Welcome to Elmwood!
Elmwood is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Berkeley. Easily reachable by the 27, 51B, and 22 bus lines from the UC Berkeley campus area, Elmwood is a few blocks of shops and eats, centered on College Avenue and Ashby, a little less than a mile south of campus. Whether you have some time to kill between classes or just want to explore a new little piece of the city, Elmwood is a lovely area to spend some of your free time.
Eating
Dream Fluff Donuts. This is a favorite of mine for affordable, notably fluffy, and balanced donuts. I recently started grabbing a half-dozen donut box for each of my friends on the morning of their birthdays, but they like them so much that I’ve started swinging by on my way to campus on random days as well. They have a lovely selection and quick customer service!
Italian Homemade Company. A friend of mine showed me this place in my first semester at UC Berkeley, and I’ve been periodically visiting ever since, including once to show my parents! As their name suggests, they hand-make all of their pastas and sauces in-house. As a customer, you get to pick your pasta shape — from ravioli to fettuccini to gnocchi — and sauces like marinara, bolognese, or my favorite, the portofino (but you have to request this at the cashier when ordering!). They have gluten free and vegetarian options up and down their menu, which also has plenty of choices beyond pasta, like sandwiches, flatbreads, and salads.
Casa de Chocolates. I cannot resist their chocolate for long… Seriously. I return to this shop for their delicious chocolate bars and frozen hot chocolate every few weeks. I stopped by out of curiosity once, purchased a few chocolate bars and a drink, and was hooked. My favorite of their chocolate assortments are the 61% Cacao Flor, 61% Cacao Chile Mango, and 61% Cacao Candied Ginger. These are great as study snacks, but I also love to buy them as gifts for family and friends — there are some really happy campers in South Korea munching on these chocolate bars from when I gifted them to my best friend’s family!
The colorful interior of the chocolate shop.
Baker & Commons. This is one of those places that always has a line out the door, and I totally understand why. With a rotating daily selection of food such as pastries and jams, outlined by a very cute interior, this place is hard to avoid. I haven’t visited enough times to give a proper recommendation on what to order, but I will offer a piece of advice: if you recall my point about the “line out the door,” — yeah, avoid this place on weekends. If you’d like a short wait and quick service, I’d recommend breakfast or an early brunch on a weekday — they open at 7:30 a.m. every day!
Shops n’ Stops
Mrs. Dalloway’s. This bookstore is one of those places you go to be accidentally (on purpose) scooped into a different dimension — one where the air smells like buttery scones and pages of your favorite book. Aside from just books to browse through, there’s also art from local artists, gardening supplies, and so much more. They also host plenty of events. I recently went to an author Q&A and book signing there because the newly published author was a friend of a friend! It was so cool to hear about another writer’s drafting and editing process, road to publication, and their recent success!
One of my favorite things about Mrs. Dalloway’s is the employee recommendations and selections! They make them regularly to keep up with holidays and current events.
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood. This is a quaint little theater and it’s the closest to campus by far. They sometimes show thematic movies for the season or time of year — Halloween movies for the week of Halloween, for instance — but they play a mix of new and older movies as well. I’ve also found them playing more ‘underground’ movies, if you could call them that. As a lover of the theater, I often find myself wanting to stroll down and buy a ticket to whatever’s playing.
Slash Denim. As one may imagine, this is a denim lover’s paradise. Stacks upon stacks of all kinds of styles of jeans in all kinds of washes — you will most definitely need help navigating! Luckily, the staff is incredibly familiar with the layout of the store and can help you out! You can tell them your typical or preferred sizing, wash preferences, cut, inseam, and more, and they will return with a small stack of denim for you, much like a miniature version of the many larger stacks you weave between inside. Outside, they display a few racks of non-denim clothing that’s also up for grabs!
A small look at the piles of jeans in this shop.
ImagiKnit. I came here once to buy some yarn for a project and ended up leaving with yarn, new knitting knowledge, and knowing how to spin yarn into a ball. The woven community of this shop genuinely transcends generations (shoutout to the Cal grandma that taught me how to ball the yarn). You can buy all kinds of supplies here for knitting and crochet projects, and they host events and classes fairly regularly!
Elmwood Stationers. If you’re in need of some stationary restocking, this is a must-stop! Filled with notebooks, planners, pens, and other trinkets galore, this is the perfect break spot for when you have down time between classes.
What don’t they have?
Get out there!
Whether you’re eating your way through Elmwood like Rachel, or simply need somewhere to explore between classes, Elmwood is filled with a rich and wide array of things to try out, so give it a shot.
It doesn’t get better than a full day of eating in Elmwood 😋🍽 @bakerandcommons for brunch 🍳@souvenircoffee for a drink ☕️ @italianhomemadecompany for dinner 🍝 & @casadechocolates for a sweet treat! 🍫
If you’re looking to spend the day in Elmwood, check out this blog article (bit.ly/elmwoodstudyspots) with a list of cafes you can study in (& grab free WiFi 👀)
NO GATEKEEPING 🙅♀️‼️Drop your favorite Berkeley food spots in the comments
#UCBerkeley #UCBerkeleyLife #BayAreaFoodie #BerkeleyCA #FoodCrawl
Milana Berhe, Class of 2028, is majoring in astrophysics and political science and minoring in creative writing.
Want more?
- Explore Albany with Reva and Melissa.
- Visit some of Preslee’s Elmwood Study Spots.
- Read about Rachel’s exploration of 4th Street, Berkeley.