The Sycamore Kitchen ★ 4.4
Karen Hatfield's Sycamore Kitchen on La Brea, Los Angeles bakes scones and tart squares from California fruit, and serves lunch from a long counter.
Worth the queue: Apricot pistachio scone
Zach Hall's Clark Street Bread on Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles bakes a naturally leavened miche and serves morning sandwiches from a fast counter.
Address: 139 1/2 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Karen Hatfield's Sycamore Kitchen on La Brea, Los Angeles bakes scones and tart squares from California fruit, and serves lunch from a long counter.
Worth the queue: Apricot pistachio scone
Porto's Bakery in Glendale, Los Angeles has baked Cuban pastries (potato balls, cheese rolls, guava strudels) since 1976, family-run across five locations.
Worth the queue: Cheese roll
Proof Bakery in Atwater Village, Los Angeles bakes a clean almond croissant and a daily quiche from a corner cafe that doubles as the neighbourhood living room.
Worth the queue: Almond croissant
Travis Lett's Gjusta in Venice, Los Angeles is a 24-hour deli and bakery in a warehouse, baking bagels and curing lox from a 90-foot counter.
Worth the queue: Everything bagel with house lox
Go Get Em Tiger's pastry counter on Larchmont, Los Angeles bakes a daily rotation of muffins and a sticky banana bread to go with the cafe's almond latte.
Worth the queue: Banana bread
Fugetsu-Do in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles has hand-pounded mochi since 1903 from the same family. Strawberry daifuku from the morning batch is the order.
Worth the queue: Strawberry daifuku