Starter Bakery

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.