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
Bakery counters in Oaxaca worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Where to queue for bread and pastry
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
Pasteleria Carmelita Morelos ★ 4.0
Pasteleria Carmelita on Morelos 908 is one of the Centro outlets of the Carmelita family chain, with pan de yema, conchas and a cake counter open daily.
Worth the queue: Pan de yema oaxaqueno
Pasteleria Carmelita Libres ★ 3.9
Pasteleria Carmelita on Calle de Los Libres is the second Centro branch of the family chain, with pan de yema, pan de muerto in October and traditional cakes.
Worth the queue: Pan de muerto in October
Pan:am ★ 4.2
Pan:am on Abasolo bakes housemade bread and pastries each morning, paired with a breakfast room serving chilaquiles, waffles and pan dulce platters.
Worth the queue: Pan dulce platter
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
Chocolate Mayordomo (Mercado 20 de Noviembre) ★ 4.2
Chocolate Mayordomo's Mercado 20 de Noviembre stall (Casetas 21-23) is the in-market branch of the 1956 chocolate house, milling cacao on demand and bagging.
Worth the queue: Cacao tablet
La Soledad pan de yema ★ 3.9
La Soledad on Independencia is the historic pan de yema counter near the Basilica de La Soledad, with the egg-yolk-rich bread Oaxaca dunks in chocolate.
Worth the queue: Pan de yema
El Volador tejate counter ★ 4.1
El Volador in the Jardin Socrates pours tejate, the prehispanic maize-and-cacao drink declared Oaxacan cultural heritage in 2023, with totopos on the side.
Worth the queue: Tejate
Mercado 20 de Noviembre pan dulce row ★ 4.2
Mercado 20 de Noviembre's pan dulce row runs the southwest aisle, with conchas, pan de yema and pan de muerto every October from a dozen Oaxacan home bakers.
Worth the queue: Pan de muerto in October
Chocolate La Soledad ★ 3.9
Chocolate La Soledad on Mina is the other long-running chocolate house in the Mina-20 de Noviembre block, with stone-ground cacao milled on the counter daily.
Worth the queue: Chocolate de leche tablet
Chocolate Guelaguetza ★ 3.8
Chocolate Guelaguetza on Calle 20 de Noviembre has run since 1956, with stone-ground cacao tablets and pre-mixed mole pastes sold by the kilo for home cooks.
Worth the queue: Mole-tablet kit
Tejate vendors at Mercado Benito Juarez ★ 4.2
The tejate vendors at Mercado Benito Juarez whisk maize, cacao, mamey seed and cacao flower into the foamed prehispanic drink, served from gourd bowls.
Worth the queue: Tejate bowl
Mercado Sanchez Pascuas pan dulce stalls ★ 4.0
Mercado Sanchez Pascuas's bread row sits in the third hall, with pan dulce, conchas, tejate and a fonda counter (Yolis, Lupita, Nelly) open from 06:00 daily.
Worth the queue: Pan de yema
Quesillo de Reyes Etla bakery counter ★ 4.0
The Mercado Reyes Etla pan and quesillo row sells Oaxacan string cheese pulled fresh and traditional pan dulce on tianguis days, half-an-hour north of Centro.
Worth the queue: Bola de quesillo