My roommates and i absolutely love their baguettes. I will often take a run down to La Farine and get two baguettes (sometimes they have a buy one get one free deal) and run back in time to have beguette for dinner. Amongst the five of us, the baguette is usually gone in one sitting. As for their cakes, I think it's over priced and not really worth it.

The baguettes at this place rock! I like them as much as Acme and Cheeseboard. Great selection of pastries, breads and sweet things. Service can go either way. Last time there, girl behind the counter pulled some attitude and not even a smile...but the yummy coffee and baguette made up for it. Nice location but this part of Solano is horrible for parking on the weekend. I'd give them more stars if they had a better variety of beverages and maybe premade sandwiches with their yummy bread. :)

La Farine, an Oakland bakery that opened in 1974 and has become a bread beacon in the Bay Area. Available as a baguette, petit pain, or batard, with our without Kalamata olives laced into the dough, it is fantastically chewy with a crisp crust. Sour but not overwhelmingly so, this is bread that asks no condiment or complement whatsoever

We love to come here when we visit my in-laws in Berkeley. They have lots of yummy breakfast breads. They do run out of things, so it's good to go early. They have some seating indoors and a low wall or bench outside. You can get coffee and juices here as well. I haven't had their cakes or other breads, but they look delicious and since they are usually a bit crowded, I'd say those are poular as well.

This bakery has a nice selection of delicious desserts and bread. I like to buy a coffee at Peet's across the street, then go to La Farine and get a pastry to enjoy with my coffee at one of the little benches outside the store. The pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) is excellent, as are the cupcakes. Beware that the cupcakes have a very thick buttercream frosting that is rich and can be overwhelming. Usually the bread is available for tasting, which is nice. Peet's has good baked goods as well, but you might as well go to La Farine since it's right there.