I was fortunate enough to participate in a silent auction and be the winner of the Semifreddis…read morebakery tour for up to 20 people. While it took some coordination on my part, we all made it and it's the best insider peek into this Bay Area institution that started in a small bakery that has grown so very much! Our guide Jennifer was a wealth of knowledge and so very fun to lead us through the history and operations of this business. The average person just doesn't appreciate all the work that goes into the foods that we eat. We saw the warehouse where the raw goods are stored and then onto the production floor! We saw the flour coming out into the massive vats, loaves coming out of ovens, focaccia going into convection ovens and all the steps in between. We were gifted an amazing bag of products that included a sweet baguette, sour battard, a bag of granola, bag of croutons, a morning bun, bag of cinnamon bread, biscotti and a bag of cinnamon bread. Unbelievable!!! They are such a family oriented organization that values community that they regularly donate product out. Items that come back from the stores and those that have an opps are sent out to become feed for chickens! I've always loved Semifreddis and now, I love them more. There are no public tours. Only way in is via a donated tour or via hosted events for 2nd grade and up classes. What a special day for me and 19 of my friends and family. Thank you!! Ps. No pics inside due to employee privacy.

Went here on a tour with Kaiser docs. Great behind the scenes view of their bakery. Huge fan of…read moretheir kalamata loaf and cinnamon twist bread now. It was also great to learn how much they give back to the local community too! We usually get their products locally at Encinal market or Berkeley bowl.

Night Heron Bread is at Alameda's Farmers Market Tuesdays & Saturdays. There's sparse decor. Just a…read morehanging butcher paper showing what's still available at the front of the stall. Not much as most listings were crossed off. Wanted to try any of the sourdough & other breads. Will wait till I lose my pre-diabetes status. Offerings: baked breads, various pastries, Cookies. -just a few pastries. Passed. Wanted to get something that will last days. Pastries last just a day or two. Bites: Corn Cookie/Chocolate Chip Cookie @4. -Corn Cookie was moist. Breaks apart easily. Didn't dry out for days. Slightly sweet. Slight buttery texture. Sweet corn natural taste. Boiled corn niblets probably pureed, mixed with batter. Delightful corn essenc. Chocolate Chip Cookie presumed to be embedded chips. Nada. Chocolate is 4 spread out layers interspersed with cookie batter. Chocolatety, not too sweet. Nice nuanced flavas. 4.5 stars Worthy! Quantity: reasonable Quality: excellent artisan techniques. Cookies lasted days. Good to the last crumb!

Really wanted to like/support this business, but they have no idea how to make a proper scone. It's…read moreso dense and dry, that the flavour of the fruit can't come through. Also, they don't add enough sugar, so you're basically stuck with a mouthful of lightly flavoured sawdust. At $7.00, I had high expectations - didn't expect to throw it away after 2 bites. The handpies have more flavour, but they're stingy with the filling...so there's too much dough, and ironically, too much sugar sprinkled on top.

Woohoo for Holy Ground Bakery! My tastebuds are happy after experiencing the delicious creations…read more Seriously, the savory pastries, brownies, coffee cake, and lemon bars are so good, they should come with a halo. I have enjoyed more than half a dozen different yummy treats from Micki and my kiddos rave about the quality goodies! It's honestly worth rewarding yourself with a fresh baked good anytime you're in Alameda, or the East Bay.

The food here is authentic, and not your typical bakery, which is so refreshing. The lemon short…read morebread cookies are probably the best I have tasted, you can taste real lemon was used, not artificial extract. The best surprise is the bagels which greatly exceed my expectations. Our friend from the Bronx NY said they tasted like New York bagels. The bagel is light and perfectly seasoned. They had a blueberry cheese Danish which was sold out by the time I moved up in line, so I will be back to try that. As a baker myself, I take bakery reviews very seriously, and this is one of the top places in the Bay Area.

Amazing place to eat--great food, awesome vibe, and excellent service all around. Definitely…read more recommend trying it out!

Yes, if you are looking for kosher food, especially meat, this is the place to get it. That being…read moresaid, I've been going there for decades in its various locations but after today I'm never going back. Their customer service skills are non existent. I had a question about a product they are selling and the answer was basically, whatever. They don't care-either buy it or don't. They were dismissive and condescending so you know what? I'm done.

Showed up for a brunch on Saturday, not the most of trendy decor. However considering the place is…read morebasically an institution (1962) it looks quite neat and clean. Well not everything in this world needs to be trendy I did like the retro vibe of the place. Wide variety of bagels, other pastries, smears and drinks. I got a blt bagel sandwich, it was heavenly. My Mrs got a breakfast sandwich also quite tasty. Friendly staff and reasonable prices 5/5 definitely recommend this place

Size of the bagels and quantity of cream cheese has been diminished by half. But the prices have…read moregone up almost double. I go here because it's convenient but every time I go here I kick myself because it's just really not worth it bagel, cream cheese and apple juice for $11 Just hurts my feelings

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place! La Farine literally has some of the best fruit tarts in the bay. There…read moreare so many different fruit combinations and designs to choose from and everything is made fresh daily. Not only are the fruit tarts amazing, but I also really enjoyed the cakes too. I'm not usually a huge pastry person, but if it's from La Farine, I'll definitely go back for a few bites. Bring one of their fruit tarts to any party or gatherings and I promise you, it will be a huge hit!

This bakery is a local favorite - I too, love the selection of bread, pastries and desserts. I also…read moreprefer mini over regular cupcakes so definitely an added bonus for me. On one occasion, however, I was given a carrot cupcake straight from the fridge, and the taste was nowhere near as good as one served at room temperature. Having said that: 1. I bought a few items as a gift requested a small bag with handles to carry them safely 2. Staff offered a large bag with handles for $1.10 (?). I declined, the small box would probably slide all over the bag during transport 3. The staff packed my box to go in a small bag without handles. 4. Cupcakes got damaged during transport. The cupcakes weren't secured in the box with paper or other packaging to prevent them from shifting during transit. Customer experience 2/5.

I would actually rate them zero stars but Yelp requires me to at least put in one star to write a…read morereview. This woman (Rachel Devlin) is unprofessional and unreliable. I do not recommend her to anyone. I contacted her 10 days before my daughter's 3rd birthday party inquiring about cupcakes. After several days of back and forth emails about pricing, I placed my order and confirmed the date and time of our party with her. She confirmed the delivery time would be between 10-11 am that day. (Our party was starting at 11 am) Party day comes, 10 am, 1030, 11 am, no cupcakes. I gave her a little time to be late, but by noon I had a HOUSE FULL of 3-year olds and still no cupcakes. I left her multiple voicemails on both phone numbers I had listed for her. I was not able to get in touch with her at all. I began trying to find another bakery in the neighborhood that was open but had no luck so eventually I was forced to run to the grocery store and buy 4 dozen (mediocre, not-vegan) cupcakes for my guests. I missed half of my daughter's 3rd birthday party being stressed out about f-cking cupcakes. By 3 pm all our guests had left. Around 430 PM I was laying down with my daughter for a nap and our doorbell rang. I was half-asleep so I didn't answer, but then my phone began ringing. I answered and someone said "Hi, were you expecting a cupcake delivery?". The woman said she was only the delivery person, and that Rachel had called her after getting my voicemails. Rachel had mistakenly thought our party was the following day. The delivery woman then says "So I'm going to assume that you don't want me to leave these?" I nearly lost my shit. Ok, so Rachel made a mistake. It happens. I was about to come on yelp and write her a negative review immediately, but I thought I would at least give her a chance to personally apologize, try to make it right, etc. It has been nearly 2 weeks now and I NEVER HEARD A WORD FROM HER. Unprofessional, unreliable, unapologetic. Stay away from this business.

I had the pleasure of consuming a delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cupcake at Wicked Grounds in SF…read moreback in November. I housed it in seconds flat and was instantly sad once it was gone. So of course, I contemplated having another. The cupcake was moist, pumpkin-y and absolutely divine. I'm glad that vegan baked goods exist and that Idle Hands knows how to do it right.

so delicious. I got a cortadillo and elote and both were very moist and flavorful. Definitely hit…read morethe spot. The staff are friendly and theres a lot of variety to choose from.

Bought some teleras here and honestly this place has no ethic. The bread the lady pulled was from a…read morebag. I asked her if it was fresh. She said it was so I took her word. This bread was far from fresh!!! I took it back and the lady refused to exchange it for something else. I understand there's no refunds but right is right and wrong is wrong. I left that bread on the counter don't recommend this place to anyone!