Jason F.
Yelp
Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree? These dreams are coming true at Sweet Bar Bakery! Located on the corner of Broadway and 24th Streets in the Uptown neighborhood of Oakland, California, Sweet Bar Bakery took over a large space on the ground floor of a renovated building that once served as the MacFarlane's Candy and Ice Cream showroom and is now the Packard Lofts building. Sweet Bar Bakery has helped to contribute to the overall renaissance of the entire area with additional restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, meeting places that has helped turn the Uptown neighborhood into a prime destination. Much credit goes to owner Mani Niall who has worked his way up the bakery food chain, thanks to a number of successes with his bakery in Los Angeles and series of cookbooks that focused on the world of baking with natural and organic ingredients. With Sweet Bar Bakery he has created gathering places for amazing pastries, sandwiches and handcrafted coffee drinks. I have been to Sweet Bar Bakery once before after I was enjoying lunch with a friend nearby along Broadway and they were recommended by our server after we asked for a nice local coffee shop nearby, and I remembered that last experience being so wonderful that I had to make another appearance at Sweet Bar Bakery one day.
On a recent warm weekday afternoon, a friend and I decided that today was the day! The real reason was we were having lunch along the Oakland waterfront, and with a little libations in our bodies we decided that we needed a little pick me up to get us through the day, and I suggested driving to Sweet Bar Bakery to enjoy their coffee drinks, plus I was in the mood for a cookie to take home. Although the day we went was a holiday and we were hoping for parking nearby, unfortunately we didn't get it on this day as we had to drive around for blocks on end just to get a space. Once we did find a space, it was a bit of a hike to get to Sweet Bay Bakery's entrance, and luckily by the time we arrived they were still open, despite it being later in the afternoon. Once inside, you can instantly tell that Sweet Bar Bakery has a large baking facility behind their front counter, which is no doubt being used for their daily customers but for large catering orders. There weren't too many people sitting inside by the time we came so we made a beeline for their counter area to check out the baked goods inside their glass cases and their drink menu. By the time we arrived, there were a lot of cupcakes, muffins and cookies left, and their drink menu was broken up into four sections: Espresso Bar, Brewed Coffee, Other Drinks, and Kombucha on Tap.
While my friend decided to order a Caramel Latte, I opted to order a Caramel Mocha espresso, while for my cookie I ordered their Chocolate Walnut Chunk cookie, which came as a recommendation from our cashier as she said it was a top seller at Sweet Bar Bakery. All told, my final bill was a bit under 8 dollars before tip, which wasn't too bad considering the cost of things nowadays. It didn't take too long for our drinks to be handcrafted by our barista and once we were presented with them I immediately placed a coffee lid on top of my cup, and it turns out, we didn't need it as my coffee was piping hot with every sip. My cookie was a strong choice, it necessarily wasn't the chewiest one I have ever had, but had me intrigued enough to come back for more. My friend and I sat down at a table sitting against a window along 24th Street as we took in Sweet Bar Bakery's new neighbor the Kissel Uptown Oakland Hotel which will have a new restaurant on the ground level as well. Which just goes to show the kind of revival of the uptown neighborhood that Sweet Bar Bakery has led since opening almost ten years ago. With amazing sounding sandwiches for breakfast and lunch served on both bagels and ciabatta rolls sold at decent price points, many more return visits to Sweet Bar Bakery are in order for myself and many more locals. May your reign of the local Oakland baking scene continue for many years to come!
