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Categories: Bakeries, Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Elmwood, ClaremontMon. 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tue-Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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I have mixed feelings about Nabalom and sometimes I am scared to go back.
The first time I came here, I had their Cinnamon Twist and Morning Bun. O.M.G. The best, I mean - BEST pastries I had ever had in my life. I usually like to take small bites to "taste" my food - didn't happen. The twists had just come out of the oven and the sugary, cinnamony goodness left my tastebuds simply overjoyed. The Morning Buns aren't your typical ones either; they're pretty massive and not as light/flaky as the ones you'll find at say, Strada, La Farine, or Starbucks. They're much more doughy - not in a bad way though.
The only thing that really bothers me is how inconsistent they are. When their pastries are good, man. They are mothereffing GOOD. But on their off days... I've gotten pastries that have looked 3 days old and there is just grease all over the stale dough and everything is just awful, which leaves me very sad.
I've also tried their blackberry muffin before... it tasted more like a scone - dry and not sweet enough for me.
If Nabolom could have twists and Morning buns FRESH everyday, this is where you would find me.
Nabolom and I have an interesting history, that you would definitely not be able to guess based on our now love-filled relationship.......
........you see, long before I ever ate a nabolom pastry, i knew about Nabolom because it was on my jogging route. Every morning I would jog by nabolom, and smell cinnamon and sugar and just assume that nabolom was a run of the mill bakery, that just made the usual sugary pastry-like overly-sweet and fattening cinnamon buns and rolls........nabolom is also normally crowded in the mornings, so the crowds on the the curb usually present somewhat of a running obstacle for me.....so i grew to dislike nabolom, mostly because it was really annoying to weave through the people on the widewalk with their dogs, and also because I kinda just assumed that they were just a run of the mill pastry place that didn't offer anything special.
......then, one fatefull day, I was going for a walk down russel and it started raining, and I ducked into the first open shop/cafe I saw, which just so happened to be Nabolom. I decided I might as well get a drink since I made a ridiculously dramatic entrance by sprinting in through the door, drenched in rain, and panting so loud that the person working at the counter noticed me. But as I made my way over to the counter, I walked by possibly one of the most delicious looking pastry cases in existence. I did a double take, seriously; I had just been operating under the assumption that this place was nothing special, so when I saw their pastries I was in utter shock! They had so many different kinds of muffine, rolls, cookies, buns, brownies, and turnovers imaginable..... and apparently the pastries I saw were only like half of what is normally there, because i went in right before closing time. They had sooooo many vegan and gluten free pastries (as well as many non-vegan pastries for those who are so inclined). They had delicious chocolate banana nut muffin, which not only was delicious beyond belief, but was also vegan! I also skeptically ordered a vegan brownie, and it turned out to be one of the most delicious brownies I have ever tasted! It was not only good for a vegan brownie, it beat out almost all of the regular brownies i've had in my life (and trust me, I've had a lot of brownies).
I started talking to the guy behind the counter, and he told me they always have a large selection of vegan and gluten free pastries, as well as regular, non-vegan pastries. He told me that their cinnamon rolls are really popular and always sell out in the morning, and that they're vegan oatmeal cookies are also really popular. But honestly, I ate my muffin and my brownie, and even though I was full, I wished I was hungry because there were about a million other things I wanted to try in the pastry case.
Since this day I have been back twice, and It definitely did not dissappoint. The second time I went, i went with my laptop and decided to get a vegan oatmeal cookie (the second to last one, yay!), and tea. The oatmeal cookie was really really good, one of the best i've had....and they have a very good tea selection. The next time I went I went with a friend, and we split a blueberry bran muffin (it was beyond delicious), a peanut butter drop cookie thing, and some kind of scone thing with nuts in it. They were all sooo delicious, I honestly loved all of them soo much that there is no way for me to pick a favorite!!
the vibe at nabolom is very relaxed and comfortable. You can go there if you have a book you want to read, some studying you want to do, or if you want to catch up with a couple of friends over coffee (and pastries ofcourse)
The people who work there are really helpful, patient, knowledgable and nice in all of my experiences. The prices are also excellent, especially for the vegan pastries, since vegan pastries can sometimes get pricey.
Here is a warning, I am the type of person who likes pastries that are not tooo sugary or fatty. I like them to have a kind of whole-grain, natural taste. for example, if given the choice between a chocolate chip cookie and an oatmeal cookie, i will always goes for the oatmeal. I usually never get muffings unless they are bran muffins, I don't like scones or even sticky buns too sweet, and I don't like white flower. i like pastries that taste healthy and good (i'm not into lots of frosting, or sugar or butter......just a taste thing I guess). I also prefer my patries to be moist, and most importantly fresh. so all of the pastries I've had from here have met all of these standards for me.
However, they do have many sweeter.....less healthy pastries, i've just never tried them......but if they come from Nabolom, I'm sure they're nothing less than fantastic!
Anyways, to bring this fantastic love-story to an end, Nabolom is a truely unique, neighborhood cafe and bakery that serves up many different kinds of pastries, has plenty of vegan, gluten free, and healthy options, as well as amazing regular pastries!
Hey dude, do you remember when George Carlin did Al Sleet, the hippy-dippy weatherman who does "the hippy-dippy weather, man"? You do? Groovy. He would say stuff like "Tonight's forecast: Dark. Continued dark throughout most of the evening, with some widely-scattered light towards morning." That's funny, man. Well, if Al ever put down his roach and opened up a bakery, it would be Nabolom because man, it's hippy-dippy in there, and I feel like I'm from Squaresville.
Nabolom has been at its location on Russell Street for as long as I remember, and I used to get their fresh morning buns before catching the 51 back to the Berkeley campus. I didn't have dreadlocks with a rainbow knit cap back then. I think I may have still been using Brylcreem and Stri-Dex and wearing plaid with short sleeves. But Nabolom is an equal opportunity bakery. They serve anybody. Just ask the 400-pound woman in front of me in line. She was wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and a pair of Birkenstocks. She must be a regular.
After waiting for her to get her order of a dozen cinnamon buns, I decided to get a couple of their monster cookies, a $2.25 Tollhouse and a $2.50 Snickerdoodle (see photo). Soft, chewy. Gone before I could even get a hippy-dippy seat with the other dippy hippies. I don't think the spartan, darkish decor has changed in thirty years, but who am I to judge? The baked goods are still top-shelf, and there is nary a bad vibe in the place. Nabolom's forecast: Open. Continued openness throughout most of the day, with some widely-scattered closure when the sun sets, man.
BAKED GOODS - 4 stars...Nabolom still has it together, man
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...dark but relaxing if you can find a seat
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...a nice guy runs the counter...peace, man
TOTAL - 4 stars...I am swayed by the good vibes of the place
Awesome Bakery. All fair-trade materials. Homey. All good!
The BEST chocolate croissants on the planet! And their coffee is excellent.
Free Wifi and they have live music on Saturday mornings.
You seriously can't go wrong with anything from this bakery
FOOD: Not so much. the cinnamon roll (if you could call it that) was dry and tasteless.
ATMOSPHERE/STAFF: Posers. The staff at this bakery try so hard to be "Hippie". You have to feel sorry for them but at the same time laugh your ass off because its extremely hilarious. They have this "I am so deep that I am going to ignore you and treat you like shit while you are trying to select something from the bakery" attitude. My husband and I left cracking up.
There are much more authentic Hippie bakery's in the east bay. This one got lost in its quest for being "deep" in a yuppie neighborhood. Plus the food is disgusting. Spend your money elsewhere.
This place should be called the "people's bakery." I felt so comfortable here on a beautiful cold Sunday morning... not surrounded by snob north-berkeleyans or yuppies or scuppies (socially conscious yuppie) in their fancy hybrids. not that i have anything against them. Just there are times where I just want to be with normal folk....
Hey you can even play a tune on the old piano! (but must ask an employee first)
The multi-grain veggie sandwich I had was delicious. eggplant and other veggies chopped up and spread on a healthy and moist bread. Seems like they have different sandwiches during the week. gotta try more of them!
The chai was sweeter than normal. Ask for less sugar...
Great place to study (free wifi!), read, chat wih a friend, contemplate about life....
I can't wait to come back here again
Morning bun and locally-roasted, organic, fair trade coffee. Delicious!
The tollhouse cookies are full of butter, but a good way to feel better on a bad day.
It's true, sometimes the Very Sticky Buns aren't all that sticky. I can't say "get there early" to buy them fresh, because I've had end of the day buns that totally ruled. I'm going to guess it depends on who makes them. The bun I had last week didn't live up to its name, but at least it wasn't dry (like so many reviewers have complained about).
The cranberry pecan muffin is consistently delicious. My main complaint with it is that the stupid muffin tin liner is ALWAYS glued to the muffin stump, resulting in loss of delicious muffin or consumption of waxy paper. Why is this necessary? Other than the excessively health B.O.B muffins, this is the only vegan muffin worth eating. I was told by one employee, who claimed he was vegan, that it is vegan, just not advertised as such. Another employee said otherwise. I'm hoping the yay-sayer is not a lying sack.
If I didn't hate paying for coffee so much I'd go into detail about the great injustice their nasty, frequently old-tasting brew does for a place with such charm and delicious baked goods. Also, the vanilla soymilk they have for coffee needs to die.
Edit: Oh yeah, they sell Cometbus which makes up for every time I've had to consume a not-so-sticky bun.
Another edit: A nice lady confirmed that the cranberry muffin IS vegan and added that so is the apple pecan scone. I had the scone and it was OMG NEW FAVORITE THING! mmm! The coffee was magically delicious, too, and *gasp* they had regular soy milk instead of vanilla! I love Nabolom!!!
Hey, I get it. I graduated from UC Berkeley many years ago, and I understand the meaning of the phrase "A typical Berkeley place." I think it means "weird for the sake of weird," but with a few vegan options. It also helps if at least one employee has an excessive amount of tattoos and piercings in inopportune places, making one question his or her hygiene. Am I close?
If that's the case, Nabolom is indeed the hippiest place on earth.
I came here on a Saturday afternoon, which, of course, is not "prime time" for drinking coffee. The place was nearly empty, save for a woman reading quietly by the window and a guy sitting at the piano, typing away on his notebook. Yep, just your basic Saturday, ahem, crowd.
My friend and I had just had lunch elsewhere, and we just wanted some place to hang out for 30 minutes or so. I wasn't hungry, but G-d knows I never turn down a pastry (or two) with my name on it. Here at Nabolom, the pastry case in front of us was empty. Yep, a large display, and nary a pastry in sight. Eerie. The display to the right looked like the Ghost of Pastries Past, with a few stray pastries reminding you of the Era of Abundant Pastries.
Needless to say, I wasn't tempted. I had a cup of coffee, which was cold and flavorless. The gentleman at the counter give me "the look" when I didn't tip him for a glass of iced tea for my friend and a cup of self-serve coffee (no refills) for me. What exactly would I tip him for? What service was performed for my $3.25? I am usually a generous tipper, but in this case . . . I don't get it.
I hear this place has live music most of the time, and maybe that's why this place is so popular. However, if you're looking for a place to have a coffee and a pastry, I'd keep looking.
My "very sticky" bun ($3.25) was a dry grenade-sized object that was probably made with day-old 85% post-consumer recycled whole wheat paper mache. If you follow my reviews, you know that I like to eat. I'm a charter member of the Clean Plate Club. Sadly, however, I wasn't able to finish my bun. It's going back to the earth, in the paper bag that enclosed it -- it's compostable waste at this point.
On the bright side, the macchiato that I ordered ($1.75) was a relatively pleasant experience. It was made from a large quantity of espresso (that tasted like Cole Coffee's stuff) and an even larger quantity of steamed milk. (Basically it was a large cappucino.) This mixture filled up what looked like an 8-oz cup. That cup had a large crack on the inside, and I hope that it soon returns to the earth as well.
You can read the Bay Times @nabalom. I learned that the gay community gives very low marks to Mr. Obama. I would have guessed that he'd be viewed as a B+, but he seems to be getting a C+ at this point.
Wouldn't it be great if Ritual opened up at this location?! I mean, I know that these people have been here forever and that they're a beloved neighborhood institution, but I think that it might be time to move on and let go.
Not impressed. The food wasn't very good. Atmosphere is OK. Prices were so-so. Won't go back.
Pretty much the day after I wrote my last review I started coming here for my on-the-go coffee and pastry breakfast. And I have to say, my last review was pretty unfair.
Their coffee is not the best (cheeseboard wins in this category), but their muffins are quite awesome, the people are friendly, and the atmosphere is really relaxing. The only thing I've had here recently that I didn't like was the cherry bran muffin, which had a sponge-like consistency and was way too chewy.
On a positive note, I'd strongly recommend the blueberry or apricot cobbler muffins, but only if you have a sweet tooth. Otherwise, go for the cranberry-walnut muffins. The top is nice and crispy, and the inside is perfectly moist.
I really want to like this place - some of the people are really friendly, and some of the pastries… Read more »
I love this place, especially to have breakfast on Saturday morning and listen to Friends of Old Puppy from 10am to 1pm! The band plays pleasant, jazzy/folksy, tunes, which sometimes inspire someone to get up and dance.
Even the baked goodies are fantastic on Saturday mornings, since there's a good chance that they have been pulled fresh from the oven. The warm danish is divine, and the day olds croissants at 40% off aren't bad either. What I like to do is look for the tray with the most danish on it, since it's the one most likely to be fresh from the oven! That's when the cheese an fruity content is still warm, while the bready part on the outside is melts as you bite into it...
Did I mention it's a cooperative? Ah yes, that's just an added bonus to know that eating here helps to keep the money in the community.
Five stars alone for the vegan snickerdoodle. It's the size of your head and somehow magically crisp on the outside, but soft -- with that almost raw dough gooeyness -- in the middle. Perfection!
The vegan sticky bun is dry and dull, and decidedly unsticky, but don't let that stop you from eating your weight in snickerdoodles.
Gayle and I stopped by Nabolom on the way back from the movie last week. I was looking for a breakfast pastry and I usually try to make a point of stopping here when I'm in the neighbourhood. Nabolom is around the corner and is sometimes hard to spot. The advertisement on the Kiosk at the corner helps.
Sometimes the worker co-ops do throw off an attitude (have it our way). But not this time. The guy at the counter was friendly and although a little dark, the space throws off a nice relaxing vibe. Their prices are reasonable and I do wish they had a little bit more of a selection (vegan or otherwise). However, my breakfast pastry was quite tasty and come to think of it, I have always enjoyed almost anything that I have ordered here. I will however, have to take Stephanie W.'s Morning Bun Challenge!
My favorite is the bran muffin with cherries. It is robust with colossal cherries and not dry. Also, the bakery smells as fresh as a country day, inside.
If you're ever been to a student co-op house in Berkeley, then you can imagine what this bakery looks like.
A plus for having compost and recycling. The place isn't too busy because most people come and go. There is a sofa, some small round tables, some bigger square tables, and a community use piano. There is outside seating too. Best of all, there is free wi-fi! I'd say this is a good place to study on a Sunday afternoon if you have nothing better to do.
They have one brand of bottled smoothie. There's a couple types of cake. $2 per slice for cheesecake and $3 per slice for chocolate mousse. It did not look like mousse though, more like ganache. They have lots of cookies. $2.25 for a humongous, but thin and crispy piece of snickerdoodle. They have toll house cookies too. They even have pizza.
Guess it's a good thing that Nabloom is not around the corner from me since I would be buying their pastries all the time. I love their chala, especially the sesame seed one. And their apricot danish is amazing; it actually had fresh fruit and is delicious.
The service is ok but some times there is attitude. I have never sat here. Just picked up some wonderful baked goods.
I'd been here before to try the challah, since it was one of the many things that everyone was RAVING about - -but, I think I'm use to Challah being a bit "eggier" and sweeter like a brioche, so Nabolom's challah wasn't quite my thing...
However, things should always be given second chances.
After being a SLAVE to school and just not feeling like studying for my final that was in... what? 2 hours? ha! I woke up on this fine Saturday morning to grab a bite. The guy working there was really nice - I was having a REALLY hard time deciding between all the delicious pastries, and finally settled on a cheese croissant ($2.75) and a pecan/blueberry muffin ($2.50? that was apparently sweetened with apple sauce, so it wasn't TOO sweet, just my thang~. is it vegan?? :D ).
Both were SOO scrumptious, but if I were to pick the winner, it was definitley the cheese croissant - tasted more like a slightly sweet dinner rolle with nice white cheese and some sort of sprinkled herb... YUMMERS. Plus, it was nice that they had a nice bench/seats outside.. some newspapers.. so I could actually enjoy a nice, relaxing, Saturday morning.
Sweet moments that I unfortunately haven't been able to have during the regular school year, but perhaps that shall change. :)
Don't tell anyone else but...
I like the Morning Buns at Nabolom better than the ones at Cheeseboard
*gasp* I can't believe I just uttered such sacrilege. I can't believe I would pit one co-operative bakery against another. I can believe I would prefer someplace that's not within a mile of my house.
But it's true. Both places have their merrits, but the Morning Buns at Nabolom are much better. Cheeseboard has my loyalty for certain things (their pizza, cheese rolls, pecan rolls, various scones, berkeley buns, etc) but Nabolom is amazing for their danishes, their morning buns/cinnamon twists and their cookies.
I didn't get what a bunch of people have said about the cleanliness of the establishment. I didn't notice anything of questionable hygiene. The workers are nice, the portions are huge, and everything is butter and sugar soaked goodness (except their large selection of vegan pastries). The Morning bun is rich and about twice the size of one at cheeseboard for the same price. It's a great deal.
The outdoor seating is great in a quite neighborhood and the inside offers a great place to read the paper and listen to music while having breakfast. Even this morning, they had a band playing some smooth music for a Saturday morning (late breakfast mind you... at like 11:30 or so).
I come here only occasionally, but it's well worth it every time... just don't tell Cheeseboard I occasionally divide my loyalties.
If you're looking for a superb bakery with good prices and a cool atmosphere, go to Nabolom Bakery! Without hesitation, I can honestly say that the chocolate croissants are the best I have ever had (and I have had lots of chocolate croissants). The rest of their pastries are quite delicious as well. I've also sampled some of their vegetarian sandwiches, and they are quite tasty as well. The atmosphere is nice and laid-back, with couches and a feeling in the air of relaxation (except for when it's really crowded!).
Ten o'clock in the morning and half the baked goods are sold out. I found this as both utterly unacceptable as well as extremely promising. Although I really reeeeally wanted to try their pumpkin muffin (sold out), I decided on their Blackberry Pecan BOB (Banana Oat Bran) muffin. It was divine...and totally guilt-free. Huge, juicy blackberries and chunks of pecan were found all throughout the very healthy banana oat bran. Lightly sweetened and, um, gone in minutes. My friend bought two of their chocolate oatmeal cookies and said they're the best she's ever tasted! Can't wait to come back.
As Berkeley as it gets, the good and the ugly (but never bad). Start with a five for the fine baked goods at reasonable prices and the complete lack of pretension. Minus a point for the always burnt coffee, minus a point for the sometimes rough piercings and smells and add a point for the free wifi.
Always consistent is the morning bun.
Nabolom is a bakery, and therefore easy to please. That said, I haven't ever had anything there that really created its own craving category, and I find the consistency of the croissants (too chewy) and cookies (too crumbly) to pale in comparison to cheeseboard or even Artisan Bakery.
My favorite bakery in town! Awesome breads and pastries (decently priced), great coffee, located in the Elmwood district.. who doesn't love this place?!
i think it was a combination of shorts that were too tight and a bad mix of food from cafe durant that made my stomach incredibly upset. i didn't realize it until my and my friend were catching up while walking to a "bakery on college that a friend recommended."
it was until after couple of minutes that I realized two thing:
1. This bakery was way, way further than I had thought
2. I needed a bathroom, bad.
We arrived. There wasn't much left. I bought a loaf of the nautilus shaped cheese bread (I loved 20,000 Leagues under the sea as I kid and couldn't resist.)
So we walked back to my apartment ... all the way near bancroft and shattuck. Well we started to, until he wanted to drop off his bread.
It was perhaps one of the worst walks ever: a combination of trying to appear fine while squirming in the inside with sharp pains every now and then.
Why does this all matter? Well, I think in light of my stomach pains & bathroom urges, I completely forgot about the loaf of bread. I didn't "remember" until several hours ago (two days later) when I had a random desire to clean at night and saw this big white paper bag.
It was the bread!
I grabbed some and microwaved it. I was surprised. When they say cheese bread, they really meant cheese. I'm used to "cheese bread" basically being a thin layer or somehow worked into the flour.
It was gooey. The first piece I overmicrowaved -- it looked like the top layer of a french onion soup and overflowed. Which is never a bad thing.
OK. Before this gets so long that no one wants to read it.
The bread is amazing. Or at least the one I have. AND, the fact that even if the same situation happened to me again, I just might be willing to risk it to get me some of the cheese bread.
Oh. To score some extra "useful" points, the nice lady working there said these were her top three items (if you're in the mood for sweets):
1. Blueberry Danish
2. Tollhouse cookie
3. Chocolate eclair (she kept emphasizing that the product was the same, just that there was a large and a small size).
Wonderful, delicious....I come here on the occasional Saturday morning just for their danishses; they're that good. The cherry and blueberry are my favorites. And they have a piano though live music was only playing during one of my many visits. Free wifi, decent coffee and most importantly super awesome bakery folk that will happily hand over fresh danishes. What more could you ask for?
I'm a lot like a cherry danish from the Nabolom Bakery.
I'm fresh and luscious on my own, but fill me with cheese and I become your best friend.
Kind of useless.
This is a very "insider," community spot, and if you aren't a regular you might get ignored. I've only had a chocolate chip cookie here (not good), and a decaf coffee (pretty bad). They don't have those cardboard things to put on your cup so that you don't burn your hand (what are those called?), & their cups are thin, so I had to awkwardly hold my cup from the bottom when I took it to-go. Also, stuff runs out--coffee, cream, etc.--and doesn't get refilled very quickly.
I'm not even sure why I'm giving it 2 stars. I think it's b/c they have live music a lot of the time, & it's probably a fun place if you're a regular. Also, some of the baked goods (other than the chocolate chip cookies) look pretty delish. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.
The people are sweet and helpful. I have never had a rude worker here, unlike pretty much every other cafe I've been to. They're super environmentally friendly-- they serve their coffee in real mugs, give you a plate rather than a paper bag, and have recycling AND foodwaste. There are adorable old people playing bluegrass on the weekends. They have poetry readings. The place has a great vibe to it.
Plus, of course, their food (what I've had, at least) is amazing. I would kill puppies for the vegan sticky bun, especially when it's warm. Admittedly the coffee's not outstanding, but the food is so good and so natural it doesn't even matter. I would live here if they'd let me and I could afford a sticky bun every day.
Mmm, cheese bread. Delicious. I could it the whole loaf by myself.
I always feel real good here. The coffee is delicious! The baked goods are delicious and if you want something that's wheat free you'll find it. If you want something that's super gooey sweet you'll find it. And, if you want a treat that won't send your blood sugar off the charts you'll also find that. A cold pressed coffee seals the deal to greatness for me!
The people are great, the music is great, so what more can you want!
EAT UP
Excellent challah, one of the best in the East Bay.
The fruitcake available at Christmas is delicous too. The fruit is soaked in rum and schnapps for three months. The sweet, sticky, dense dark fruitcake has lots of raisins and nuts.
I support this business because I believe in their business model. I like the fact that there is a successful worker owned and operated business right by where I'm staying in Berkeley.
I like their cheese croissants and regular croissants. They're some of the best I've had on this side of the Atlantic.
The staff is usually ok; not particularly friendly or not friendly.
Of course, you sense the 'but' coming: outside of their croissants, the pastries are really awful. The muffins are dry, the danishes are crisp, not fluffy, and the pizza is pretty gooey and awful.
The espresso drinks all taste like the beans were burnt in the roasting process. The coffee is so-so.
I'm not overly fond of the aging boomers who hang out there. It's a personal choice, but I go there in support of what I think is a good thing, and I don't have to go around congratulating myself on what a conscientious person I am. That's a fault of Berkeley in general, and, unfortunately, it seems to permeate this particular shop.
So, I would recommend going and getting a croissant and cup of coffee. I would not recommend hanging out for hours.
I love this bakery.
Reason one: Their baked goods are amazing. Have a dietary need? These people have already accommodated it. Vegan diets, wheat free goods, can I get a holla for Challah!? I get into a state of euphoria just thinking about their vegan cinnamon rolls.
Reason two: the staff is great. These are good people with great customer service skills.
Reason three: music accessibility is essential. Live music is regular and they even give access to bands for a practice space. Love it!
You know, this place wasn't at all as dirty as I expected it to be after reading the reviews. Most of the pastries look good, if a little undersized for their pricing. I thought about getting the blueberry coffeecake, but it looked too rich. I settled on a small blackberry danish, and as soon as the guy put it in a white bag for me to take to go, the oil spread through to my fingers.
So much grease, I immediately feared for my skin.
I skipped the coffee as other Yelpers suggested, and went across the street to 7-11. The iced coffee there was pretty horrible, but this isn't a review for 7-11.
The cheese on the danish was perfect and delightfully crumbly. The blackberry wasn't too sweet. The dough was pretty crunchy. Yep, my only problem was the huge amount of oil that made my newspaper translucent. Ease up, Nabolom, and maybe I'll be back.
It looks funky and honestly, it is. But does funkiness really need to detract from a bakery?
Five stars for the service, location, pastries (all good except the corn muffins), music. . .
One star for the coffee which sucks.
But -- a solution! 7-11 has delicious coffee and I have no qualms about bringing my own coffee from sevvies and sitting down with a blueberry danish. The staff must know their coffee is terrible, too, so I'm sure I'm understood.
The vegan sticky buns are really good, and tea is real cheap here. Music is usually pretty good in the afternoon, but frequently neighborhood kids play the piano.
And let's be honest: the kids usually suck!
This is a tough place to objectively review, largely because it depends on what you go here for. That said, if you missed Berkeley in the 60s, this seems like the place to check out. It is small, dingy, with sticky tables and a sticky counter. They have the occasional amateur music ensemble playing, so space can be even more limited. This is a very local-centered cafe where people seem to know each other, and it is very community oriented. They say they have wireless, but on weekend mornings I don't know where someone would set a computer...you are lucky to find a seat. I took my laptop in its cute little scuba-suit protective casing and I still didn't want to set it down. Did I mention the whole place was dingy and sticky? I opted to set it on the floor as it seemed to be the least sticky surface in the place.
The pastries were really good. They serve Fair Trade coffee. They are a green establishment. I would definitely recommend picking up pastries to go, but I would not hang out here. It is just too small, sticky, and noisy.
But, oh, those eclairs!!!!!!
Great bakery which delicious danish and cookies. The workers there are very welcoming and nice. Nice relaxed environment with couches and a piano. The cinnamon twists and chala bread here tastes great as well!
Now Serving Fall Flavors!
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
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Neighborhood: Lower Hills
Neighborhood: Claremont
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Elmwood
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Claremont
Category: Bakeries
Oakland, CA
Category: Venues & Event Spaces
It's where I live, it's where I love, it's where I…
Lovely dives and greasy spoons. What my heart…
I had to break up my East Bay lists...here are…
Tired of being a bulbous blight on an unattainably…
FOOD IS SO GOOD! oh and other cool things to know…
The enormous good fortune of living in the East…
When these places call me, I listen. Mostly ice…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
