Amazing. My friends and I were in the area for a car meet and popped into Firebrand to check out…read moretheir pastries and use the bathroom. First off, it's spacious. Between the inside seats and the outdoor bench seating, there's plenty of space for a lot of people and when the weather is nice, it's even better. The pastries display was absolutely amazing. Not just their bread offerings, but also their croissants and bombolinis, my gosh it's hard not to throw caution into the wind and order a little of everything. I opted for the matcha croissant, blackberry cream cheese danish, passionfruit bombolini, and vanilla bombolini, and all were amazing and not too sweet. The topper was the ube latte that I got along with everything. Overall, a great pit stop if you're in the area or if you just want to come here because of this place. It's sure to be a good, delicious time.

While in the area for the Downtown Alameda Art & Wine Faire, we came by Firebrand Artisan Breads to…read moreto grab some coffees and a snack. I love this area of Alameda, populated with so many fun breweries and family-friendly spaces. This was our first time at this spot and we noticed a sign (see below) for the best English muffins in the Bay Area so we had to grab one toasted with butter. Would love to try it as a brekky sandwich, but we didn't want to ruin our appetites for festival food lunch..the brekky menu looked amazing including biscuits & gravy, churro French toast sticks, lemon zest French toast, brekky pizza, and the pork & jam (crispy pulled pork, house made blackberry jam, fried egg, honey-buttermilk biscuit with country fried taters...sounds delish!!) They also have a beautiful selection of baked goods, pretzels, packaged breads to-go, lunch AND dinner options including soups, salads, pizzas, kiddo menu, sandwiches, sliders, and more. I had no idea! Service was quick, hours kickoff at 7:30a, and there's indoor/outdoor seating. Plenty of parking outside or across the street if needed. Can't wait to come back soon!

I was on my way to work and was a bit early. I had passed by the display case and saw a few…read morePastries. I had decided on a mini Carrot Cake and had taken it to go. It was perfectly sized and the cream cheese frosting was on point. They have all sorts of baked goods if carrot cake isn't your thing..I saw they had sandwiches and baked breads too .

My friend picked up some treats from this place. The keylime pie was tasty! The other pastries were…read moregood too.

Came on a weekday in the afternoon, so there was not much of a line when I got there. I found this…read morespot on TikTok and the craze drove me right in! It's small and clean inside 5/5, and the staff was patient & informative, plus they heated up my sandwich, which I didn't ask for but it was nice 5/5. Now onto the pastries.. the coconut was so thick, light, and creamy and surprisingly backed with flavor 4.8/5, the mango was phenomenal! The fruit inside was so fresh, and well cooked, and the cream inside was a light addition 4.9/5, the pistachio (even though I was crazy excited about it) was just okay. The pistachio flavor was strong enough, but I just felt it could've been better executed when you're offering options like mango and coconut, 3/5. The apple fritter style pastries was definitely my favorite out of them all. The outside was so buttery and flakey, and the apple filling wasn't overly sweet with a slight tart hint that really put it over the top for me, absolute perfection 4.9/5. The Calamansi Jasmine tea was a delightful little addition to my eats. It was more jasmine flavored than anything, but that's also one of my favorite tea flavors so I may be biased, but either way 4.5/5. Overall, I rate this place a 4.6/5!

I live in the neighborhood and love to stop in every now and then. For me, it's a taste of home…read more Having spent my entire childhood in Europe, it's nice to see pâtisseries like this in the States and I've been rooting for them since they announced their plans to open. However, on many recent visits, I've wondered why they offer so many different pastries all at once (20+ split between mousse cakes and viennoiseries) instead of focusing on a smaller rotating selection. It seems difficult to make so many pastries each day with potentially diminishing returns on quality and guest experience. (If it's to showcase their range, that seems unnecessary as we already know that the chefs are very talented at their craft.) In fact, on my visits where I saw the widest selection, all of the pastries I bought turned out dry. I think they would be better off making a smaller selection and ensuring each batch is made to standard.

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.

Doodlecakes overdelivers every single time! They are so easy to work with, responsive, and make the…read moreentire process stress-free. Not only are their cakes absolutely beautiful, but they are also delicious! We've ordered from them multiple times and are consistently impressed by their creativity and attention to detail. Highly recommend for any special occasion!

Stopped by Doodlecakes spontaneously for a sweet treat. I was in the area picking up some…read moresandwiches and noticed Doodlecakes after parking nearby. The shop is cute and cozy with a nice display of cupcakes available and prices. I opted to purchase 4 cupcakes to share and had asked the staff member for recommendations on flavors. Customer service was excellent, friendly and efficient. I will say the cupcakes are a bit pricey ($4.99 each) but the quality and taste are great. It's also wonderful that they have gluten free and vegan cupcakes available too. I enjoyed the cookie butter and cookies n' cream flavors, the cupcakes weren't overly sweet and had a nice texture and the icing was good too. I was curious about trying the pandan and strawberry crunch flavors, and will need to return for more cupcakes! Overall, a solid spot for delicious cupcakes! Definitely recommend!

I'm usually very particular about matcha since I've perfected my own recipe to suit my personal…read moretaste, but I have to say I really enjoyed their Earl Grey Matcha from the seasonal menu. It wasn't overly sweet and still maintained that earthy matcha flavor that many places tend to lose when they jump on the matcha trend. My husband ordered the Vanilla Bean Caramel Latte, also from the seasonal menu, and loved it so much that he said this is now his favorite coffee spot. Safe to say, whenever we're back in town, we'll definitely be returning!

I got an espresso. It was a medium roast, their signature blend…read more It had great creamy texture and a good layer of crema. Bitterness overpowered the shot but I tasted some promising fruity notes. 2.5/5 Would come back to try pour over.

Sue is famous for her treats! Very responsive via email for order updates. I think I mathed wrong…read moreand ordered WAY too many biscotti, but they definitely did not go to waste. Try her s'mores cupcakes :)

I stumbled on Sue's Custom Desserts on Yelp and I am so glad I did, Sue was able to make…read moreaccommodations for 2 dozen Strawberry flavor with cream cheese frosting floral cupcakes for my cousins Garden Theme Bridal Shower thank you so much!!! I will definitely order again and my apologies for tryin to change the pickup time but I made it!! Holy Moly her biscotti options looks amazing

One of our go to ice-cream shops. I love the flavors that they have especially the asian inspired…read moreones. Durian and egg tart are probably my top 2!

Am I the only one who thinks the ice cream here tastes too sweet and artificial?…read more I did try their Milo chocolate and felt it was way too sugary for the chocolate. Pancakes with blueberry had this weird artificial vanilla flavor. They were out of mango sticky rice. I got the pandan coconut which had all this food coloring and was way too sweet. I bought it because I wanted to support this small business, but I didn't eat all of it and ended up throwing most of it away. The staff here was patient and nice and that's why I'm giving this place 3 stars.