La Farine Bakery
1820 Solano Avenue
(at Colusa Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 528-2208
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
39 reviews
Berkeley, CA
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32 Reviews for La Farine Bakery
This is my favorite bakery in town.
I like every thing they make in there.The rustic bagette, their tart,croissant etc...
I usually dont even go to any bakery to buy something and i dont like pastries or sweet but at La Farine all is differen.
I Think they need to work on their staff,They are not so freindly
For me all is matter there, is what i eat so i dont have to deal with the rest.
I'm currently digging into a Rustic Baguette from La Farine... oh man, it's good. I love to eat them plain, they have just the right crunch on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly like a baguette should be (see Ratatouille's bread crunch test - this passes the test).
So if anyone has been to France (or not) and is looking for a *real* French baguette -- not that crappy rock-hard chewy-crusted anorexic twig bread that passes for a baguette in this country -- but a real baguette, then this is the place! One of the only American bakeries I know of that gets that right.
All their other bread varieties are also good, I've tried a few, including the standard baguette (non-rustic), the croissants, the pastries, and the larger french loaves, and they're always excellent.
I actually sometimes drive all the way from W. Berkeley specifically to drop in... or, if I'm anywhere in the vicinity and in my car, somehow I end up here. It's like a magnet. A big yummy bread-filled magnet.
So I get a rustic baguette, and it's usually halfway gone from nibbling by the time I get home. Then I eat the rest by the end of the day -- not because it will turn into a hammer by day 2 (as is expected for a baguette) but because it's irresistible.
My six-year-old son says, "It's a great bakery. The reason I picked five stars is because its morning buns and chocolate croissants are so yummy. They have great textures and they taste very high flavored. I like climbing in and out of the windows and I love being there on rainy days."
Their pastries are refined, their brioche tastes Parisian, and I just had my first La Farine bday cake (Gateau du Printemps), which knocked all our socks off, even my husband's, and he doesn't even like white chocolate, which is whipped into a buttercream and covers the cake.The raspberry croissants are insanely amazing (only available on Fri-Sun), the orange currant and raspberry walnut scones are super yummy.
The breads all impress.
The coffee is good enough that I no longer feel the need to wait in line at Peet's across the street for my morning brain jolt. Although it doesn't quite have the staying power that Peet's does, it definitely does the trick in keeping me functioning amongst the living. The employees are, overall, very friendly, and I feel very happy when I go to this spot.
Yay for La Farine.
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La Farine makes a great addition to the North Berkely food ghetto line up with a wide variety of breads, cakes an dmost importantly goodies for breakfast. A great place to tie up the dog (sorry Kelly, you can't come in), get a scone or two and go enjoy breakfast at the house. Good almond croissants and decent baguette too. Their brioche passes the dear French wife test, and that is why it rates 4 stas.
And what is with the costco reference, there is a huge difference in quality, really hard to undestand that one.
Oh, and I appreciate the samples, Kelly does too.
Ohhhh... very nice and moderately priced. But hey, the people who originated the morning bun? Stellar! My faves are the Swiss Twinkle, Chocolatine, Frangipane, Jezebel, Lemon Shortbread, Lemon-oatmeal cookie, ... OK, I'll stop there.
This location is a very clean and inviting place with very limited seating. There are a few benches outside for a peek at Solano's jittery Coffee addicts across the street.
On many a Sunday my husband and I will walk the dog up to solano ave to get coffee from peets and a morning bun from La Farine. The morning buns are sweet and flaky and amazing (I love cinnamon too). We usually pick up a rustic baguette and are lucky if we can get it home without gnawing on it as we walk home (but sometimes we do eat it as we walk :). Great breads and pastries. Their carrot cake is also very tasty!
Very nice bakery and convenient to other places on upper Solano Avenue. I'm not sure what set Jim H. off on 3/25/2008, but I have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful and the baked goods to be tasty and certainly better than Costco. Great variety and reasonable prices too!
La Farine is pretty much the real deal for croissant and other French inspired pastries. My favorite are the morning buns, a shade more evil then the one's from Semifreddi, cause they let the butter and sugar caramelize in the middle. The tortes are tasty and beautiful and expensive. Sadly, everything is meant to serve 8 or 10, and not 4, so your are out $25 plus on something nice to take to dinner.
I wish their brownies were just a little fudgier and less cakey, but that is nitpicking. In a town of fine bakeries, this is one of the best.
Any food operation that doesn't have a bathroom is crummy---so that means much of what you find on Solano Ave. in Albany. The staff at La Farine are very smug--like they think they're Parisian, or San Franciscan. Their baked goods are decent--but not much different from Costco.
I have always kept a place in my heart for the dear ol' croissant. As a child my grandmother would bring me home these wonderful filled croissants from a Vietnamese bakery in San Clemente whenever she went to visit family. My favorite was the almond croissant, because it had a luscious almond puree inside of it that was absolutely to die for. I don't think that I have ever rated anything with 3 stars, so obviously I was a little disappointed with this one. The shop was adorable and everything looked wonderful. I, of course, got the Swiss Twinkle, because I read the description and could not resist. For those not familiar with this bakery it is the croissant with an almond and walnut puree (maybe also pecan). It tasted alright, but there was something missing. The croissant had the texture of a day old croissant, and the filling tasted good but it did not make me want to go back for more. After I was done I was like, "Well maybe this cookie will have what I am looking for." My sister had bought these cookies that I don' t remember the name of. She gave me one and I immediately regretted it once I had the first bite. The cookie was dense with apricot jam and chopped nuts. Once I started it I did not feel like finishing it mainly, because it was so filling and hardly had any sugar.
I think, for people in the neighborhood, it is a nice place the retreat to, but for me, it is not worth making the trip for, even though I live between Downtown Berkeley and the Gourmet Ghetto (which not that far away). I think I will stick with Masse's (my favorite right now) for my sweet tooth cravings.
Get your coffee at Peet's then come here. Try the morning buns, swiss twinkies, almond croissants or ham and cheese croissants.
We are so lucky! I used to bake bread. Ask my husband, who still misses my whole wheat banana macadamia nut bread. But there are so many great bakeries close by I stopped baking it because there was such an assortment of good breads available w/o spending all the time and effort. Today I wanted some cheese bread. Saturday I picked up a half bag of cheese twists at the El Cerrito farmers' market and they were so good we wanted more of that taste. La Farine doesn't make cheese bread I learned, but they had samples of a whole wheat walnut sourdough that was incredible, so I bought that to go w/ the 15 bean soup I made for dinner tonight.
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There are quite a few options for good bread/baked goods in Berkeley, but La Farine is on my short list (along with Acme). The morning buns are excellent, the croissants are as well, and my current favorite bread is the Rustic Baguette. The desserts are also very good. And despite some comments, I've actually only had excellent, friendly service from this place.
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Let me tell you how much I love La Farine rustic baguettes. I love them so much that when I used to live in Pasadena, I would come to La Farine when visiting my parents, buy about 20 baguettes, bring them home, cut them up, and freeze them so that I could have my standard morning meal of La Farine baguette dipped in frothy hot chocolate (not a bad way to start your morning, mind you) 400 miles away. As soon as a ran out of my baguette supply, it was either time for a visit to the parents, or a frantic phone call to my dad ("hey, wanna come down to Pasadena? oh yeah? great, and one more thing, can you bring some La Farine baguettes with you?")
Yes, these baguettes are worth it. They are the closest thing you can get to real Parisian baguettes. And I am a baguette snob. I really am. The rustic baguettes are baked fresh daily. They come out of the oven around 11, so if you happen to be near Solano, I'd highly recommend stopping by for a fresh baguette, hot out of the oven. You won't regret it. Oh and here is a tip. Buy a bunch of baguettes, take them home, chop them up, and freeze them. Enjoy a tasty baguette simply by defrosting and heating in a 450 oven for about 2 minutes to crisp it up. Almost tastes as good as when they are baked fresh!
They also have some pretty good fougasse, or rosemary herb bread. Very buttery and rosemary-y.
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Saturday late afternoon the store was strip mall dismal. Pastries mostly gone, ovens off, bakers moving in slow motion. I ordered a loaf and a roll and the clerk stuffed both in the big bag upside down, without paper between them. The coffee wasn't good, she didn't ask if I wanted cream or not, and the cup leaked. Where's the love? No tip for you! At least soy is free.
Tonight back home, a bite of the kalamata olive roll, and all is good. Where have you been my whole life, walnut levian? This is why you eat bread, why food is an art, why you live here. You can eat it cold, uncut, and plain with a bar of chocolate or a glass of whiskey, so fine on tooth you grip the loaf in two fists and rip bite after bite of chewy mass until you are satisfied like a hyena on a kill. I can't even dream how good this be with a nice soft butter, thin sliced prosciutto or some brie.
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I've been here only for pastries.
Two stars for the best morning buns in the Bay Area (flaky, buttery, cinnamony....so delicious!) and one for the "chocolatine", which is really just plain old pain au chocolat (not bad, and fresh at least).
The other pastries have been so-so or bland -- like the mouth-drying scones. I keep trying though -- I try to experiment when I drop by for a morning bun.
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Since I go here every weekend to buy Morning Buns for my family, I figure I had best better give the shout-out they deserve for these sugary gems. We also like the sticky buns from Neldam's, but the lightness of La Farine's Morning Buns with the generous dusting of crunchy sugar has been winning the race, lately....
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i recently discovered the morning buns at la farine and they are scrumptious! super flaky, with cinnamon rolled inside, and just the right amount of sugar sprinkled throughout. sometimes i can't help but buy 2 and save one for later...
they also have a great selection of fruit tarts and cakes. try the gateau au citron if you're a big lemon cake fan.
05/2807 Update: Not only are they open on Memorial Day, when I was seeeeriously craving a baked good, but I ACTUALLY got a smile with my service!! And she was polite. 4 stars bumped up to 5.
05/06/07 Original review: Great scones and croissants! The chocolate croissant, brioche, almond croissant, and raspberry/walnut scone-- all delicious. I don't think I've ever encountered a smiling or friendly counter person, though.
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GIVE ME A MORNING BUN, AND EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.
Actually, give me some cookies, baguettes (multiples of the sourdough and rye!), and cupcakes too. You can treat me like shit (but you don't), JUST GIVE ME THE BAKED GOODS.
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La Farine makes my favorite cinnamon morning buns in the bay area.
Breads, tartes, pastries equally as good. I'll drive from my Marin county home to purchase baked goods here.
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Mmmm, sooo good. Each time I stop I wanna buy everything. But my latest favorites are: The lemon tart: closest match to the ones my boyfriend bakes :) And the Fougasse, I almost don't wanna give this away but try it with cream cheese and tomato slices on it, it is addictive. And of course everything else like chocolate croissants...
This place is a once a month treat. Okay, twice...or thrice. But any more than that, and I'll have to add another three miles to my exercise routine.
Nothing is better than the jambon et gruyere pastries. With a touch of bechamel worked into the layers. Eat it in the car and you'll have beautiful flakes of pastry all over your lap. Sigh...
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My FAVORITE bakery.
Fabulous cakes from the light Gateau au Citron, to the sophistcated Jezebel (Almond paste genoise cake soaked with Amaretto, filled with rich chocolate mousse and apricot jam, finished with vanilla buttercream) to the decadent Brandied Cherry Truffle Torte. All the more savory items are great too.
I can't think of anything they make that I don't like but among my favs are the Rustic Baguette, Chocolate Eclairs (just the right mix of custard and whipped cream), Pinenut Foccacia, Cheese Rolls, and the Jezebel Cookies (with dried apricot, dark chocolate chunks, and almonds...mmmmmm).
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When I was pregnant, La Farine was on my way to the doctors office. If there ever was a parking spot in front I figured that it was meant to be and I'd stop for my favorite pastry - a Nussgipfel. My only complaint is that they insult us Bay Area foodies by calling it a Swiss Twinkie. What a disgrace! We can handle the real name.
BTW - it is the best Nussgipfel I have ever tasted. Must be that french pastry that makes the difference.
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Great pastries and wonderful cakes.
Horrible, brusque, unfriendly and insulting service!
Where do they find their rude counter staff?
Oh this location seems more relaxed than the other 2. I have been frequenting the new location on fruitvale, but will stop going due to bad service and what seems to be a stressed environment the lasr few weeks. too bad, it was near home.
Another family tradition... My family was ecstatic when they opened this location closer to our home. We are huge fans of the fruit tarts here - they actually replace birthday cakes for us. Whenever we bring a tart to someone else's house, there is a veritable round of ooh's and aah's from everyone peering inside the box. The breakfast treats are also yummy.
To be honest, I actually like their bread offerings more than their sweet pastries. Don't miss the fogasse. Great toasted or eaten straight. If I didn't live in SF where we also have great bread readily available, I'd come here more often.
I've never liked nuts till this place.
I've never liked goat cheese till this place.
You gotta try to go for their cinnamon bread loaves early on the weekends.
Their cakes are truly amazing.
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Best croissants in the east bay! This place is really top notch. Enough said.
yum. absolute bliss. i'm good for at least one choclolatine a day, and the bread is great for any occasion.
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