Virginia Bakery

A bakery extraordinaire! Do you know how those old-​fashioning bakeries have that inimitable smell that ineluctably draws you inside? This place has that in spades! Everything they have is amazing. The pies and cakes are perfect treats for special occasions. For every day, just stop in for an exquisite croissant or a delicious cookie or pastry. This place is magical: simply to stop in, breathe that magical bakery smell, and walk away with a small treat is a day-​changing experience!

It’s Mardi Gras, and I was on the hunt for King cake. Virginia Bakery did the trick! The cream cheese King cake tasted straight from New Orleans! My husband is from New Orleans and said it was one of the best King cakes he’s ever eaten. I’ll be back next year!

We ordered a «burger and fries» themed cake for a birthday. It was incredible! It had 3 layers and 6 flavors, each more delicious than the next. The fries were made of shortbread cookies. When I carried the stunning cake to my car, people on the street stopped me to take pictures and marvel at the impressive confection. At the party the cake was a hit!
I can’t give 5 stars because the person managing the counter treated one of her staff unnecessarily rudely and unprofessionally, which is bad in general but particularly bad to do in front of customers.
If you need a cake, custom or otherwise, look no further! Virginia Bakery is amazing!

I love their chocolate cookies. LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!! I also like chocolate croassants. I like some cookies they have, but normally I would go to ones in north beach. This bakery is very close to my house and this would be the alternative.

I will drive from San Bruno to Berkeley just for Virginia Bakery. They have the most amazing butter cookies, they make an appearance at every family event. The cakes… ooooh the cakes pricey but worth every penny! Moist cake with delicious buttercream, hands down the best! You really can’t go wrong at Virginia Bakery.

This review is only for a pre-​order birthday cake only.
Earlier in 2015, I ordered a birthday cake for my sister’s 21^st birthday. I had heard great things about Virginia Bakery’s pastries and I figured they would do a great job on a custom birthday cake. I couldn’t be more wrong! I placed the order in person to avoid any confusions that may happen over the phone and customer service was decent that day. I had pictures for them and told them the exact colors I want and my idea. I was shocked at the price they were charging me. They were latterly charging an arm and a leg for a cake for about 40 people. Although I was not happy with the price, I didn’t argue about it since it’s a once a life time celebration and I just wanted the cake to be nice for the event so I paid it.
The day comes to pick the cake up. My first reaction seeing the cake is «WTF is that?» Did I really pay that much money to have something done that I am sure I could have done a better job myself. It was not even complete when I picked it up. I had to remind them I paid for a bow on top and they did the bow on the spot but it was messy. I felt like they didn’t even put the effort to make a nice cake. As you can see in the pictures, there was inaccuracy in the decoration of the cake, it looked messy and it looked dirty. To make matters worse, the customer service that day was horrible. The 2 ladies working there were soo rude and I couldn’t believe that they didn’t want to acknowledge even a little that maybe they didn’t do a decent job on this cake. Instead they were just rude and showed they didn’t care how the cake looks because they were paid already. I was more disappointed in the customer service then how bad the cake looked. To end the day, when it came time to eat the cake, it was pure sugar. I’m not sure if it had any cake at all! I could have given the cake to everyone blind folded and no one could tell what piece was chocolate versus red velvet because it just tasted like I was eating a spoon full of sugar. You can bet most of the cake was thrown in the trash. Thank god for the awesome birthday decorations around and on the table that made the cake look decent. The cake itself was a nightmare!

from the parking on the street, the area is filled with the aroma of items baking in the oven. Walking jnto the storefront is smazing. TEMPTATIONs all around.
we pre-​ordered our Strawberry cake, which looks delicious„
I drop to my knees for good apple strudel„ and theirs csught my eye.
I can’t wait to get home to try our samplings.
The service was typical of a hometown bakery, so friendly and helpful.
a very pleasant shopping experience

Virginia Bakery was a go to for all my birthdays cakes for years. As I call to place my order this year I was disgusted by the phone service. I called the other day just to ask some questions like I usually do and I was met with at ti tude, putting that aside I called just now to order my cake and the dumb ass who answered the phone just cost Virginia Bakery a long time customer. No phone manners. She acted as if what I wanted was weird. So bon voyage!

I loved that this place is open at 7:30am on a Friday! Had to buy a last-​minute treat for the office. When I asked them which cupcake was their best-​seller, they said all of them sell pretty quickly — and I can see why! The red velvet was very moist and flavorful. It’s definitely pricier than those cupcakes you see at Safeway or any other grocery store, but it’s worth it. They also have a plethora of other goodies, including themed cookies and cakes for fall/​Halloween (this time of year, obviously). Parking was also a breeze because they have a lot in the back for customers only, so you don’t have to worry about finding street parking.

Having moved to Berkeley recently and close to the Gourmet Ghetto, I stopped into Virginia Bakery. It felt like a blast from the past and was a refreshing change from the modern and simplistic bakery trend (although I do love my share of those bakeries!). I decided on a ham and cheese scone for breakfast and a pumpkin (seasonal) cupcake for a snack later. Both were utterly delicious! I have a deceitful sweet tooth because I do crave sweets but if I have something too sweet, I can’t take another bite. Luckily the scone here was savory and the pumpkin cupcake was heavenly. It wasn’t at all too sweet, was perfectly moist, and the frosting was light and pretty much perfect. I will have to avoid walking this way so much for fear of stopping in every single time :)

When I think of Virginia Bakery, the first image that pops into my head is the succulent Pink Champagne Cake. I remember the bakery offering samples of the champagne cake and it was love at first taste ever since. I decided to purchase an entire cake for my birthday and it definitely got married to my tastebuds. The cake itself was a masterpiece from the presentation to its texture and taste. I’d also like to mention that it very well endured a three-​hour car ride to my birthday destination. The cake triumphs!
Other memorable highlights of Virginia Bakery include the french macarons. While they don’t standout, they touch the standards of what french macarons should be. The bakery offers a nice variety of flavors of these delectable goods.
Food Quality: 4.0
Food Presentation: 4.0
Service: 4.0
Ambiance: 3.5
Return Value: 3.8

A stone’s throw away from the Gourmet Ghetto, and right in the heart of Berkeley and its organic, free-​range, no antibiotics, vegan, etc. etc. vibe stands Virginia Bakery, from what I can tell a no-​nonsense shop that sells everything from cookies to cakes.
Service here was very easy going and homey. We asked the staff what they would recommend and they pointed out a few things to try. Samples of their cakes were available at the cash register. After we got our sweets and drinks, we sat at the tables in the corner and took in the scene. The staff let us recharge on the sugar in peace. All in all, a good experience.
The flip side though is that this bakery isn’t particularly interesting. Of the six things we tried and bought, nothing stood out as particularly tasty, well-​made or pretty. Perhaps their custom cakes really stand out. If so, it would have been nice to see samples on display.
Considering where this bakery is located, it seemed there were many more interesting (albeit more expensive) choices around. In short, Virginia Bakery isn’t a place one would seek out as an example of good baking or Berkeley ambiance and that seems to be the definition of three stars.

We ordered a Cal graduation sheet cake for our daughter. We expected it to be good, but we (and our guests) were blown away by how utterly delicious it was. The chocolate cake was rich and moist, the raspberry filling very fruity and not at all «gloppy» and the cream cheese icing flavorful and not cloyingly sweet. Oh, and Oski was very cute!
If that weren’t enough, the breakfast pasties we picked up along with cake were unusually good.
Another plus was how easy they were to work with over the phone.
I heartily recommend this place.

As another Unilocaler posted, this is solely a review of a birthday cake. My niece wanted to get her daughter a birthday cake with a «Walking Dead» theme, and a quick visit to their website revealed that they can print out most any image onto rice paper (with edible inks, of course). I scoured the web for an image, and voilà! (See photos attached.) Everyone was in awe.
I didn’t get a chance to eat the cake, but the birthday girl pronounced it delicious! (It was made with raspberry filling, her favorite.)
I had not entered Virginia Bakery in at least 20 years, but after today’s experience I’ll be back before long!

Looking for a Swedish Birthday Cake turned into a full blown and almost impossible task on this side of the bridge (East Bay). In SF I could’ve stopped by 4 or 5 bakeries, but of course, this was not the case! I called a few bakeries and thought I was going to have to settle for a cheap cake from a grocery chain. Glad I called Virginia Bakery. I called them at 12:30pm with my dilemma, and they made a new Swedish Princess cake from scratch for me ready to pick up by 3pm! #LifeSavers
The young lady on the phone was extremely pleasant, and I wish she would have been the lady I dealt with when picking up the cake. The lady who actually rang up my purchase seemed like she was either having a rough day or was annoyed that I was bothering her with my purchase.
Last minute service and good tasting cake was enough for me though! Looks like I found a new bakery!

This is a review from back in the day, since I haven’t been here in years.
Back in college, many years ago, I would stop by here on my way back from studying at a friend’s house off of Francisco Street. If I had a successful session I’d reward myself with a chocolate brownie from Virginia Bakery. Ah, I remember those brownies, very chocolatey and moist. I became such a regular that the ladies would just throw one in a bag as soon as I stepped in.
A very good brownie and good service = 4 stars, at least from back in the day.

We came here to try and find some awesome cookies for our wedding reception. We found average cookies. It’s a nice shop. Service was quick and friendly. Prices seemed a little bit high, but not bad considering the area.

Hands down, this is *THE* place to go for the best-​tasting, most delicate Tiramisu you will ever try in your life. I know some people who have tasted this coffee-​flavored cocoa dessert composed of ladyfingers elsewhere internationally, even in Italy, and this Berkeley hotspot is still their favorite. Not much more to say!!!
It beyond-​satisfied their birthday desires. May not be the best food to stay in shape with, but you already knew that walking into a bakery, right? :-)

I was pleasantly surprised with Virginia bakery, which lies on the south edge of the gourmet ghetto. FYI, this is a review about a simple birthday cake — I can’t speak to the other baked goods offered. I stopped by late on a Thursday afternoon right before they closed to see if I could get a birthday cake for a friend to pick up the day after, and they said no problem, which was great. I just ordered a very basic 6″ white chiffon with custard filling, whipped cream frosting, and no special designs — it ran $ 26.15. While this is much more than I would expect to pay for a cake that size back in Texas, it seemed to be cheaper from the other places I considered.
Everything with the order went smoothly, and I was quite impressed with the taste of the cake. First, and most important, it wasn’t overly sweet. The vanilla flavoring was very mellow and the custard was (though a bit thick) just the right flavor. While the texture of the cake itself (also very important) was good on the tongue, I did notice the air bubbles were a bit large — larger than I would expect in a chiffon. It shouldn’t bother most people though, and it did not take away from the taste of the overall cake. Another small negative was that the whipped cream wasn’t very smooth. I noticed that it was a bit lumpy, which may have indicated that it was over-​whipped. That said, it still tasted fine, and also indicated that it wasn’t a commercial whipped cream, but rather made from real cream (at least in my estimation).
Inside the actual bakery, there are some table people can sit at, but it’s more of a place to buy some things from the counter to go, or to order a custom cake. The service was fine — to the point and perfectly pleasant.
I’m probably going to try out some other bakeries in the future to get a better survey of places around, but would not hesitate to come back to Virginia’s for another cake otherwise.

A friendly and local bakery in the Gourmet Ghetto! I appreciate how nice the folks were here when I stopped in after a day of work to purchase a pumpkin pie. ‘Tis the season!
The pie itself is marvelous — moist with a home-​baked pie crust taste. The flavor of the pumpkin is accented by delicious cinnamon-​y spices. Virginia Bakery will often have specials for these seasonal pies — I got mine for $ 8.45 instead of $ 10 and something cents — so keep your eye on their storefront windows for their special deals.
After boxing up your pie, they will attach a flat serving utensil with the Virginia Bakery logo on it — nice, homey touch to the package.
I’ll be back again for another pie!