The Phoenix Pastificio

Wonderful fresh pasta, hand made with ingredients and flavors to delight you. Olive bread and the pecan chews and my other favorites. Eric makes the best of everything.

Got their olive bread at Kensington Farmers Market at Colusa Circle yesterday.
Incredibly delicious toasted and slathered with butter. Just had four slices, as I did last night.
Probably the best bread I’ve ever had.

Olive bread and fresh noodles… All I need to eat in life. I got to know the owner a bit when I lived around the corner from this place and he’s always gifting me new things to try for free. Love the food, staff, and owners.

This place is awesome! Had the squid ink pasta and the olive bread. It’s one of the best breads I’ve had. Pasta was also very good. Wanted to try the Meyer lemon one but the pasta guy that helped me said they ran out. They also make pizza only on Mon — Wed. You will need to call it in and pick up. The place is cash only with NO STORE FRONT. It’s located next to a café. The owners are the same people that open Semifreddi’s which is a local Bay Area bakery in Alameda. This probably explains why the cookies sold here are also so good. This is a Bay Area gem of a place. The ingredients are very local and fresh. Love the pasta from this place.

If you don’t have time to make fresh pasta, get some from Phoenix! If you do have time to make it, take a walk in Strawberry Creek instead of making pasta, and then buy it from Phoenix instead. I love the flavor options — Meyer Lemon is the best!

I absolutely love their Big Dipper biscotti – something I usually hate.
The garlic parsley pasta I will love forever!

Great experience, somehow I felt back in Italy when I stepped in the non existing store front but it was just so real!
The pasta we got was outstanding! We got some biscotti end pieces for sampling which was such a nice touch. Instead of going to waste they offer it for samples, and sure thing we bought some. They were outstanding as well. Will go back as soon as we are in the area!

This was our first time at the Addison location and we nearly abandoned the search when the god of parking karma blessed us with the last parking spot on the street on a Saturday afternoon. Walking down the path around the building next to the park it seemed like nearly everything was closed including the café next door. We were about to leave but barely noticed the sign for Phoenix was taped to the open door so we went in and were greeted with an explanation of the offerings from the menu, although not all items were available which is understandable considering the long list.
What we got…
Spicy Meyer Lemon Fettuccine — we couldn’t decide which of the many pastas to try so this was recommended and it was really good — and it cooked in only 90 seconds! Possibly the best pasta I’ve had at home but I’ve just awakened to what fresh pasta has to offer, so we’ll be trying others next time. ¾lb for 2 people was plenty. Although its much more expensive than dry pasta, there is no comparison in flavor, aroma (yes it smelled like lemons!) and especially texture. No more Barilla for me.
Basil-​Arugula Pesto — to me this sauce had a typical pesto flavor — nuts+greens+cheese+oil — but I’m not a pesto aficionado. My significant other enjoyed it but it is pricey.
Biscotti — thin but cut wide, these were fresh out of the oven and we had no intention of purchasing any but for the free sample and the amazing aroma in the lobby, so we got a couple at over $ 3 each! They didn’t knock our socks off but they were pretty good.
Overall I recommend focusing on the delicious fresh pasta and definitely expect a parking challenge on the weekend.

Phoenix has such wonderful things. Now that I don’t eat grains I live for the Pecan Chewies, which I get from Phoenix at the Farmer’s Market. The market was rained out, though, and Sarah guided me so excellently to the invisible retail outlet at 1250 Addison!

They don’t have a storefront. So, lest you should get confused, as I did when trying to find this bakery/​kitchen: the «storefront» is actually a small doorway beneath the Berkeley Yoga Studio on Addison. Walk up the driveway, pass the stairs leading up to the studios, admire the grassy green of Strawberry Creek Park (cool, I’m in a park!!!), and if you get to the café you’ve gone too far. There’s a sign taped to the door that says «Phoenix Pastifico.»
Walk in. Wonder where you are. Peek inside the ginormous kitchen. Apologize for being nosy. Order an obscene number of cookies. Smile.
If you are kind, your kindness will be returned; I got a discount on the dozen cookies I ordered, and they even threw in a free one. I got chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin (nutty, cinnamon-​y and delicious) and chocolate peanut butter. These are not your average cookies — they are HUGE, and they’re amazing. Like, bigger than your hand. It makes it okay that they’re $ 3.50 a pop. I think they might be among the best cookies I’ve ever had, and I do not want to share them. I can eat 13 giant cookies by myself, right???
Cash only!!!

Off the beaten path, but worth finding. The freshest and best pasta, pizzas, breads, and baked goods. The owners were the founders of both Semifreddi’s in Berkeley and the Alpine bakery in Oregon, both legendary among foodies. Porcini fettucini w/​Phoenix’s pesto sauce is my personal favorite, but you can’t go wrong here.

The hours on Unilocal aren’t quite right.
This place was hard to find. It’s in a brick building on Addison at the side of a park, and there is a white piece of paper on the door that says «Phoenix Pastificio». We got there today at 7:30pm and the doors were all locked (yes, we tried them all). Luckily there were two workers still inside and my friend and I stood outside the doors looking like lost children, hoping to be let in. One came to open the door and I asked her if they were closed. They were. I think we must’ve looked disappointed, so she asked what we wanted and I said we were here for pasta, so she told us to go to the side door so she could let us in. I found out quickly after we tried asking for recommendations that her English was practically nonexistent, so I spoke with her in my best broken Spanish. Once we decided what we wanted, she went back inside and we waited at the foyer of this interesting warehouse type of place, staring at the pretty cookie swirls behind us. After some time, she came back with our Meyer Lemon fettuccine and a Pizziola (sp?) sauce. This was per her recommendation. «Que le gusta?». Yes, three semesters of Spanish has certainly come in handy!
Now, one pound is a small bag of pasta and 8 oz is a small container of sauce, so I began feeling like the price was steep. The pound of pasta and the 8oz of sauce came out to 14 dollars (8+6). The lady asked if I needed a bolsa (bag), and I happily said we were okay and out the door we went. She was extremely nice and I was glad we were able to be let in even though they were closed. There were also exact cooking times for each of the pastas on the menu, so we took note that the fettuccine takes 90 seconds before we left for home, and off we went.
The pasta was very good, and the sauce was actually a bit spicy but mild enough for me to handle (props). The flavors were light yet not bland, and ten times better than any classico sauce you’ll find in a grocery store. My housemate and I ate the pasta with the sauce alone, and would you believe it, it was tasty.
So, for the record, their retail/​wholesale hours (I think that’s where this address leads you to) are 4am to 6pm on Saturday. There is plenty of street parking.
The housemate and I are planning to go back on Tuesday during their Farmer’s Market hours to see if we can pick up some of that bread the Unilocalers have been raving about!

The chocolate chewies and the macaroons will knock your socks off! I always make sure to grab a few of each at whatever farmer’s market they’re at. Sometimes you can get a deal if you buy in bulk.

Cash Only! Delicious olive bread right from the oven with plenty kalamata olives.
No store front, just walk in the door and ask for bread, or pasta, or vegan cookies/​other treats.

My favorite source for fresh pasta. It has a nice bite. I tried going to their kitchen once but it was closed, to be fair, it was a holiday, but I was hoping they would still be open. So, instead I just wait for them to come to me at the Temescal Farmers Market. My favorite is their habenero linguine! They have such a large menu though, I would like to stop by their shop to try their other fixings (rose pasta?!). I usually pick a sauce to go with the pasta and come home with a fresh baguette too. Perfect.

Best fresh pasta. Ever. There are so many different compliments I have for this business. First of all the quality is terrific. I’ve grown up Italian and around fresh pasta and this is nothing short of amazing. Great texture, flavor, and very well made. Super easy to cook and hard to mess up. I’m also amazed at how many homemade flavors of pasta they offer. There are so many unique flavor combinations like their rosemary or squid ink. I’ve had a few different kinds and each stands out. They also ask you what size noodle you would like them to cut it as, which is awesome. If you peek inside the kitchen (the storefront is basically all a kitchen with a door) you can watch them hand-​cut your pasta. It’s also very reasonably priced for high-​quality fresh pasta. The prices range with each flavor, but all definitely fair.
Not to mention, the staff is super nice. They’re just a bunch of nice, humble people delivering amazing product. They are hard working and you can watch each and every one of them in the kitchen, which I think is fun. The only catch is that the place is tucked away and a little off the beaten path.
Anyways, super yummy and worth it. I really want to try their homemade kalamata olive bread the next time I stop by.

Warning: While the products from here are delicious, if you have a peanut allergy please be aware that the products are not labelled and peanuts are used in the making of some sauces. Thai sauce and peanut cookies.
Our 10 year old nearly died from a cross contaminated pesto sauce and landed us in the emergency room with a terrified little girl in anaphylactic shock.
The phoenix owner was very understanding, very nice guy. His insurance company were a disgrace. Implying that we made it up. Not his fault.
Just be very very careful and always ask before you buy. People can die from this.

I’ve tried a few of their pastas from the farmers market location in JLS. Price range for pastas are anywhere from $ 4.75 to $ 7. I believe they sell by the pound only at the farmers market. They’re all delicious and organic. Pastas are fresh and oh so delicious. Perfect bites. Servings each is 3 – 4. Depends on how big your portions are. You could eat it in one day hehe. It’s just my husband & I in the household. We tried to cook half of it and save the other half for the next day. Make our money’s worth.
Cooking time is very fast… either 60 seconds or up to 2 minutes. Depends what type of cut it is. I’ve tried their garlic cream sauce. So-​so. I don’t think it’s worth it. I like regular store bought alfredo cream sauce to go with these pastas. Or home-​made sauce. The olive bread is good on the same day bought. It’s not fresh the next day and it gets hardened & stale. I had to pick out the middle bread and eat it that way. Threw away the crust. I’ve tried the pecan chewie cookie. That was pretty good. Not worth $ 2.25 though.
Next time, I would buy the pastas only. Nothing else. Looking foward to the next farmers market. Can’t wait for the next pasta dinner.

Delicious, fresh pasta — truly interesting and inventive flavors that don’t require much else (sauce, proteins, etc.). I’ve only had Meyer Lemon, habanero and bell pepper and the wild mushroom ravioli, and all of them were so tasty. I always think of pasta from the Phoenix Pastificio as being a special occasion or treat, but it’s really great for a standard weeknight meal also.
Their pasta is carried at the Downtown Berkeley Farmers Market and Bi-​Rite among other places.
I had a bit of trouble finding the storefront the first time I went since I went in the early evening and the front door of the building was closed. If the front door is closed, just go around the left side of the building and the door should be propped open, and you should be able to stick your head in and see all of the great pasta and breads.

Eric Sartenaer is a master of his art. I’ve been eating his godly creations since I was a kid at the old site on Shattuck Ave. (RIP, my favorite restaurant ever. Steve Lucas, you rock and I will never forget your heavenly pasta dish with fingerling potatoes, bacon, and spinach).
First, the fresh pasta…
Just phenomenal. I enjoy it on a weekly basis in many forms (pasta salad, lasagna, mac & cheese, more elegant pasta dishes, even plain with olive oil and veggies). My favorites are garlic parsley, buckwheat, spinach, and stinging nettle. The ravioli is excellent, particularly wild mushroom, crab, and goat cheese with roasted garlic. I prefer to buy straight from the source (they also have a lovely selection of sauces if you’re feeling lazy) but it’s nice to be able to swing by Berkeley Bowl and not have to resort to dry pasta.
Next, the baked goods…
The almond macaroons blow my mind. Chocolate pecan chewies are sinful. Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate comfort dessert. Belgian danishes are incredibly delectable. Olive bread kicks ass.
Above all, the baguettes are divine. No other baguettes compare (in France or any other place I’ve traveled to). If I could only have one kind of bread for the rest of my life, I would choose them without question.
Thank you for spoiling me. I could sing your praises forever. No complaints, just love.