The 411 on Sesame, a tiny bakery #
Address: 2533 Seventh Street
Region: West Berkeley, CA
Website: https://sesametinybakery.com/
The Vibe: I first became familiar with Sesame, “a tiny bakery,” as they dub themselves, during the early months of the pandemic. The Kebabery restaurant in Oakland was offering fantastic to-go meals then, and they featured treats from Sesame that I always added on. So I was delighted to learn that Sesame eventually took over the old Pie Society space in West Berkeley’s industrial blocks. Finding it is a bit of a treasure hunt! It’s tucked back in an alley behind a small parking lot. First, find a sign on the sidewalk to tell you you’re close.
Walk through the nearby parking lot, find another sign, and you’ll soon see the passage to the shop open up on the right.
Follow the tables and string lights to the entrance. Once inside, you’ll discover a not-at-all-tiny bakery space and a lovingly decorated bakery counter. The kitchen is shared with other bakers, I’m fairly sure, but the display cases and goods are all Sesame.
Most orders are to-go here, but you can eat at their tables in the passage, if you’d like. The tables are as lovingly decorated as all of Sesame’s goods, with flowers and a distinctive illustration style on notecards that describes each baked good.
That makes visiting Sesame a visual feast as well as a tangible one. Take your pick of their goods, which usually include slices of a chiffon cake, a variety of crumble and shortbread cookies, tarts, savory pastries, and stuffed eclairs. Sesame even offers a tea+cake set of their pastries, and tables can be reserved to enjoy that onsite.
Sesame, a tiny bakery, is open Thursdays-Sunday, starting at 10:00am and staying open through mid-afternoon. Pre- and special orders are also available.
My Take on Sesame, a tiny bakery #
The Food: On my most recent trip, I chose two shortbread crumble cookies, one topped with peach slices and one with apricot jam.
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I loved the buttery richness and luscious crumble of both cookies—wish I’d gotten more! (Editor’s note: that mistake has now been corrected. LOL)
As I’d just worshipped corn at Café Bolita for brunch, it felt pre-ordained that I try a slice of the cornmeal chiffon cake to conclude my worship for the day. It’s made with peaches, pastry cream, and crème fraiche. I enjoyed the grit of the cornmeal in what was otherwise a finely textured, light chiffon crumb.
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A lovely, soft slice for a summer’s day. Cakes are available by the slice or whole.
View of a whole cake in the display case
The tomato danish had a delicious crunch, but the brightness of the fresh tomatoes was the best part of this savory pick.
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The danish’s nut and seed coating added panache. I loved the baked-in herb cream cheese below the tomatoes. A thin spread of it was just enough to complement the tomatoes’ freshness.
On another visit, I just had to get more cookies!
The cookie on top was black sesame butter cookie (I think), and it’s honestly the best black sesame baked good I’ve had in months. I keep trying coffees and pastries in that flavor and being disappointed that they don’t seem strongly flavored—this cookie was an exception! And the crumb cookie was required to have again, just because I enjoy them that much.
I do not have strong memories of how Sesame’s treats tasted back when I first was introduced to them. But I do still have pictures!
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Those were honey buckwheat madeleines and fig crumbles, ordered in October of 2020. What a great opportunity we had then to show appreciation to local vendors like Sesame during the pandemic! I’m so glad they’ve continued on in their secret alley, and I’m excited for future visits to keep that support going.
Would I Go Back? Definitely! And I learned during a recent visit that Sesame is also the resident baker for Joodooboo, which is a celebrated banchan restaurant that I’ve been meaning to try since they opened two years ago. So more Sesame is assuredly in my future, whether from their adorable retail shop or at another purveyor.
Reviewed 11 July 2026.
