Cheese Board Collective Pizzeria
There is one pizza, it changes every day, and it is always vegetarian. On 20 August 2026 it was organic fig from The Peach Farm with ricotta made in Berkeley by Belfiore, mozzarella, balsamic and basil.
Why go
The collective posts that day's toppings each morning alongside that day's salad, and a band plays through both sittings, lunch and dinner.1 Naming the fig grower and the ricotta maker on a slice you eat off a paper plate on the sidewalk is the whole argument of North Berkeley in one counter. Alice Waters lives in the neighborhood and sends people here for something other than the pizza: For coffee and pastry in my neighborhood, I also love the Cheeseboard Collective. Everyone knows about their pizzas (which really are some of the best in the area), but they also have excellent pastries. And while you wait in line to order, you can peruse their fantastic cheese selection.
The full-service cheese counter came back in June 2026, Tuesday through Saturday, and hand-made fresh pasta started in weekly batches in July.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the pizza of the day, whatever it is, plus something from the bakery counter while you wait. Then buy cheese, which is the part Waters actually stops for.
- Avoid: phoning ahead for a couple of pies. The collective takes phone orders "for 6 or more whole pizzas only."
What locals & experts say
- Alice Waters, The Relisher (Bay Area edition, 2026): the pizzas "really are some of the best in the area," and she goes for the pastries and the cheese counter. A neighbor's pick, with no stake in the shop.
- The collective's own site publishes the day's pizza, the day's salad and the day's musicians before it opens.1
Good to know
- Timing: bakery from 7am, with parbakes at 9. Pizza runs 11:30 to 2:30 and again 4:30 to 8.
- Booking: none. There is a line, and the line moves.
- Getting there: Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley, the same block as Chez Panisse.
Verdict
should-visit — One pizza a day, vegetarian, ingredients posted that morning, and on 20 August 2026 that meant organic fig from The Peach Farm and ricotta made across town by Belfiore. A counter that names its fig grower and its ricotta maker on a pie you eat off a paper plate is telling you what it is. Alice Waters lives up the road and picks it for the pastries and the cheese counter rather than the famous pizza, which is the more interesting recommendation. There is live music at lunch and again at dinner and there is no booking and no menu to read. It stops short of must-visit only because no critic we can reach has ever reviewed the cooking.