Every bit of everything here is delicious! Scones, brioche, and cheese rolls amazing, and garlic spread is recommended too.
Anjali T.
The shop is very quaint and has a wide variety of baked goods + farmer's market quality condiments. This is a Berkeley staple! The apple cider was very tasty and warm. It seemed like they poured it from a premade container that was sourced from a local farm and then warmed it up. Both baked goods were fantastic and baked fresh that morning. The Rosemary puff is lovingly described by my friend as a "savory donut" - and for good reason! It has a sourdough base that is both fragrant and flavorful, but not overpowering. It has the perfect amount of sea salt seasoning and rosemary flavor, and just enough oil to make it soft and slightly juicy in the best way possible. It tastes great on its own or with one of the sauces sold at the collective! The pear ginger muffin was also very yummy and fresh with a distinctly citrusy flavor. It was fluffy and not too sweet. 10/10 experience!
SMD F
The BEST English muffins in the world. Sourdough, dense, doughy, perfect for breakfast sandwiches. Addictive!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eti Ben Simon
Wonderful bread and a huge collection of cheese. If you are a bread lover this place is for you!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amir
I wish I lived closeby to get fresh bread.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert P.
Nothing really to add expect this is one of the greatest places on earth, pastry, pizza, etc are wonderful. The staff is great. I am very fortunate to live nearby and be able to shop here. I love this place and the people who work here.
Alyssa M.
AMAZING! Addicted to their sourdough English muffins. This is the best location out of all of the Arizmendis! I think it's the original one. Fresh baked goods, so many cheeses to choose from, breads, sweets, salads and PIZZA. If I lived in Berkeley instead of S.F., I'd be here on a weekly basis!!! Line can get long but it moves very quickly! Seating outside and at pizzeria next door.
Roy West
The heart of the Gourmet
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Green Sauce
Michelle B.
The best of Berkeley! Wonderful people, cheese, pizza, bread, and pastries. We go at least once a week for the seeded round, currant scone, pecan role, brioche, and ginger or double chocolate cookies.
Steve C.
This place is a bit of an institution in Berkeley and deservedly so. There is a whole feel in the place that is kitchy and unique. The staff are nice but not kind. They sort of just are people tasked to work and not much more. That's not bad, it's just a feeling you get talking to them. Like they're okay to do their job, but don't expect them to be overly nice about stuff. It's a job. The bread is a bit overpriced. It all looks great, and the taste of the scones/sour dough is worth the price. But you can't really convince yourself of that easily before you pay for them... The cheese was actually pretty reasonable. A lot of options and only ~2x what you'd expect to pay at Costco or the like, so pretty fair for a small business. TL;DR: Support local business that support their employees. This place is good.
The best cheese shop! My family always picks up a cheese selections for the holidays and is always impressed. The cheese board staff are extremely kind and knowledgeable in their craft. I would pay for just the experience of walking into the store and talking to the staff. Great ambiance! Great people! And even better cheese! Highly recommend
Mark K.
CheeseBORED!!! Returned for first time post pandemic and while the board with 400 cheeses is still there most of the cheeses on it are no longer available. What a "Curd-tease!" I asked the guy behind the counter if this was a supply chain problem, and he gave me a most depressing answer which was, and I quote, "since the pandemic, we stopped carrying a lot of cheeses and now only carry the cheeses we know will sell " While this is a pretty good standard business practice it wasn't what The Cheeseboard was about. In my view it was where you could go and try and buy from the "long tail" of cheeses. While they still had some very good cheeses I'm not sure that they are now remarkably better than the Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, or even a well-stocked Trader Joe's in terms of selection and surprised. Granted, I didn't do a one for one comparison, but it's certainly felt that way. At a minimum, they should either update or take down the board of all the cheeses that you can no longer get there. And we see that Covid has claimed yet another victim!!!
Alvin Amposta
Love this place! Pizzas, sourdough, garlic spread, green sauce and the scones are our favorites.
Naomi F.
I think the long line of people waiting to get pizza at The Cheese Board speaks for itself! Delicious pizza with a special sauce that compliments the pizza completely!
Jennifer S.
I love Cheeseboard and now it's awesome they have extended their collective hours until 5pm so you can grab some cheese and bread and get pizza afterwards! I tried the cheesebread and it was almost as good as the pizza. I'm excited to try out more items in the bakery!
Every bit of everything here is delicious! Scones, brioche, and cheese rolls amazing, and garlic spread is recommended too.
The shop is very quaint and has a wide variety of baked goods + farmer's market quality condiments. This is a Berkeley staple! The apple cider was very tasty and warm. It seemed like they poured it from a premade container that was sourced from a local farm and then warmed it up. Both baked goods were fantastic and baked fresh that morning. The Rosemary puff is lovingly described by my friend as a "savory donut" - and for good reason! It has a sourdough base that is both fragrant and flavorful, but not overpowering. It has the perfect amount of sea salt seasoning and rosemary flavor, and just enough oil to make it soft and slightly juicy in the best way possible. It tastes great on its own or with one of the sauces sold at the collective! The pear ginger muffin was also very yummy and fresh with a distinctly citrusy flavor. It was fluffy and not too sweet. 10/10 experience!
The BEST English muffins in the world. Sourdough, dense, doughy, perfect for breakfast sandwiches. Addictive!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful bread and a huge collection of cheese. If you are a bread lover this place is for you!
Food: 5
Service: 5
I wish I lived closeby to get fresh bread.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nothing really to add expect this is one of the greatest places on earth, pastry, pizza, etc are wonderful. The staff is great. I am very fortunate to live nearby and be able to shop here. I love this place and the people who work here.
AMAZING! Addicted to their sourdough English muffins. This is the best location out of all of the Arizmendis! I think it's the original one. Fresh baked goods, so many cheeses to choose from, breads, sweets, salads and PIZZA. If I lived in Berkeley instead of S.F., I'd be here on a weekly basis!!! Line can get long but it moves very quickly! Seating outside and at pizzeria next door.
The heart of the Gourmet
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Green Sauce
The best of Berkeley! Wonderful people, cheese, pizza, bread, and pastries. We go at least once a week for the seeded round, currant scone, pecan role, brioche, and ginger or double chocolate cookies.
This place is a bit of an institution in Berkeley and deservedly so. There is a whole feel in the place that is kitchy and unique. The staff are nice but not kind. They sort of just are people tasked to work and not much more. That's not bad, it's just a feeling you get talking to them. Like they're okay to do their job, but don't expect them to be overly nice about stuff. It's a job. The bread is a bit overpriced. It all looks great, and the taste of the scones/sour dough is worth the price. But you can't really convince yourself of that easily before you pay for them... The cheese was actually pretty reasonable. A lot of options and only ~2x what you'd expect to pay at Costco or the like, so pretty fair for a small business. TL;DR: Support local business that support their employees. This place is good.
Restaurantji Recommends
The best cheese shop! My family always picks up a cheese selections for the holidays and is always impressed. The cheese board staff are extremely kind and knowledgeable in their craft. I would pay for just the experience of walking into the store and talking to the staff. Great ambiance! Great people! And even better cheese! Highly recommend
CheeseBORED!!! Returned for first time post pandemic and while the board with 400 cheeses is still there most of the cheeses on it are no longer available. What a "Curd-tease!" I asked the guy behind the counter if this was a supply chain problem, and he gave me a most depressing answer which was, and I quote, "since the pandemic, we stopped carrying a lot of cheeses and now only carry the cheeses we know will sell " While this is a pretty good standard business practice it wasn't what The Cheeseboard was about. In my view it was where you could go and try and buy from the "long tail" of cheeses. While they still had some very good cheeses I'm not sure that they are now remarkably better than the Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, or even a well-stocked Trader Joe's in terms of selection and surprised. Granted, I didn't do a one for one comparison, but it's certainly felt that way. At a minimum, they should either update or take down the board of all the cheeses that you can no longer get there. And we see that Covid has claimed yet another victim!!!
Love this place! Pizzas, sourdough, garlic spread, green sauce and the scones are our favorites.
I think the long line of people waiting to get pizza at The Cheese Board speaks for itself! Delicious pizza with a special sauce that compliments the pizza completely!
I love Cheeseboard and now it's awesome they have extended their collective hours until 5pm so you can grab some cheese and bread and get pizza afterwards! I tried the cheesebread and it was almost as good as the pizza. I'm excited to try out more items in the bakery!