Tartine Berkeley

Great to have a Tartine location in Berkeley.
Bread does not arrive until 8-8:15a on weekdays; plan accordingly!
The ham & cheese croissant is very filling and heavy; croissant is more dense than a typical croissant.
They have limited bread options (country, sesame, porridge, danish rye) compared to the SF locations.

I've been a fan of their location in SF forever now and was super excited about this one. I'll say the croissants are definitely not as good, but the bread is about right and excellent. I would ding one star for the employees.. they really seem to hate their job. Every time I'm here they are taking to each other and ignoring customers which makes the line a lot longer. I asked about their coffee once, bad idea. They really had no idea and couldn't answer any questions.

I was excited to check out this new outlet, but it was a slight let down. Croissant and morning bun were not up to Mission’s store standard (in terms of texture). Croissant at Mission’s store was more crispy outside, airy and many layers inside. Morning bun at Berkeley store is less sticky. The overall experience at the bakery was great because of the ambience and friendly staffs.

Top tier pastries, and I've eaten at pretty much every high end bakery in the bay area. There is some real skill involved here, and they know how to run batches. I got an very delicate orange zest morning bun that was still warm at almost 1pm. The shelves were still full, which is a real challenge for the this level of expertise.

Ignore the reviews that talk about seating and rambling complaints about pronunciation of french words. You are paying a premium price for the absolute top quality you can find in a commercial bakery. I don't often write reviews, but I felt that someone should give some proper praise for their efforts. I am serious when I say that this place competes with those very fancy french set menu restaurants with dedicated pastry chiefs and months long reservations. I cant believe that the fact you have to walk outside with your amazing pastry is worthy of such vindictive reviews.

I plan on eating everything on the menu.