The counters in St. Louis worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in St. Louis worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
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
Park Avenue Coffee bakes more than 70 varieties of gooey butter cake, the dessert invented here, served with house-roasted coffee in Lafayette Square.
Tip: The Mom's Traditional was named best in town by Food Network. Boxes hold up well as edible souvenirs.
Worth the queue: Mom's Traditional gooey butter cake
A decades-old Affton bakery, Federhofer's makes a distinctive gooey butter cake without cream cheese or powdered sugar, plus full cases of cakes and cookies.
Tip: Its gooey butter is a denser style than the cream-cheese versions. Come early for the freshest cases.
Worth the queue: Gooey butter cake without powdered sugar
A family-run Italian-American bakery on The Hill, Missouri Baking Company is famous for cookies by the pound and a dense, almond-paste gooey butter cake.
Tip: It is cash-and-pickup with no online ordering; buy cookies by weight. Weekend mornings see a line of Hill regulars.
Worth the queue: Almond-paste gooey butter cake and cookies
Chef Simone Faure's French patisserie in Botanical Heights turns out macarons, croissants and cakes with classical technique. The city's French bakery.
Tip: Macarons and laminated pastries are the strengths; custom cakes are a specialty. The morning croissants go quickly.
Worth the queue: Macarons and laminated pastries
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
Whisk bakes cakes, cookies and seasonal pastries from scratch on Cherokee Street with a sustainability focus, a community-minded anchor of the Cherokee crawl.
Tip: The seasonal cakes and the cookies are the orders. It shares the Cherokee Street block with the Mud House coffee crowd.
Worth the queue: Cakes, cookies and seasonal pastries
A tiny Lindenwood Park bakery, Pint Size turns out muffins, scones and a cult salted caramel-chocolate cookie alongside Kaldi's coffee. A peanut-free kitchen.
Tip: The salted caramel-chocolate cookie is the order, and stock is small. Get there before mid-morning on Saturdays.
Worth the queue: Salted caramel-chocolate cookies and muffins
A small Dogtown bakery, Sugaree specialises in scratch pies and layer cakes, a neighbourhood spot known for seasonal fruit pies. Weekend hours only.
Tip: It is open only Friday to Sunday, so plan accordingly. The seasonal fruit pies and the cakes are the reasons to go.
Worth the queue: Seasonal fruit pies and cakes
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
A South County mainstay since 1956, McArthur's is a classic full-service bakery known for celebration cakes and a deep case of St. Louis bakery staples.
Tip: It is the go-to for custom and celebration cakes. The gooey butter cake and the donuts hold up the everyday case.
Worth the queue: Custom cakes and gooey butter cake
World's Fair Donuts has fried hand-made yeast and cake doughnuts from a small Vandeventer shop for almost 90 years, the city's classic doughnut counter.
Tip: It is cash-only and gone by lunch most days; arrive early for the apple fritter and the red velvet cake doughnut.
Worth the queue: Apple fritter and red velvet cake doughnut
Strange Donuts makes inventive, often over-the-top doughnuts and rotating collaboration flavours from a Maplewood shop, a playful local doughnut institution.
Tip: The wild rotating specials change weekly; the standards are reliable too. They sell out on busy mornings.
Worth the queue: Rotating collaboration doughnuts
Reine Bayoc's SweetArt bakes plant-based cakes, cupcakes and savoury plates with strong vegan and gluten-free options, a longtime favourite now in Midtown.
Tip: It is the city's go-to for vegan celebration cakes. The savoury cafe menu is a bonus alongside the case.
Worth the queue: Vegan cakes and cupcakes
A family German-American bakery in old-town Florissant, Helfer's makes strudel, stollen and bakery-case classics, a long-running north-county favourite.
Tip: The German pastries and the seasonal stollen are the draws. Pair a visit with old-town Florissant's historic streets.
Worth the queue: Strudel, stollen and cakes
A small Italian bakery on The Hill, Marconi turns out cannoli, cookies and crusty Italian bread to a neighbourhood crowd, a no-frills Hill morning stop.
Tip: It opens early and closes by early afternoon; the bread and cannoli go first. Cash-friendly and unpretentious.
Worth the queue: Cannoli, cookies and Italian bread
Comet's serious in-house micro-bakery turns out kouign-amann and seasonal galettes alongside the espresso, a pastry program that rivals the coffee here.
Tip: The kouign-amann and galettes sell out by midday, so come early. There are two locations, on Shaw and Oakland.
Worth the queue: Kouign-amann and galettes
STL Toasted took over the old Mama Toscano's space on The Hill and built a counter around toasted ravioli, the breaded-and-fried St. Louis dish born here.
Tip: Open only Friday to Sunday; order the t-ravs by the dozen with marinara. It carries on the Hill's ravioli tradition.
Worth the queue: Breaded, fried toasted ravioli
Gooey Louie bakes the city's signature gooey butter cake from scratch in mini and full sizes from a small Clayton Road shop minutes west of Forest Park.
Tip: Order minis to mix flavours, or call ahead for a full cake. Cream-cheese original is the canonical pick.
Worth the queue: Original gooey butter cake