Bordenave's Bakery

The best bakery in Marin! Preordering the par-baked rolls for the holidays is an amazing option.

Bought 2 pks of SD rolls and 1 loaf of walnut cranberry. Everything arrived timely and in good condition. However, the loaf of bread has crust that resembles hard tact. The bread is good but the loaf has to have crust trimmed. 😕

I grew up with Bordenave's! I used to get a fresh sourdough roll on my walk home from school. There's nothing else like it! When I come back to visit, I have to get a few loaves to take home. Love them and great memories ❤️‼️

I recently ordered take and bake French loaves. They were delivered to me in Tennessee and arrived in two days. I baked a loaf right away and was heavenly delicious. Thank you so much

I’ve loved Bordenave’s sourdough since the 90s! Happy to keep supporting this local business.

The bread arrived before schedule. I'm very pleased and will continue to order on line. Thank you

Walking into Bordenave's Bakery feels like stepping back in time. In a world where speed and shortcuts dominate, this place is a gentle rebellion—a return to the slow, soulful rhythm of baking as it once was. The air is thick with the comforting aroma of flour, yeast, and time. Their bread isn’t just fresh—it’s alive. Crusts are perfectly blistered, golden and crackling, with just enough resistance to give way to tender, flavorful interiors. You can tell it’s made with care, fermented slowly, and baked in a real oven—not rushed through a production line. Every loaf carries a story, a memory, a kind of ancestral echo of simpler days when bread was the heart of the table, not a side note. The sourdough and the Marble Rye is a standout. Staff are as warm as the bread. They’re happy to talk about their process and recommend the perfect loaf for your meal. You feel like part of something here—like your daily bread actually matters.

Seriously the most incredible sourdough bread, ever. So terrific that in spite of moving two states away we continue craving the delicious stuff! Nothing we have tried in our new state comes close to comparing with Bordenave’s Sourdough. Thank heavens we can order online and receive our order promptly and 100% accurate.

Absolutely the best sour dough bread, dinner rolls , sandwich rolls and all other types except for the focacci. I don't recommend the focaccia, it is really just white bread with a not so good topping. I still give the bakery 5 stars.

Some of the most flavorful sourdough I've ever had. I liked the sliced sourdough loaf for $5. It's cool that they have day-old stuff at a discount.

I am so glad I stumbled upon this little place. I've driven past San Rafael. I don't know how many times, and never knew about this bakery!! Granted, they mainly have bread, their pastries/croissants were delicious!! I do have a gluten allergy, so my stomach is sensitive to gluten, but every once in a while, I cheat. Lol I was able to buy their extra sourdough 6 inch loaves and split them with my coworkers. I also got six different pastries for my coworkers, and they told me that they loved the strawberry croissant, blueberry croissant, cinnamon twist, cheese, croissant, and chocolate croissant! Everybody said how flaky the crust was, and how soft and gooey the middle of the croissant was! As I walked in, there was a nice lady that worked behind the cashier desk, and she had a really pretty eye make up on! I've never been able to do my make up, so I always noticed it. Lol she was very sweet and helpful but I asked what the difference was between The traditional sourdough and "extra sour sourdough, "and she said she only knew that the extra sourdough had to sit over a night and the other bread they could make the same day. I'm pretty sure that has something to do with the yeast since I bake, but I always kill yeast, so I'm better with baking soda and baking powder. Lol I digress, and it smelled delicious in there. A small little storefront, but a huge inventory of bread in the back! Quite literally forklifts were moving bread Around and delivering orders! Lol I will definitely be back again!!

I have been a customer of theirs for over 40 years. It's simply the best sourdough in California. I live in LA and I have yet to find anything approaching their excellence!

The extra sourdough loaves are the best bread I've head. Perfect hard crust outside, soft goodness inside. Whenever I'm in Marin I make a point of stopping in before taking the bridge to the East Bay.

I'm only disappointed in myself for not experiencing this well established North Bay staple long time ago. There's no denying the validity of past reviews or the outstanding quality of their products.

FOUR DOLLARS. That is all you need. Crazy! For only $4 you can get an entire loaf of bread or several sandwich rolls or a large baguette. I heard it's day-old bread, but like, who cares? It's great! We really enjoy the Dutch crunch, the extra sour rolls, and the baguette. I would recommend going in the morning because much of the bread sells out by the afternoon. I am pretty curious about the pastries, cookies, brownies, etc. Maybe another time. There is ample metered street parking out front. The person working behind the counter has never been particularly friendly to me. No greeting. No "can I help you find something?" Just letting me know the price and giving me my change. Soo, customer service could use some help.

Excellent bread bakery! Best sourdough EVER! Best Dutch Crunch EVER! FRESH! Lots and lots of variety available and right now on their website they have baked up some specialties for the holidays! Christmas-time shapes!! Baked fresh - Monday through Saturday Daily hours are 8 AM to 5 PM.

My son and I came here to get a couple of croissants. We left with one strawberry croissant since they were out of raspberry and one apple turnover. We also got a loaf of sour dough bread. Everything was excellent. Staff was friendly and helpful. Will definitely come back.

The best sourdough bread around. Bordenave's has been a staple in our house for decades. Love them!!

Very very very good bread and so many varieties to choose from! So yummy and the incredible smell when u walk in the door u end up buying more!! Owner is so nice and always welcoming you and helps u with everything!! I live in Penngrove and drive up there for these yummy breads

The bread is always consistently amazing in flavor, texture, and bake. The service is great and My mom came for a visit and said it's the best bread she has ever had. I'll be shipping her bread now.

My husband brought back an extra sour roll to go with the lasagne I made for dinner, and it was delicious! First time I've had bread from this bakery since I'm not originally from Marin county. It had a nice crunchy crust outside, but was nice and soft inside. With a smudge of butter, it was heaven! I definitely will go to Bordenave's to try their other breads and pastries!

I went to a German baker pop-up on Christmas Eve this year in downtown San Rafael to buy a ridiculously expensive tiny loaf of stollen. It was really good but I felt kind of stupid paying that much for something I could probably eat by myself in a sitting. As I walked back to my car, I smelled the familiar smell of Bordenave's sourdough wafting through the street. I had no immediate need for a giant baguette, but for some reason spending $3 on a sourdough loaf big enough to feed a family seemed just the antidote for my Yankee guilt for overspending. And it was so worth it because even though my kitchen was already currently flooded with carbs, who doesn't like sourdough? And Bordenave's was also selling massive adorable Christmas-tree shaped platters of rolls for something ridiculously low like $15. I also love that Bordenave's has been here since 1918. Those kind of roots seem like a rarity in the greater Bay Area.

I love this place! The service is amazing. I, unfortunately, do not know the name of the man who works on Saturday mornings, but he is wonderful! The bread is incredible! The croissants are amazing. I'm especially partial to the spinach and cheese! It's our new addiction. We go in every Saturday morning.

Bordenave's Bakery has the best sourdough in Marin, in my opinion. Crunchy crust and soft inside. If I have any leftovers, I make bread crumbs.

Bought a giant "longie" version of the baguette on the advice of the gal at the counter. Great deal for $5. Warm out of the oven. Crust to die for. Started eating it as we walked down the street. Didn't think we were hungry, but we were wrong!

Best sourdough in the Bay Area. Better than Boudin. There, I said it. Love their variety of sandwich rolls, and their prices are very reasonable.

Great breads Always fresh Lovely prices Friendly delivery drivers Once you buy this variety breads you gotta be loved Great for sandwiches bread bowls soups Garlic bread and more

Fresh extra sour French bread and a myriad of other types as well. The extra sour baguette is my new favorite. Everything on the menu was available freshly baked that morning. Pricing was surprisingly affordable. Opens at 8 on a Saturday. Parking st this hour is on the street, but there is plenty. Note there is no seating as this is wholesale factory bakery with a small counter from which retail customers can place orders.

First and second visit today. I could smell the bread baking and I sought out the bakery. Wow! So many choices. Ended up with a croissant. So light, fluffy and delicious. It literally melted in my mouth. Ended up going back for more later in the day. Highly recommended. Easy parking very friendly staff. I'll be back!

I took up running, and then marathons, so I could eat good sour dough bread. Bordenave's, bought fresh at the store, is the best! Unfortunately for me, I later discovered that yeast is one of the triggers of my brutal migraines, but I still go to Bordenave's to buy sour dough loaves for my husband, who is a super-fan, and all through fresh crab season. It's a treat just to walk in. Don't forget -- cash or a check! In today's cashless society, it's another throw-back.

Great bread selection every day and you can see bread coming out of bakery all day long. Super fresh and very friendly staff. I go every week.

Extra sour baguette was amazingly delicious. old school in the best ways- super heirloom starter, crusty. Small business, cash only.

I have been a customer of Bordenave's for years now and I think their bread is delish. I wish I could give them a higher rating, but their service and communication has been poor. I have always called to place an order, but due to Covid they have been requesting online orders via email. As a result, I emailed to place an order only to be rerouted to another email address. After placing an order to that specific email, there was no response and no delivery. This has happened twice already, and when I tried to give them a call they did not answer. In the end, I finally received an email informing me to order via a new online service, but they failed to provide me with a username and password. Super frustrating. Additionally, there have been a handful of incidents in which my invoices have been incorrect and again, no response from them after bringing it to their attention. Overall, their baked goods are tasty and decently priced, but communication and service greatly lacks.

This place has some very good bread and the lemon bars are also good. I've only been here three times. Each time was good. The person behind the counter is always friendly and willing to tell you exactly what the ingredients are for each type of bread.

My favorite bakery, have been getting bread and pizza dough here for decades. I always make sure to stock up on frozen pizza doughs when I'm in the area from the east bay. Great service and quality. I believe they supply the dough to redboy pizza, so if you enjoy that give it a shot.

I love Bordenave's, so when I was needing bread for leftover Thanksgiving (free range) turkey sandwiches, who else would I turn to? My stuffing was made from the sourdough, but that was stuffing. I was making a sandwich & even if I was using some of my stuffing on it, one can never have too much sourdough, so I asked my generous friend to pick up some on his way home from work. Bordenave's has always been 5 stars in my mind & to my belly, but when the sacks of glorious loaves arrived smelling of perfume, I couldn't help but be a bit disgusted. Evidently, the help was overloaded with scent & it was transferred to my purchases. I don't do perfume. Yuck. The good news is I disposed of the bread sacks immediately & once the leftovers came out of the oven, the smell went away, but I can't believe it came all the way home at all. Staff should not be allowed to wear perfume. I am still a huge fan, but I think I'll try picking up bread at a different time of day & hope to get a different person checking me out.

Truly one of the finest Parisian style bakeries for bread in the Bay Area! The majority of the restaurants in San Rafael have their bread made by Bordenave's Bakery. The bakery has a plethora of well-made breads made on-site, including my favorite, black rye bread. Very moist and delicious baguettes, too!

Wandering around town and found this little bakery. Got a bun and a brownie. $3.60... I only had $3 cash and they didn't take cash. So the cashier told me not to worry about it :) Planned on saving the brownie for the next day but ended up giving it to a nice and appreciative homeless gentleman :) Eating the sourdough bun as typing this review. It's yummy!

My new favorite bakery for apple and chocolate croissants! Large, filled with lots of apple and chocolate, delicious and reasonably priced. So much better than others. My only "complaint" is that they sell out fast so go early!

Love there hard sour dough rolls i have sandwiches made at marina deli and liqours in San Leandro they have the best ones around i wish i can get long loaves.

Inexpensive,nice variety and very high qualty . I can't think of a better bakery for bread in the bay area.

Best sourdough! I've tried all the different options in San Francisco proper, and Bordenave's is better than all of them. You're surrounded by the amazing smell of sourdough when you walk into the shop. The worst part of the experience is deciding what you won't buy - you'll want to leave with everything!

these guys make the best wheat sandwich bread ever, and they are always nice in the store. Cheers guys.

I've been eating Bordenave's sour dough for over 50 years and my parents had been since the '20's. Their sour dough is all its supposed to be: crunchy crust, soft and chewy on the inside with their signature tang of the sourdough. Their bread is one of my major childhood food memories. In the fall many times dinner would simply be whole cracked crab, steamed artichokes and Bordenave's sour dough bread. For 22 years living in the Midwest, every time my husband would come to the BayArea he always brought home a loaf. Now we're back and we regularly go to Marin to pick up loaves to have on hand. Bordenave's for me means memories, home and family. Nothing better.

To say that they have a wide range of baked goods would be a stretch. Pastries are non existant, don't expect cakes or any form of sweets - but if it's bread you crave, then these guys are the shiznit. Their sourdough is EXCELLENT. Tangy and chewy, with a beautifully crispy crackly crust. (Sigh...) French loaves, sweet baguettes, and tasty rolls galore. And their prices rock the hizza too - a dozen REALLY tasty sourdough baby baguettes for your next sausagefest for $2.95? Sign me up. They don't have the mad range of flavors that a Pan-o-rama would have, but for "staple bread" this place can't be beat.

Phenomenal sour dough bread and the staff was super helpful. Just wish parking was easier to get

noticed Bordenave's at Kensingtown farmers market months ago. various breads/pastries. samples available. buys: bread (6) -tasty, flavorful crumbs: -looking forward to foraging retail store for bargains. -4th star for friendliness, helpfulness.

If cookie monster were a bread monster, he'd LIVE here! The breads are fresh baked daily and if you visit the bakery store (CAUTION- not open on Sundays) you'd fall in love and become a bread monster yourself. The sourdough is like no other. The whole grain is good and the rye is equally tasty, but if you really want a treat- check out their croissants- sinfully delicious!!! If you're looking for a good bargain, they have day old loaves that are still pretty fresh and sell for half the price.

Good bread. Nothing exceptional, but the bf lives a block away, so I stop every so often when I'm craving carbs or haven't had time to run to Wholefoods for something better. They've got every type of bread you want/need. Dutch crunch, French bread, sour dough, extra sour, baguettes, croissants, etc. There are just so many other great places for bread in the Bay Area. I wish I could rate this place higher, but I can't. I'd say a solid 3 stars.

This place needs serious customer service training. Every employee encounter was disappointing. Bread fans seek out Acme. It's the best in the Bay Area.

If you are seeking an industrial purveyor of various rolls for your deli business, this might be a great find for you. This would be perfect if your deli was in a business area with a recurring customer base. But probably not the place if you had a gastro-pub, slowfood restaurant, or high end artisan deli with long descriptions of where each ingredient was sourced. As many have mentioned, this is a friendly, cash-only store. The long baguettes are $3, but although a bit larger than an acme style baguette, they are a bit harder and tougher. It wasn't for me--it didn't leave me excited or happy about the magic of bread. I think if you are local, it's nice to have fresh bread in the area, but not worth a trip if you're doing a bread tour (like I was). By comparison, my five star baguette places are Feel Good in Alameda (the baguettes are magically light and crusty, but maintain a bit of moisture/elasticity inside). That's worth a trip. And I also am consistently amazed at Raymond's for a more industrial feel but artfully tasty sour loaf.

I recently visited the outlet to get bread. I've long purchase their products in local grocery stores. Unfortunately when I arrived the employee at the shop wasn't wearing his mask. I asked him to put it on and to his credit he washed his hands and did so. But in a covid surge working in a public facing role, your mask should just be on. Even my young kids wear masks all day. I made a purchase but I regret not just walking right out.

I have been eating Bordenave's bread for about 10 years. As long as I have been living in San Rafael. I like supporting a local bakery. My fave is their half baked sourdough rolls which I usually pick up at Safeway. I keep them in the freezer and any time I need some hot sourdough I rub them with olive oil and some sea salt and pop them in a 350 oven for about ten minutes. Awesome.

Simply the most delicious sourdough ever. I have a nephew who lives back east and whenever he visits he HAS TO satisfy his fix for the stuff. A San Rafael restaurant (Joe's) serves their sourdough prior to the meal and it's all I can do not to stuff myself with it. My wonderful wife is actually in San Rafael today and is bringing some home. Ah, the simple pleasures of breadly goodness. I know that there are other local brands which I'm sure are fine but if you live in Marin and enjoy the sourdough you HAVE TO give this a try.

I always said I should marry a baker! But since I'm already married, Bordenave's will have to do. You can get a good variety of rolls and buns here. Last year, the bread I got here were a hit with the rest of my family for thanksgiving leftovers tortas. They get -1 star because their hours are weird.

I like stopping by as they have good bread. Staff is really friendly. They have great deal on day old bread but go early as it goes fast. I noticed they have sweet stuff to but never tried any until today. Tried their cinnamon roll. Looked kind of bland but inviting. No glaze or icing on top. I wondered how it would be. All it took was one bite. It was soooo good. Bread wasn't dry, and it wasn't super sweet. Nice cinnamon flavor. I have been disappointed in cinnamon rolls in the bay area as they are often covered in some sort of sweet stuff or the bread was dry. Not at bordenave's on 4th Street in San Rafael. All I ask is that u leave one for me. I will be getting another one or two or.... they are just that good.

Worst customer service ever! I ordered a large cluster of dinner rolls which my family always requests to have at our gatherings. After trying for many days to reach an actual person I finally was successful and ordered in the correct amount of time required- 2 days prior to pick up day (Per their rules that day... even though their answering machine says order before 2:30pm the day before an order pick up. Nothing about them makes sense). I even called back the day before to confirm the order and pick up time (and spoke with a person!). On the day of pick up "there was some confusion with the order". After calling and immediately being put on hold for 16 minutes I finally hung up and called right back. This time I spoke to Leslie in the office. In an instance of me expressing my dissatisfaction with our order she was completely rude and defensive for a mistake made on THEIR end. When I mentioned I was calling back after being on hold so long she completely missed the point and wanted to clarify if I had been on hold for "sixty" minutes. Then she proceeded with her rude tone to tell me it wasn't her fault I was on hold and it wasn't her fault the bakers made a mistake with our order. In fact, she wanted me to know they made an exception with our order (apparently you have to order 3 clusters of rolls at once, not just 1 cluster. That's the first I've ever heard that rule.) So apparently making an "exception" for an order (which I had no idea was an exception) means they may not get your order in, waste your time when you drive to their business and be extremely rude in the process. Leslie even had the nerve to tell me I was wasting her time and that she had been on the phone with me for "five minutes"! The whole business is absolutely ridiculous. Our only option is to come back later today because they decided to make the rolls (which had been ordered days previously) on the spot. No sorry. No responsibility taken. One star for the half-baked cluster... if you can reach anyone to order and IF they feel like getting your order right. Consumer beware! Whether buying for a large restaurant or just a small-ish family dinner I don't recommend doing a penny of business with them. UPDATE: At noon they told us to come back in 1 hour and our order would be ready. Upon arriving at 2pm, the order is STILL not ready! No explanation. No apology. Talk about a waste of time, Leslie! They not only fall short as a business, but on a personal human level.