An amazing local bakery with incredible treats for family and friends. The staff is super friendly and attentive and you can see their love for baking in every baked good they make. We have a box of goodies to be shared with friends for tonight's festivities. A special thanks to Ali for taking such great care of our family and friends by helping to select Starter Bakery's greatest hits! Be sure to order ahead for a streamlined pickup.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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