Tom’s Bakery Fortune Cookies

SUPER easy to work with: place order, customize for a corporate event, pick up or delivery
SUPER simple ingredients: printed on every box
SUPER service: I’m Oakland born and raised, never knew such an amazing place was in my midst, they have been doing this for decades upon decades AKA you don’t have to worry they know what they are doing
YUMMY product: Got the original, chocolate, and orange and they are all delishuzz. The warm ones off the belt are obviously the best but you can tell they put the customer first in general. The fresh off the belt samples sealed the deal.
CUSTOMIZED my order: best part was bringing my company’s brand to life in a fortune cookie. Who wouldn’t want a good fortune to be bestowed upon them in a delicious and healthy way?

Had a hangup with the USPS actually getting their custom fortune cookie order here, and they were awesome about reissuing an order when the USPS couldn’t get their act together. And the custom fortune cookies are perfect.

Wow, these are the freshest fortune cookies I’ve ever eaten. And once you start, it’s hard to eat just one. They are a little disorganized for retail sale, but just ask anyone working there, since there isn’t really a sales counter.

The aroma that emanates from this place is so good that I couldn’t resist buying a bag of fortune cookies. They’re baked fresh, taste great, and have «fortunes» that have a little bit more thought put into them than most places. I’m only docking off stars because the lady who handled my money at the register also bagged the cookies without changing gloves or washing her hands. No one got sick from the cookies, but I won’t be coming back.

The Good:
So that’s how fortune cookies are made.
The Bad:
Your not allowed to take tours inside or take pictures of the Fortune Cookie making process.
The Ugly:
If I hadn’t been shown where Tom’s was, I’d never would have noticed it from the street.
Synopsis:
Tom’s has been around for years making fortune cookies. The smell of sugar blowing the vents gives your senses that happy feeling of there’s something great being made from within.
It’s hard to believe the fortune cookie not a Chinese but, a Japanese food product.

The do personalized Fortune Cookies for your event, party or fundraiser… I highly recommend going with them… buy local! buy fresh! Yes, it’s just a fortune cookie, but when you taste a really great one you will know it :)

Growing up in the East Bay as a child, I frequented Chinatown on weekends. If I could describe Chinatown based on smells… you’d get every single descriptor under the sun, from fragrant, to smelly, to sweet, to stinky… you name it. All these smells combined make up what you would normally think of a Chinatown as. As for Tom’s Bakery, the associated smell would be ‘sweet’. I’ve been coming here for years, and I’m glad it’s still around. From the outside, the building looks old and uninhabited, but inside, there’s fervent fortune cookie making inside. The sweet smell of baking fortune cookies is even more pungent inside than outside, and is well worth a visit to get a whiff of this sweet cookie heaven.
Whenever I come here, I usually buy the pack of broken ‘reject’ fortune cookies, which go for a $ 1.50 a bag. A pretty good deal if you don’t care about having the paper fortunes inside every cookie. The cookies here are freshly made, crispy, and tasty, and in my opinion, better than the ones you buy at the supermarket which have been sitting on the shelves for who knows how long!
As Victor G. mentioned, this is the last fortune cookie shop in Oakland, so I hope that it stays for more years to come. 4 stars for offering bomb-​diggity goods for fortune cookie connoisseurs and fans.

Walking from the OMCA I noticed Tom’s Bakery was open & the wonderful smell of fortune cookies coming out the door. What, it was open Sunday? It’s not usually open so I was very happy.
After lunch & shopping for dim sum I went back to Tom’s Bakery & it was still open. Young man around 16−18yrs old helped me. They mostly sell Wholesale, so I asked if I could buy a bag.
He offered me a bag of Round & maybe broken cookies, but I wanted Fortune Cookies. He picked up another bag & I said ok how much? It was only $ 4.50 for a HUGE bag of Fresh, warm fortune cookies sealed up so I couldn’t eat them right away.
They are usually open M-​Sat. Didn’t get the hours but the phone no. is 510−832−5025.

I love Tom’s — -in a way, they are a complicated conflicted, yet simple place.
Why?
Well, if you look at their sign, on the lett side, they seem to be called «Ton’s»
but, you walk in, and they wear their heart on their sleaves—
Do we use LARD? — –Hell Yes we do! — -as exhibited by the 20 or so industrial sized drums of used lard they use as ambiance/​décor.
As I sit here with my 1 or 2 lb back of broken cookies which set me back a cool $ 1.50, I constantly ask myself, ‘just how much lard am I eating ‘? — -while thinking to myself, just how damn good these things taste

Tom’s Bakery Fortune Cookies has been around for decades, I remember as a kid walking by smelling the fortune cookies baked up, how the aroma covers the streets in the area intriguing everyone taste buds. Its was definitely great to be able to come back and their still here after all these years.
Awesome fortune cookies, priced from $ 2-​$ 4 range per bag, occasionally you get chocolate ones. Still the best fortune cookie… I hope this family own business will continue to the next generation.
Cash only.

Bags of fortune cookies! My friend really wanted to buy a bag of fortune cookies and I thought that was the weirdest request… but Unilocal to the rescue, as always. Super cheap and fast!

I’ve been sitting here this afternoon eating my $ 2.25/pound fortune cookie bag (even cheaper if you buy the broken ones, but they were out). They’re not stale and tasteless like most places (and people); in fact, I haven’t had a better fortune cookie, so here we are at five stars.
Also, it’s a really nice ego boost to sit around eating cookie after cookie, for the following reasons:
You constantly struggle for self-​improvement — and it shows.
You will soon be reunited with an old friend.
You will have many friends when you need them.
Continue your present conversation for some valuable insight.
An unexpected event will soon bring you fortune.
Tomorrow your friend or partner will tell you some exciting news.
The respect of influential people will soon be yours.
Listen these next few days to your friends to get answers you seek.
You will soon be the guest of a person you admire.
An admirer is too shy to greet you.
Long life is in store for you.
Eat your fruits and vegetable to strengthen your health.
Soon a visitor will delight you.
Now is the time to call loved ones at a distance. Share your news.
You find beauty in ordinary things. Appreciate this gift.
Your respect for others will be your ticket to success.
Your most memorable dream will come true.
And my favorite:
You’ll accomplish more later if you have a little fun this weekend.

Glad that this family own fortune cookie place wasn’t growing pot!
It’s been around since I can remember and I grew up in Chinatown. It was a dainty little shop, were everytime you walked by, you could hear the machines churning and the must aroma of fresh fortune cookies being made. As time went on, the shop got more and more filled with boxes, so you can barely see the counter where they do sell bags of fortune cookies to customers :) GIANT BAGS ALL UNDER 5 dollars and super fresh. Hopefully, they keep this place up and running!

Wandered in here to buy some fortune cookies for a party last week and didn’t know what to expect. Some locals directed us here when we had gone into another bakery looking for fortune cookies.
When we arrived, they seemed surprised to see someone there just to buy some cookies for personal purposes as I gathered most of their customers are restaurants. But, they were very friendly and accommodating and sold us a huge bag of cookies for a good price! We even got to try a hot cookie right off the press!

I have to confess that I’ve known the owners for over 20 years. it’s a small bakery that makes only fortune cookies but when you’re in Oakland’s Chinatown, I highly recommend a visit.
There’s a huge difference between these cookies and the ones you eat in the restaurants. Usually, I pass on the cookies at the restaurants but with the ones you buy at Tom’s you can taste the difference in the freshness.
Give them a try if you love fortune cookies. I highly recommend them. Good honest people and they deserve their great reputations.

tom’s bakery is the last fortune cookie factory standing in oaktown. on the corner. of harrison & 9^th. the sign on the door says «closed» all the time so retail sales seem to be in doubt. one can still smell the cookie aroma and hear the machines churning inside.
i may have bought a bag here at one time or eat one of cookies at a restaurant. their’s is a rare commodity, that of the unwrapped kind.
the wrapped cookie has a funnier, unnatural taste like it’s all chemical flavoring. recently i saw a supply delivery here, c & h sugar was being unloaded.

You can’t beat chocolate fortune cookies for $ 3 a bag.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen chocolate variety in a restaurant, however, Tom’s Bakery is churning them out in volume, so they must be served somewhere.
The flavor of chocolate is very subtle, but when tasted side-​by-​side with the «regular» flavor, the chocolate really is apparent.
The hours are kind of odd, so call before going.

I came here with fellow Unilocaler Jen P and was pleasantly surprised! I always love fortune cookies for the cookies and not really the fortune.
We both got the $ 1.50 bag that didn’t make the cookie grade. These have not much fortunes in them but hey that’s OK! I like them like that anyways! The good cookies costs $ 3.00 a bag. They are a great snack for the long drive home, thanks a bunch! I will be back!

My fortune of the day says, «Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one». What does yours say?
As a tiny factory that makes customized fortune cookies, they have freshly made regular and chocolate fortune cookies for $ 1.50 a bag. I’ve been coming here since childhood and to this day their fortune cookies are still one of the best. Compared to their counterparts, their cookies are thicker, more substantive, and the eggy taste is one delicious element that sets them apart. Whereas the other factories in San Francisco charge $ 3-​$ 5 for a small bag, this place will treat you right by giving you a bag three times the size and enough for you to sit through a baseball game – especially for those fans whose team hasn’t been so fortunate this summer. Service is lukewarm, but parking is plentiful when compared to the other locations in the City.
Okay, here’s another one, «An unexpected event will make your life more exciting». Hmmm… next, «Your most memorable dream will come true» [Long pause]. Maybe I’ll have an unexpected dream tonight that will play out in my real life in a truly exciting fashion… uh…wut? [Longer pause] As you can see, my mind is open but still empty despite all the education received. Big sigh!

Come, my sweet and let me tell your fortune … *swirling my glass ball*
In your future … I see … a young man … ruggedly handsome, with inset eyes and a dashing smile … with lots and lots of money … *swirling again* but wait … all of a sudden he’s not looking at you, he’s distracted, he’s running away, he smells something in the air … it’s a sweet smell, sugary and delicious — it’s the sweet, intoxicating smell of … COOKIES???
And that, my friends, is the true fortune of Tom’s bakery. This Chinatown establishment has been making fortune cookies for over 30 years. Located right behind my old church, we used to smell the cookies baking all the time. And then, we’d get hungry.
They have Original, Coconut, and even Lemon flavored too. But the best? Chocolate fortune cookies … mmmmm yes. So good. They will often have the small storefront open, so passerbys can buy bags of fresh fortune cookies while watching a new batch go through the machine.
I’ve used Tom’s to make personalized fortune cookies on numerous occasions. In college we had them made to pass out during welcome week. On my 21^st birthday, I had them to pass out as party favors and the fortunes had jokes on them. And to announce our engagement, the hubba and I had personalized chocolate ones made. You can print anything out, and they will stick them in a fortune cookie for you.
So much cooler than the ones you get at Chinese restaurants with the funky abstract sayings that you add «in the bathroom» to the end of.
«From little acorns come mighty oaks … in the bathroom»
Tom’s also has a website:
Hope you have some good luck!
And yes, there really is a Tom.