Semifreddi’s Bakery

Berkeley, United States

3.9

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 510-596-9942
Website:
www.semifreddis.com
Address:
3084 Claremont Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94705
b/t The Uplands & Woolsey St
Claremont
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miCollege Av & Woolsey St
0.3 miCollege Av & Webster St
0.3 miCollege Av & Alcatraz Av
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Breakfast
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Berkeley) 16:30 Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Fresh Baked Bread and Pastries every day, 359 ¼ days a year!

Excellent Strong French Roast Drip Coffee

Flavorful Strong Espresso Drinks

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice — Yeah, we squeeze it right in front of you

Killer Panini Pressed Sandwiches all day long

Kind, Caring, Competent Staff

History

Established in 1984.

In 1984 Semifreddi’s opened the doors to a 450-​square-​foot bakery in Kensington, California with one sourdough recipe, four products and a commitment to bake and deliver world class, hand-​made bread daily. We now utilize over 25 different recipes and bake more than 50 different breads and pastries. In a typical week, we bake around 140,000 loaves of bread and 30,000 pastries, at our «world» headquarters in Alameda. By the way, «our world» is the San Francisco Bay Area.

Baking is our passion. Providing you with the freshest and highest quality breads and pastries at a reasonable price is our goal. We search the world for the finest ingredients; fennel from India, flour from Idaho (yes, Idaho is its own country), sesame from India and Central America, poppy seeds from Australia, cinnamon from Indonesia, vanilla from Madagascar. We are and always will be self-​proclaimed bread and pastry nerds.

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20 reviews of Semifreddi’s Bakery

No registration required
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Picked up a coffee and a delicious blueberry muffin. I look forward to trying the other pastries as well.
Place rating: 4
Martinez, CA
My son is in the Jr High play of Lion King, and they had an all day Saturday rehearsal. So I volunteered to bring lunch for the day. I thought that ham sandwiches on Semifreddi’s Rosemary focaccia would be awesome. The only catch? I was feeding 80 people.
I called on Friday and placed an order for 15 focaccias, paid via phone at the time of ordering, and picked them up the next morning around 9am. The service was great. The bread even better. The cost for the bread was $ 2.60/ea. What an amazing price!
Oh, I had a new blueberry scone while I was waiting. It was very tasty and moist. Not dry like some people make their scones.
What did I learn today? It takes a little over an hour to make 1900+ sq in of sandwich to feed 89 Jr high kids.
Place rating: 5
San Pablo, CA
The B.L.A.T (BACON LETTUCE AVOCADO AND TOMATO) Was very tasty. Their blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls looked very tasty. Ill get one next time if im ever out this way again.
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
A cute little bakery/​coffee/​sandwich shop. I came in here on a lunch break for the first time and ordered a customized veggie sandwich with sourdough bread. One of the clerks handed me the wrong order, so I accidentally ended up eating an old lady’s sandwich (she graciously let me keep it and got a replacement). On the bright side, it was a nice sandwich.
They also have breakfast pastries here too, and I ate a whole sourdough panini for breakfast one morning when I was heading to work. The pastries are kind of cold and dry (especially that blueberry muffin, which was so dry), and I wish they could at least toast my purchases.
Place rating: 5
Eugene, OR
A nostalgia update: I miss the best morning buns in the world, and the frequency with which I used to put then in my mouth when I lived in Berkeley :’(Berkeleyans, don’t take your carbs for granted! No need to visit Tartine, this side of the Bay will take care of your sugar-​huffing needs just fine (sans toll, line, and extra change). Im gonna go take some Prozac now.
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
Had a sammy here today. I have to admit, I was planning on going to Star Meats, but apparently they only serve sandwiches until 2PM daily. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this place was.
Semifreddi’s is a bakery and café located throughout the bay area. My family has been a fan of their fresh baked breads for years — they are locally available at the super markets. This was my first visit to their café, but it was delicious!
I ordered a Vegetable Muffaleta Pannini. It has olive tapenade, artichoke hearts, red onions, mushrooms, spinach, feta, and i believe provolone or some other similar cheese. It was super duper good. It was a little pricey at just above $ 9, but it was gigantic. Normally it’d be two meals for me but I was extra hungry.
Will definitely be back to this place. A must try!
Place rating: 3
Antioch, CA
Free smiles and wifi! Awesome hot cocoa and muffins :)
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
Chicken Soup!!!
I called in an order today right at Noon. When I asked for just a bowl of soup to go– they had to make sure there was enough– At 12:00pm? I thought– huh– Well, after opening the container in my office– All I can say is, that I didn’t even have time to take a picture. Home made goodness– It tasted like my moms chicken soup! I can definitely see how the soup sells out quickly.
Place rating: 5
Petaluma, CA
Delicious breads! Yum! I know I can find them in stores but there is nothing like a fresh baguette or challah bread from these fine folks.
Place rating: 2
Capitola, CA
I only had a panini no coffee, the bread tasted good however the rest was flavorless and oily. For a good sandwich go to star meats next-​door.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
I have a problem. I think I’m addicted to the buttery, cinnamon roll-​croissant deliciousness that is the Morning Bun. See, we don’t have Morning Buns in NYC, so, after initially trying them in August while in San Francisco, I was taken to the source of the sugary goodness on my most recent trip to the Bay Area.
The bakery has other goodies too – almond croissants, brioche, breads and sandwiches, coffee, tea, etc. I admit, we only had a chocolate brioche, a croissant and the Morning Buns. We bought four mb’s and ate every last damn bite.
Now, I’m back in Brooklyn… dreaming of Semifreddi’s.
Sigh.
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
Star Meats next door is a little bit better but the sandos here are no slouch and the southwest turkey is quite delightful. As you’d expect from a bakery the bread is excellent, but the cheese was also notably excellent. They’re also faster than Star Meats next door so that’s a relevant consideration.
Place rating: 5
Burbank, CA
lovely little bake shop tucked away from the hustle and bustle.
their selection is impressive; quality impeccable. would and do, encourage anyone headed to the bay area to make a detour to sit and take in the homemade goodness here.
just wish i lived closer so i could be a «regular».
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
First time trying this place because star meat stop serving at 2pm and thought I give this place a try the sandwich was good nothing spectacular but the service was poor the lady working the register had a horrible attitude as if she hates her job and is my reason for 3 stars she was not welcoming at all.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
My boyfriend and I were looking for a nice breakfast and saw the street board with «Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice.» The Bread is delicious!!! So yummy! I enjoyed the paninis. I had the veggie muffaletta and my boyfriend had the southwest turkey. The southwest turkey with Chipotle Mayo is simply amazing.
Place rating: 1
Lafayette, CA
I love their bread and glad the sandwich shop has so many great reviews, but this is hands down the worst sandwich I’ve ever had. I ordered a roast beef panini and it was supposed to come with some particular condiment and vegetables… it had no condiment and spinach instead of the tomato, onion and something else the sign indicated. It was also the yucky pressed meat or some crap you buy in the cold deli section at Safeway. If it came up, I’d probably go out of my way to tell people how bad the sandwich was (like now with this review).
Place rating: 3
San Ramon, CA
Did I maybe come on an off day? I really liked Semifreddi’s breads and pastries when I’ve bought it from grocery stores and other places, but I didn’t feel like this actual store was anything special. In fact, I felt like the quality was even a little bit subpar compared to some grocery stores’ qualities.
I came here around 7am, and the selection was pretty slim. We picked up a morning bun (or sticky bun? I forget, but it was
). I liked the layers of this pastry, and there was a good amount of crunchy sugar dusted over top, but it did feel a little dry to me, as if it’d been sitting out for a long time. We also picked up some rosemary focaccia bread, which was really reasonably priced, but also a little dry. I could taste the rosemary and it was lovely, but the taste seemed to fade and come again.
Overall, I was a little disappointed in this shop, but maybe I’ll try the one in Kensington next time. I still love Semifreddi’s as a brand though, just perhaps not this actual store.
Place rating: 5
Stony Brook, NY
Good pastries for fairly cheap. 1 dollar for a mini morning bun (kinda like the cross between a croissant and a donut). Pretty good when you consider Krispy Kreme is almost that expensive for a bad donut. Only problem is the location is pretty out of the way. I have to try their actual bread next time.
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I came here on a recommendation from a friend and WOW I am glad I did.
This is an amazing bakery and an amazing place to get a panini! I can’t wait to come back. It is easily one of the best bakeries in Berkeley. I’m surprised it doesn’t have more reviews. You should really check this place out.
I got a Chai Tea Latte, a croissant, and a veggie panini. The flavors and the texture and the bread of the panini was so amazing, literally the best I have ever had. I can’t wait to come back and get another!
Highly recommend this place
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
In addition to selling Semifreddi’s baked goods, they also make pressed panini sandwiches here. You can design your own or choose from their short list of specials like the Veggie or Chicken Muffuletta.
This place has been hit or miss for me; I’ve come here a handful of times and twice left sandwich-​less because they had run out of meats (my visits were before 1pm), but luckily Star Meats down the block is a good back-​up.
On my last visit I got the chicken muffuletta which is chicken, olive tapenade, spinach, and provolone on a ciabatta roll and comes with a couple pepperoncini and pickle spears (
).
Pretty tasty olive mix and nice moist chicken on the excellent Semifreddi’s bread. The spinach is more for nutritional value because you can’t really taste the thin layer amongst all the other ingredients (
).
An above average 4 star sandwich, but docking a star for the randomness of sandwich availability.