While this isn’t a new hot spot, Nabolom Bakery & Pizzeria is a beloved favorite in the neighborhood.

Located in the Elmwood District of Berkeley, I’ve passed by this bakery so many times and it’s hard to believe I’ve never been there given that it’s so close to my home. Not only do they have an extensive menu of breads, pastries, and a few desserts, they also have one flavor of pizza everyday (not available until late morning and you can call in ahead and order a half baked pizza to go). Since I arrived late morning, some baked goods were already sold out but there was still a plethora of options.

Pistachio Snail, Orange Cardamon Knot, Chocolate Almond Croissant, and Morning Bun.

My favorites out of the pastries were the morning bun and the chocolate almond croissant. The morning bun was covered in sugar with layers of cinnamon sugar in between crispy layers and a soft squishy interior. The chocolate almond croissant had the right amount of chocolate and almond paste where neither flavor was overpowering. I was slightly disappointed with the pistachio snail and orange cardamon knot as neither flavor was coming through. If I didn’t know what the pastries were, I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint the flavors as the pistachio or orange cardamon were not prominent or distinct.

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

This was a delicious chocolate cake where the cake was moist with layers of silky salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream and dollops of gooey salted caramel. It was a divine combination.

Tomato and Garlic Focaccia.

Right when I was ordering my pastries, the fresh batch of focaccia was coming out of the oven so I had to get a slice. There was another batch of focaccia from earlier that looked like just onion but since this was fresh, I had to get it. It was warm and pillowy with a light layer of tomato sauce, fresh garlic, and topped with cheese. So good.

I noticed a handful of people also ordering pizza slices and some people were even taking whole pizzas to go. Since their daily flavor had mushrooms on it, I didn’t try the pizza but I would definitely want to try it another time.

While Nabolom Bakery & Pizzeria isn’t the best bakery I’ve tried, the prices were very reasonable considering how expensive other bakeries are and overall I enjoyed most of their baked goods. It’s a solid bakery definitely worth trying at least once so my rating is a 7.5-8/10.