to nerd out with me for a while. She pulled out a bunch of samples and we chatted about them for 20-30 minutes, for which I was very grateful. I left with a classic Korean kimchee and two seasonal pickles: pickled mustard greens with leeks, turmeric and fennel seeds, and pickled pumpkin with leeks and lemon zest. The seasonal ones are PHENOMENAL. My favorite pairings so far are mustard greens with hummus and roasted carrots, and the pumpkin on avocado toast. They are both gone now so I'll have to go back and see what's in season now. The kimchee is very good but very pricey. If you are price sensitive at all I think it's safe to say you can get delicious krauts and kimchees elsewhere for less money, so you can save up to get the really unique things from here. If you can afford it though, this is a great business to support. Thanks for being awesome, Cultured! read more

Wonderful experience. The service was above and beyond. So warm and friendly. Food was so interesting and delightful. Highly recommend

Cultured feels like a mix of science, art, food and philosophy. The beet kombucha is amazing. The cabbage kimchi tastes super fresh and clean. The chili paste is amazing. read more

We had surprising difficulty finding parking here and then some trouble finding the shop itself, which fronts on Fifth Street, but we managed both issues. We walked in to the show/sales room. On the wall facing the door is a description of their 10(!!) types of sauerkraut. In the cold case off to the left were jars of sauerkraut and pickles and other products. The kitchen is adjacent and overhead they were playing what we thought was a funny radio program but what turned out to be the audio book of Bill Bryson's ""At Home", which we read several months ago for our book group. The segment was on the bathroom and we stood there listening and laughing. We chose a jar of the original sauerkraut and one of the Super Sauerkraut Salad, a combination of green cabbage, beets, carrots, ginger and sea salt colored red by the beets. Each 16 oz jar is $8. A friendly man helped us. Today we had bagel dogs for lunch and opened the two sauerkrauts to serve w/ them, along w/ some leftover potato salad from Kensington Fine Foods. The sauerkraut was vibrant and strong. I loved it. It was a little overpowering for Alan, who likes his a bit milder. I think either one will be fabulous on Reubens, but I doubt we'll buy more because Alan eats more sauerkraut than I do and Boar's Head makes sauerkraut about the right intensity for him. If you love strong, interesting sauerkraut this will be wonderful for you. Go to their website and see the range of products they make, then go over to their shop. There's a private lot for the building, accessible from Bancroft, but that's not immediately obvious and you have to go down the stairs to Fifth and to the left to the shop itself. read more

I have the utmost respect for Alex Hozven and Cultured Pickle Shop. They are definitely pioneers of artisanal food and I have the highest praise for their products. Just a note: Make sure if you're buying one of the sugar-rich kombuchas (like watermelon-jalapeno kombucha) you are very careful when opening it! There wasn't any noticeable signage or warning around, and my friend opened the bottle in the shop and about half of the liquid inside exploded all over the floor because it was way over-carbonated. We got a replacement bottle and sat down outside and had to spend literally ten minutes opening this second bottle in order to not have it explode. We would unscrew the cap a bit, let pressure out, close it before bubbles exploded out, then repeat. For ten minutes. Otherwise, Alex is one of my sustainable foods heroes and I love what she does. read more

I was excited to visit the shop because i love pickles. I got Watermelon Daikon with Red Onion and mint. The color looked beautiful and i was so looking forward to try it. The daikon turned out to be overly sour, fibrous, and not crunchy. I tasted no watermelon, nor mint, just plain sour. Looking at the date, maybe because it was fermented for 3 months already? In terms of being fibrous. I hoped the shop would pick better produce to pickle from. The daikon must have been too old. It lacked any crunchyness. The pickle tastes bad. However, I really hate to waste food so I'm trying to finish it by adding sugar to balance out the sourness. My advice is to check the date that the pickles were made. read more

This is the reason I get up on Saturday mornings! Yummy samples, a big smiles. This woman makes the best treats in the world - from Organic raw sauerkraut to other yummy preserves. She loves carrots, daikon raddishes, fennel, garlic, dill, ginger, rutabeggas, turnips, cabbage, beets, and all the other goodies that go into health food. She also brews a mean Kombucha, in 4 different flavors! You get $0.25 towards your purchase if you return the (cleaned) container to her at the Farmer's market! Contact: Alex & Kevin Hozven P.O. Box 2717 Berkeley, CA 94702 (510) 540-5185 read more

For my 400th review, I wanted it to be someplace special, and Cultured fits the bill perfectly. I've been making my own pickles for three years now and it's always interesting to see how others make pickles too. So, a friend and I drove over from San Francisco to check out Cultured. We walked in and said hello. After a few minutes, Kevin, one of the owners came over. Once he warmed up, he was very willing to let us try the various items. One delicious item is their beets with fennel. It's $8 for an 8 oz jar, so I'll be using it as an accent rather than dishing it out in big quantities. Another delicious item is their raw Khitchari Kraut which is cabbage, turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel seed, paprika, fenugreek, black mustard seed, black pepper and Celtic sea salt. Whew! It's $9 a bottle for 16 oz. The taste is unlike anything I've had. Can't wait to pair with some good sausage. All of Cultured products are organic and unpasteurized, so take something to keep the products cool if you're going to be doing other errands. I spent $76 which qualified for a free organic (of course) cotton tote bag. I left with yummy products and ideas for trying out on my own for my next batch of pickles. read more

Cultured is one of the gems of the Bay Area food scene. Alex helps make us all proud to be fermentation geeks. Even though I teach, eat and make fermented foods every day, I always enjoy Cultured's products. Her products encourage us to expand our horizons and try new things. I am grateful to Alex and her team for having the courage to start the business and build a community around it. If you go to the store, look closely for the sign as it is hidden. And yes, parking there isn't always easy. But it is worth it! You get to see the inside of the factory and it is so cool! read more

I've never been to a pickling facility before, so this was fun! They have lots and lots of pickled options, as well as sauerkraut. They even have homemade kombucha. A bit on the pricey side, but probably the best I've ever had. Totally worth stopping by read more

While on a foodie adventure with my best friend we decided to drive to Berkeley just for pickles. These pickled products are special since all that is added is salt. They pickle in their own juices, that means no vinegar and no water. Upon entering it looks just like a factory, but there is a small display case. All of the products they make are in this display. Whoever helps you will provide you will samples of anything you wish except the kombucha. We ended up walking away with vintage kraut, sea kraut, pickled sunchokes, pickled okra and many others. The Kombucha is to die for, gotta love naturally fermented vegetable soda. I choose the celery flavor since I love Cel-Ray. This was amaing, although it is a trial in patience. Since it is a fermented product you must open and close it many times. I believe mine took about five minutes to open but it was well worth the wait. read more

Picked up a jar of kim chee at Whole Foods Cupertino today and it has to be the best I've ever had. Crunchy, spicy, tangy, clean tasting goodness and worth every penny. The only bummer is that I live in the Southbay. Guess I have a reason to go to Berkeley now! Dying to try their seasonal speciality items. read more

If you're a fan of pickled foods, Joy of Joys is what you will find in this place so small if you wink you will miss it. ;) I love that you walk in, and you are right in the middle of where all the action happens... Barrels of delicious fermenting treats brewing right before your very eyes. I saw a video about Alex and her small family business on chow.com, and we came in the very next day...! I recognized the Brand label because one of my best friends buys their brand of Sauerkraut at Rainbow Grocery, it is so yummy. Alex was sweet, mellow and super informed. The 2 guys were full of humble smiles. I am in the process of learning about fermented foods right now, so this was more then perfect. I knew she knew her stuff, and I was quite inspired. I may even try to intern with her because I am so excited about what they do! My love and I settled on a Tangerine and Turnip Kombucha as well as a jar of Spicy Pickles. It was the most refreshing and alive Kombucha I have ever tasted! Like a jolt of delicious and satisfying energy. I hope to be back very very soon! Thanks Alex and Fam! YOU ROCK! read more

In South bay, the whole foods in cupertino and almaden carries their products (nothing in palo alto and los gatos) love kimchee and beet drink!!! read more

This place sells the best pickled things I have ever eaten (and drank) bar none. First, the pickles. You may perhaps be lucky enough to find traditional dill pickles, as we were. These are fresh, crispy, briny and so so good that the first bottle we bought did not make it out the door of the shop. Pro Tip: after the pickles are gone, use the brine to make an awesome pickle-tini! Many other pickled items on offer, depending on season and availability, and all are fantastic. Next, the krauts. Again, all amazing, and a wide variety from traditional to out there. The kimchi is particularly zippy--you'll break a sweat. Finally, the kombucha. I have to say, this kombucha is so good I don't want to drink any other kind anymore. The theme of varied, seasonal ingredients continues here. Whatever you try you will love. Just don't forget to open S L O W L Y! None of this stuff comes particularly cheap, but I consider the prices fair given that all of the products are made by hand, on premises. If I lived anywhere near here I would be in here so often they'd know me by name. Some of the best food I've eaten this year, no kidding. GET CULTURED. read more

This place is fantastic. So many delicious things to choose from. Vinegar? We don't need no stinking vinegar! read more

One of my favorite places to stop at when I'm in Berkeley. I love the ferments they sell. Each time I try something delicious and exciting!

Astoundingly good products that are artisan and have the care and beauty put into their making to make them outstanding. It's great too, to go to a place that is only focused on this one type, one class of offering, where you can fully get into the processes and the environment. Staff is super friendly and easy going, a great place to discover the benefits of fermented food. read more

This is a neat, small little shop where everything is pickled (fermented!). And I mean real pickling. We got the spicy dill pickles and the kimchi. The pickles are really good, but interesting. They have a lot of flavor and they sort have an effervescent feel on your tongue. We haven't yet tried the kimchi but looks awesome. It's a little expensive but understandably so. read more

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I was introduced to kombucha with her version of the drink at the farmer's market, and since then I've tasted it from many other places, but hers is the best. A big fan of the sea kraut and nutra kraut. Slightly more tangy and less sweet than what I expected in the beginning (being used to Japanese tsukemono), but it's really easy to eat. My toddler loves it as well and eats heaps of it with rice. Nice, straightforward ingredients and I love the passion that the owner has for fermented things. Would like to try the nuka stuff in the future, as I'm scared of making my own nuka. read more

Dropped by this place with a friend from Berkeley due to their recommendation. At first blush a little pricey but it's a startup and I love supporting new business. Why one star? We'll after purchasing my first jar of pickled carrots, I noticed once I'd taken the jar out of the fridge that it felt wet but the assistant assured me it was condensation. I paid my $20 and merrily tottered off. I was halfway down 4th Street when I noticed the bag I was carrying the jar in was wet at the bottom. I took it back and asked the assistant if I could switch it out for another. She said she have to ask the owner and promptly took it over to a woman working at the back. The woman looked over at me and accusingly asked if I'd tipped it over! I was kinda pissed off that I was treated that way, ergo, I'll never go back and I'll go home and write a crappy review. Advice: the customer is ALWAYS right. read more

We stumbled on (and into) Cultured on our way to Tomate. Now, I am a kraut and pickle lover of all kine so I figured I had died and gone to organic preserve heaven. This is actually their big pickle kitchen, workroom, what have you, but there is a small refrigerated case at the front and a big chalkboard listing all the different kinds of pickled goodness on offer. The nice lady wiped up our drool puddles off the floor and let us sample anything we wanted to check out. As mentioned, everything is organic and much is raw, macrobiotic, and teeming with happy lactobacilli that will dance in your mouth AND your nether regions. How many foods can claim that? Party in my tummy taken to a whole new level. Back to business: there are seriously at least a dozen kinds of raw sauerkraut ranging from traditional (cabbage and salt) to kim chee to "Shoo Flu" (with goji and five spice) and my personal favorite, Sea Kraut (with ginger, hijiki, arame, burdock, and beets). I also got some of the special takuan, which is daikon in rice bran. Instead of the radioactive yellow of most daikon pickles (not that that usually stops me, anyway), these are a light turmeric-provided yellow tint, and meant to be rinsed of the rice bran before you eat. They're so mild, so crunchy, and SO good. And apparently they have seasonal specialty pickles that change as time goes on and my picklejar goes empty. And a last note about prices. It was about $30 total for my jars of pickles. So they're not your typical grocery store gherkin prices, but are they your typical grocery store gherkins? Say it with me Whitney. Hell to the naw. Hell to the RAW! yum. U/D: check out Cultured owner Alex Hoven's cool video & tutorial on chowhound! god, yum. read more

Their pickles are very juicy and flavorful . Tastes way better than the ones you buy from your grocery store .