Hopkins Street Bakery - Berkeley, California

Ben R.

My family and I have been customers of Hopkins Street Bakery for many years. Unfortunately we had such a bad experience with their cupcakes for our daughter’s birthday that we have to leave this feedback so other people can avoid the same mistake.

Long story short, we ordered 20 cupcakes on Friday for a Sunday AM pickup because all the cupcake specific bakeries would not open early enough for our party Sunday AM and we wanted fresh treats. Great news is that Hopkins opens on Sundays at 7:30 in the morning and we have always loved their fresh birthday cakes with fresh fruit so we figured the cupcakes would be tasty also.

Unfortunately, we were very wrong. When we placed the order Friday afternoon, the person taking our order was hesitant to commit, which should have been a solid warning sign. At first, he said he might not be able to do it but when I told him we only needed 20 and we were fine with half chocolate and half vanilla rather than any more complicated orders like red velvet or strawberry. He said it would probably work, but if, for some reason they weren’t able to make the order they would call me on Saturday. I was grateful.

Fast forward to Sunday, the pick up went fine, but these cupcakes were incredibly dry cake, and the frosting was so dense and gummy that the cupcakes were inedible. The frosting was so gummy that we could not get the birthday candle out of one without the ganache lump pulling off the top as well. You can tell a cupcake is not very good when none of the kids are able to eat their first let alone ask for a second. Not to mention, these cupcakes were not particularly cheap at four dollars each.

Before posting this review, I relayed my feedback to the shop manager directly and and he instead of listening, he focused on debating with me about the quality of the cupcake, their 30 year-old unchanged recipe, and how his baker stayed over time to make my order. I told him that if the order was problematic, we had expected to receive a phone call Saturday with a cancellation but we never got a call so we assumed it wasn’t a problem. He offered to “throw in a couple cookies” next time I buy something at the shop. Pretty disappointing.

Frankly, we would have been better off with mass produced Whole Foods cupcakes. We always want to always support local businesses but after this experience, I do not intend to come back to Hopkins. Many other options out there that would have tasted better even one-day old compared to these.

At least the cupcakes look nice. I’m including a photo of all of the untouched ones. Not pictured are the cupcakes that were thrown out at the party after a bite or two.

Grace L.

Cute little bakery in the neighborhood!

Dom B.

Many really fine offerings at Hopkins Street Bakery. My favorite is the eclair - filled with very tasty vanilla creme patissiere, and covered with a high-quality chocolate icing. Also love their Coconut Pineapple cake - moist, unctuous, bright - a thing of beauty!

Niloufar M.

I’ve recently found this place. Delicious stuff. So far I’ve tried Walnut Danish, cream puffs and bran muffins. All delicious. Next time I’ll try their cakes.

Alvin S.

The bakery goods are ok but their mango cake is outstanding. Doesn't tastes like dried mangos, it's light and not too sweet. Perfection. Pro tip to call one day ahead just in case they don't have it the day of.

Andrea J.

Pastries were good but incredibly rude staff ruined the experience. When I asked if they had a box, the response was “are you asking for a box? Because that’s a weird way of asking”. Pretty unbelievable.

Eli

i don't usually go for cookies, but their coconut anzac cookie is to die for. i love to get one and pair it with a latte from down the street.

Juanita L.

Their carrot cake is so freaking good! I hate the "M" word, but the cake is the opposite of dry & it has pineapple pieces in it. The cream cheese frosting is perfect. Not too sweet & it's dense. The coffee almond cookies are bomb too!