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Los Angeles has plenty of sweet shops, cake spots , and bakeries around the city, many adopting styles and flavors from around the world. It's perhaps the best trademark of LA's approach to baking because it's not tied to any particular style. Instead, find LA’s wonderful amalgam of the not-too-sweet Asian influence, glorious Mexican panaderias that offer the ideal starters for every morning, traditional American bakeries, and solid French or European renditions.
Either way, there’s something for every appetite in Los Angeles. Here’s where to find the best places to find bread, croissants, cakes, and pastries in the Southern California region. New this update: Longtime Valley bakery Bea’s, Highland Park newcomer Santa Canela, Hollywood French restaurant Mr.
T, South Bay Bakery Colossus, croissant specialist Petit Grain, and Culver City’s long-awaited Helms Bakery join the list. Rebecca Roland is very picky about her pastries and doesn’t like anything that’s too sweet. Yet, her ideal breakfast consists of some type of croissant and espresso.
Bea's Bakery Open since 1968, Bea’s Bakery is a Valley institution. The Tarzana shop bakes up classic Jewish bakery sweets like black and white cookies, apple strudel, and babka, alongside more recent additions like ube rugelach. Located next to Mort’s Deli, it's not uncommon to see pastries pop into the restaurant for breakfast or lunch, before heading next door to pick up a challah or a few mini eclairs.
There are even gluten-free hamantaschen, cupcakes, rye bread, and more for those who are avoiding wheat. Petit Grain Boulangerie The most compelling new bakery to open in 2024 comes from baking instructor Clémence de Lutz and her partner and chef Tony Hernandez. Operating from a small 1,000-square-foot slot in Santa Monica, the talented duo behind Petit Grain produces some of the city’s finest viennoiserie, from pan au chocolat to classic croissants, using a blend of local flours and plenty of French butter.
Petit Grain’s creations are wonderfully flaky and undergirded by a nutty complexity. Sourdough pan loaves are burnished with dark brown crusts, ready to slice at home for supremely good sandwiches. The pastries here do sell out, so arrive early for the best selection.
— Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest Also featured in: The 38 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles The Best Exquisite, Buttery Croissants in Los Angeles Gjusta There’s so much to take in at this perennial Venice hotspot. The glass pastry case in the front will likely be the first thing to catch the eye, filled with beautifully executed cakes, pies, and galettes. At breakfast, try the flaky tahini or ham and cheese croissant.
Grab a loaf of bread for the road, or settle in for a larger meal of a tuna conserva sandwich and kale salad. If the Basque cheesecake is available, make sure to try a slice. Also featured in: The Best Restaurants in LA’s Beachy Venice Neighborhood, According to Eater Editors The Best Exquisite, Buttery Croissants in Los Angeles Jyan Isaac Bread Jyan Isaac Horwitz started his baking career at Venice’s Gjusta and struck out on his own in 2020 at only 19 years old.
After popping up across Los Angeles and selling bread out of a window in Santa Monica, Horwitz opened his first permanent location in 2021. At the Santa Monica bakery, he offers his coveted sourdough rolls, brioche buns, baguettes, challah, and multi-grain porridge loaves. Horwitz also branched out into bagels, serving them loose or topped with options like schmear, tomato cultured butter, and house jam.
On the sweeter side, the bakery offers glossy croissants with mesmerizing curves and cruffins topped with seasonal fruits. Also featured in: The 18 Best Santa Monica Restaurants 15 Destinations for Supreme Bagel Satisfaction in Los Angeles Fat + Flour Culver City Nicole Rucker’s baked goods are on everyone’s radar thanks to her 2019 cookbook, two LA locations — including one in Grand Central Market — and her notable chocolate chess pie. Rucker’s banana cream pies, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies are typically top sellers.
The Culver City menu offers more savory options like an herb omelette sandwich and a mozzarella and tomato pesto sandwich on Jyan Isaac bread. Sign up for our newsletter. Check your inbox for a welcome email.
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Tommy & Atticus Owner and baker Garrett McPerry worked at Gjusta and operated a farmers market stand serving sourdough bread for years before opening Tommy & Atticus in Redondo Beach, which is named for his starters. Beyond the bread, which is top-flight, the pastries and sweets are all oriented around seasonal produce and farmers market ingredients, reflecting a classic American approach. Also featured in: The Best Restaurants in LA’s South Bay, According to Eater Editors The Best Exquisite, Buttery Croissants in Los Angeles Sweet Red Peach Cult-favorite bakery Sweet Red Peach is still turning out some of the finest cakes and sweets in Los Angeles, even after more than two decades in business.
The signature 7-Up cake is beloved among LA’s Black community, with its gently citrusy batter that bakes into something akin to a pound cake. Try a bit of everything off the menu, including a not-too-sweet peach cobbler and blue velvet cupcakes. Sweet Red Peach also has locations in Torrance, Menifee, and Pasadena.
Also featured in: The Best Pies in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors 9 Delectable Bakeries to Know in South Los Angeles République Margarita Manzke oversees the baking and pastry operation at the former La Brea Bakery (and Campanile) space, resulting in fantastic renditions of French and American staples, from croissants and cookies to house-baked baguettes. In 2023, Manzke won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. Make sure to try the bomboloni, filled with the choice of creme brulee, matcha rose, or chocolate hazelnut.
Also featured in: The Best Brunch Destinations in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors The Best Restaurants for Lunch in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors Artelice Patisserie The San Fernando Valley’s stunning Artelice Patisserie creates some of the most beautiful and technically sound desserts in Los Angeles. With a full-time patisserie in Burbank and an outlet in Sawtelle Japantown, these grand sweets elevate any afternoon tea or evening gathering. While all the sweets are outstanding, including the tiramisu and tarte tatin, make sure to try the Italian Princess croissant filled with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, and basil.
Friends & Family Friends & Family anchors East Hollywood’s sweets scene, with a pastry case full of more than 40 types of baked goods on weekends. Co-owner and bakery Roxana Jullapat cut her teeth at restaurants like Bastide, Lucques, AOC, and Campanile, and authored the cookbook Mother Grains . Try the croissants, which are made with Sonoran wheat, and whatever type of scone happens to be available that day.
For something sweeter, there aren’t many better caneles in Los Angeles than the ones here. Also featured in: The Best Restaurants in Uptown Oakland 20 Exquisite Cookie Destinations in Los Angeles Colossus Bread It's not uncommon to see a line out the door at San Pedro’s compact Colossus Bread. Founded by Kristin Colazas Rodriguez, a pastry chef and baker whose resume includes Petit Crenn, Outerlands, Octavia, and Osteria Mozza, Colossus specializes in laminated pastries and sourdough breads.
The croissants and kouign amann are a highlight of the menu, and no trip is complete without leaving with a baguette or country loaf. While the San Pedro location serves a tight breakfast menu, the larger location in Long Beach offers sourdough pizzas from 3 p.m.
to 8 p.m. Also featured in: The Best Restaurants in LA’s South Bay, According to Eater Editors Proof Bakery As one of LA’s few employee-owned collective bakeries, this Atwater Village institution is an ideal meld between the best of classic European and American baking sensibilities.
The classic croissants are as good as they get, but don’t neglect the cookies, caneles, scones, and savory sandwiches. The menu changes seasonally, so watch out for whatever pastry may be new in the case that week. Sandwiches don’t roll out until 11:30 a.
m., but early risers get the best pastry options. Also featured in: The Best Exquisite, Buttery Croissants in Los Angeles The Best Cakes in Los Angeles Flouring LA Pastry chef Heather Wong launched Flouring in 2020 as a pop-up, before finding a permanent home for her baked goods in 2024.
Head to Wong’s lavendar colored Chinatown shop for her floral citrus shortbread cookies, brownies topped with meringue, s’mores bars, and pavlovas. No trip here is complete without at least one slice of cake, available in flavors like lavender lemon marble, passionfruit, and black sesame. Santa Canela Ellen Ramos, a veteran of Loreto and LA Cha Cha Chá, is making her mark on Highland Park’s pastry scene with her bakery Santa Canela.
Located next door to vinyl bar Gold Line, the bakery serves a lineup of Mexico City and LA-inspired treats like concha croissants, pepita-infused financier cakes, and champurrado-flavored maple doughnuts. Odette Olavarri, the baker behind Mexico City’s Odette, also consulted on the menu, bringing her own twists on classic pastries like kouign-amann with cajeta. For those looking for something savory, Santa Canela also serves a potato soyrizo croissant and a cured beef and kale chimichurri focaccia sandwich topped with fried chile güero.
The mid-century leaning interior was designed by Studio Lena’s Lena Kohl and features striking marble countertops and rich wood cabinets. Make sure to try the “LA” shaped churro. Also featured in: The Hottest New Restaurants in Los Angeles Gusto Bread From home baker to one of LA’s most popular Mexican-influenced bakeries, Arturo Enciso’s Long Beach bakery has become an LA institution in a matter of a few short years.
At the shop, he makes everything from cacao-topped conchas and masa sweet bread to seeded loaves. Grab a puffy pastelito filled with cream cheese and guava, and pair it with one of the daily agua frescas. Also featured in: The 20 Best Long Beach Restaurants Dive Into These 12 Super-Spicy Tortas Ahogadas in Los Angeles CAR Artisan Chocolate - Manufactory & Cafe The name may be deceiving, but Pasadena-based chocolatier Haris Car makes what might be the best chocolate croissant in the city .
Car took close to a year to meticulously develop the pastry, which is served warm, with a glossy, shatteringly crisp exterior. Inside each baked wonder is a trio of chocolate batons, sourced thoughtfully and ethically by Car himself. While the shop is best known for the chocolate croissant, make sure to try some of the other laminated treats like kouign amann and a berry-filled Danish.
Also featured in: The Best Exquisite, Buttery Croissants in Los Angeles.
