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    Starter Bakery

    4.3 (155 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    STARTER BAKERY ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Starter Bakery

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    David T.

    Okay went there today to fill a craving for pastries. Bought one of the madelines and one of their financiers,, both of which I always enjoy in Paris but these were terrible. Why do they have to ruin them by putting on some stupid sticky glaze which they would never do in Paris. Same with the banana cake. Again another stupid sticky glaze. Some of their pastries are okay and they do make a good cappuccino which was not true when they first opened. I would probably come back but I would have to be very selective about what I picked in the future. The pastries with fruit on them are generally very good

    Latte with coco banana bread (half since I was hungry)
    Sherry Z.

    Located in Rockridge, plenty of street parking, but limited seating. If you have a group larger than 4 people, I would recommend you grab and go and find somewhere else to sit. The space is open and has a long display case with all of the delicious pastries. If you only want a caffeinated beverage you can skip the long line and order at the counter. The latte is solid and goes well with any of their baked goods. Highly recommend the twice baked ham & cheese croissants. I get it every time I'm here. I'm normally more of a sweet pastry with my coffee, but the crispy, savory, and sweet (because of the caramelized onions) combination of the croissant is very satisfying. I also recommend the cocoa banana bread which has the lovely texture of the cocoa nibs on the top. Honestly, I feel like you can't go wrong with any of the pastries so try a couple out and find your favorite!

    Plain kouign amann
    Alex M.

    My first experience with kouign amann was at Starter Bakery during the pandemic, and I'm so glad to see that they've expanded over the past several years. I visited their Rockridge bakery on a recent weekend morning (~10 AM), and there was a long line out the door. The line moved quickly, and I admired the pastry case and variety of kouign amann flavors while I waited. When it was my turn to order, I kept it simple with a box of the plain kouign amann. My pastries were boxed up and added to the queue, which seemed chaotic at first glance but was handled efficiently by the staff. I took my pastries to go and enjoyed them at home later that evening. While Starter Bakery's kouign amann are petite, they pack a big punch with extremely rich, buttery layers. The texture was denser and chewier than kouign amann from other bakeries, but the bottom had the same caramelized crispiness that I loved the first time I tried it. Visiting the bakery was convenient, since it is located a block away from the Rockridge Bart station. On my next visit, I'd be curious to try the seasonal kouign amann flavor and some of their savory pastries.

    Jade L.

    I met up with my friend here for a foodie day together since it's a very short walk from the Rockridge BART station. I selected a few pastries to try, namely the signature original kouign amann, cardamon pistachio twist, and almond croissant. The first I requested to be heated so that I could eat on the spot, and the other two I requested to be packaged for takeaway. I thought the kouign amann was alright but not great. Other kouign amann have had a crispy exterior and soft interior. However, the kouign amann at Starter was completely soft, gooey, and very sticky, so much so that the sugar stuck to my teeth, and I had to scrape it off. I'm accustomed to kouign amann holding their structure for each flaky bite, but the kouign amann from here was deflated and borderline soggy (presumably from the sugary syrup oozing out of it) even though I ate it immediately. I tried the cardamon pistachio twist and almond croissant later when I got around to it. The first had a slightly off-putting (almost sour?) flavour at first, but I got used to it after a few bites, and I have to say it was my favourite of the trio. The almond croissant was way too sweet, and the filling had an artificial almond taste. Overall, I'd rate this bakery 3.5 stars because while the pastries were decent, and the staff worked efficiently to get us our orders promptly, I've had better pastries at mere coffee shops that don't specialize in making pastries in-house.

    Standout chocolate babka
    Mille C.

    4.25 rounded down to 4 stars; yummy but a little small for the price. Located 1 block from Rockridge BART, across the street from Zachary's Pizza on College Ave. Street parking can be difficult. Busy streets. Beware traffic. Recently saw a grandma almost get run over by a car blowing thru the pedestrian x-ing right in front of the bakery. Discovered chocolate babka when Philz Coffee opened in San Ramon! Had babka before but think it is more of a New York thing. First time I've seen it in a Bay Area cafe in years. Much preferred than chocolate croissant which only has a small bar of chocolate in the center. In the babka, chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the bread as a slightly gritty spread. (Kinda like unsweetened cocoa that clump together when making hot chocolate from scratch. They're like mini bursts of chocolate if you don't stir and dissolve thoroughly before drinking.) Unfortunately, Philz almost always ran out by morning's end. Even worse, they stopped carrying babka soon after. Good news, staff mentioned they got their pastries at Starter Bakery. Better news, they also said that SB had a stall just a few yards away at the Saturday farmers' market in the mall's parking lot. Bad news, the stall was so popular, the babka often sold out before 10 am. Best news, my sister and I now go straight to the source. Do a pilgrimage to Oakland at least once or twice a month for our babka fix.

    Breakfast sandwich
    Jose Manuel C.

    Showed up after a Trader Joe's run. Coffee was good, breakfast sandwich was good, rustic Italian one was cool. Service lacks attention to detail, waited an extra 20 minutes for something they forgot. 4/5 service needs better attention to detail.

    Mille feuille
    Tasha H.

    Amazing pastries and viennoiserie. Mille feuille - what a triumph. The pink cream actually tasted of berries, and the pastry slices were crisp without being too hard. Truly delicious and beautiful. Pain au chocolate - 3, count them, 3! Sticks of chocolate and a very crisp exterior- lovely. Kouign Amann - it seems like this is what they're known for here, and they do it well. The pastry is crisp, not overwhelmingly sweet and not overly dense like others I've had. They have a ton of different flavors, but the base pastry is all the same, it's just the small amount of toppings that are swapped out.

    Another set of goods
    Jennifer T.

    One of the gems in East Bay. They close early around 3pm so make sure to pick up pastries for a weekend or for family. My mom in San Jose always asks when I'm going to bring a box of pastries from here. The pastries are made with quality ingredients and with Kerrygold butter. There are seasonal pastries too but they do the best with their staples: kouign amanns (hazelnut, pistachio, chocolate, and a seasonal flavor), croissants, pretzel croissant (favorite), chocolate croissants and many more. There are also some breakfast pastries available there, and the coffee is well made. I missed out on the seasonal Pannettone last year but I hope to order it this year as it is not Christmas without a panettone in the morning with some coffee. I love this place and glad there is a Rockridge location.

    Apricot cheese
    Denise L.

    Had their pastries from the Niles farmers market and their fresh baked goodies are delicious! Tried the apricot cheese danish and it wasn't too sweet and so tasty. They had lots of different types of kouign amanns, and I tried the hazelnut one. It was heavenly! Would definitely like to try their pastries at their store.

    Abha S.

    This is a cute little bakery and Café on a quaint street in Berkeley, across from Trader Joe's. There is seating inside and out. The café offers Wi-Fi and lots and Lots of sweet treats to try as well as savory sandwiches and quiches. The coffee is also very delicious and strong. Definitely a great local spot to check out if you're in the area.

    Soggy and raw bottom in dessert in front
    Stefan T.

    If you can successfully bake a Kouign-amann - well then - you can bake anything. It's one of the most finicky things out there and few can do it perfectly - this bakery still needs a little practice. I'm a self proclaimed review expert on said dessert. I've tried all the heavy hitters like B Patasserie - or I guess they are too cool for capital letters: 'bpatisserie.' I feel I can confidently criticize these little nuggets. The store itself is very beautiful. Too beautiful. Instagram worthy. Green plants and good vibes. People outside eating and enjoying good company. Endless variety behind the glass and everything is very pleasing to the eye. Grabbed the signature dessert and a couple others for good measure. Quick transaction and no line. Good selection too - even though it was at the end of the day. I really appreciated that. Not everything was 'sold out' like at other places, ahem Rotha. I eagerly brought them home and sliced in half everything to do a close inspection. Unfortunately, I found dough on the very bottom not up to my satisfaction. I tried to ignore it but when I bit into it I could taste some raw dough. The sides and top were absolutely delightful though. Toasted hazelnuts and sugary caramelized goodness. Flaky and moist - word on the street is these are supposed to be the best tasting and I think it lived up to that - just a technical detail I can for the most part overlook. The thing that really sets apart Tartine from all the rest of the bakeries out there is that there is never anything I've ever gotten over decades that is less than perfect. It is the benchmark. But here, I still enjoyed it overall and loved the LA fundraiser for the fires and the friendly people behind the counter who carefully packaged everything. If you want the most pretty desserts around - this is probably a best bet.

    Chocolate Babka and dubai chocolate kouign amann
    Cynthia P.

    I was first introduced to starter bakery by my bestfriend at a farmer's market! I love how they always have a stand or booth at the local farmer's market every weekend. I remember grabbing bread and other pastries for the first time from them and it was delicious. If you do plan on going to visit starter bakery at a farmers market, do go early on to grab whatever you want because they do sell out! That was the case for us today...which is why we decided to go to the actual bakery itself! The atmosphere was great! People were inside and outside talking or working. Service was quick as well! We went with the purpose of only getting a baguette and ended up also getting two delicious pastries: chocolate babka and dubai chocolate kouign amann. Baguette: 10/10 , it was fresh and warm! We couldn't help but to have a little taste while walking back to the car. Haha. Chocolate babka: 10/10 , it is not too sweet and they use a dark chocolate, which is great because it helps balance the sweetness of the pastry! I really enjoyed this a lot. Dubai Chocolate Kouign Amann: 7/10. Honestly, this was a bit disappointing in terms of it being a Dubai chocolate pastry. The chocolate in the photo was the only chocolate included in this pastry. The pistachio itself was just crushed up for the filling, it was not pistachio cream. There was no katafi either. So really, this was a chocolate pistachio pastry. Not Dubai chocolate. However, the pastry itself was yummy! It was incredibly flaky and crispy. The sugar glaze on the outside was delicious. Overall, I love this bakery! I do recommend for people to come and try if you have not yet already.

    Katrina D.

    My partner brought home a box of deliciousness from this bakery from one of her clients, and I was there to help her devour it. After trying a few of their pastries, I immediately started searching for this business online. Yum yum yuuummmmm! We arrived at this bakery on a Sunday morning. Parking was fairly easy, and there were only a few people ahead of us in line. We ordered 2 chocolate dubai kouign amanns, 2 traditional kouign amanns, 1 chocolate crossaint, 1 twice baked ham and cheese crossaint, and some crossaint with fruit on top. Some lady in line behind me recommended the cardamom pistachio twist, so we threw one in the box. It was just ok and my least favorite. Everything else was delicious though! Chef's kiss!! But hunnnnay, let me tell you about that chocolate dubai kouign amann!!!!! That has got to be the best thing I've ever had in my whole entire lifeeee!! It's perfectly crispy and caramelized. It has flakey layers of heaven and has dark, rich chocolate that's not overly sweet. Perfect touch of pistachio. I pray they keep this permanently on the menu!!!! Please, please, please! I'm glad to hear of a new location opening up closer to home. Solano Ave in Albany will be their newest location that should open soon. I cannot wait!!!

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    7 days ago

    I went there to get a slice of citrus pie. It was very good. The store was clean, and the staff were friendly.

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    24 days ago

    The BEST mocha I've ever had, fabulously delicious pastries, and top notch customer service.

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    Amazing, thanks Beatrice. We will let the team know!

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    Thanks so much Nina. Looking forward to seeing you in again soon!

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    1 month ago

    The line looked super long, but it actually moved pretty quickly. Great coffee too. I had a Kouign-amann - delicious!

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    4 months ago

    Great seasonal baked goods. Tricky to find parking around the area, but always worth a stop after picking up groceries across the street

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    Amazing bakery and coffee selections ! Small venue and crowded but at the heart of Rockridge town , Quaint Village

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    Starter Bakery - bakeries - Updated May 2026

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