La Cabra Bakery ★ 4.7
The cafe counter and bakery operation of La Cabra in the Latin Quarter. Open mon-fri 07:30-17:00, sat-sun 08:00-15:00. Reservations advised.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
A bakery is the most ingredient-honest room in any food culture. Flour, water, salt, yeast or sourdough culture, butter, sugar, eggs, milk: the inputs are narrow and the difference between great and ordinary is almost entirely about time, technique, and the oven. A serious bakery cold-ferments its dough for 24 to 72 hours, mills or sources high-extraction flour, runs a deck or wood-fired oven for bread, and a separate convection or steam oven for viennoiserie and pastry. The best are open before sunrise and sell out by early afternoon.
The defining bakery traditions are easy to enumerate. The French boulangerie does baguette, sourdough country loaves (pain de campagne), and viennoiserie (croissant, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins). The patisserie, technically distinct, does the fine-pastry program: eclairs, mille-feuille, tarts, Paris-Brest, Saint-Honore, Opera, modern entremet by Pierre Herme and the post-Herme generation. The Italian forno does pane, focaccia, ciabatta, and the regional bread (pane casereccio, pane pugliese, pane di Altamura). The Viennese tradition gave the world the viennoiserie family and Sachertorte. The Northern European tradition (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany) does serious rye bread, kanelbullar and kardemummabullar (cinnamon and cardamom buns), and the smorrebrod open sandwich. The Japanese bakery (panya) does the milk-bread (shokupan), melon pan, anpan (sweet bean), and katsu sando. The Latin American panaderia does conchas, bolillos, pan dulce, alfajores, and the Brazilian pao de queijo.
The global natural-leaven bread movement, traceable to Lionel Poilane in Paris (1970s) and then Chad Robertson at Tartine in San Francisco (2000s onwards), made long-fermented sourdough the modern benchmark. A serious 2020s bakery now almost always has a wild-yeast bread program at its center, even when the room sells primarily pastries. Bakery-cafe hybrids (Tartine, Du Pain et des Idees, Lune, Cedric Grolet) are the dominant growth model: the bread program anchors the morning, the pastry program runs throughout the day, the espresso bar holds the room.
Regional variations
French (boulangerie + patisserie)
Baguette (the daily-bread regulator of France since the 1920s), pain de campagne, croissant, pain au chocolat, eclair, mille-feuille, tarte au citron, Paris-Brest, Saint-Honore. The patisserie is the upper tier, codified by Pierre Herme, Cedric Grolet, and Cyril Lignac.
Italian (forno + pasticceria)
Bread (pane, ciabatta, focaccia, pane di Altamura) and pastry (cannoli, sfogliatelle, cornetti, the Sicilian and Neapolitan cassata tradition). The Italian bar's morning cornetto-and-cappuccino is a forno purchase.
Viennese / Austrian-German
Strudel (apple, cheese, cherry), Sachertorte, Linzer torte, Mohnkuchen, brezel (pretzel), the viennoiserie tradition (kipferl, the croissant ancestor). Vienna is the historic source of the laminated-pastry family.
Nordic
Rye breads (the Danish rugbrod, German Vollkornbrot), kanelbullar and kardemummabullar (Swedish cinnamon and cardamom buns), Danish pastries (wienerbrod, paradoxically called 'Vienna bread'), the cardamom-and-spice flavor palette.
Japanese (panya)
Shokupan (milk bread), melon pan, anpan (red bean), curry pan, the katsu sando (the panko-pork-cutlet sandwich exported globally). The world's most-precise white-bread tradition.
Latin American (panaderia)
Mexican concha, bolillo, pan dulce (the catalog of sweet rolls); Brazilian pao de queijo (tapioca-and-cheese bread); Argentine medialunas (the local croissant); Cuban cubano roll.
Defining bakery dishes
- Baguette
- The 250-gram, foot-and-a-half-long French daily bread, with a crisp crust and an open crumb. Baguette de tradition (made only with flour, water, salt, and yeast, baked on-site) is the upper standard since 1993 French law.
- Croissant
- Laminated viennoiserie of butter folded into yeasted dough through multiple turns, baked until shatteringly crisp. The defining French breakfast pastry; the modern benchmark is set by Du Pain et des Idees, Cedric Grolet, and Lune in Melbourne.
- Sourdough country loaf
- Naturally-leavened bread (no commercial yeast), usually 1-to-2-kg, with an open crumb and a dark crust. The Tartine country bread (Chad Robertson, San Francisco, 2008-onward) is the global modern benchmark.
- Pain au chocolat
- Croissant dough wrapped around two batons of dark chocolate. Called chocolatine in southwest France. The second-most-eaten French breakfast pastry.
- Cannoli
- Crisp fried pastry tube filled with sweetened ricotta, often dusted with pistachio or candied citrus. Sicilian specialty; filled to order at serious bakeries (shells go soft if filled in advance).
- Focaccia
- Italian flat oven-baked bread with olive oil, often topped with sea salt, rosemary, tomato, or onion. Ligurian focaccia (Genoa, Recco) is the deepest regional tradition.
- Kanelbulle / cardamom bun
- The Swedish coiled sweet bun, made with cardamom-spiced dough, brown sugar, and butter, topped with pearl sugar. Fika ritual at 3pm. Cardamom bun is the modern darling.
- Sachertorte
- Viennese chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam under a dark chocolate glaze. Invented at Hotel Sacher in 1832; the original version still sold there by mail order.
- Pao de queijo
- Brazilian small, chewy cheese bread of tapioca starch and queijo Minas. Eaten warm, often for breakfast. The Brazilian counter offer to the French croissant.
- Bagel
- The boiled-then-baked Polish-Jewish ring bread, perfected in New York City and Montreal. The two regional styles (NY: bigger, denser, malt-sweet; Montreal: smaller, sweeter, wood-fired) are both authentic.
- Mille-feuille / Napoleon
- Layers of puff pastry alternated with vanilla creme patissiere or cream, topped with marbled icing. The French patisserie classic.
- Shokupan
- Japanese milk bread, dense and slightly sweet, often used for the katsu sando. The most-precise white bread tradition in the world; mainstream Japanese supermarket shokupan outperforms many Western artisanal whites.
How to order
Arrive early. The best bakeries have a morning rush (7-10am for French boulangeries, 6-9am for Italian fornos) and sell out by midday. At a French boulangerie, ask for 'une baguette de tradition' rather than just 'une baguette' (the ordinary baguette is mass-produced; the tradition is the hand-shaped, naturally-fermented standard). At a patisserie, ask which item was finished most recently; mille-feuille, eclairs, and laminated pastries are at their best within a few hours of finishing. At a Japanese panya, melon pan and curry pan are usually pulled fresh on a schedule; ask the time.
For sourdough or country loaves at a serious bakery, ask the staff which loaf is freshest and which was baked the night before; both are valid choices, with different characters. A 2-kg country loaf will keep 4-5 days if stored cut-face down on a wooden board. The mistake at a bakery is buying bread late in the day and expecting it to be the same as the morning's product; nothing about a sourdough loaf, a croissant, or a baguette holds for 12 hours.
What to drink with it
Coffee is the primary pair across most traditions. French boulangerie bread with a cafe au lait or espresso; Italian forno cornetto with a cappuccino; Nordic bun with filter coffee. Tea in Asia. Hot chocolate in Paris (Angelina's, Cedric Grolet's, the Salon de The tradition). For dinner-bread pairings, sourdough country loaves work with cheese, charcuterie, wine; baguette is the lunch sandwich bread (jambon-beurre, the Parisian classic). A patisserie's fine pastries pair with champagne or sparkling wine for celebrations; with coffee or tea for a daily snack.
Where to eat it
Paris is the global capital of viennoiserie and patisserie: Du Pain et des Idees, Poilane, Cedric Grolet, Pierre Herme, Cyril Lignac's Gourmand, Tout Autour du Pain. San Francisco for the natural-leaven movement: Tartine. New York for bagels (Russ and Daughters, Sadelle's, H&H) and modern bakeries (She Wolf, Bien Cuit). Tokyo for the Japanese panya tradition and Western-trained bakeries (Maison Kayser, Du Magasin, Tsugu Coffee and Bakery). Melbourne for Lune Croissanterie, the global benchmark croissant since 2012. Stockholm and Copenhagen for the Nordic bun tradition (Lille Bakery, Hart Bageri). Florence, Bologna, and Palermo for Italian forno bread.
A short history
The modern bakery descends from medieval European guild bakeries, with the French boulangerie codifying through the 17th to 19th centuries and the baguette regulated by 20th-century French labor and price laws (the 1920 ban on overnight bakery labor effectively forced the long, thin baguette shape). Lionel Poilane (Paris, 1932-2002) revived the long-fermented country loaf in the 1970s. Chad Robertson at Tartine (San Francisco, opened 2002) globalized the naturally-leavened bread movement in the 2000s and 2010s. The 2010s also saw the Japanese-influenced laminated-pastry boom (Lune, Du Pain et des Idees, Cedric Grolet) define the modern bakery.
Frequently asked
What makes a great croissant?
Real butter (not margarine), proper lamination (32 to 81 layers depending on technique), cold-fermented dough (overnight or longer), high oven heat for the initial bake to make the layers puff, and baking until truly golden, not pale. Eaten within four hours of baking. Lune Croissanterie (Melbourne), Du Pain et des Idees (Paris), and Cedric Grolet (Paris) set the modern benchmark.
What's the difference between a boulangerie and a patisserie?
A boulangerie's primary product is bread; viennoiserie (croissants, pain au chocolat) is a side category. A patisserie's primary product is fine pastry: eclairs, mille-feuille, tarts, entremets, macarons. Larger French bakeries (Du Pain et des Idees, Poilane) do both; specialist patisseries (Pierre Herme, Cedric Grolet) often do not sell bread.
Is supermarket bread really worse than artisan bread?
Yes, almost always. Mass-produced supermarket bread uses fast yeast (1-to-3-hour fermentation versus the artisan's 24-to-72-hour), low-extraction flour, and chemical conditioners. The difference in flavor, digestibility, and shelf life is dramatic. Long fermentation breaks down gluten and develops flavor in ways short fermentation cannot.
Bakery by city
Bakery in Aarhus
Schweizerbageriet ★ 4.6
Aarhus's oldest bakery, founded in 1898, still hand-rolling its wienerbrød on the original wooden benches. Open mon-fri 06:30-17:30, sat 07:00-14:00.
Worth the queue: Kanelsnurre and dark rye loaf
Jumbo Bakery ★ 4.6
A small harbour bakery near Dokk1 that has become the croissant benchmark in Aarhus. Open mon-fri 07:00-17:00, sat-sun 08:00-16:00. At Mindet 4D.
Worth the queue: Butter croissant and sesame bun
Bakery in Albuquerque
Bosque Baking Company ★ 4.8
Bosque Baking Company on Coal Avenue in Albuquerque's Barelas is the artisan bakery since 2011, with sourdough loaves
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and cookies
Golden Crown Panaderia ★ 4.8
Golden Crown Panaderia on Mountain Road in Albuquerque is the heritage panaderia since 1972, baking green chile bread and biscochitos in a wood fired oven.
Why locals love it: Mountain Road heritage panaderia bakes biscochitos and green chile bread in a wood fired oven, with a back patio few find.
Tip: Buy a green chile bread loaf to go, then take the biscochitos to the back garden patio for coffee under the cottonwoods.
Golden Crown Panaderia ★ 4.7
Golden Crown Panaderia on Mountain Road in Albuquerque is the heritage panaderia since 1972, baking green chile bread
Worth the queue: Green chile bread and biscochitos
Bakery in Amsterdam
Bakhuys Amsterdam ★ 4.6
Bakhuys on Sarphatistraat in Oost has baked Amsterdam bread in a wood-fired stone oven since 1926, the same family business across five generations.
Worth the queue: Stone-oven sourdough
Patisserie Holtkamp ★ 4.6
Patisserie Holtkamp on Vijzelgracht has run since 1886, the Amsterdam patisserie behind the Amsterdamse School storefront, its veal kroketten kept.
Worth the queue: Holtkamp kalfsvlees kroket
Vlaamsch Broodhuys ★ 4.5
Vlaamsch Broodhuys on Haarlemmerstraat is the Amsterdam flagship of the Dutch sourdough chain, baking the city's reference country loaf since 2001.
Worth the queue: Sourdough country loaf
Bakery in Anchorage
Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop ★ 4.7
Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop opened in 2009 and is a 2026 James Beard Award finalist. Crusty breads, croissants, scones and daily Anchorage sandwiches.
Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop ★ 4.7
Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop opened in 2009 in South Addition and is a 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Bakery, with crusty breads and scones.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and laminated croissants
Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop Airport Heights ★ 4.6
Fire Island's Airport Heights location opened fall 2015 with the Little Sister Espresso and Market on site, running the same organic flour breads as the K.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat
Bakery in Antwerp
DelRey ★ 4.6
DelRey in Antwerp on Appelmansstraat is a family-owned chocolatier and patisserie since before World War II. The case runs across handmade pralines.
Tip: The chocolate-shell Antwerpse handjes box is the canonical Antwerp souvenir.
Worth the queue: Antwerpse handjes in chocolate
Bakkerij Goossens ★ 4.6
Bakkerij Goossens in Antwerp has worked the same Renaissance house with stepped gable since 1884. The roggeverdommeke rye-raisin loaf is the canonical bake.
Tip: Lines start before 09:00 on Saturday. Arrive early for first pick of the brioches.
Worth the queue: Roggeverdommeke rye-raisin bread
Philip's Biscuits ★ 4.5
Philip's Biscuits in Antwerp bakes the city's official biscuit on Korte Gasthuisstraat. The recipe traces to Jos Hakker's 1934 tribute to the Brabo legend.
Tip: The chocolate-coated version is the better gift for travel; the plain butter cookies are best eaten the day of purchase.
Worth the queue: Antwerpse handjes with sliced almonds
Bakery in Asheville
OWL Bakery ★ 4.8
OWL Bakery (Old World Levain) on Haywood Road in West Asheville is the city's flagship sourdough and laminated pastry bakery.
Tip: Pastries land first, breads come out by 11:00. The Charlotte Street second location handles cake orders Thu-Sun.
Worth the queue: Old World sourdough loaf
Mother ★ 4.7
Heidi Bass's Mother on Short Coxe earned a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand, one of the few US bakeries to receive the distinction in the inaugural Michelin guide.
Tip: Sourdough loaves sell out by lunch on weekends; arrive at opening. Wine bar opens Wed-Sat evenings.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Mother ★ 4.6
Heidi Bass's Mother on Short Coxe Avenue in Asheville earned a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Signature: Sourdough sandwiches, Country loaf, Seasonal salads
Order: Whatever sandwich is on rotation, plus a take-home loaf of country sourdough.
Tip: Sourdough loaves sell out by lunch on weekends; arrive at opening for bread. Wine bar opens later.
Bakery in Athens
Pnyka Pangrati ★ 4.6
Pnyka in Pangrati Athens has baked since 1981 from a wood-burning oven, sourdough only with the stone mill in-house, with the Kotsaris family running.
Tip: The Pangrati branch holds the stone mill; the carob loaf is the long-keeper to take home.
Worth the queue: Stone-mill wholemeal sourdough
The Black Salami Microbakery ★ 4.6
The Black Salami in Exarchia Athens is the microbakery of Antonis Kazakos and Bruno Pezzia, three daily sourdoughs, focaccia and Roman flatbreads with flour.
Tip: The open kitchen at the back is the show; pastrami sandwich on the day's focaccia is the lunch order.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaf with Bongiovanni Italian flour
Pnyka Pangrati ★ 4.6
Pnyka on Pratinou in Pangrati is the sourdough-only bakery with a stone mill in-house, baked in a wood-burning oven for a weekly local-habit crowd.
Why locals love it: Sourdough-only bakery with a stone mill in-house, baked in a wood-burning oven on Pratinou, the kind of bakery Athens locals build a weekly habit around.
Tip: The Pangrati branch holds the stone mill; the carob loaf is the long-keeper to take home.
Bakery in Atlanta
Holeman and Finch Bread ★ 4.8
Linton Hopkins' Holeman and Finch Bread bakery in Buckhead, Atlanta runs naturally leavened sourdough, viennoiserie and a pastry programme attached.
Tip: Wholesale-leaning; the public retail counter runs Wed to Sat. Phone ahead for whole loaves on Friday and Saturday morning.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Little Tart Bakeshop ★ 4.7
Sarah Dodge's Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta opened 2010 and runs a French-leaning pastry programme with bostocks, kouign-amann and naturally leavened bread.
Tip: Krog Street Market and Decatur sister stalls run the same morning bake. The bostock with bitter orange marmalade is the move.
Worth the queue: Bostock
The General Muir ★ 4.6
The General Muir at Emory Point in Atlanta opened 2013 with hand-rolled, kettle-boiled New York bagels and a full Jewish deli menu under chef Todd Ginsberg.
Tip: Bagels often sell out by 13:00. Reuben and pastrami sandwiches anchor the lunch counter. Buckhead sister location runs same hours.
Worth the queue: Everything bagel with lox
Bakery in Auckland
Amano Bakery ★ 4.7
Amano Bakery is the all-day pastry sibling of the Amano restaurant on Tyler Street in Britomart, Auckland. Cardamom buns, sourdough, Allpress espresso.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Daily Bread Ponsonby ★ 4.6
Daily Bread Ponsonby runs sourdough and pastries from 108 Ponsonby Road, Auckland. Coffee Supreme drinks, deli sandwiches, long-fermentation loaves.
Signature drink: Coffee Supreme flat white with kouign amann
Daily Bread Ponsonby ★ 4.6
Daily Bread Ponsonby at 108 Ponsonby Road runs long-fermentation sourdough, viennoiserie and deli sandwiches. Coffee Supreme drinks; the founder branch.
Worth the queue: Kouign amann
Bakery in Austin
Round Rock Donuts ★ 4.5
Round Rock Donuts in Round Rock is the Lone Star doughnut counter since 1926, a 4:30am opening Liberty Avenue shop famous for its egg-yolk-yellow yeast.
Tip: The original yellow doughnut beats the colossal Texas-size one; arrive by 8am for the morning batch.
Worth the queue: Yellow doughnut and the giant Texas-size doughnut
OMG Squee ★ 4.4
OMG Squee in Austin is Cynthia Wong's east-side bakery on Bolm Road, a fully gluten-free counter for Asian American mochi donuts, taiyaki sundaes.
Tip: The flavor rotation changes weekly; the cereal-milk taiyaki and the ube doughnut are the room's regular signatures.
Worth the queue: Cereal-milk taiyaki sundae with custard fill
Tzintzuntzan ★ 4.4
Tzintzuntzan is the daytime panaderia and bruncheria from the Fonda San Miguel team, opened next door on North Loop with Mexican baked goods.
Tip: Order at the to-go window from 8am for the morning pan dulce; the sit-down room opens at 9 and books on Resy.
Worth the queue: Conchas and Mexican baked goods from the in-house panaderia
Bakery in Baltimore
Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop ★ 4.8
Vaccaro's has filled cannoli to order in Little Italy since 1956, a sit-down dessert counter for gelato, espresso, tiramisu and trays of Italian cookies.
Tip: The cannoli is filled to order so the shell stays crisp; the lines run late after dinner.
Worth the queue: Cannoli filled to order
Patisserie Poupon ★ 4.7
Patisserie Poupon near the Shot Tower is Joseph Poupon's French bakery, turning out laminated croissants, macarons and glossy fruit tarts since the 1980s.
Tip: It is a true French patisserie near the Shot Tower; the fruit tarts and eclairs sell out by midday.
Worth the queue: Croissants and fruit tarts
Atwater's ★ 4.6
Atwater's bakes naturally-leavened breads at its Belvedere Square stall, a local bakery known for crusty sourdough, scratch soups and seasonal galettes.
Tip: The Belvedere Square stall pairs the bread with a soup-and-half-sandwich lunch.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and seasonal soup
Bakery in Bangkok
Landhaus Bakery ★ 4.6
Landhaus Bakery in Bangkok's Yan Nawa is the German bakery from Suhring brothers, German breads, pretzels and laminated croissants in the villa garden.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Same villa courtyard as Suhring restaurant; pretzel and rye loaves are the queue-builders by 09:00.
Worth the queue: Pretzel and roggenbrot rye loaf
Sarnies Bangkok ★ 4.5
Sarnies Bangkok on Charoen Krung 44 is the Singapore-founded Australian cafe-bakery in a heritage shophouse, with sourdough, viennoiserie and all-day brunch.
Tip: The morning bakery counter sells sourdough loaves until they run out (around 12:00). Weekend brunch needs reservations.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaves and pastries
Maison Jean Philippe ★ 4.5
Maison Jean Philippe in Bangkok's Thonglor 17 at The Commons is the French boulangerie-patisserie counter from Jean Philippe with butter-laminated.
Tip: Croissants and kouign-amann sell out by 11:00; arrive opening or pre-order on Line.
Worth the queue: Croissants and pain au chocolat
Bakery in Barcelona
Pastisseria Hofmann ★ 4.8
Pastisseria Hofmann in Barcelona's Born is Mey Hofmann's bake counter: the mascarpone-filled croissant is the signature, sold by the dozen on weekend.
Tip: Closed Sunday. The mascarpone-filled croissant sells out by 11:30 on weekends; the apple-vanilla works any time.
Worth the queue: Mascarpone-filled croissant
Oriol Balaguer Pastisseria ★ 4.7
Oriol Balaguer in Barcelona's Sant Gervasi is the uphill pastry showroom of the four-time World Pastry Champion: the cruffin and his signature panettone.
Tip: Closed Monday. The panettone needs to be pre-ordered three days ahead in November-December.
Worth the queue: Cruffin
La Pastisseria Barcelona ★ 4.7
La Pastisseria Barcelona in Barcelona's Eixample is Josep Maria Rodriguez's modernist pastry counter: laminated croissants, Saint Honoré. Booking recommended.
Tip: Closed Sunday. The Saint Honoré holds best at room temperature; eat within four hours of pickup.
Worth the queue: Saint Honore
Bakery in Belgrade
Pekara Trpkovic Slavija ★ 4.7
Pekara Trpkovic has baked Belgrade burek for over a century. The Slavija counter on Nemanjina draws queues into the rain, ranked top burek in city.
Worth the queue: Burek sa sirom
Pekara Trpkovic Slavija ★ 4.7
Pekara Trpkovic on Nemanjina in Vracar runs Belgrade's most-queued burek counter under 300 dinars a slice. Century-old recipes, no additives ever.
Try: Burek sa sirom
Pekara Trpkovic Dusanovac ★ 4.5
Pekara Trpkovic Dusanovac is the southern Belgrade sister to the Slavija flagship. Same family recipes for burek, kifle and Serbian pastry items.
Worth the queue: Burek sa mesom
Bakery in Berlin
Sironi ★ 4.8
Alfredo Sironi's bakery counter inside Berlin's Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg bakes Italian sourdough breads; the pane casareccio and focaccia run.
Tip: Closed Sunday with the market. Friday and Saturday from 09:00 are the busy windows; loaves sell out by 14:00.
Worth the queue: Pane casareccio
Le Bon ★ 4.7
Le Bon on Berlin's Boppstrasse in Kreuzberg bakes French-style viennoiserie at the level of any Paris boulangerie; the croissant aux amandes and the pain au.
Tip: Closed Monday. The Saturday morning queue runs 20 minutes deep from 09:00; arrive before 09:00 for the full case.
Worth the queue: Croissant aux amandes
Zeit fuer Brot ★ 4.6
Zeit fuer Brot on Berlin's Alte Schoenhauser Strasse has baked organic sourdough loaves and the city's most cited Zimtschnecke since 2009; the queue runs.
Tip: Saturday queue is 30 minutes deep from 09:00; weekday mornings have walk-up service from 07:00.
Worth the queue: Zimtschnecke (cinnamon roll)
Bakery in Bilbao
Martina de Zuricalday ★ 4.8
Martina de Zuricalday in Bilbao since 1830 is Euskadi's oldest artisanal patisserie, with the bollo suizo the signature bake on Calle Ercilla.
Worth the queue: Bollo suizo (Swiss roll)
Pasteleria Arrese ★ 4.6
Pasteleria Arrese on Gran Via in Bilbao since 1852 is a heritage confectionary, with handmade chocolate palmiers, truffles and classics. At Gran Via 24.
Worth the queue: Bilbao chocolate palmiers, truffles
Pasteleria Suiza ★ 4.4
Pasteleria Suiza in Bilbao's Abando runs a long-standing pastry counter on Marques del Puerto, with the bollo de mantequilla, suizos and croissants.
Worth the queue: Bollo de mantequilla
Bakery in Birmingham
Continental Bakery ★ 4.6
Continental Bakery in English Village Mountain Brook is Carole Griffin's 1984 European bakery, with sourdough loaves, croissants and the Chez Lulu sibling.
Worth the queue: Continental sourdough loaf
Bandit Patisserie ★ 4.6
Bandit Patisserie on 1st Avenue North downtown Birmingham is the 2013 French pastry counter in the Wooster Lofts with viennoiserie, choux buns and a coffee.
Worth the queue: Croissants and seasonal laminated pastries
Hero Doughnuts and Buns ★ 4.5
Hero Doughnuts and Buns on Central Avenue in Homewood Birmingham serves brioche doughnuts and burgers, with a Birmingham branch on 28th Avenue South.
Worth the queue: Brioche cheeseburger
Bakery in Bologna
Atti ★ 4.7
Atti in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1880-founded salumeria-and-pasticceria with two adjoining shops on Via Caprarie, slicing mortadella to order and baking.
Tip: The bakery counter runs from 07:30; mortadella slicing takes 5 minutes per order and the queue thins after 11:00. Cash and card both fine.
Worth the queue: Mortadella di Bologna IGP
Paolo Atti & Figli ★ 4.7
Paolo Atti & Figli in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the 1880-founded sfoglina-and-pasticceria with hand-rolled tortellini sold by weight, plus the certosino di.
Tip: The pasta counter runs from 07:00; tortellini sell out by 12:30 on Saturdays. The Christmas certosino orders open in November.
Worth the queue: Tortellini and tagliatelle
Forno Brisa ★ 4.5
Forno Brisa in Bologna's Centro Storico is the 2015-founded modern sourdough bakery from Pasquale Polito, with five shops across the city and the daily-baked.
Tip: Five shops citywide; the Galliera flagship has the widest carte and the Mazzini branch the longest hours. The sourdough loaves sell out by 14:00.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaf, cornetto integrale
Bakery in Bordeaux
Pierre Mathieu Patissier Bordelais ★ 4.8
Pierre Mathieu Patissier Bordelais on Place Pey Berland is the namesake chef's modern patisserie, opened March 2018 after his five-year run as executive.
Tip: Show up before 11:00 for the Saint-Honore; the Pave Pey-Berland (almond cream, sweet-wine fruit, rum.
Worth the queue: Pave Pey-Berland
Baillardran ★ 4.7
Baillardran in Bordeaux's Golden Triangle is the canele specialist on Cours de l'Intendance since 1988, with the city's most-quoted version.
Tip: Buy two sizes, the small and the regular; eat the regular the day of purchase and freeze the small for later.
Worth the queue: Cannele de Bordeaux
Boulangerie Louis Lamour ★ 4.6
Boulangerie Louis Lamour on Rue Ravez is the artisan bakery from Louis Vaughan, an Eric Kayser and Grande Epicerie alumnus who reconverted to bread.
Tip: Bread fills the shelves at 08:00; the pain de campagne goes by 13:00 most days and there is no afternoon bake. A second boutique sits at 22 Place Gavinies.
Worth the queue: Pain de campagne au levain
Bakery in Boston
Modern Pastry ★ 4.6
Modern Pastry on Hanover Street has filled cannoli to order in Boston's North End since 1930. Chocolate-dipped shells, lighter ricotta cream.
Tip: Locals line up at Modern; tourists at Mike's. The chocolate-dipped shell is the headline item; Italian rum cake is the under-ordered cake.
Worth the queue: Chocolate-dipped cannoli with sweet cream
Flour Bakery ★ 4.6
Joanne Chang opened Flour on Washington Street in Boston's South End in 2000; the city's pastry empire grew to 10 locations across Boston and Cambridge.
Tip: Sticky buns sell out by 14:00 weekends. Order ahead online; the South End original is the calmest of the 10 locations on weekdays.
Worth the queue: Sticky bun with pecans and caramel
Sofra Bakery & Cafe ★ 4.6
Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick's Sofra on Belmont Street in Huron Village Cambridge has run an Eastern Mediterranean bakery and cafe in Boston since 2008.
Tip: Park on a side street; the bakery's car park fills by 09:00. Ginger morning bun and za'atar manaeesh are the two breakfast orders.
Worth the queue: Ginger morning bun and Turkish coffee
Bakery in Braga
Frigideiras do Cantinho ★ 4.8
The most historically important food address in Braga, trading continuously since 1796. The specialty is the frigideira: a fried pastry pocket of custard egg.
Tip: Try all three house classics in one visit: frigideira, tíbia and sameirinho.
Docaria São Vicente ★ 4.6
Founded in 1829, Doçaria São Vicente is one of the oldest surviving pastry establishments in Portugal's north, perpetuating recipes with roots in the convent.
Tip: Ask for a tasting selection of the oldest recipes: fidalguinhos and massapães are the most historically significant.
Tibias de Braga ★ 4.5
Next to the Arco da Porta Nova gateway into the historic centre, Tíbias de Braga is the specialist shop for the city's most signature conventual sweet.
Tip: Buy a mixed box of six to compare the original vanilla recipe against the newer flavours. The classic egg-yolk filling is still the benchmark.
Bakery in Bratislava
Kruh Vajnorska ★ 4.8
Kruh on Vajnorska 21 in Nove Mesto is the city's reference sourdough bakery, with stone-oven loaves, buttery croissants and Roman-style pizza weekends.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday; the Vajnorska shop is the largest with the broadest pastry case.
Worth the queue: Slovak sourdough loaf
Fach Bakery ★ 4.6
Fach Bakery on Venturska 10 ground floor of the Mozart house bakes sourdough loaves and the cardamom buns that have become the Old Town's morning fix.
Tip: The cardamom buns sell out by midday; sourdough loaves are best ordered by Instagram message a day ahead of pickup.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Kruh Florianska ★ 4.5
The Florianska 16 branch of Kruh in the Old Town carries the same stone-oven sourdough as the Vajnorska flagship in a smaller corner shop near the market.
Tip: The morning queue forms before 08:00 on Saturday; arrive early or come Tuesday for the calmest service.
Worth the queue: Spelt sourdough loaf
Bakery in Brisbane
Flour & Chocolate Patisserie ★ 4.7
Flour & Chocolate on Wynnum Road in Morningside is the cult Brisbane pastry destination. Queues form early and twice-baked almond croissants sell out fast.
Worth the queue: Twice-baked almond croissant
Banneton Bakery ★ 4.5
Banneton Bakery now in South Brisbane (after Woolloongabba) is a Brisbane French baking benchmark. Country sourdough, baguettes, kouign-amann and croissants.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Little Mis.spelt ★ 4.4
French-style bakery on Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, Brisbane. Croissants, pain au chocolat and almond viennoiserie; sister bakery to New Farm's Chouquette.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Bruges
The Chocolate Line ★ 4.7
The Chocolate Line on Simon Stevinplein in Bruges is Dominique Persoone's lab, where pralines run from caramelised shrimp-head to tree-to-bar Criollo cacao.
Tip: Watch the workshop through the back glass. Gault&Millau voted it Belgium's best chocolaterie in 2023.
Worth the queue: Tree-to-bar Criollo chocolate and unusual pralines
Dumon Chocolatier ★ 4.5
Dumon on the Eiermarkt in Bruges is a family chocolatier making fresh pralines daily from old family recipes. Small shop, short queues, serious chocolate.
Tip: Buy a small box fresh rather than a sealed tin; the pralines are best within days. Several Dumon shops exist; this is the flagship.
Worth the queue: Daily fresh pralines from old family recipes
Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc ★ 4.4
Sukerbuyc on Katelijnestraat in Bruges makes its chocolates in the workshop behind the shop, so you watch the pralines finished, with a tearoom alongside.
Tip: The attached tearoom serves a proper hot chocolate. The workshop is visible from the counter.
Worth the queue: Pralines from the workshop behind the shop
Bakery in Brussels
Boulengier ★ 4.8
Boulengier in Brussels: Saint-Gilles sourdough bakery that ferments breads for 24 hours, a habit most Brussels bakeries skip for faster turnover.
Why locals love it: Saint-Gilles sourdough bakery that ferments breads for 24 hours, a habit most Brussels bakeries skip for faster turnover.
Tip: Closed Monday. The pain de campagne sells out by 13:00 most days; arrive before noon.
Maison Dandoy ★ 4.6
Maison Dandoy in Brussels has been baking speculoos since Jean-Baptiste Dandoy opened in 1829. Open daily 09:30-22:00. At Rue Charles Buls 14.
Worth the queue: Gaufre de Bruxelles with whipped cream
Maison Dandoy Rue au Beurre ★ 4.5
Maison Dandoy on Rue au Beurre in Brussels is the family's 1858 flagship beside the Grand Place. Philippe Dandoy moved the bakery here from Marche aux Herbes.
Worth the queue: Original speculoos biscuit
Bakery in Bucharest
Boutique du Pain ★ 4.5
Boutique du Pain on Academiei is the long-running French bakery and bistro near Bucharest University, with daily baguettes and viennoiserie.
Tip: Croissants out at 08:00; check the back counter for the day's tartine.
Worth the queue: Croissant aux amandes
A R C Bakery ★ 4.4
A R C Bakery on Bulevardul Mărăști is run by a 30-year French-trained chef, with imported French flour and bio butter for breads and pastries.
Tip: Set inside the Romanian Olympic Committee building; the bistro lunch runs 12:00-15:00.
Worth the queue: Pain au raisin
French Bakery Bucharest ★ 4.4
French Bakery on Avionului is the Aviatorilor neighborhood bakery doing levain breads and a pain aux raisins regulars rate as one of the best in the city.
Tip: Phone-order whole loaves for collection; the croissant supply runs out by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Pain aux raisins
Bakery in Budapest
Daubner Cukrászda ★ 4.6
Daubner on Szepvolgyi ut in Buda's Rozsadomb hills runs a hundred-year cake counter where locals queue for birthday and name-day pastries in Budapest.
Order: The original Dobos torta with the caramel disc crackled on top.
Tip: Closed Mon and Tue; queues run 30 minutes deep on weekend mornings.
Worth the queue: Dobos torta
Auguszt Cukrászda Belváros ★ 4.5
Auguszt on Kossuth Lajos has run as a family confectionery since 1870, with a Belle Epoque counter and a hidden Paloma Garden terrace in downtown Budapest.
Order: The Hantas Flora pastry and a small black coffee at the counter.
Tip: Closed Sun and Mon; the Paloma Garden terrace opens from May onwards.
Worth the queue: Hantas Flora pastry
Artizán Bakery ★ 4.4
Artizan near the Hold utca market in the 5th district is the downtown sourdough bakery favoured by Budapest cafes, with long-ferment loaves and laminated.
Order: The sourdough boule with a slab of butter and a flat white.
Tip: Mon to Sat 08:00-19:00, Sun 09:00-15:00; sells out by 14:00 most days.
Worth the queue: Sourdough boule
Bakery in Buenos Aires
Atelier Fuerza ★ 4.7
Palermo flagship of Buenos Aires' sourdough revolution, with branches in Recoleta, Almagro, Nunez and beyond. Slogan: fewer croissants, more medialunas.
Worth the queue: Medialunas (Argentine-style)
Salvaje Bakery ★ 4.6
German Torres's Palermo-Colegiales border bakery, standard-bearer for Argentine sourdough since 2016. Alternative flours, integral pastries, his book Pan.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaf with whole grain and rye
Cocu Boulangerie ★ 4.5
Three French entrepreneurs' Palermo Soho boulangerie, widely cited as the city's best croissant. Baguette, pain au levain, pastries; small cafe corner.
Worth the queue: Butter croissant
Bakery in Buffalo
Five Points Bakery and Toast Cafe ★ 4.8
Five Points Bakery on Brayton Street mills its own wheat from Western New York farms and bakes whole-grain sourdoughs at a West Side toast-cafe counter.
Worth the queue: Whole-grain sourdough
Butter Block ★ 4.7
Butter Block on Rhode Island Street in the Five Points neighborhood moved from market pop-up to brick-and-mortar in 2019, with French laminated pastries.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
BreadHive Bakery and Cafe ★ 4.6
BreadHive on Connecticut Street is Buffalo's worker-owned cooperative bakery, with sourdough breads, hand-rolled bagels and a counter cafe in the West Side.
Worth the queue: Sourdough bagel
Bakery in Burlington
August First Bakery ★ 4.6
Phil Merrick and Jodi Whalen's downtown bakery in a renovated garage on South Champlain. Maple biscuits have taken home Best of Vermont multiple years;
Worth the queue: Maple biscuit and the Vermonter sandwich
Mirabelles Bakery ★ 4.5
Founded by Alison Lane and Andrew Silva (NECI alumni) in 1990; moved to South Burlington in 2020 and sold to Jake and Alexandria Kent in 2024.
Worth the queue: Croissants and the chocolate cake
Klinger's Bread Company ★ 4.5
The Klingebiel family has run Klinger's since 1993, licensing recipes from Michael and Wendy London; Bosnian head bakers anchor weekly production.
Worth the queue: Sourdough boule
Bakery in Charleston
WildFlour Pastry ★ 4.8
WildFlour Pastry in Charleston bakes pastries, sticky buns and cakes from a Savannah Highway counter since 2008 (after relocating from Cannonborough).
Tip: Walk-in. Sunday sticky-bun morning runs 09:00 to sell-out; arrive at opening or miss them.
Worth the queue: Sticky bun
Babas on Cannon ★ 4.6
Babas on Cannon in Charleston bakes pastries and serves coffee, wine and small plates from a Cannon Street corner since 2019. Located in Upper King.
Tip: Walk-in. The almond croissant sells out by 11:00 on weekends; arrive at opening for the full case.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Callie's Hot Little Biscuit ★ 4.4
Callie's Hot Little Biscuit on King Street in Charleston bakes scratch buttermilk biscuits with country ham, sausage and pimento cheese. At 476 1/2 King St.
Tip: Lines from 08:00; faster after 10:30. Closes at 14:00; arrive early for the cinnamon biscuit.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon biscuit
Bakery in Charlotte
Suarez Bakery and Barra ★ 4.5
Suarez Bakery and Barra at Optimist Hall is Carlos Suarez's Cuban-American bakery, with apple fritters, glazed doughnuts, and the cafe-cubano counter.
Tip: The fritter goes by mid-morning. The lunch sandwich counter opens at 11 with house-made bread.
Worth the queue: Apple fritter
Amelie's French Bakery ★ 4.4
Amelie's French Bakery on East 36th Street is the relocated Charlotte cafe and bakery in NoDa, with a late-night pastry counter that built the brand citywide.
Order: The salted caramel brownie. That single bake is the Charlotte signature.
Tip: Open late most days. The NoDa original has more seats than the later spinoffs.
Worth the queue: Salted caramel brownie
Manolo's Latin Bakery ★ 4.3
Manolo's Latin Bakery on Central Avenue is the east Charlotte Latin-American bakery and counter, with empanadas, Cuban sandwiches and a pastries case in 2026.
Tip: Morning is the freshest. Spanish is the working language; English is fine too.
Worth the queue: Empanada
Bakery in Chicago
Lost Larson ★ 4.7
Lost Larson in Chicago is Bobby Schaffer's Andersonville Scandinavian bakery on Clark, with stone-milled rye and the cardamom bun that pulls the morning.
Tip: Cardamom buns sell out by 11:00 on weekends. Arrive at 08:30 or call ahead to set one aside.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun (kardemummabullar)
Kasama (bakery) ★ 4.7
Kasama in Chicago is Tim Flores and Genie Kwon's Ukrainian Village daytime bakery, with the ube cruffin, longanisa breakfast plate and pan de sal at a small.
Tip: Doors at 07:00 weekends; ube cruffins gone by 10:30. Get there at 07:15 and order three.
Worth the queue: Ube cruffin
Publican Quality Bread ★ 4.5
Publican Quality Bread in Chicago is One Off Hospitality's wholegrain bakery on Grand, supplying The Publican, avec and Big Star with sourdough and laminated.
Tip: Friday is the kouign-amann day; they bake a single batch in the morning and it is the move.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough boule
Bakery in Chișinău
Crème de la Crème Patisserie ★ 4.5
Crème de la Crème Patisserie in Chișinău is the ground-floor Parisian counter under the Provençal café, baking croissants, eclairs and custom cakes daily.
Worth the queue: Vienna-style coffee with French croissant
Dulcinella ★ 4.3
Dulcinella in Chișinău is the multi-branch pastry shop best known for the Ion cake, with custom-order cakes and a separate vegan dessert sub-menu.
Worth the queue: Ion cake with wafers, chocolate ganache and condensed-milk cream
Granier ★ 4.2
Granier in Chișinău is the all-day bakery chain on Ștefan cel Mare and beyond, baking honey cake, plăcinte and almond rings that sell out by closing.
Worth the queue: Plăcintă with cottage cheese and cherries
Bakery in Cincinnati
Allez Bakery ★ 4.7
Allez Bakery on Main Street in OTR is the natural-leavened French bread program from Thomas McKenna, with country loaves and viennoiserie in Cincinnati.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Graeter's Hyde Park ★ 4.7
Graeter's on Erie Avenue in Cincinnati's Hyde Park Square is the Hyde Park scoop counter and bakery since 1870, with French-pot ice cream and sweets.
Worth the queue: Black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream
BonBonerie ★ 4.6
BonBonerie on Madison Road in Cincinnati's O'Bryonville is the long-running French and Italian tea-room bakery with the opera cream torte and tea service.
Worth the queue: Opera cream torte
Bakery in Cleveland
Presti's Bakery ★ 4.7
Presti's Bakery on Mayfield Road in Little Italy since 1903, one of Cleveland's oldest bakeries, anchors the Cleveland-style cassata cake tradition.
Worth the queue: Cassata cake
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery ★ 4.7
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery in Hingetown's Ohio City Firehouse, Jeremy Umansky's koji-and-curing project, a 2025 James Beard Pastry semifinalist.
Worth the queue: Black-and-white cookies
Corbo's Bakery ★ 4.6
Corbo's Bakery on Mayfield Road in Little Italy since 1958, the family-owned bakery known for cassata cake and cannoli, has expanded to a full Italian menu.
Worth the queue: Cassata cake
Bakery in Cologne
Backerei Zimmermann ★ 4.8
Backerei Zimmermann on Ehrenstrasse in Cologne has baked dark rye breads, Brötchen and Mettbrötchen since 1875; one of the oldest family bakeries.
epi Boulangerie Patisserie ★ 4.7
epi Boulangerie Patisserie on Breite Strasse near Cologne's Cathedral bakes Viennoiserie and croissants using French technique, with butter croissants.
Backerei Wiens ★ 4.6
Backerei Wiens on Escher Strasse in Cologne's Nippes bakes traditional German breads and Brötchen from long fermentation doughs; a neighbourhood institution.
Bakery in Columbus
Pistacia Vera ★ 4.7
Pistacia Vera on South Third Street is the Columbus German Village French patisserie since 2004, with macarons, kouign-amann and laminated pastries.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann
Fox in the Snow German Village ★ 4.7
Fox in the Snow on Thurman Avenue in Columbus is the reference bakery cafe for the giant cinnamon roll and the buttermilk biscuit sandwich since 2018.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Fox in the Snow Cinnamon Roll ★ 4.7
Fox in the Snow's signature cinnamon roll plus a drip coffee at the Thurman Avenue counter runs under $11, the Columbus morning cheap classic.
Try: Cinnamon roll with drip coffee
Bakery in Copenhagen
Juno the Bakery ★ 4.9
Juno the Bakery on Århusgade in Østerbro from former noma cook Emil Glaser bakes the cardamom bun that anchors the modern Copenhagen pastry conversation.
Tip: Open Wednesday to Sunday only. Arrive by 09:30 for the cardamom bun or expect the 60-deep weekend queue.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Hart Bageri ★ 4.8
Hart Bageri on Gammel Kongevej in Frederiksberg was opened by former Tartine head baker Richard Hart and now runs ten locations across greater Copenhagen.
Tip: Arrive by 09:00 weekends for the cardamom buns and tebirkes; sourdough loaves restock through the morning.
Worth the queue: Tebirkes (poppyseed danish)
Andersen & Maillard (Nørrebro) ★ 4.7
Andersen & Maillard on Nørrebrogade in Nørrebro is the original bakery-roastery from former noma pastry chef Milton Abel, with viennoiserie laminated daily.
Tip: The cardamom kouign-amann is the bake to cross town for. Arrive before 11:00 for the full pastry case.
Worth the queue: Cardamom kouign-amann
Bakery in Cork
Heaven's Cakes ★ 4.5
Run since 1996 by classically trained pastry chefs Joe and Barbara Hegarty, this English Market stall brings French patisserie technique to Cork daily.
Order: A seasonal mousse cake slice - the Irish-butter pastry base with French-trained layering is unlike anything.
Cocoa by Brendan Cashman ★ 4.4
Boutique chocolate cafe in the Edwardian Winthrop Arcade, with truffles, cakes and macarons handmade by chef Brendan Cashman, formerly of the celebrated.
Order: A flight of macarons with a cup of single-origin hot chocolate.
Bakery in Dallas
Village Baking Co. (Greenville Ave) ★ 4.5
Dallas's best French artisan bakery, founded in 2004, turning out some of the finest almond croissants, pain au chocolat, and sourdough in the state.
Order: Almond croissant; pain au chocolat; jambon et fromage baguette sandwich
Tip: Almond croissants are baked fresh each morning and sell out by 10am on weekends. Arrive at 7:30am to guarantee one.
Oak Cliff Bread ★ 4.5
Family-run cottage bakery in Oak Cliff using slow fermentation and locally sourced grain from Barton Springs Mill. Kitchen leans sourdough and pastry bakery.
Order: Country sourdough loaf; focaccia; croissant (when available)
Tip: Opens at 8am Thursday through Saturday only. Loaves routinely sell out by 10am. Follow their Instagram for weekly menu updates and availability.
Emporium Pies ★ 4.4
Bishop Arts pie institution where all pies are handmade with seasonal ingredients. Known for signature flavors like Drunken Nut Pie and Honey, Honey.
Order: Drunken Nut Pie (bourbon pecan); Honey, Honey (lemon cream); seasonal berry pie slice
Tip: Whole pies sell out by early afternoon on Sundays. The seasonal menu changes monthly; check the board when you arrive.
Bakery in Denver
Rebel Bread ★ 4.7
Rebel Bread in Denver is Zach Martinucci's South Broadway sourdough bakery, milling Colorado wheat and selling at farmers markets across the Front Range.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Moxie Bread Co ★ 4.7
Moxie Bread Co in Louisville is Andy Clark's whole-grain sourdough bakery, the Front Range wheat-mill program that wholesales to Rebel Bread and Reunion.
Worth the queue: Levain country loaf
Trompeau Bakery ★ 4.6
Trompeau Bakery in Denver is Bertrand Faucheux's South Pearl French bakery, a 2018 viennoiserie counter with croissants and tarts in the classical Parisian.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Detroit
Sister Pie ★ 4.8
Sister Pie on Kercheval in West Village bakes seasonal pies and cookies in Detroit since 2015. At 8066 Kercheval St. Cash and card accepted.
Tip: Friday morning storefront is the canonical visit; order catering and whole pies through the website the rest of the week.
Worth the queue: Salted maple pie
New Palace Bakery ★ 4.7
New Palace Bakery on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck has baked Polish paczki and pastries in metro Detroit since 1908. At 9833 Joseph Campau Ave.
Tip: On Paczki Day before Lent the line wraps the block. Open until midnight that Tuesday.
Worth the queue: Paczki on Fat Tuesday
Shatila Bakery ★ 4.6
Shatila Bakery on West Warren Avenue in Dearborn has baked Lebanese baklava and kunafa in metro Detroit since 1979. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Tip: Open through midnight on weekends; pistachio baklava and ice cream are the moves.
Worth the queue: Pistachio baklava
Bakery in Dublin
Bread 41 ★ 4.7
Bread 41 on Pearse Street in Dublin 2, Eoin Cluskey's organic sourdough bakery and cafe since 2018, the city's most polished cardamom bun and laminated.
Order: A cardamom bun and a slice of country sourdough loaf to take home.
Tip: Cardamom buns sell out by 12:00 on Saturdays; arrive 09:00 to be first. The cafe sits twenty in the back room.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Scéal Cafe ★ 4.7
Scéal Cafe on South Circular Road in Dublin 8, Shane Palmer and Charlotte Leonard-Kane's Dublin counter near Leonard's Corner, the bakery's return.
Order: Brown butter kouign-amann and a sourdough loaf to take home.
Tip: Pastries sell out by midday on weekends. Counter sits eighteen plus a small outdoor terrace.
Worth the queue: Brown butter kouign-amann
Una Bakery ★ 4.5
Una on Ranelagh in Dublin 6, John and Sandy Wyer's bakery sister to Forest Avenue with Tom and Finn Gleeson of Bunsen, the southside's polished pastry.
Order: Pain au chocolat warm out of the oven and a country sourdough loaf to take home.
Tip: Pastries sell out before 12:00 weekends.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat
Bakery in Edinburgh
Twelve Triangles ★ 4.8
Rachel Morgan and Emily Cuddeford's Brunswick Street bakery in Edinburgh, opened 2014, the city's reference sourdough kitchen and the most-loved doughnut.
Tip: Doughnuts sell out by 11:00 on Saturdays. Order via Square Online by Friday lunchtime for next-day collection.
Worth the queue: Brown butter and salted caramel doughnut
Lannan Bakery ★ 4.8
Darcie Maher's Lannan Bakery on Hamilton Place in Stockbridge Edinburgh, opened July 2023 and expanded in 2025, a scratch-made viennoiserie counter.
Tip: Queues form from 6am on weekends and the rack often sells out by 11am; the pantry next door stocks loaves and pantry goods past midday.
Worth the queue: Croissant and pain au chocolat
Bostock Bakery ★ 4.7
Bostock Bakery on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge Edinburgh, opened 2020 by Hamish Saxton, a sourdough-and-pastry kitchen with daily-changing croissants.
Tip: Saturday morning queue runs out the door. Order ahead through the Square online shop to skip the wait.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Florence
Forno Pugi ★ 4.8
Forno Pugi in Florence has been the wood-fired neighbourhood forno since 1925, with three shops across the city baking schiacciata, pizza al taglio.
Order: Schiacciata alla fiorentina (chocolate cream during Carnevale), the daily pizza al taglio.
Tip: Counter only; cash and card. The Viale De Amicis original is the largest; smaller shops on Via San Gallo and Piazza San Marco.
Worth the queue: Schiacciata alla fiorentina
Caffe Gilli ★ 4.7
Caffe Gilli in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the city's oldest cafe-pasticceria, opened in 1733, with the original baked-on-site cantucci.
Order: Cantucci con mandorle, panforte di Siena, cioccolato fondente in winter.
Tip: Counter price is half of table service; cantucci ship vacuum-packed.
Worth the queue: Cantucci con mandorle
Rivoire ★ 4.6
Rivoire in Florence's Piazza della Signoria has poured the city's benchmark hot chocolate since 1872, with a chocolate-making lab in the back.
Order: Dense hot chocolate (€7), cioccolato fondente bars, daily pralines.
Tip: Counter pricing is half of table; the piazza terrace fronts the Palazzo Vecchio.
Worth the queue: Cioccolato fondente in tazza
Bakery in Fukuoka
Amam Dacotan Ropponmatsu ★ 4.7
Ryota Hirako opened Amam Dacotan in Ropponmatsu in 2018 and started Japan's maritozzo boom. The Fukuoka flagship runs 140-plus bakes a day in a tiny room.
Tip: Queue from before 09:00. The Dacotan Burger and mentaiko baguette sell out by midday.
Worth the queue: Mentaiko baguette
Kasanoya Dazaifu ★ 4.6
Kasanoya has run umegae mochi on the Dazaifu pilgrimage road since 1922. Grilled-to-order plum-mark rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.
Tip: Five minutes from Dazaifu Station. Open daily; no closing day.
Worth the queue: Freshly grilled umegae mochi
I'm Donut? Fukuoka ★ 4.5
I'm Donut? in Fukuoka is the Hirako lineage's donut shop. Soft, light, chewy nama donuts in classic and seasonal flavours; queues stretch the block.
Tip: Walk-in only, often sold out by 14:00. Closest subway is Tenjin Minami exit 6.
Worth the queue: Original nama donut
Bakery in Galway
Magpie Bakery ★ 4.7
Magpie Bakery in the Cornstore on St Augustine Street Galway bakes sourdough in tiny batches; wild-yeast croissants and rye sell out before 10am most days.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough with Connacht wheat and long cold-ferment
Magpie Bakery ★ 4.7
Magpie Bakery in the Cornstore on St Augustine Street bakes sourdough in tiny batches; wild-yeast croissants and rye sell out before 10am most days.
Why locals love it: A small-window sourdough bakery inside the Cornstore that sells out by noon with no signage visible from the street.
Tip: Wednesday to Friday from 08:30 for the best loaf selection; come Saturday after 11:00 and the country sourdough will be gone.
Galway Saturday Market ★ 4.7
Galway Saturday Market beside St Nicholas Church is the best budget food event; hot crepes, samosas and soups from under €5 in a 130-stall weekly gathering.
Try: Market stall lunch: empanadas, crepes, soups and bread at €4-10
Order: Buckwheat galette with smoked salmon, a cup of Atlantic chowder and a country loaf: under €15 total
Bakery in Gdańsk
Nowy Chleb ★ 4.7
Nowy Chleb in Gdańsk Przymorze is Łukasz Stafieja's artisan micro-bakery: own-milled flours, natural starter, wheat and rye sourdoughs to order.
Tip: Pre-order online for Saturday pickup; walk-in stock sells out by 13:00.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Cukiernia Paradowski ★ 4.6
Cukiernia Paradowski in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz is the city's oldest active confectionery, opened spring 1945 by Stefan Paradowski. Son Andrzej still runs the shop.
Tip: On Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek, the last Thursday before Lent), the queue stretches down Wajdeloty.
Worth the queue: Pączki on Fat Thursday
Cukiernia Le Delice ★ 4.5
Le Delice in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz works a tight cukiernia-piekarnia format on Partyzantów. Croissants out of the oven about 09:30; the chocolate ones go fastest.
Tip: Croissants out of the oven about 09:30; the chocolate ones go fastest.
Worth the queue: All-butter croissant
Bakery in Ghent
Joost Arijs Patisserie and Chocolaterie ★ 4.7
Joost Arijs won best patisserie in Belgium from Gault and Millau: the showcase holds intricate tarts, entremets and seasonal pralines year-round.
Order: Praline selection box: six to eight seasonal pralines with unusual flavour pairings that change regularly.
Tip: A few doors down from The Bakery, both run by Arijs. Do both in one visit on a Tuesday morning.
The Bakery by Joost Arijs ★ 4.6
Pastry chef and chocolatier Joost Arijs opened this specialist sourdough bakery in 2022, with slow-fermented wheat, rye and multigrain loaves.
Order: Country sourdough loaf: 24-hour fermentation, open crumb, caramelised crust.
Tip: Open Tuesday to Saturday 08:00-18:00; the croissants are best in the first two hours of opening.
Marijn Coertjens Chocolatier and Patissier ★ 4.5
Marijn Coertjens opened his patisserie at the foot of the Gravensteen in 2016. The pralines are built on unusual flavour combinations; the seasonal pastry.
Order: Seasonal praline gift box: six pieces, flavours announced weekly on Instagram, always unexpected.
Tip: Near the Gravensteen; pair a shop visit with a castle tour and a Patershol dinner.
Bakery in Gothenburg
SOL Bageri och Kaffe ★ 4.8
SOL Bageri och Kaffe bakes long-ferment sourdough loaves and laminated pastries in Vasastaden, drawing a devoted queue of Goteborg bread lovers.
Order: ['Country sourdough', 'Kouign-amann', 'Almond croissant']
Steinbrenner och Nyberg ★ 4.7
Steinbrenner och Nyberg is a long-running Vasastaden favourite baking European-style loaves, tarts and croissants in a bright corner shop that doubles.
Order: ['Pain au chocolat', 'Semlor (in season)', 'Rye bread']
Da Matteo Vallgatan ★ 4.6
Da Matteo Vallgatan combines Sweden's finest espresso with house-baked pastries and breads in a handsome corner premises that anchors the Goteborg specialty.
Order: ['Cornetto', 'Sourdough toast', 'Double espresso']
Bakery in Granada
Casa Ysla Piononos ★ 4.5
Casa Ysla Piononos in Granada is the in-city outpost of the 1897 Santa Fe pasteleria, where Ceferino Isla invented the pionono to honour Pope Pius IX.
Tip: Six-pack of piononos travels well; takeaway is the norm and the cafeteria seats are limited.
Worth the queue: Pionono with cinnamon sponge and caramelised cream
Pasteleria Lopez Mezquita ★ 4.5
Pasteleria Lopez Mezquita on Reyes Catolicos in Granada has baked hojaldres since 1872, with the Apperley pastel named for English painter George Apperley.
Tip: Closed for the month of August; the front window display rotates by feast day with seasonal specials.
Worth the queue: Apperley pastel and felipes
Convento de las Comendadoras de Santiago ★ 4.5
Convento de las Comendadoras de Santiago is an Albayzin cloistered-nun bake counter selling bizcochos and yemas through a wooden turn on Calle Santiago.
Why locals love it: Cloistered nuns sell bizcochos and yemas through a wooden turn; you ring the buzzer and never see the baker face to face.
Tip: Ring the buzzer once; the nuns pass the order through a wooden turn so there is no face-to-face contact.
Bakery in Greenville
Strossner's Bakery ★ 4.6
Strossner's Bakery is greenville's oldest bakery since 1947, but on roper mountain not main street. visitors miss it; locals book birthday cakes a week ahead.
Why locals love it: Greenville's oldest bakery since 1947, but on Roper Mountain not Main Street. Visitors miss it; locals book birthday cakes a week ahead.
Tip: Order layer cakes ten days ahead. Pick up Danish without ordering Saturday morning.
Strossner's Bakery, Cafe and Deli ★ 4.5
Strossner's is the oldest family-run bakery in Greenville, opened by Richard and Beatrice Strossner in 1947: cakes, Danish, German rye, deli sandwiches.
Worth the queue: Layer cakes, birthday cakes, and Danish
Bake Room ★ 4.4
Bake Room runs a tightly-shortlisted viennoiserie programme from the Commons. The everything croissant and morning bun sell out before noon. Get there early.
Worth the queue: Everything croissant and morning bun
Bakery in Guadalajara
Karmele ★ 4.6
Karmele in Guadalajara is the Arcos Vallarta bakery on Morelos 2279A, a Berkeley-style room famed for masa madre crust and the chocolate Karmelito.
Worth the queue: Karmelito (chocolate pastry)
Masa Madre La Boutique del Trigo ★ 4.6
Masa Madre in Guadalajara is the Providencia sourdough lab on Ottawa 1301, Leticia Vilchis' 30-year starter using Michoacan and Oaxaca heritage flours.
Worth the queue: Pan de melaza (molasses sourdough)
Boulangerie Central ★ 4.5
Boulangerie Central in Guadalajara is the Ladron de Guevara French bakery on Morelos 1984, a small-boulangerie-turned-restaurant famed for walnut bread.
Worth the queue: Chocolate French toast
Bakery in Hamburg
Nur Hier Osterstrasse ★ 4.5
Nur Hier's Osterstrasse branch in Hamburg-Eimsbuettel has baked breads and Franzbroetchen in a wood-fired oven for over 80 years across this hub.
Tip: Sells out of Franzbroetchen by mid-afternoon Saturday; weekday afternoons are quieter.
Worth the queue: Franzbroetchen, classic and pumpkin-seed
Nur Hier Rentzelstrasse ★ 4.4
Nur Hier's Rentzelstrasse branch in Hamburg-Rotherbaum serves the same wood-oven breads and Franzbroetchen to the University quarter from a small corner.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the morning rush peaks around 08:30. Bench seating outside in good weather.
Worth the queue: Franzbroetchen
Effenberger Vollkornbaeckerei ★ 4.4
Effenberger Vollkornbaeckerei at the Rindermarkthalle on Neuer Kamp in Hamburg has baked organic wholegrain bread with freshly-milled grain, sourdough.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The wholegrain Roggenvollkornbrot sells fast on Saturday mornings.
Worth the queue: Roggenvollkornbrot
Bakery in Hanoi
Banh Mi 25 ★ 4.6
Banh Mi 25 in Hanoi has been the Old Quarter's busiest banh mi counter since 2014, with two pork, three chicken, two beef and four vegetarian options.
Order: The classic banh mi xa xiu with pate, pickled vegetables and chilli; vegetarian comes loaded with mushrooms.
Tip: Three counters on the same block (25, 30 and 32 Hang Ca); the largest seating is at 30 across the road.
Worth the queue: Banh mi xa xiu Chinese-style pork with pate
Saint Honoré Xuân Diệu ★ 4.5
Saint Honoré on Xuan Dieu is Tay Ho's flagship French bakery, opened in 2010 to bring laminated viennoiserie and classic patisserie to Hanoi's expat lakeside.
Order: A morning croissant and the tarte au citron; the canele Bordelais is the best-kept secret on the counter.
Tip: Catering and dine-in available; the upstairs seating overlooks the bakery's open kitchen. Multi-location chain, Xuan Dieu is the original.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat and tarte au citron
Maison Marou Bakery ★ 4.5
Maison Marou's Hanoi flagship is a chocolate bakery as much as a cafe, plating laminated croissants and pastries built around bean-to-bar Vietnamese.
Order: The chocolate-and-almond croissant and a single-origin hot chocolate from the kitchen window.
Tip: The viewing windows on the chocolate workshop are at the back; ask staff to point them out. Bars to take home at the counter.
Worth the queue: Chocolate-and-almond croissant
Bakery in Helsinki
Layers Bakery ★ 4.8
Layers is a tiny Töölö bakery many rate for the best croissants in Finland, run by Finnish-Spanish baker Daniel Tobal Autiokari from a small counter.
Tip: Open limited days and it sells out, so go early. The pain au chocolat is as good as the namesake croissant.
Worth the queue: Butter croissant
Levain ★ 4.6
Levain helped start Helsinki's bakery boom on long-fermented sourdough and crisp pastel de nata; the Punavuori branch is an all-day bakery and eatery.
Tip: The crisp pastel de nata is the bake to cross town for. There is a second branch in Töölö on Runeberginkatu.
Worth the queue: Pastel de nata custard tart
Way Bakery ★ 4.5
Way Bakery on Agricolankatu in Kallio is an all-day bakery, wine bar and eatery known for rustic sourdough and sweet buns; at night it becomes Maukku.
Tip: Daytime bakery and natural-wine room; the dinner sister Maukku takes over the space in the evening.
Worth the queue: Cardamom korvapuusti cinnamon bun
Bakery in Hong Kong
Bakehouse ★ 4.8
Bakehouse Wan Chai is chef Gregoire Michaud's 2018 flagship, baking sourdough egg tarts and croissants that turned a wholesale bakery into a Hong Kong queue.
Tip: Tai Wong Street East is the only dine in location; arrive before 09:00 or after 14:30 to skip the queue.
Worth the queue: Sourdough egg tart
Bakehouse Quarry Bay ★ 4.7
Bakehouse on King's Road in Quarry Bay is Grégoire Michaud's bakery flagship, plating the sourdough fermented egg tart that made the brand a city wide queue.
Tip: Bakehouse runs out of egg tarts by mid afternoon; the morning shift after 09:00 is the access window.
Worth the queue: Sourdough egg tart with caramelised top
Tai Cheong Bakery ★ 4.6
Tai Cheong Bakery on Lyndhurst Terrace in Central has been baking egg tarts since 1954, pioneering the lard cookie crust that distinguishes Hong Kong tarts.
Tip: Buy six at a time; they discount and the lard crust is best within 30 minutes of the oven.
Worth the queue: Egg tart with lard cookie crust
Bakery in Honolulu
Leonard's Bakery ★ 4.8
Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu Honolulu has fried Portuguese malasadas since Leonard Rego opened the family shop in 1952, the canonical version.
Tip: Original sugar malasadas are the move; haupia and custard fillings rotate. Lines move quickly even at peak.
Worth the queue: Original sugar malasada
Breadshop ★ 4.7
Breadshop in Kaimuki Honolulu is the craft bakery on Waialae that bakes small batches of naturally leavened breads daily, donating unsold loaves to a local.
Tip: Country sourdough sells out by 14:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday; cash-friendly.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
Liliha Bakery ★ 4.6
Liliha Bakery on North Kuakini in Honolulu is the original 1950 Liliha shop famous for chocolate coco puffs with macadamia nut chantilly, grilled butter.
Tip: Coco puffs sell out by 10:00 on weekends. Order a dozen and a butter roll; the grill side runs all day.
Worth the queue: Chocolate coco puff with macadamia chantilly
Bakery in Houston
Koffeteria ★ 4.6
Koffeteria in Houston is Vanarin Kuch's EaDo pastry shop on Hutchins Street, with the beef pho kolache, the Hot Cheeto croissant and a 2024 Houston Pastry.
Tip: Get there by 9am for the full case. The beef pho kolache and the pistachio baklava croissant are the signature orders.
Worth the queue: Beef pho kolache
Common Bond ★ 4.5
Common Bond in Houston is the Montrose patisserie on Westheimer since 2014, with serious French viennoiserie, croissants, kouign-amann and a brunch-cafe menu.
Tip: Saturday morning kouign-amann sell out by 10am. Pre-order online for guaranteed pickup.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann
Three Brothers Bakery ★ 4.5
Three Brothers Bakery in Houston is the Braeswood Boulevard Jewish bakery from the Jucker family (Polish Holocaust survivors), since 1949 in Houston.
Tip: Pre-order challah for Friday. Pecan coffee cake is the line item; the Hurricane Harvey rebuild story is in the front-window framed clippings.
Worth the queue: Pecan coffee cake and challah
Bakery in Indianapolis
Long's Bakery ★ 4.7
Long's Bakery in Haughville, Indianapolis is the West Side donut counter since 1955. Hot glazed yeast donuts are the breakfast locals queue early to claim.
Order: A dozen hot glazed donuts straight from the fryer.
Tip: Sunday mornings sell out by 10:00. Cash and card accepted Best in the morning before noon.
Worth the queue: Hot glazed donut
The Cake Bake Shop ★ 4.7
The Cake Bake Shop on Carrollton in Broad Ripple, Indianapolis is Gwendolyn Rogers's storybook pastry room. iconic layer cakes, sit-down high tea, full bar.
Order: A slice of Earl's Sugar Cookie Cake and a glass of Champagne.
Tip: Reservations recommended on weekends. Parking is very limited.
Worth the queue: Earl's Sugar Cookie Cake
Long's Bakery ★ 4.7
Long's Bakery in Haughville, Indianapolis runs hot glazed yeast donuts at 10 dollars per dozen since 1955. Cash and card accepted. A trusted stop in the city.
Try: Dozen hot glazed donuts
Bakery in Istanbul
Karaköy Güllüoğlu ★ 4.8
Karaköy Güllüoğlu, the one-counter Rıhtım Caddesi baklava emporium across from Galataport, has filled the Güllü family's pistachio version since 1949.
Worth the queue: Pistachio baklava
Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir ★ 4.5
Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir at Bahçekapı, the 1777-founded confectioner credited with inventing modern lokum, run from a heritage-listed shopfront beside Yeni.
Worth the queue: Rose-and-pistachio lokum
Hafız Mustafa 1864 ★ 4.3
Hafız Mustafa 1864 on Hamidiye Caddesi, the original Sultan Abdülaziz-era confectioner still rolling lokum and laminated baklava in Eminönü over a 160-year.
Worth the queue: Pomegranate Turkish delight
Bakery in Kansas City
Ibis Bakery ★ 4.7
Ibis Bakery shares the Messenger Coffee flagship on Grand Boulevard in Kansas City's Crossroads, baking sourdough miche and laminated pastries 7:00 to 17:00.
Tip: Bread is best by 09:00; the laminated pastries sell out by lunch. Wholesale to Black Dog and several KC cafes.
Worth the queue: Sourdough miche
Heirloom Bakery and Hearth ★ 4.6
Scott and Kate Meinke's Heirloom Bakery on 63rd in Kansas City's Brookside is the destination bakery. Cheddar-herb biscuits and Pop-Tarts are signatures.
Tip: Bakers arrive at 03:00; the breakfast burrito and Pop-Tart combo is the move at 09:00.
Worth the queue: Cheddar-herb biscuit sandwich
Banksia Bakehouse ★ 4.5
Banksia Bakehouse on Main Street in downtown Kansas City is the city's first Australian-style bakehouse and cafe. At 1183 Main St. Booking recommended.
Tip: The pork and fennel sausage roll is the Diners Drive-Ins and Dives pick. Pavlova and ANZAC cookies anchor the Australian side of the case.
Worth the queue: Pork and fennel sausage roll
Bakery in Kilkenny
Arán Artisan Bakery and Bistro ★ 4.7
Arán on Barrack Street is Kilkenny's most acclaimed bakery-bistro, winner of Ireland's Best Brunch at the Georgina Campbell Irish Breakfast Awards.
Worth the queue: Stone-baked sourdough made with flour, salt, water and natural leaven
Cakeface Patisserie ★ 4.5
Cakeface on Irishtown is Laura and Rory Gannon's patisserie, French and London pastry training returned to Kilkenny, plus the city's only coffee roastery.
Worth the queue: Daily-changing pastry selection baked by Laura and Rory Gannon
Cakeface Patisserie ★ 4.4
Cakeface on Irishtown is Kilkenny's premier French-trained patisserie, run by Laura and Rory Gannon and housing the city's only dedicated coffee roastery.
Signature: French-trained pastries, Sourdough baguette sandwiches
Order: The changing daily pastry selection; a gourmet sandwich on sourdough baguette with locally sourced fillings.
Tip: Monday through Saturday 09:00-17:00, Sunday 10:00-16:00. The roastery produces beans for the cafes and for retail.
Bakery in Knoxville
Wild Love Bakehouse ★ 4.8
Wild Love Bakehouse on North Central, the scratch laminated-pastry and sourdough bakery, was profiled by Afar magazine as a contender for best bakery.
Tip: Wednesday to Sunday only; the case sells out of laminated pastries by midday on weekends.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Wild Love Bakehouse ★ 4.8
Wild Love Bakehouse on North Central Street is the bakery Afar called a contender for best in America, still operating Wednesday through Sunday by design.
Why locals love it: Afar magazine profiled the North Central bakery as a contender for best in America, but the cafe still operates Wednesday through Sunday only.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday; arrive before noon on weekends to catch laminated pastries before they sell out.
Litton's Market and Restaurant Bakery ★ 4.6
Litton's Market and Restaurant Bakery on Essary Drive in Fountain City, the burger and bakery counter running since 1946, sells award-winning desserts.
Tip: Cake case sells out by afternoon on Saturdays; weekday morning is the easiest window.
Worth the queue: Italian cream cake
Bakery in Kraków
Zaczyn ★ 4.5
Zaczyn on Tadeusza Kościuszki west of the Old Town grinds its own flours on-site and runs a 25-hour fermentation on every loaf. Sourdough country breads.
Tip: Soft challah with crumble lands warm on weekend mornings; queue for the early bake.
Worth the queue: 25-hour fermented sourdough loaf
Obwarzanek Krakowski (Rynek Główny carts) ★ 4.4
The red-and-yellow obwarzanek krakowski carts on Kraków's Rynek Główny sell the EU-protected salted ring bread, hot, for 2 to 3 zl. Open daily 06:00-22:00.
Tip: Choose poppy seed, sesame or salt. Best within 30 minutes of leaving the oven; older rings turn rubbery.
Worth the queue: Obwarzanek hot from the cart
Cukiernia Michałek ★ 4.3
Cukiernia Michałek on Kraków's Krupnicza is the family-run pastry counter west of the Planty since 1958: rose-filled pączki, kremówka, sernik.
Tip: The rose-filled pączki are the counter pick; Fat Thursday queue runs hours long.
Worth the queue: Rose-filled pączki
Bakery in Kyoto
Le Petitmec Oike ★ 4.4
A black-fronted French bakery on Oike, Kyoto, that anchors the city's croissant scene. Levain breads, viennoiserie and a respectable pain au chocolat.
Worth the queue: Beurre croissant
Esprit de Bigot Kyoto ★ 4.3
Philippe Bigot's Kyoto offshoot, the man who introduced French baking to Japan in 1965. Beurre croissants, tarte tatin and brioche on Shijo.
Worth the queue: Beurre croissant; tarte tatin
Panscape Sanjo ★ 4.2
A stone-milled grain bakery on Sanjo, Kyoto, baking denser, longer-fermented loaves. Whole-grain croissants and the city's slow-bread reference shelf.
Worth the queue: Whole-grain croissant
Bakery in Las Vegas
Suzuya Patisserie ★ 4.8
Suzuya Patisserie in Las Vegas is the Japanese-style bakery on Buffalo Drive since 2012, a family-owned counter for Japanese cakes, crepes, sandos and coffee.
Tip: The strawberry shortcake is the signature; the Chinatown branch on Spring Mountain runs shorter hours but is closer to the Strip.
Worth the queue: Strawberry shortcake
Bouchon Bakery ★ 4.7
Bouchon Bakery at the Venetian in Las Vegas is Thomas Keller's pastry counter, a French-American patisserie with viennoiserie and sandwiches that has run.
Tip: Pain au chocolat are best before 10am; the TKO chocolate-cream sandwich is Keller's most reordered counter item.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat and TKO (Thomas Keller Oreo)
Freed's Bakery ★ 4.6
Freed's Bakery in Las Vegas is the Anderson family's third-generation Eastern Avenue bakery since 1959, a Brooklyn-rooted shop for custom cakes.
Tip: Same-day cakes available; the strawberry shortcake by the slice runs $9 at the counter and has not changed in fifty years.
Worth the queue: Strawberry shortcake
Bakery in Lima
El Pan de la Chola ★ 4.7
El Pan de la Chola at Av Mariscal La Mar 918 in Miraflores is Lima's pioneer artisan bakery, baker Jonathan Day's natural-fermentation sourdough since 2010.
Tip: Multiple Lima branches across Miraflores, San Isidro, La Molina and Surco; the La Mar mother shop is closed Mondays.
Worth the queue: Sourdough baguette and focaccia
Manolo Churreria ★ 4.6
Manolo at Av Jose Larco 608 in Miraflores serves churros and Spanish-style hot chocolate from S/10 since Juan Ruiz opened in 1968, the Larco churreria.
Try: Six churros con chocolate caliente S/18
Order: Half-dozen churros and a cup of thick chocolate at the marble counter (around S/18).
Tip: Open till midnight; the take-away counter handles dessert pickup, sit-down cafe upstairs serves the chocolate cup.
Pasteleria San Antonio ★ 4.5
Pasteleria San Antonio at Av Roca y Bolona 298 in Miraflores is a Lima patisserie institution since 1959, the pionono limeno and butifarra cafe-bakery.
Tip: Five Lima branches; the Miraflores Roca y Bolona flagship has the largest pastry case and dine-in cafe service.
Worth the queue: Pionono limeno and butifarra sandwich
Bakery in Lisbon
Pasteis de Belem ★ 4.8
Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon's Belem riverside: the original pastel de nata, made by hand from a Jeronimos-monastery recipe held in secret since 1837.
Worth the queue: Pastel de Belem, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar
Manteigaria Chiado ★ 4.7
Manteigaria's Chiado flagship in Lisbon: an Art Nouveau corner on Rua do Loreto where pastel de nata trays land hot every twenty minutes, 1.50 euros.
Worth the queue: Pastel de nata at 1.50 euros, eaten at the counter
Gleba Padaria ★ 4.7
Gleba in Lisbon's Alcantara: Diogo Amorim mills Portuguese heritage grains on site and bakes the city's most-cited sourdough loaves, by the slice.
Worth the queue: Pao de mafra, the long-fermented Portuguese country loaf
Bakery in Ljubljana
Pekarna Osem ★ 4.6
Andrej Gerzelj has baked Pekarna Osem on Stari trg since 2013 with traceable Slovenian ingredients, sourdough loaves and daily sweet and savoury.
Worth the queue: Sourdough country loaf
Brot Pekarna ★ 4.5
Brot Pekarna on Poljanska is a family-run artisan bakery with an international team, the carte three sourdoughs (white, half-white and Borodinsky).
Worth the queue: Borodinsky sourdough with coriander seeds
EK Bistro bakery ★ 4.4
EK Bistro doubles as a small daily bakery, baking its own brioche, English muffins and cinnamon rolls every morning for the brunch room. A TableJourney pick.
Worth the queue: Brioche cinnamon roll
Bakery in London
Pophams Bakery ★ 4.8
Olly Gold's laminated-pastry counter in Hackney London, opened 2016 on Richmond Road, runs the city's most-photographed viennoiserie and a Pophams Pizza.
Tip: Bacon and maple Danish sells out by 10:00 on a Saturday. The Islington site at 36 Prebend Street has identical bake but quieter queues.
Worth the queue: Bacon and maple Danish
E5 Bakehouse ★ 4.7
Ben Mackinnon's railway-arch bakery beside London Fields station in Hackney London, opened 2010, mills its own organic flour and ships Hackney Wild sourdough.
Tip: The Sunday morning canal-side queue runs 30 minutes; weekday opening at 07:30 walks in. Cinnamon buns sell out by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Hackney Wild sourdough
Little Bread Pedlar ★ 4.6
Nichola Gensler and Martin Hardiman's railway-arch bakery in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, runs organic sourdough, viennoiserie and panettone delivered.
Tip: Almond croissants come out at 09:00; arrive early on Saturdays. The Primrose Hill, Pimlico and Waterloo shops sell same-day bake but quieter queues.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Los Angeles
Republique Bakery ★ 4.8
Margarita Manzke's pastry counter inside Republique, Los Angeles bakes the city's reference kouign-amann, plus laminated croissants from a 1928 commissary.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann
Bub and Grandma's ★ 4.7
Andrew Bernstein's Bub and Grandma's in Glassell Park, Los Angeles bakes the bread for half the city's chef restaurants and runs a Wednesday-Sunday counter.
Worth the queue: Old-country milk bread
Friends and Family ★ 4.7
Roxana Jullapat and Daniel Mattern's Friends and Family in East Hollywood, Los Angeles bakes ancient-grain pastry from California-milled flours.
Worth the queue: Pecan sticky bun
Bakery in Louisville
Muth's Candies ★ 4.8
Muth's Candies on East Market in Louisville has made hand-rolled chocolates and modjeskas in NuLu since 1921, the family-owned confectioner.
Tip: Walk-in only. Modjeskas are the city's signature confection: caramel-dipped marshmallow.
Worth the queue: Modjeskas, chocolate-covered marshmallow
Plehn's Bakery ★ 4.7
Plehn's Bakery on Shelbyville Road in Louisville has baked Truffle Torte, Lemon Torte and birthday cakes for the city since 1922, the Saint Matthews counter.
Tip: Walk-in only. Saturday mornings draw the longest lines for the cake counter; Truffle Torte and Italian Cream sell out first.
Worth the queue: Truffle Torte Cake
Muth's Candies ★ 4.7
Muths Candies on East Market is the 1921 Louisville confectioner where modjeskas (caramel marshmallow) are still hand-rolled, three blocks past Whiskey Row.
Why locals love it: Locals send tourists to Whiskey Row; insiders walk three blocks south to Muth's, the 1921 confectioner where modjeskas are still rolled by hand.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. Modjeska is the heritage candy: caramel marshmallow.
Bakery in Lyon
Bernachon ★ 4.8
Bernachon in Lyon's 6e is the bean-to-bar chocolatier founded by Maurice Bernachon in 1953, with a Rue Franklin Roosevelt salon de the and a full pastry.
Tip: The President cake is the order; a slice with espresso at the salon is the form.
Worth the queue: President cake, chocolate, hazelnut praline
Maison Pralus ★ 4.8
Maison Pralus runs the bean-to-bar chocolate house Auguste Pralus founded in 1955, with a Lyon counter at Halles Paul Bocuse for the praluline brioche.
Tip: The praluline (pink-praline brioche) is the dish; a whole loaf travels home.
Worth the queue: Praluline brioche with pink pralines
Pralus Presqu'ile ★ 4.7
Pralus Presqu'ile on Rue de Brest in the 2e is the praluline-brioche counter for the Lyon peninsula, with whole loaves of pink-praline brioche from Roanne.
Tip: A whole praluline loaf travels for a day; ask for the freshly-bagged hot one.
Worth the queue: Praluline brioche, plain and chocolate
Bakery in Madison
Madison Sourdough ★ 4.7
Madison Sourdough on Williamson Street, the from-scratch bakery and patisserie since 2005, hand-shapes naturally leavened breads with Wisconsin-grown grain.
Worth the queue: MSCo Baguette
Greenbush Bakery late-night donuts ★ 4.7
Greenbush Bakery late-night donuts in Madison: bakery room. The Regent Street kosher dairy bakery runs almost 18 hours daily, with hot donuts from the fryer.
Why locals love it: The Regent Street kosher dairy bakery runs almost 18 hours daily, with hot donuts from the fryer through the small hours.
Tip: Walk in before midnight on a Saturday for the freshest donuts; the case rotates as the night staff fries them.
Greenbush Bakery ★ 4.6
Greenbush Bakery on Regent Street, the city's only certified kosher dairy bakery since 1998, sells over 50 daily donut varieties near Camp Randall Stadium.
Worth the queue: Sour cream old-fashioned donut
Bakery in Madrid
Panic ★ 4.8
Panic on Calle Conde Duque in Madrid's Malasana is the city's reference sourdough bakery since 2015 by chef Javier Marca, with 24-hour fermented breads.
Tip: Open Tue-Sun; closed Monday. Whole loaves (4 to 9 euros) sell out by 13:00; arrive early or order ahead by phone.
Worth the queue: Pan de masa madre
Casa Mira ★ 4.7
Casa Mira on Carrera de San Jeronimo in Madrid has made the turron de Jijona by hand since 1842, opened by Luis Mira after he moved from Jijona to Madrid.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Cash preferred. The Christmas-season queue forms in November; turron sold all year, polvorones in autumn. Closed July-August.
Worth the queue: Turron de Jijona
La Mallorquina ★ 4.6
La Mallorquina on Puerta del Sol in Madrid has sold the napolitana de crema (custard-filled puff pastry) since 1894. Open daily 09:00-21:00.
Tip: Walk-in only; the counter fills up by 09:30. Cash strongly preferred at the counter. The upstairs cafe takes seated customers.
Worth the queue: Napolitana de crema
Bakery in Manchester
Pollen Bakery ★ 4.7
Sunday Times-listed Manchester bakery by Ancoats Marina, baking sourdough loaves and laminated pastries. The cinnamon morning bun is the menu's calling card.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon morning bun
Pollen Bakery Cinnamon Bun ★ 4.7
Sunday Times-listed Ancoats bakery by Manchester's New Islington marina. Sourdough loaves, croissants, the cinnamon morning bun is the city's hidden bake.
Why locals love it: Manchester Ancoats bakery flagship, Sunday Times-listed; the cinnamon bun is the menu sleeper that hasn't gone viral the way the croissant has elsewhere.
Tip: Arrive by 10:00 weekdays for the cinnamon bun out of the case; sell by noon.
Companio Bakery ★ 4.6
Ancoats bakery in Manchester run by Baneta Yelda and Neil Large; cardamom buns and pizza doughs filled with cheese. Open wed-sat 08:00-14:00.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Bakery in Marrakech
Boutique Pierre Herme Paris ★ 4.7
The Boutique Pierre Herme Paris at Marrakech's La Mamounia is the chef-pastrymaker's only African outpost; macarons, Ispahan, and the Mamounia-only specials.
Tip: Open to the public, not hotel guests only. Ispahan macarons and the rose-litchi cake are the bench-marks.
Worth the queue: Ispahan macaron
Patisserie Amandine ★ 4.4
Patisserie Amandine in Marrakech's Gueliz, since 1997, runs the city's best French-Moroccan bakery counter; viennoiseries, flans, almond pastries.
Tip: Take-away counter at the front; cafe at the back. Lighter mornings; afternoons fill with Gueliz regulars.
Worth the queue: Opera cake and cornes de gazelle
Bacha Coffee Bakery Counter ★ 4.4
Bacha Coffee at Dar el Bacha in Marrakech sells pastries from a counter beside the salon: madeleines, sables, croissants paired with single-origin coffees.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Counter sales skip the dining-room queue; buy a box of madeleines to go.
Worth the queue: Madeleines paired with single-origin coffee
Bakery in Marseille
Four des Navettes ★ 4.8
Four des Navettes in Marseille's 7e is the oldest bakery in the city since 1781, the boat-shaped navettes baked in the original Roman-model oven and blessed.
Tip: Walk in for a paper bag of navettes; Chandeleur morning is the day to come.
Worth the queue: Marseillais navettes baked in the 1781 oven
Pain Salvator ★ 4.6
Pain Salvator in Marseille's 6e between the Prefecture and Notre-Dame du Mont is Nicole and Etienne Weber's worker-cooperative bakery (SCOP since May 2025).
Tip: Worker cooperative since May 2025; the einkorn loaves go fast on weekends.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough with honeycombed crumb
Maison Saint Honore ★ 4.4
Maison Saint Honore in Marseille's 6e on Avenue du Prado is Pierre Ragot's artisan bakery, certified organic sourdough only, ancient-grain country loaves.
Tip: Five locations across the Marseille region; the Avenue du Prado branch is the busiest morning counter.
Worth the queue: Sourdough country loaf
Bakery in Melbourne
Lune Croissanterie ★ 4.9
Lune Croissanterie in Fitzroy is Kate Reid's engineering-informed pastry project: technically exacting croissants cited among the world's best by food media.
Worth the queue: Classic croissant with cultured butter
Lune Croissanterie (CBD) ★ 4.8
Lune's CBD location on Lonsdale Street brings the Fitzroy standard to the city centre: the same laminated pastry quality, aimed at the weekday commuter crowd.
Tip: Sells out before noon on busy days. Arrive at opening or accept a substitution.
Worth the queue: Ham and cheese croissant
Baker Bleu ★ 4.5
Baker Bleu's Cremorne flagship offers 48-hour fermented sourdough, croissants and Roman sourdough pizzas in a large industrial space in the inner suburbs.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Bakery in Memphis
Muddy's Bake Shop ★ 4.8
Muddy's Bake Shop in Memphis has run scratch-baked cupcakes, layer cakes and cookies since 2008, now anchoring the Broad Avenue Arts District storefront.
Tip: Closed Sunday through Tuesday. Get there by 11:00 on Saturdays before the favourites sell out.
Worth the queue: Plain Jane vanilla cupcake
Dinstuhl's Fine Candy Company ★ 4.7
Dinstuhl's at Laurelwood is the East Memphis storefront for a fifth-generation candy company that has been hand-dipping creams, brittles, turtlettes.
Tip: The Cashew Crunch brittle is the marquee buy; chocolate-covered strawberries are the seasonal.
Worth the queue: Cashew Crunch brittle
La Baguette ★ 4.6
La Baguette on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis has run French baguettes, croissants and pastries from a Laurelwood storefront since 1976. A cafe sits next door.
Tip: The almond croissant is the regular order; the lunch sandwiches use the bakery's own bread.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Mexico City
Panaderia Rosetta ★ 4.8
Panaderia Rosetta in Mexico City is Elena Reygadas' Roma Norte bakery on Colima since 2012, the bakery counter where the rose-guava roll and the concha drive.
Worth the queue: Rol de guayaba (guava rose roll)
Panaderia Rosetta Puebla ★ 4.7
Panaderia Rosetta Puebla in Mexico City is the second Roma Norte Reygadas bakery on Puebla, a larger room with the same conchas and laminated pastries plus.
Worth the queue: Concha de vainilla
Pancracia Panaderia Artesanal Roma ★ 4.6
Pancracia on Orizaba in Roma Norte is a tree-lined takeaway artisanal panaderia, with naturally leavened sourdough loaves, a rotating focaccia.
Worth the queue: Focaccia of the day
Bakery in Miami
Zak the Baker ★ 4.7
Zak the Baker in Wynwood is the kosher artisan bakery at 295 NW 26th Street, opened by Zak Stern in 2012 and the city's reference natural-leavened sourdough.
Tip: Closed Saturday for Shabbat. The babka and the rugelach sell out by mid-morning on Fridays.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough miche
True Loaf Bakery ★ 4.5
True Loaf in Miami Beach is the Bay Road neighbourhood bakery at 1894 Bay Road, baking sourdough, baguettes and croissants in South Beach since 2013.
Tip: Get there by 9am for the morning croissant run. The country sourdough sells out before lunch most weekends.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
El Bagel ★ 4.5
El Bagel in Miami's MiMo is the slow-fermentation bagel shop at 6910 Biscayne Boulevard, the room that gave the city its first serious bagel identity.
Tip: Get there before 11am; the bagels sell out by noon on weekends. Cash and card both work; closed Tuesdays.
Worth the queue: Everything bagel with whitefish salad
Bakery in Milan
Iginio Massari Alta Pasticceria ★ 4.9
Iginio Massari Alta Pasticceria near the Duomo is the Milan flagship of Italy's most decorated pastry chef, whose panettone set the artisan benchmark.
Worth the queue: Panettone di Natale with veneziane candite
Marchesi 1824 ★ 4.8
Marchesi 1824 in Milan's Centro Storico is the city's oldest surviving pasticceria, founded in 1824 and now owned by Prada. Booking recommended.
Worth the queue: Panettone tradizionale with candied orange and sultanas
Pasticceria Cova ★ 4.7
Pasticceria Cova on Via Montenapoleone has made Milanese confectionery since 1817, the tea room of the fashion-week circuit. Located in Centro Storico.
Worth the queue: Panettone classico with Madagascar vanilla
Bakery in Milwaukee
Peter Sciortino's Bakery ★ 4.7
Peter Sciortino's Bakery on East Brady Street is the city's Italian-American bakery since 1948, with cannoli, biscotti, Italian wedding cookies and weekday.
Worth the queue: Cannoli
Rocket Baby Bakery ★ 4.7
Rocket Baby Bakery on West North Avenue in Wauwatosa is the city's leading laminated pastry shop with croissants, kouign amann and sourdough loaves since.
Worth the queue: Kouign amann
National Bakery and Deli ★ 4.6
National Bakery on South 16th Street has baked Wisconsin kringle, paczki on Fat Tuesday and Polish pastries since 1925, with five locations.
Worth the queue: Almond kringle
Bakery in Minneapolis
Patisserie 46 ★ 4.8
John Kraus's Patisserie 46 on Grand Avenue South has run Minneapolis's defining French bakery since 2010. James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Baker.
Worth the queue: Norwegian kringle
Black Walnut Bakery ★ 4.7
Sarah Botcher's Black Walnut Bakery on Hennepin Avenue has baked Tartine-trained French viennoiserie in Uptown Minneapolis since 2019. At 3157 Hennepin Ave.
Worth the queue: Croissant
Bellecour Bakery at Cooks ★ 4.7
Diane Yang's Bellecour Bakery at Cooks of Crocus Hill has run French viennoiserie in the Twin Cities since 2020. Located in North Loop. At 850 Grand Ave.
Worth the queue: Kouign amann
Bakery in Mumbai
Subko Craft Bakehouse ★ 4.6
Subko's Bandra flagship laminates croissants daily and bakes the in-house bread on Chapel Road. The cardamom-chocolate bun and the sourdough loaves draw.
Order: Cardamom-chocolate croissant and a small sourdough loaf to take home.
Tip: Loaves come out at 11:30; queue by 11:00 on weekends. Cash and card both accepted.
Worth the queue: Chocolate-cardamom croissant
Indigo Delicatessen Bakery Counter ★ 4.1
Indigo Deli's bakery counter in Colaba sells laminated pastries, sourdough loaves and danishes from 11:00. The almond croissant is the daily benchmark.
Order: Almond croissant and a half-loaf of country sourdough.
Tip: Croissants come out at 11:00 fresh; sourdough loaves at 14:00.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Bakery in Munich
Julius Brantner Brothandwerk ★ 4.7
Julius Brantner Brothandwerk in Munich's Schwabing-Maxvorstadt has run a transparent organic bakery since April 2019, small regional product list.
Worth the queue: Slow-fermented sourdough loaf
Hofpfisterei ★ 4.5
Hofpfisterei in Munich's Maxvorstadt bakes Pfister-Brot in wood-fired ovens; a 700-year-old Munich tradition, now operating 100+ branches across Bavaria.
Worth the queue: Pfister Bio-Hausbrot
Café Frischhut (Schmalznudel) ★ 4.5
Café Frischhut on Munich's Prälat-Zistl-Strasse, off Viktualienmarkt since 1973, fries Schmalznudel all day; the city's last counter dedicated.
Worth the queue: Schmalznudel with sugar dusting
Bakery in Mérida
Sukra Repostería ★ 4.4
Sukra Repostería in García Ginerés Mérida is the city's French pastry counter, tarts, mille-feuille and éclairs run by a husband-and-wife team off Reforma.
Worth the queue: Strawberry tart
La Cubana ★ 4.3
La Cubana on Calle 62 Mérida is a long-running Yucatán bakery turning out franquesa, marquesote and pan de muerto from a Centro counter since the 1960s.
Worth the queue: Franquesa
Panificadora Montejo ★ 4.2
Panificadora Montejo on Paseo de Montejo in Mérida is the city's morning-walk bakery, pan de muerto in October and Yucatecan birote loaves year-round.
Worth the queue: Pan de muerto
Bakery in Naples
Pasticceria Attanasio ★ 4.7
Attanasio near Naples Central Station has fried sfogliatelle since 1930, with riccia and frolla baked all day. Open tue-sun 06:30-19:30, closed monday.
Tip: Closed Monday. Sfogliatella at 2 euros at the counter; cash preferred. The riccia is the local-buy.
Worth the queue: Sfogliatella riccia
Pasticceria Poppella ★ 4.7
Poppella in Naples' Sanita has run the family pastry counter since 1920, with the fiocco di neve (snow-flake brioche with cream filling) the dish that turned.
Tip: Open daily 07:00-22:00. The fiocco di neve at 1 euro 50 is the only order; queue can be 30 minutes on weekends.
Worth the queue: Fiocco di neve
Pasticceria Attanasio ★ 4.7
Attanasio near Naples Central Station has fried sfogliatelle since 1930 in a side-street that is invisible from the main road, the city's best-value pastry.
Order: Sfogliatella riccia freshly fried, eaten standing, the riccia hot from the fryer.
Why locals love it: On a tiny side-street one block from Napoli Centrale, Attanasio is completely unmarked from the station forecourt.
Tip: Closed Monday. Cash only. Queue 09:00-11:00; the sfogliatella riccia at 2 euros is the only order you need.
Bakery in Nashville
Dozen Bakery ★ 4.7
Claire Menelly's Dozen Bakery in Nashville moved to Grandview Avenue in February 2025, a five-times larger space with full cafe service and a wood-fired oven.
Tip: Sourdough loaves go fastest; arrive by 09:00. The morning bun and country biscuit are the bakery's signatures.
Worth the queue: Sourdough miche
Proper Bagel ★ 4.4
Proper Bagel on Belmont Boulevard in Nashville opened 2017 with New York-style hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels. Located in Hillsboro Village.
Tip: Everything bagel with whitefish is the order; second-best move is the lox platter with sliced Gaspe Nova.
Worth the queue: Everything bagel with whitefish salad
Yeast Nashville ★ 4.4
Yeast Nashville's Woodland Street counter in East Nashville bakes Czech-style kolaches with sausage, cheese and fruit fillings since 2014. Family-friendly.
Tip: Closed at noon every day. Mornings only. Sausage and cheese is the canonical order; cherry kolache is the sweet move.
Worth the queue: Sausage and cheese kolache
Bakery in New Orleans
Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery ★ 4.8
Dong Phuong in New Orleans is the James Beard America's Classics Vietnamese bakery on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans East, with the city's most-demanded.
Tip: King cake sales run January 6 to Ash Wednesday only; lines form before opening on weekends.
Worth the queue: King cake (Mardi Gras season)
Levee Baking Co ★ 4.8
Magazine Street bakery from Christina Balzebre (2017): sourdough from locally milled grain plus pastries with local eggs and dairy, Thursday to Sunday morn.
Why locals love it: The Uptown levain bakery just off Magazine Street at 9th, with sourdough loaves, kouign-amann and a Cuban pastelito programme that runs off the main Magazine browse path.
Tip: Bread sells out by 11:00 Saturday; pastries hold longer. Cash discount at the register.
Levee Baking Co ★ 4.7
Levee Baking Co in New Orleans is Christina Balzebre's Uptown levain bakery just off Magazine Street at 9th, with sourdough loaves, kouign-amann and a Cuban.
Tip: Bread sells out by 11:00 on Saturday; pastries hold longer. Cash discount at the register.
Worth the queue: Sourdough miche
Bakery in New York City
S&S Cheesecake ★ 4.7
S&S Cheesecake in the Bronx has baked one cake only since 1959 in New York City. Plain, dense, the canonical New York cheesecake, supplied to delis citywide.
Tip: Cash only, weekdays only. Drive or take the 1 train to 238th; the bakery is two blocks west of the subway.
Worth the queue: Plain cheesecake
Ess-a-Bagel ★ 4.6
Ess-a-Bagel on Third Avenue has hand-rolled bagels in Midtown New York City since 1976. Boiled in barley malt water, baked on burlap, sold dense and seeded.
Tip: The line is 30 minutes at 09:30 weekends. Order over the counter; pre-paid online jumps the line.
Worth the queue: Plain everything bagel with scallion cream cheese
Zabar's ★ 4.6
Zabar's on Broadway has anchored Upper West Side appetising in New York City since 1934. At 2245 Broadway. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Tip: Take a number at the appetising counter the moment you walk in; the bakery side has no number system.
Worth the queue: Black-and-white cookies, babka
Bakery in Nice
Maison Auer ★ 4.7
Maison Auer on Rue Saint Francois de Paule has sold candied fruits and chocolates in Nice since 1820, two centuries under the Auer family and from 2024.
Worth the queue: Candied chestnuts and mendiants
Chez Theresa ★ 4.6
Chez Theresa on Rue Droite has fired socca in a wood burning 1867 oven since 1925, one of only three Nice addresses still cooking the chickpea pancake.
Worth the queue: Wood fired socca
Patisseries LAC ★ 4.5
Patisseries LAC on Rue Barla in Nice runs Pascal and Valerie Lac's pastry and chocolate workshop since 1995, the Belle Epoque storefront one of multiple Nice.
Worth the queue: Pascal Lac signature entremets
Bakery in Oakland
Bake Sum ★ 4.8
Bake Sum on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt runs an Asian American pastry program. Passionfruit tarts, ube cookies and Spam musubi croissants sell out daily.
Worth the queue: Mochi muffin
Mariposa Baking Company ★ 4.7
Mariposa on Telegraph in Temescal is a dedicated gluten-free bakery. Croissants, almond cakes, bagels and bread from a dedicated kitchen for celiac safety.
Worth the queue: Gluten-free almond cake
La Farine ★ 4.6
La Farine on College Avenue in Oakland's Rockridge is the French neighborhood bakery the East Bay leans on. Morning buns and palmiers anchor the counter.
Worth the queue: Morning bun
Bakery in Oaxaca
Boulenc ★ 4.7
Boulenc on Porfirio Diaz is Oaxaca's masa-madre flagship, with a stone-mill country loaf, cardamom spirals and a vegan-marked menu in a hotel courtyard.
Worth the queue: Sourdough country loaf
Pan con Madre ★ 4.6
Pan con Madre on Quetzalcoatl is Oaxaca's sourdough pioneer, an open-kitchen bakery with cardamom spirals, focaccia and dulce-de-leche rolls on the counter.
Worth the queue: Cardamom spiral
Chocolate Mayordomo (Mina) ★ 4.3
Chocolate Mayordomo Mina is the 1956 family chocolate house from Tlacolula, with cacao milled to order, drinking-chocolate tablets and pan de yema on offer.
Worth the queue: Chocolate de agua
Bakery in Orlando
Buttermilk Bakery ★ 4.8
Buttermilk Bakery on Orange Avenue in Winter Park is the family-run morning bakery and lunch counter, with cruffins, croissants and biscuit sandwiches.
Worth the queue: Cruffin
Olde Hearth Bread Company ★ 4.7
Olde Hearth Bread on North Wymore Road in Winter Park is the European-style bakery since 1996, with sourdough loaves, pastries and a Saturday morning counter.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
Gideon's Bakehouse ★ 4.6
Gideon's Bakehouse at Disney Springs is the gothic-themed bakery with half-pound chocolate-chip cookies, peanut-butter pie and monthly cookie specials.
Worth the queue: Chocolate chip half-pound cookie
Bakery in Osaka
Poire ★ 4.8
A Kitahama patisserie in operation since 1968, whose strawberry shortcake with Taisho-era wave motif has been the city's reference cake for 55 years.
Order: ['Strawberry shortcake slice', 'Baumkuchen', 'Seasonal fruit tart']
West Wood Bakers ★ 4.7
A Minamihorie bakery-cafe combining long-fermented sourdough with a full brunch menu; the open kitchen bakes through the morning until sell-out.
Order: ['Country sourdough loaf', 'Avocado sourdough toast', 'Morning set']
Boulangerie Gout ★ 4.5
A Tanimachi French boulangerie in the Tabelog 100; known for laminated croissants, baguettes, and seasonal pastries from a Chuo-ku shopfront.
Order: ['Croissant', 'Seasonal chausson', 'Pain de campagne']
Bakery in Oslo
Ille Brød ★ 4.7
Ille Brød on Lakkegata in Grønland mills heirloom Norwegian grains for long-fermented sourdough loaves and cinnamon rolls baked to order. Located in Gronland.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaf with ancient grain
Åpent Bakeri Inkognito Terrasse ★ 4.5
Åpent Bakeri's Inkognito Terrasse branch behind the Royal Palace is the original 1998 room of bakers Emmanuel Rang and Øyvind Lofthus, with morning skolebrød.
Worth the queue: Skolebrød and butter croissants
The Little Pickle Bakery ★ 4.5
The Little Pickle on Jens Bjelkes gate runs the bakery side of its Michelin Bib Gourmand all-day room, with rotating sourdoughs and cardamom buns served.
Worth the queue: Cardamom buns
Bakery in Palermo
Pasticceria Cappello ★ 4.8
Pasticceria Cappello on Via Colonna Rotta in Palermo has run since 1950 under AMPI master pastry chef Salvatore Cappello, home of the Sicilian Setteveli.
Tip: Setteveli (the Sicilian seven-veil chocolate cake) is the headline order. Second branch on Via Nicolo Garzilli 19 in Politeama.
Worth the queue: Torta Setteveli (seven-layer chocolate cake)
I Segreti del Chiostro ★ 4.7
I Segreti del Chiostro inside the Santa Caterina d'Alessandria monastery off Piazza Bellini in Palermo bakes from the 21 historic Palermitan.
Tip: Entrance is on Via Discesa dei Giudici 33, behind the Piazza Bellini facade. Cannoli and cassata are the canonical orders; closed during religious holidays.
Worth the queue: Cannoli con ricotta, frutta martorana, cassata
Gelateria Stancampiano ★ 4.6
Gelateria Stancampiano on Via Notarbartolo in Palermo's Liberta has been the city's reference gelateria for three generations, the canonical brioche col.
Tip: Brioche col tuppo with granita is the Palermitan summer breakfast; pistachio of Bronte is the headline flavour.
Worth the queue: Pistacchio di Bronte gelato
Bakery in Paris
Du Pain et des Idées ★ 4.8
Christophe Vasseur's Du Pain et des Idées in Paris's 10e remains the boulangerie every other counter measures itself against. At 34 Rue Yves Toudic.
Tip: Closed weekends. Arrive before 09:00 for the pain des amis; escargots sell out by 13:00.
Worth the queue: Escargot pistache-chocolat
Poilâne ★ 4.7
Poilâne in Paris has baked a signature sourdough miche from a wood-fired oven on Rue du Cherche-Midi since 1932. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Tip: The half-miche feeds two for a week. Ask for the cocktail-size punitions at the till.
Worth the queue: Pain Poilâne miche
Utopie ★ 4.6
Utopie in Paris's 11e is the modern boulangerie Sebastien Bruno and Erwan Blanche built into a black-fronted shop with the city's best black-sesame baguette.
Tip: Cash and card both work. The flan vanille is the second pick after the sesame baguette.
Worth the queue: Sesame baguette
Bakery in Philadelphia
Sarcone's Bakery ★ 4.8
Sarcone's Bakery in Philadelphia is the 1918 brick-oven Italian Market bakery on South 9th, fifth-generation Sicilian-American with tomato pie and seeded.
Worth the queue: Tomato pie by the square
Lost Bread Co. ★ 4.7
Lost Bread Co. in Philadelphia is the Kensington bakery on Howard Street that stone-mills its own flour from regional grains, a weekend-only counter.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough
Lost Bread Co. ★ 4.7
Lost Bread Co. on Howard in Kensington is a whole-grain bakery milling its own flour from regional grains, open Saturday and Sunday for a four-hour window.
Why locals love it: Kensington whole-grain bakery on Howard that mills its own flour from regional grains and sells only Saturday and Sunday for a four-hour window.
Tip: Get in line by 09:30 Saturday. The country sourdough sells out by 11:00 on a busy weekend.
Bakery in Phoenix
Noble Bread ★ 4.6
Noble Bread on North 24th Street is the Valley's reference sourdough bakery, ferments organic loaves over 36 hours and supplies the city's better restaurants.
Tip: The attached Noble Eatery serves wood-fired sandwiches on the same bread; loaves sell out by midday.
Worth the queue: 36-hour naturally leavened country loaf
Proof Bread ★ 4.5
Proof Bread on Main Street in Mesa bakes naturally leavened sourdough and croissants with locally grown and milled flours, the East Valley's destination loaf.
Order: A croissant and a sourdough loaf milled from local grain.
Tip: The Mesa flagship is the bake-on-site room; weekends draw a line for croissants.
Worth the queue: Naturally leavened sourdough and croissants
La Sonorense Tortilla Factory ★ 4.4
La Sonorense Tortilla Factory on South Central stretches the giant tortillas de agua that define Sonoran cooking, sold warm by the dozen in South Phoenix.
Tip: Buy a stack of the big flour tortillas warm; they are the base for a proper Sonoran burro.
Worth the queue: Large hand-stretched Sonoran flour tortillas
Bakery in Pittsburgh
Primanti Bros (Strip District original) ★ 4.8
Primanti Bros on 18th Street is the cheap, filling Strip District original in Pittsburgh. One sandwich with fries and slaw inside the bread is a whole meal.
Try: Almost Famous sandwich
La Gourmandine ★ 4.5
La Gourmandine on Butler Street in Lawrenceville bakes French croissants and baguettes in Pittsburgh. A husband-and-wife patisserie that opened in 2010.
Worth the queue: Butter croissant
Prantl's Bakery ★ 4.5
Prantl's Bakery on Walnut Street in Shadyside has baked its Burnt Almond Torte in Pittsburgh since 1970. The cake widely called America's best.
Worth the queue: Burnt Almond Torte
Bakery in Plovdiv
Mekitsa and Coffee ★ 4.6
Mekitsa and Coffee is the only Plovdiv counter that fries mekitsa to order. Traditional Bulgarian breakfast plus modern combinations like basil pesto.
Worth the queue: Classic mekitsa with sirene
Hali Banitsa Counter ★ 4.6
The unnamed banitsa counter beside Hali market on Evlogi Georgiev has worked the same corner for roughly fifty years; the marmalade banitsa is its anchor.
Worth the queue: Marmalade banitsa
Gibb Bakery ★ 4.5
Gibb Bakery in Kuchuk Paris near the Kaufland junction runs through the early-morning queue. Banitsa with butter and milinka sell out before 10:00 daily.
Worth the queue: Butter banitsa
Bakery in Portland
Ken's Artisan Bakery ★ 4.7
Ken Forkish's NW 21st bakery in Portland, the bakery that taught the city naturally leavened bread. Located in Northwest Nob Hill. Open daily 08:00-16:00.
Tip: The 320 NW 21st annex opened in 2025 and sells the same breads with more pastry. Both close by 16:00.
Worth the queue: Country brown sourdough
Pip's Original Doughnuts & Chai ★ 4.7
Nate and Jamie Snell's mini-doughnut counter on NE Fremont in Portland, with house-made chai flights paired to small batches of cake doughnuts since 2012.
Tip: The chai flight (cardamom, dirty, vanilla, lavender) is the order. Doughnuts come hot, six to a basket.
Worth the queue: Raw honey and sea salt doughnut
Lauretta Jean's ★ 4.6
Lauretta Jean Bonfiglio's all-butter-crust pie bakery on SE Division in Portland, with savoury pies for lunch, sweet pies by the slice and a strong cocktail.
Tip: Closed Tuesday. Order the salted honey pie warm with whipped cream; it's the canonical Portland pie.
Worth the queue: Salted honey pie
Bakery in Portland
Standard Baking Co ★ 4.8
Standard Baking on Commercial Street, since 1995 from Alison Pray and Matt James, is Portland's artisan bakery for levain breads and laminated pastries.
Tip: Open 07:30 daily; the cinnamon-walnut morning bun lot sells out by 11:00, the country sourdough boules around 14:00.
Worth the queue: Morning bun with walnut and cinnamon sugar
Scratch Baking Co ★ 4.8
Scratch Baking Co in Willard Square pulls Portland's deepest Sunday bagel queue, five minutes from downtown but across the bridge in South Portland.
Why locals love it: A South Portland bakery in Willard Square that pulls Portland's deepest Sunday bagel queue. Five minutes from downtown, but most visitors never cross the bridge.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Sunday queues form before 08:00; pre-order online to skip.
Two Fat Cats Bakery ★ 4.7
Two Fat Cats on Lancaster Street, founded 2005 by the Fore Street team and bought 2012 by Stacy Begin, runs whoopie pies, fruit pies and cakes.
Tip: Open Monday to Saturday. Pre-order whole pies 48 hours ahead via the operator site.
Worth the queue: Wild Maine blueberry pie
Bakery in Porto
Manteigaria ★ 4.6
Manteigaria on Rua de Alexandre Braga in Porto is the Lisbon house's Porto branch, with a glass-fronted kitchen baking warm pasteis de nata until midnight.
Worth the queue: Pastel de nata
Padaria Ribeiro ★ 4.5
Padaria Ribeiro on Praca Guilherme Gomes Fernandes in Porto has baked since 1878, famed for the slow-leaven croissant amanteigado finished with warm sugar.
Worth the queue: Croissant amanteigado
Confeitaria do Bolhao ★ 4.4
Confeitaria do Bolhao opposite the Bolhao market in Porto has baked since 1896, keeping original Art Nouveau tiles and the Abade de Priscos pudding.
Worth the queue: Pudim do Abade de Priscos
Bakery in Poznań
Cukiernia Pawlova ★ 4.7
Cukiernia Pawlova in Luboń outside Poznań is run by World Master Confectioner Paweł Mieszała, with traditional butter rogale baked to the Master's recipe.
Tip: Phone order a day ahead and collect at the shop; the butter rogale sell out by mid-morning every November.
Worth the queue: Rogale na maśle
Cukiernia Kandulski ★ 4.6
Cukiernia Kandulski in Poznań is a family bakery founded by master confectioner Wojciech Kandulski in 1983, certified by the Cech Cukierników i Piekarzy.
Tip: Pre-order phone-only in early November; daily production caps and queues outside the shop are routine before St Martin's Day.
Worth the queue: Rogal świętomarciński z białym makiem
Fawor ★ 4.5
Fawor in Poznań is a baker-confectioner cooperative founded in 1908, certified by the Wielkopolska Craft Chamber for rogale świętomarcińskie and producing up.
Tip: Skip the central locations on Nov 11; the further-flung Fawor branches have shorter queues and the same product.
Worth the queue: Rogal świętomarciński
Bakery in Prague
Pekarna Praktika ★ 4.8
Vinohrady bakery on Belehradska milling its own flour on a stone mill; crunchy long-keeping bread, cinnamon rolls, pain au chocolat, croissants at breakfast.
Why locals love it: Tomas Solak's stone-mill sourdough bakery hides on the Vinohrady-Vrsovice border, no signage to speak of, just the queue of bread-obsessed locals each morning.
Tip: Show up by 10:00; the heritage-grain loaves run out within two hours of opening.
Eska Karlin ★ 4.6
Eska's Karlin bakery counter sells bread 33, the city's most cited sourdough, plus kolache and laminated pastries. At Pernerova 49. Booking recommended.
Tip: Bread 33 sells out by lunch on Saturday; sweet kolache last longer.
Worth the queue: Bread 33, three-stage rye on beech wood
Pekarna Praktika ★ 4.6
Pekarna Praktika is Tomas Solak's serious sourdough bakery on the Vinohrady-Vrsovice border. Open tue-sat 07:30-18:00. At Belehradska 990/66.
Tip: The pain de campagne goes fast; freezer-ready loaves stay good a week.
Worth the queue: Stone-milled wheat sourdough
Bakery in Providence
Seven Stars Bakery Hope Street ★ 4.7
Seven Stars opened its Hope Street flagship in January 2001 at Hope and Fourth. Country bread, croissant, the morning bun every East Sider knows.
Worth the queue: Morning bun
Aleppo Sweets ★ 4.7
Youssef Akhtarini's Aleppo Sweets is the Ives Street Syrian counter that opened in 2019. Eight baklava styles from walnut to chocolate pistachio.
Worth the queue: Pistachio baklava
Seven Stars Bakery Broadway ★ 4.6
Seven Stars Broadway opened in 2007 as the West Side sister to the Hope Street original. Country breads, pain au chocolat, the same croissants.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat
Bakery in Reykjavik
Sandholt ★ 4.6
Sandholt has baked on Laugavegur since 1920, a fourth-generation Reykjavik bakery whose long-fermented sourdough and croissants set the city's standard.
Tip: The all-day breakfast in the cafe section pairs the bread with eggs and cheese. Arrive early for croissants.
Worth the queue: Sourdough loaf
Braud and Co ★ 4.6
Braud and Co works a graffiti-painted house on Frakkastigur, a Reykjavik bakery whose warm cinnamon rolls and sourdough draw a near-constant queue.
Order: A cinnamon roll pulled warm from the oven; ask what just came out.
Tip: You can watch the bakers through the open kitchen. Multiple branches, but Frakkastigur is the original.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Bernhoftsbakari ★ 4.4
Bernhoftsbakari, founded 1834, is Iceland's oldest business, a Reykjavik bakery now run by the fifth generation and stocked with snudur and kleinur.
Order: A snudur, the Icelandic cinnamon bun, or a twisted kleina doughnut.
Tip: Iceland's oldest continuously operating business, on Klapparstigur. The traditional pastries are the draw.
Worth the queue: Snudur cinnamon bun
Bakery in Richmond
Sub Rosa Bakery ★ 4.8
Evrim and Evin Dogu's Sub Rosa Bakery in Church Hill is the Richmond bakery to know. Multi-year James Beard semifinalist; reopened December 2025.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
WPA Bakery ★ 4.4
WPA Bakery on Semmes in Forest Hill bakes the city's vegan-leaning sweet program. Slice cakes, hand pies and cookies; Saturday line is long.
Worth the queue: WPA cake slice
Sally Bell's Kitchen ★ 4.4
Sally Bell's Kitchen has baked cupcakes, cheese wafers and pastries since 1924. Founded by Sarah Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton; a century of Richmond.
Worth the queue: Iced cupcake
Bakery in Riga
Liepkalni ★ 4.5
Liepkalni's Krišjāņa Valdemāra branch is the central Riga outpost of the country's most-cited rye specialist, baking dark Dienas loaf and pīrāgi daily.
Tip: Buy a whole Dienas rye and a tray of bacon-onion pīrāgi for a picnic in Vērmanes park or by the canal.
Worth the queue: Dienas rye loaf
Big Bad Bagels ★ 4.3
Big Bad Bagels on Baznīcas in Centrs bakes New York-style bagels and runs the city's most reliable bagel brunch, with smoked salmon and cream cheese builds.
Tip: Two Riga branches; Baznīcas is the original. The Audēju branch is the Old Town option for tourist circuits.
Worth the queue: Smoked salmon bagel
Big Bad Bagels Audēju ★ 4.2
Big Bad Bagels' Audēju branch is the Old Town location of the Riga bagel-and-brunch counter, the morning stop between the Town Hall Square and Centrāltirgus.
Tip: Smaller than the Baznīcas flagship and quicker; counter seating only on weekends.
Worth the queue: Bacon-egg-cheese bagel
Bakery in Rome
Pasticceria Regoli ★ 4.7
Pasticceria Regoli in Rome's Esquilino has baked the city's defining maritozzo con la panna since 1916, with the fluffy bun split and stuffed with whipped.
Tip: Open from 06:45; the maritozzo sells out by 11:00 on Saturdays. Cash and card; standing room only.
Worth the queue: Maritozzo con la panna
Forno Campo de' Fiori ★ 4.6
Forno Campo de' Fiori in Rome's Centro Storico has baked the pizza bianca that defines the city since 1924, with the Roscioli family owning the brand.
Tip: The pizza bianca with mortadella eaten standing up is the working-quarter ritual. Cash only.
Worth the queue: Pizza bianca with mortadella
Pasticceria Boccione ★ 4.6
Pasticceria Boccione in Rome's Jewish Ghetto has baked the cucina giudaico-romanesca pastry canon since 1815, with the crostata di visciole e ricotta.
Tip: No sign on the door; look for the queue. Cash only; closed Saturday (Shabbat).
Worth the queue: Crostata di visciole e ricotta
Bakery in Rotterdam
Jordy's Bakery ★ 4.6
A Nieuwe Binnenweg artisan bakery producing Dutch-French laminated pastry at the highest level: cardamom knots, almond croissants, and sourdough in a compact.
Worth the queue: Sourdough boule with crispy crust and open crumb
Le Petitjean ★ 4.5
A French patisserie bakery on Nieuwe Binnenweg with the best croissant and pain au chocolat in Rotterdam, made with French butter and traditional lamination.
Worth the queue: Paris-Brest with praline cream
SUE Bakery ★ 4.5
Rotterdam's dedicated vegan bakery producing wholly plant-based croissants, cakes, and sourdough loaves on Jonker Fransstraat in Noord. Booking recommended.
Worth the queue: Vegan croissant and plant-based layer cakes
Bakery in Sacramento
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates ★ 4.8
Ginger Elizabeth Hahn's chocolate and macaron counter on J Street, midtown Sacramento, was named one of the 24 Best Chocolate Shops in America by Eater.
Worth the queue: Salty caramel macaron
Freeport Bakery ★ 4.7
Freeport Bakery on Freeport Boulevard in Land Park, Sacramento, runs a long-standing California cake counter with Lemon Zinger cakes that travel by post.
Worth the queue: Lemon Zinger Cake
Pushkin's Bakery ★ 4.6
Danny and Olga Turner's Pushkin's Bakery on 29th Street, midtown Sacramento, opened 2013 as the city's defining gluten-free and dairy-free bakery counter.
Worth the queue: Salted Pecan Cupcakes
Bakery in Salt Lake City
Eva's Bakery ★ 4.8
Eva's Bakery on South Main, chef Charlie Perry's French bakery named for his great-grandmother Eva Coombs, runs French pastries and breakfast plates daily.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann
Tulie Bakery ★ 4.7
Tulie Bakery on East 700 South, the central-city French-leaning bakery cafe, runs croissants, viennoiserie and espresso alongside daytime sandwiches.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Gourmandise The Bakery ★ 4.5
Gourmandise The Bakery on South 300 East, the family-owned European pastry shop since 1991, runs 140+ daily desserts plus small-plate dinners and wine.
Worth the queue: Daily-changing tortes
Bakery in San Antonio
Nicosi ★ 4.6
Nicosi at Pullman Market is a 20-seat dessert-only dining room from Esquire's 2024 Pastry Chef of the Year, Tavel Bristol-Joseph, with a plated tasting menu.
Tip: This is desserts as fine dining, not a counter; book the dessert tasting ahead. The savoury-leaning plates surprise.
Worth the queue: Plated dessert courses
La Panaderia ★ 4.4
La Panaderia's downtown flagship near the River Walk is famous for conchas and its croissant-concha hybrid, a Mexican-French bakery worth the queue.
Tip: The conchas are famous; the croissant-concha hybrid is the showpiece. The downtown flagship is steps from the River Walk.
Worth the queue: Conchas and the croissant-concha hybrid
Bakery Lorraine ★ 4.2
Bakery Lorraine at the Pearl is the French patisserie locals queue for, with macarons as the calling card and a kouign-amann among the laminated pastries.
Tip: The macarons are the calling card; the kouign-amann is the laminated-pastry pick. Expect a queue on market mornings.
Worth the queue: Macarons and the kouign-amann
Bakery in San Diego
Bread and Cie ★ 4.8
Bread and Cie in San Diego is the Hillcrest European stone-hearth bakery on University Avenue since 1995, the rustic-bread room that anchors the Hillcrest.
Tip: The kalamata olive bread is the room's signature; the cafe upstairs serves sandwiches on house-baked rolls.
Worth the queue: Kalamata olive bread
Prager Brothers Artisan Breads (Encinitas) ★ 4.7
Prager Brothers Artisan Breads in Encinitas is the North County sourdough bakery on Coast Highway 101, a wholesale-bakery storefront with daily-baked.
Tip: Country sourdough miche is the room's strongest loaf; the Carlsbad bakery is the wholesale production base.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough miche
Extraordinary Desserts (Little Italy) ★ 4.6
Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego is Karen Krasne's Little Italy dessert salon on Union Street, a long-running pastry-and-cake shop with a James Beard.
Tip: Cake by the slice is the deepest value; the cafe also runs a savoury small-plate menu in the evenings.
Worth the queue: Viking chocolate cake
Bakery in San Francisco
Tartine Bakery ★ 4.7
Tartine Bakery in San Francisco is Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt's Guerrero Street original, redrawing what a country loaf and a morning bun.
Tip: Country loaves come out at 16:30; queue from 16:00 to be sure of one.
Worth the queue: Morning bun
b. Patisserie ★ 4.7
b. Patisserie in San Francisco is Belinda Leong and Michel Suas's Pacific Heights cafe with the city's best kouign-amann and a Paris-trained pastry programme.
Tip: The kouign-amann is best within 90 minutes of the bake; ask the counter for the timing on the next tray.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann
Arsicault Bakery ★ 4.7
Arsicault Bakery in San Francisco is Armando Lacayo's Inner Richmond counter, named America's best croissant by Bon Appetit and still drawing a 09:30 queue.
Tip: Plain butter croissant, not the almond; the lamination tells the whole story.
Worth the queue: Plain croissant
Bakery in San Sebastián
La Vina (tarta de queso counter) ★ 4.7
La Vina on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian is the birthplace of the burnt Basque cheesecake (tarta de queso La Vina), invented by Santiago Rivera in 1990.
Tip: Order a wedge at the counter and a glass of Pedro Ximenez. Whole cakes for takeaway need 24 hours notice.
Worth the queue: Tarta de queso La Vina
Pasteleria Otaegui ★ 4.6
Pasteleria Otaegui's original branch on Narrika in San Sebastian's Old Town has run a counter of Basque pastries since 1886, the pantxineta cream-puff.
Tip: The pantxineta is the household name; eat the wedge or take a tin home. Several branches across the city.
Worth the queue: Pantxineta (cream-and-puff pastry)
Galparsoro Okindegia ★ 4.4
Galparsoro Okindegia on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Parte Vieja is an artisan Basque bakery with French-style baguettes, sourdough and walnut-chocolate.
Tip: The morning loaves go first; the apricot tart is the surest sweet pick. Closed Sundays.
Worth the queue: Walnut-and-chocolate croissant
Bakery in Santa Fe
Clafoutis French Bakery ★ 4.8
Philippe and Anne Laure Ligier bake 800 to 1,000 hand-rolled pastries daily at Clafoutis on Cordova Road, a hard-French operation in a southwestern adobe.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant and the namesake clafoutis
Kakawa Chocolate House ★ 4.7
Kakawa pours historically researched drinking chocolates and a small case of truffles in chile, sage and goat cheese; the storefront sits quietly on Paseo.
Worth the queue: Goat cheese and sage truffle
Sage Bakehouse ★ 4.5
Sage Bakehouse, a Cerrillos Road artisan since 1996, bakes long-fermented country loaves, sandwich service and a chile sourdough Santa Fe households order.
Worth the queue: Roasted green chile sourdough loaf
Bakery in Sapporo
Donguri Odori ★ 4.8
Donguri's hot rack runs 200-400 yen per bread: chikuwa pan, Hokkaido potato bread, curry pan and a dozen others. Stand-out cheap eats at Odori Park.
Try: Chikuwa pan and Hokkaido potato bread
Tip: Eat warm on the Odori Park benches; buy two more for the train.
Donguri Odori ★ 4.4
Sapporo's hometown bakery, founded 1983. Donguri invented chikuwa pan and sells about 2,300 a day across nine branches; this is the central Odori shop.
Tip: Open 09:00-21:00 daily; Hokkaido potato bread is the other postcard buy.
Worth the queue: Chikuwa pan (fish-cake bread)
Rokkatei Maruyama Shop ★ 4.4
Obihiro confectioner Rokkatei's Maruyama outlet, the Sapporo home for Marusei butter sandwiches, Yukiya Konko chocolate cookies and seasonal Hokkaido sweets.
Tip: The two-floor Maruyama branch has the full take-home Marusei stock the airport often runs short of late in the day.
Worth the queue: Marusei butter sandwich
Bakery in Sarajevo
Buregdzinica Sac ★ 4.7
Buregdzinica Sac on Mali Bravadziluk in Sarajevo is the canonical Bosnian buregdzinica, pulling burek under a coal-heated metal sac lid for 200 years.
Tip: Order 200g of meat burek and a yogurt; the cheese sirnica is the pairing.
Worth the queue: Meat burek pulled under coal-heated sac
Slasticarna Egipat ★ 4.5
Slasticarna Egipat on Ferhadija is the Sarajevo Bosnian sweet counter open since 1949, with baklava, tufahija, hurmasice and tulumbe by the piece.
Tip: Pair a Bosnian coffee with tufahija (poached apple with walnut and cream) for the full sit.
Worth the queue: Baklava and tufahija stuffed apple
Buregdzinica Bosna ★ 4.4
Buregdzinica Bosna on Bravadziluk pulls the Sarajevo Bosnian phyllo family, spiral burek with meat, sirnica with cheese, krompirusa with potato.
Tip: Sold by weight; ask for kajmak on the side and bring napkins for the meat burek.
Worth the queue: Meat burek with kajmak on the side
Bakery in Savannah
Leopold's Ice Cream ★ 4.8
Founded 1919 by Greek-immigrant brothers George and Peter Leopold, the city's reference ice-cream parlour. On Broughton since 2004 under Stratton Leopold.
Worth the queue: Tutti Frutti ice cream, banana split
Auspicious Baking Co. (Sandfly) ★ 4.7
Auspicious Baking on Skidaway in Sandfly turns out laminated croissants and breads locals queue for at opening. Second on Whitemarsh, sister Bread and Butter.
Worth the queue: Croissants (ham-and-cheese, smoked salmon, seasonal)
Auspicious Baking Company ★ 4.6
Auspicious Baking Company on Skidaway Road in Sandfly Savannah, the city's reference for laminated pastries and seasonal sourdough since 2017.
Worth the queue: Almond croissants and seasonal sourdough loaves
Bakery in Seattle
Sea Wolf Bakers ★ 4.8
Sea Wolf Bakers in Seattle's Fremont is the brothers Wybenga sourdough room: levain breads, the city's signature cinnamon roll. At 3617 Stone Way N.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Bakery Nouveau Capitol Hill ★ 4.7
Bakery Nouveau Capitol Hill in Seattle is William Leaman's lamination operation, 15th Ave E branch: the twice-baked almond croissant the city most often.
Worth the queue: Twice-baked almond croissant
Sea Wolf Bakers ★ 4.7
Sea Wolf Bakers is the Stone Way locals bakery between Fremont and Wallingford, with cinnamon rolls and laminated pastry, Wednesday to Sunday through 11:30.
Why locals love it: Stone Way is a non-tourist street between Fremont and Wallingford; locals know the cinnamon roll, visitors rarely make the walk over the canal.
Tip: Wednesday to Sunday only, and the laminated case empties by 11:30 on Saturday.
Bakery in Seoul
Tartine Bakery Seoul (Hannam) ★ 4.7
The Seoul outpost of Chad Robertson's San Francisco bakery, in Hannam-dong since 2018, quickly setting the standard for open-crumb sourdough in Korea.
Worth the queue: Country loaf sourdough and morning bun
Fritz Bakery (Dohwa) ★ 4.6
Fritz operates its bakery counter from the same Dohwa building as the roastery, and the baked goods match the coffee programme in seriousness.
Worth the queue: Fritz croissant and konpeito cream doughnut
Artist Bakery Anguk ★ 4.5
Artist Bakery is the salt-bread sister project to London Bagel Museum, set in a restored hanok off Yulgok-ro with more than 20 versions of the viral salt.
Worth the queue: Classic salt butter bread with truffle pretzel and squid ink cheese variants
Bakery in Seville
Confiteria La Campana ★ 4.7
Confiteria La Campana on Calle Sierpes in Seville is the 1885 Modernist patisserie with marble counters, plasterwork ceilings and the city's canonical.
Tip: The standing counter at front is fastest for takeaway; the back tables fill at merienda from 18:00.
Worth the queue: Tarta de yema sevillana
Manu Jara Dulceria ★ 4.6
Manu Jara Dulceria on Calle Pureza in Seville's Triana is French pastry chef Manu Jara's flagship, with the palmera de chocolate that won Best Palmera.
Tip: The Pureza shop is the original; a second location runs inside the Mercado de Triana. The Christmas panettone sells out by mid-December.
Worth the queue: Palmera de chocolate
Confiteria Ochoa ★ 4.4
Confiteria Ochoa on Calle Sierpes in Seville opened as Granja Victoria in 1910 under Rafael Ochoa Vila, with the canonical roscon de reyes in January and tea.
Tip: Open daily; the Sierpes location is the original. Roscon de reyes sells out by 18:00 on January 5th, so buy in advance.
Worth the queue: Roscon de reyes
Bakery in Singapore
Tiong Bahru Bakery ★ 4.6
Order: ['Kouign-amann', 'Croissant', 'Pain de campagne']
Tip: Freshest pastries are out by 8am. Weekend queues form before opening; weekday mornings are calmer. Multiple outlets across the island but this is the original.
Bengawan Solo ★ 4.5
Order: ['Pandan layer cake', 'Ondeh ondeh', 'Kaya roll']
Tip: Visit during the Lunar New Year and mooncake season for the most festive range. Bakes can be ordered in advance for collection.
Marymount Bakehouse ★ 4.4
Order: ['Not a Croissant sourdough loaf', 'Levain pie', 'Seasonal focaccia']
Tip: Open Wednesday to Sunday 9am to 5pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Loaves pre-sell quickly; check Instagram for availability before visiting.
Bakery in Split
Kruscic Artisan Bakery ★ 4.7
Kruscic Artisan Bakery just behind Split's Ribarnica fish market makes additive-free baguettes, boules and pastries from French and German recipes.
Order: Boule rustique and the laminated pistachio pastry.
Tip: Sells out by 13:00 in summer; go before 10:00 for first picks of the boule rustique and the savoury focaccia.
Worth the queue: Boule rustique
Kruscic Artisan Bakery ★ 4.6
Kruscic at Obrov 6 in Split sells artisan loaves and pastries through the morning behind the Ribarnica, with most items between €2 and €5 take-away.
Try: Boule rustique and pastries
Order: Focaccia and a pistachio cornetto.
Tip: Buy the focaccia and the boule before 13:00; either makes a sea-wall lunch.
Pekara Hrstic Mall of Split ★ 4.1
Pekara Hrstic is a Split bakery chain that has run for 25 years, baking burek, savoury pies and Dalmatian breads daily at its Mall of Split outlet.
Order: Cheese burek with the morning bread basket.
Tip: Outside the centre at the Mall of Split; warm cheese burek and fresh bread from the early shift to late evening.
Worth the queue: Cheese burek
Bakery in St. Louis
Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery ★ 4.6
Union Loafers bakes naturally leavened bread and runs a lunchtime cafe of sandwiches in Botanical Heights, a James Beard-nominated bakery and pizza spot.
Tip: Bread sells out, so come early for a loaf. The Tuesday-to-Saturday pizza nights are a separate, busy service.
Worth the queue: Country loaf and lunchtime pizza
Nathaniel Reid Bakery ★ 4.6
Award-winning pastry chef Nathaniel Reid makes precise modern French entremets, tarts and viennoiserie in Kirkwood, rated the metro's finest pastry case.
Tip: The seasonal entremets and the croissants are the standouts. It draws a weekend crowd, so go early.
Worth the queue: Entremets, tarts and viennoiserie
Gioia's Deli ★ 4.5
A James Beard America's Classics winner on The Hill, Gioia's slices its house Hot Salami onto fresh-baked bread, a sandwich St. Louis treats as a rite.
Tip: The Original Hot Salami is the order, made from Gioia's own fresh sausage. The line moves fast at lunch.
Worth the queue: Hot salami sandwich on fresh-baked bread
Bakery in Stockholm
Vete-Katten ★ 4.8
Vete-Katten on Kungsgatan in Stockholm's Norrmalm has baked the classic Swedish konditori canon since 1928; the semla in Lent and princess cake year-round.
Tip: Semla counter from Fettisdagen (Shrove Tuesday) through April. Order ahead online for the saffron-pearl-sugar version.
Worth the queue: Semla cream bun (February-April)
Lillebrors Bageri ★ 4.7
Lillebrors Bageri on Rörstrandsgatan in Stockholm's Vasastan bakes the Vasastan cardamom bun the city's food press argues about; the brown-butter cardamom.
Tip: Closed Monday. Pre-order the semla in February or it sells out by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Brown-butter cardamom bun
Tössebageriet ★ 4.6
Tössebageriet on Karlavägen in Stockholm's Östermalm has been a working bakery since 1920; the Tössetårta layered cake and the saffron semla in February.
Tip: Pre-order semla in February via the website; over-the-counter sells out by 11:00 in peak weeks.
Worth the queue: Tössetårta layered cream cake
Bakery in Strasbourg
Thierry Mulhaupt ★ 4.5
Thierry Mulhaupt opposite the Temple Neuf is one of Strasbourg's named pastry chefs, turning out fine tarts, viennoiserie, Alsatian sweets and chocolates.
Worth the queue: Seasonal tarts and chocolates
Maison Naegel ★ 4.4
Maison Naegel on Rue des Orfevres has baked near the cathedral since 1927, known for its savoury Tourte Naegel, kougelhopf, pates and a panelled tea salon.
Worth the queue: Tourte Naegel and kougelhopf
Patisserie Christian ★ 4.4
Patisserie Christian on Rue de l'Outre is a Strasbourg institution for kougelhopf, pain d'epices, bredele and fine chocolate close to Place Kleber.
Worth the queue: Kougelhopf and pain d'epices
Bakery in Sydney
Iggy's Bread of the World ★ 4.8
Igor Ivanovic's wholesale-and-retail bakery on Macpherson Street, Bronte, Sydney. Open Tue-Sat 7am-2pm; stone-milled sourdough loaves daily.
Worth the queue: Iggy's sourdough loaf
Lune Croissanterie ★ 4.7
Kate and Cam Reid's croissant counter on Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney. Open daily 7:30am-2pm; the twice-baked almond croissant is the menu signature daily.
Worth the queue: Twice-baked almond croissant
Flour and Stone ★ 4.7
Nadine Ingram's pastry bench on Riley Street, Woolloomooloo, Sydney. The morning load of panforte slices, lamingtons and brown-butter cakes is gone by 1pm.
Worth the queue: Panforte slice
Bakery in Taipei
Chia Te Bakery ★ 4.7
Chia Te Bakery has been baking pineapple cakes since 1975, winning the 2006 Taipei Pineapple Cake Festival's top prize and shipping global ever since.
Tip: Queue runs about 30 minutes. Pre-fill the order sheet in line. Cash and card.
Worth the queue: Original pineapple cake and cranberry pineapple cake
Wu Pao Chun Taipei ★ 4.6
Wu Pao Chun's Taipei store sits in the basement of Eslite Spectrum Songyan, baking the 2008 Coupe du Monde and 2010 Bakery Masters champion loaves daily.
Tip: Champion breads sell out by mid-afternoon; arrive by 14:00 for full selection.
Worth the queue: Lychee Rose Royale bread and Red Wine Longan bread
SunnyHills Taipei Minsheng ★ 4.6
SunnyHills' Minsheng Park flagship greets every visitor with a complimentary pineapple cake and a cup of oolong tea, baked from Tu Feng native pineapple.
Tip: Free tasting on arrival. Open daily; pack the gift box at the counter for export-ready boxing.
Worth the queue: Tu Feng pineapple cake
Bakery in Tallinn
Karjase Sai ★ 4.6
Karjase Sai on Marati in Kopli is a small Estonian sourdough bakery that ferments and bakes fresh rye and pastries Tuesday to Sunday, plus specialty coffee.
Worth the queue: Daily sourdough loaf
Karjase Sai ★ 4.6
Karjase Sai is a serious kopli sourdough bakery 15 minutes from the old town that most tourists never reach, with daily-baked rye and pastries.
Why locals love it: A serious Kopli sourdough bakery 15 minutes from the Old Town that most tourists never reach, with daily-baked rye and pastries.
Tip: Cardamom buns sell out by 12:00 on weekends. Combine with the Põhjala Tap Room next door for an afternoon.
RØST Bakery ★ 4.5
RØST on Rotermanni is a Scandinavian-leaning bakery in the converted Nisuveski grain-mill building with sourdough loaves, cardamom buns and cinnamon buns.
Worth the queue: Cardamom bun
Bakery in Tampa
La Segunda Central Bakery ★ 4.8
La Segunda in Ybor City has baked Cuban bread daily since 1915, with 18,000-plus loaves a day and the palmetto frond baked into the top loaf for steam.
Worth the queue: Long Cuban bread with palmetto frond
Alessi Bakery ★ 4.8
Alessi Bakery on West Cypress has run an Italian and Cuban bakery in Tampa since 1912, with famous hand-carved Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and cannolis.
Worth the queue: Hand-carved Cuban sandwich
Mauricio Faedo's Bakery ★ 4.7
Mauricio Faedo's Bakery on North Florida Avenue bakes Cuban bread, breakfast Cuban toast and deviled crabs daily, with the family running it since 1955.
Worth the queue: Daily-baked Cuban bread
Bakery in Thessaloniki
Bantis Bougatsa ★ 4.8
Bantis has produced Thessaloniki's most respected cream bougatsa from a marble counter near Dikastirion Square since 1969. At Panagias Faneromenis 33.
Trigona Elenidis ★ 4.8
Elenidis in Panorama invented the trigona panoramatos, the crisp phyllo triangle filled with cold pastry cream that has become Thessaloniki's most signature.
Bantis Bougatsa ★ 4.8
Technically not hidden to locals but entirely off the tourist circuit. Located away from tourist zones, no English signage, no online presence.
Why locals love it: Located away from tourist zones, no English signage, no online presence
Bakery in Tokyo
Pelican Bakery ★ 4.8
Pelican Bakery in Tokyo's Asakusa has baked only two products since 1942: shokupan and dinner rolls. Loaves sell out by mid-afternoon and reservations help.
Tip: Phone-reserve a loaf two days ahead or arrive by 10:00. The Pelican Cafe on Kotobuki serves the same loaves toasted with butter.
Worth the queue: Shokupan square loaf
Centre The Bakery ★ 4.7
Centre The Bakery in Tokyo's Ginza is the shokupan-only counter where queues form for the milk bread tasting flight by 11:00 most days. Cafe seating upstairs.
Tip: The cafe side seats a toast-tasting flight; the takeaway counter sells loaves whole. Closed New Year.
Worth the queue: Three-style shokupan tasting (Pullman, mountain, raisin)
Pierre Herme Paris Aoyama ★ 4.7
Pierre Herme Paris Aoyama in Tokyo is the French patissier's Asia flagship on Aoyama-dori. Macarons, the Ispahan, and a viennoiserie counter for croissants.
Tip: Three-floor flagship; the cafe second floor is the calmer seated option. The Ispahan rose-lychee macaron is the canonical.
Worth the queue: Ispahan macaron and croissant
Bakery in Toronto
Carousel Bakery ★ 4.8
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market Upper Level 42 has run the city's reference peameal bacon sandwich since 1977, the Biancolin family the operators.
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser, choose mustard at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. The kaiser is soft; the bacon stack mountains. Featured on Bourdain, Food and Wine and the NYT four times.
Worth the queue: Peameal bacon sandwich
Carousel Bakery ★ 4.8
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market is the home of Toronto's signature peameal bacon sandwich, the Biancolin family-run counter since the 1970s.
Try: Peameal bacon sandwich
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser, mustards available at the counter.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. The kaiser is soft; load on the mustards before the bacon stack.
Carousel Bakery ★ 4.7
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market runs the city's reference peameal bacon sandwich for $9 since 1977, the Biancolin family's counter Key to the City.
Try: Peameal bacon sandwich, $9
Order: The peameal bacon sandwich on a kaiser with whatever mustards you choose.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. Cash and card; the line moves quickly.
Bakery in Toulouse
La Boulangerie Saint-Georges ★ 4.5
La Boulangerie Saint-Georges on Place Saint-Georges has stood since 1840; since 2005 baker Francois Le Galo runs it and the shop is on the 100-best list.
Tip: Over twenty bread varieties plus pastries and made-to-order sandwiches; the pain de campagne is the canonical buy.
Worth the queue: Pain de campagne au levain
La Halle aux Pains Maison Fressinaud ★ 4.5
La Halle aux Pains on Place Dupuy was opened by Damien and Heleh Fressinaud in February 2000 and has been entirely organic-flour since 2017. A staple address.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday; the pain au levain bio is the canonical buy across the full organic range.
Worth the queue: Pain au levain bio
Maison Pillon ★ 4.5
Maison Pillon on Rue Ozenne is the canonical Toulouse patisserie and chocolatier since 1967, famed for crystallised violet candy and the cachous de Toulouse.
Tip: Pick up violet candies and cachous de Toulouse for souvenirs; the apple croustade is the patisserie pick.
Worth the queue: Bonbons a la violette de Toulouse
Bakery in Tucson
Barrio Bread ★ 4.9
Barrio Bread on South Eastbourne in Tucson is Don Guerra's James Beard Outstanding Baker 2022 bakery, milling heritage white Sonora wheat loaves.
Worth the queue: Pan integral white Sonora wheat loaf
La Estrella Bakery ★ 4.6
La Estrella Bakery at Mercado San Agustin in Tucson is the Jalisco-style Mexican panaderia (since 1986), with conchas, empanadas and tres leches.
Worth the queue: Concha
La Estrella Bakery 12th Avenue ★ 4.5
La Estrella Bakery on South 12th Avenue in South Tucson is the Jalisco panaderia's South Tucson outpost, with conchas, empanadas and tres leches by the case.
Worth the queue: Empanada de pina
Bakery in Turin
Perino Vesco ★ 4.7
Perino Vesco on Via Cavour in Turin is Andrea Perino's sourdough bakery and panettone laboratory. Open production, organic flours, two-day proved panettone.
Worth the queue: Traditional sourdough panettone
Guido Gobino ★ 4.7
Guido Gobino's flagship workshop in Vanchiglia is the contemporary gianduiotto reference. The small Tourinot, salted cremino, cafe view on workshop.
Worth the queue: Tourinot (mini gianduiotto), salted cremino
Pasticceria Pfatisch ★ 4.6
Pfatisch on Via Sacchi in Turin has baked since 1915, in its Pietro Fenoglio Liberty rooms since 1921. Suppliers to the Royal House, Pavese was a regular.
Worth the queue: Bonet, marron glace, gianduiotti
Bakery in Utrecht
KEEK Springweg ★ 4.7
KEEK bakery on the Springweg makes Utrecht's best-value lunch. Open-faced sandwiches on sourdough with Dutch cheese, hummus or seasonal toppings for €5-7.
Try: Open-faced sandwich on fresh-baked bread with Dutch cheese or hummus
KEEK Springweg ★ 4.6
KEEK bakes organic sourdough and rye loaves in a wood-fired oven at their Springweg original. All grain sourced from Dutch farms within 100 kilometres.
Tip: The country loaf sells out by midday on Saturdays; arrive early or call ahead to reserve.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf baked in a wood-fired stone oven
KLUTS ★ 4.5
Entirely vegan bakery and coffee bar behind the Dom Tower. All bakes use spelt flour with no eggs or dairy. Pandan coconut cake, cinnamon rolls and tarts.
Tip: Arrive at opening for the freshest cinnamon rolls; the daily special cake often sells out before 14:00.
Worth the queue: Vegan pandan coconut cake and classic Dutch apple crumble
Bakery in Valencia
Levaduramadre ★ 4.8
Levaduramadre on Carrer de la Pau in Valencia's Ciutat Vella is the flagship Valencia branch of the Madrid sourdough chain, serving wood-fired loaves.
Tip: Walk-in only; the pan de pueblo sells out by noon on Saturday. Open Sunday morning until 14:30.
Worth the queue: Pan de pueblo sourdough loaf
Forn Desamparats ★ 4.6
Forn Desamparats on Carrer Guillem Sorolla feeds a traditional Moorish wood oven every morning. The smoky-crust hogaza opens before the rest of the city.
Worth the queue: Smoky-crust hogaza
Horno de San Bartolome ★ 4.5
Horno San Bartolome on Carrer del Duc de Calabria in Valencia is master baker Jesus Machi's flagship oven, with the canonical coca de llanda (a tray-baked.
Tip: Cash preferred. The coca de llanda is best eaten same day; pair with a glass of mistela.
Worth the queue: Coca de llanda
Bakery in Vancouver
Livia Sweets ★ 4.8
Livia on Commercial Drive from baker Cynthia Rogerson is the city's reference Italian-leaning patisserie since 2018, sourdough panettone the calendar event.
Tip: Panettone pre-orders open in October for December; the daily ricotta cakes and brioche turnover sell out by lunch.
Worth the queue: Sourdough panettone
Beaucoup Bakery ★ 4.7
Beaucoup Bakery on Fir Street is Vancouver's reference French laminated pastry shop since 2012, the gold-standard almond croissant plus daily seating.
Tip: Almond croissants sell out by 11:00 on Saturday; weekday morning is the calmer queue.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Batard Boulangerie ★ 4.7
Batard on West Broadway is Vancouver's reference natural-leavened bread bakery since 2017, the daily baguette pulled hot at 11:00 the city standard.
Tip: Baguettes pulled fresh at 11:00 and 14:30; the kitchen sells out by 15:00 on Saturday.
Worth the queue: Sourdough baguette
Bakery in Venice
Pasticceria Tonolo ★ 4.7
Pasticceria Tonolo on Calle San Pantalon in Venice's Dorsoduro has run since 1886, the city's benchmark patisserie for focaccia veneziana and Carnevale.
Tip: Open 07:30; the morning queue clears by 09:00. The focaccia veneziana is best the same day it's baked. Cash preferred.
Worth the queue: Focaccia veneziana with 30-hour leavening
Pasticceria Rizzardini ★ 4.5
Pasticceria Rizzardini on Campiello dei Meloni near Campo San Polo has baked since 1742, a tiny corner room with acqua alta marks by the door.
Tip: The chocolate-marzipan moro and the bussolai biscuits travel well. During Carnevale, queue for the frittelle and the chiacchiere.
Worth the queue: Dogi (amaretto cookies), bussolai biscuits
Panificio Volpe Giovanni ★ 4.5
Panificio Volpe Giovanni in Venice's Jewish Ghetto on Calle del Ghetto Vecchio is the family kosher bakery since the 1950s, with azzime dolci.
Tip: Cash only. Closed Saturday for Shabbat (Sun open 08:30-12:30 instead). Challah on Friday morning; arrive by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Azzime dolci, kosher bagels
Bakery in Verona
Pasticceria Flego ★ 4.6
Pasticceria Flego opened in 1950 in Verona and runs three city shops. TableJourney editor pick with address and booking notes inside the entry.
Tip: Buy Baci di Giulietta in a 250g paper box (€18); the Torta Russa is the second souvenir.
Worth the queue: Baci di Giulietta (almond-hazelnut shortbread)
Gelateria Savoia ★ 4.6
Gelateria Savoia in Verona opened in 1939 under the Bonvicini-Savoia family, three Gelato Oscars at Longarone for the crema. A 2026 editor pick.
Tip: The crema and pistacchio are the icons; arrive before 18:00 in summer to avoid the queue.
Worth the queue: Crema, fragoline di bosco and pistacchio gelato
Dolce Locanda Perbellini ★ 4.5
Dolce Locanda Perbellini in Verona is the central pastry shop of Giancarlo Perbellini, opened on Via Catullo in 2014. A 2026 TableJourney editor pick.
Tip: The pandoro A Ernesto (named for the chef's grandfather) is the seasonal signature; risino and millefoglie are the year-round counter picks.
Worth the queue: Pandoro A Ernesto and panettone A Enzo
Bakery in Vienna
Joseph Brot Naglergasse ★ 4.7
Joseph Brot on Naglergasse in Vienna's first district bakes Josef Weghaupt's Waldviertel heritage-grain sourdough by hand without machines. The cinnamon.
Tip: The cinnamon Pulled Bread is the bakery's most-bought breakfast bake; weekend mornings sell out by 11:00.
Worth the queue: Joseph Laib
Joseph Brot Landstrasse ★ 4.6
Joseph Brot Landstrasse on Landstrasser Hauptstrasse in Vienna's 3rd district runs the bakery's full-service cafe, with hot dishes, granolas.
Tip: Open weekday breakfasts and lunch; the cinnamon Pulled Bread sells out by mid-morning.
Worth the queue: Joseph Laib
Paremi Boulangerie-Patisserie ★ 4.6
Paremi on Baeckerstrasse in Vienna's first district is Patricia and Remi's French boulangerie behind Stephansdom, baking croissants and eclairs daily.
Tip: The fig-tree courtyard at the back is the room's only summer seating; arrive by 09:00 on weekend mornings.
Worth the queue: Pain au chocolat
Bakery in Vilnius
Beigelių Krautuvėlė (The Bagel Shop) ★ 4.5
Beigelių Krautuvėlė on the ground floor of the Lithuanian Jewish Community on Pylimo bakes Litvak bagels, bialys, challah and teyglakh on-site since 2016.
Signature: Bagel lox, Bialy, Challah for Sabbath, Teyglakh
Order: The Bagel Lox; take a teyglakh home for later.
Tip: Sold out by late afternoon. The most historically grounded bagel in the Baltic.
Beigelių Krautuvėlė (The Bagel Shop) ★ 4.5
Beigelių Krautuvėlė on Pylimo bakes Litvak Jewish bagels, bialys, challah for Sabbath and teyglakh on-site since 2016, run by the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
Tip: Sells out by late afternoon. The most historically grounded bagel in the Baltic, simply.
Worth the queue: Bagel Lox
Pinavija ★ 4.4
Pinavija on Vilniaus is a family-run Lithuanian bakery cafe known for hot kibinai pastries, šakotis tree cake and brunch in a softly-French Old Town corner.
Tip: Indoor seating fills early on weekends. A šakotis to-go travels home well in checked luggage.
Worth the queue: Mutton kibinai
Bakery in Warsaw
Lukullus (Mokotowska) ★ 4.7
Lukullus on Mokotowska in Warsaw is the third-generation Warsaw patisserie family business since 1946. Open mon-sat 09:00-20:00, sun 09:00-18:00.
Worth the queue: Paczek z roza (rose-filled doughnut)
Wedel Staroswiecki Sklep ★ 4.6
The Wedel old-fashioned shop on Szpitalna in Warsaw, opened in 1894 in Emil Wedel's tenement, sells chocolate bars, Ptasie Mleczko marshmallows.
Worth the queue: Hot drinking chocolate
RANO Piekarnia Rzemieslnicza ★ 4.6
RANO on Stalowa in Praga is the small craft bakery that supplies bread to a long list of Warsaw's better restaurants. Daily wheat sourdough, wheat with oats.
Worth the queue: Wheat sourdough loaf, Saturday 100% rye
Bakery in Washington DC
Bread Furst ★ 4.7
Bread Furst in Washington DC is Mark Furstenberg's Van Ness bakery on Connecticut Avenue since 2014, a James Beard Outstanding Baker winner with sourdough.
Tip: Country loaves come out at 11:00 and 15:00; ask for the timing at the counter to catch them warm.
Worth the queue: Country sourdough loaf
Seylou Bakery and Mill ★ 4.6
Seylou Bakery and Mill in Washington DC is Jonathan and Jessica Bethony's Shaw Blagden Alley bakery, a single-source mill-to-loaf operation grinding regional.
Tip: Sundays sell out by 12:00; pre-order miche loaves through the website for Saturday pickup.
Worth the queue: Whole-grain country miche
Yellow ★ 4.6
Yellow in Washington DC is Michael Rafidi's Shaw Levantine bakery-cafe on S Street, the daytime sister of Albi, with manakish za'atar flatbreads.
Tip: The shakshuka and za'atar manakish run the morning menu; the spinach fatayer is the under-ordered runner-up.
Worth the queue: Manakish za'atar flatbread
Bakery in Wrocław
Chleboteka ★ 4.8
Chleboteka on Ruska in central Wrocław bakes the city's most ambitious sourdough, some loaves a 48-hour prove. At ul. Ruska 64/65. Booking recommended.
Order: The country sourdough sliced thick, plus a cinnamon bun for the walk.
Tip: Get there by 09:30 for the best pastry selection; the morning bake sells through by lunch.
Worth the queue: 48-hour sourdough loaf
Piekarnia Złoto Nadodrza ★ 4.6
Piekarnia Złoto Nadodrza in Wrocław's Nadodrze has run by the Krajewski family since 1979, one of the city's best craft bakeries. At ul. Henryka Pobożnego 20.
Order: A plum-cinnamon pączek, eaten warm out of the paper bag.
Tip: Buy three pączki to take across the river; they hold for the day if not refrigerated.
Worth the queue: Pączki with plum and cinnamon filling
Piekarnia Sąsiedzi ★ 4.4
Piekarnia Sąsiedzi in Wrocław's Grunwald student district is the neighbourhood breakfast room: sourdough breads, cinnamon buns, daily-changing breakfast.
Order: A cinnamon bun and an espresso, eaten at the window counter.
Tip: Saturdays sell out by noon. Weekday breakfast from 08:00 is the calmest version.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon bun
Bakery in Zurich
Confiserie Spruengli ★ 4.7
Founded 1836 on Bahnhofstrasse, 190 years in 2026. Luxemburgerli macarons, handcrafted chocolates, pralines, the canonical Zurich confectionery counter.
Worth the queue: Luxemburgerli
John Baker Stadelhofen ★ 4.6
Opened 2013 by Jens Jung: organic bread freshly prepared on site daily, flour milled in-house. Olive bread, fruit bread, rye, the whole organic catalogue.
Worth the queue: Rye sourdough
Spruengli Paradeplatz Confiserie ★ 4.6
Spruengli's flagship Paradeplatz boutique: Truffes du Jour (fresh daily, 48-hour shelf life), chocolate bars, tortes, and the most Zurich gift basket.
Worth the queue: Truffes du Jour
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