Jiro Cafe & Bakery

This is the best Japanese bakery in the Bay Area. Bread and ingredients are perfect. It's hard to find matcha or chocolate drinks with such flavor. Try it once.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Melon Pan, Japanese-Style Burger

Love this place. Feel like I’m in Japan. Great quality, homemade, not too sweet like American deserts. Can’t get any better.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The Japanese style bread and crab sando are great!

Not a lot of japanese bakery selection here in the Bay Area, but this spot is a must-try.

Decided to try a large variety of the menu, and everything was a hit. Would def recommend getting the chocolate and matcha lattes; they are so rich and authentic which is rare to find even amongst drink specialized stores. Also would recommend the cream cornets and the tonkatsu sandwich; portion is huge!

Staff were all very friendly and professional; I you like your bread not too sweet, would def recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Tonkatsu sando and crab musubi were sooo yummy. Also got drinks: matcha swirl latte, chocolate latte, matcha latte, and hojicha latte. Everything was amazing! ??It was so delicious. Please come again! ??‍⬛?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Curry Bread...get it fresh out of the oven....it's heavenly...I never knew I loved them..until I had them for the first time a few weeks ago!!! Rode my motorcycle 30 miles to have more..actually, I bought it all...sorry if you didn't get to try one that day.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A delightful, quaint, and cute Japanese cafe!
It's such a treat to have on the Peninsula. The katsu sandwich is solid. I love the cabbage to meat to sauce ratio. It is a messy one, so consider yourself warned. New items appeared since I visited the first time so make sure to visit more than once! I got the lychee soda. Perfectly sweetened, refreshing for a warm day. Cat bread is always a delight. Don't sleep on this one!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Japanese-Style Burger, Anpan

I really enjoyed this nice local bakery. The melon pan was excellent and so were our drinks and hot items. The prices are very reasonable and the staff gave us good recommendations.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Melon Pan, Peach Soda

This bakery serve real Japanese breads and foods. Service and atmosphere are nice and friendly. I highly recommend Houji-cha latte and Houji cha pudding, These guys are Super Tasty! Love it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Happen to stop by after my haircut next store. Owners said it is good. Food was great. Fresh, tasty. Very good service. All ordering is automated. We had spam masubi and a pastry. Need to go back for the sandwiches.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

High quality Hojicha pudding! A must try!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

So cute, and such a lovely atmosphere. The food is delicious and has cute plating, too. Nice employees. I love it here! The prices are a little on the high end but thats to be expected for the area, and very worth it

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great little bakery in the area! All the bread is delicious. I wish they opened either earlier or later so I could get bread before/after work :(

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Tonkatsu quesadilla, pan, and cat shaped bread are so good. Great hot drinks. Amazing little corner Japanese bakery, in Belmont!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Anpan, Tonkatsu Burrito, Spam Egg Rice and Seaweed

It is remarkable that an authentic Japanese bakery exists in the Peninsula, let alone a quaint neighborhood between San Carlos and Belmont. Don't get me wrong - nothing wrong with this. Just that you might wonder whether the demand is there.Now imagine if your favorite friendly Japanese aunt had a hobby in baking. She's quite good. And she puts a smile on everyone's face whenever she serves bread. And one day, she decides she wants to try opening a bakery. Start small, sell it to those that's around her. I'm not sure what the backstory of Jiro's is but it absolutely feels this way.The breads here are nothing but love. You can "feel" the love and care they've put into it. Yes, they taste quite good. Not your top notch Michelin grade but also not a factory-style super sweet sales-optimized production. They are hearty.To judge any Japanese bakery, you must try its Melon-pan. It's the primary staple of any Japense establishment. The crust must be crisp yet gentle. The insides airy. The melon scent is the key. Jiro's does not nail this. I wished the bread was a bit more briochy and the crust didn't carry the melon scent well. Also, a hint of chocolate filling surprised me. It is definitely not your commerical "classical" recipe. But it worked. I enjoyed it.And now... the price. $4.50 for a Melon-pan is nearing the border of blasphemy. It is like charging $20 for a burger. However, this is what you should be wililng to pay to taste bread made with love.I'm so happy that Jiro's opened in San Carlos. Will absolutely return to try all of their menus.

Parking: There's no official parking other than the 2~3 spots in front which are never open. You might want to consider parking across the street in front of Lunardi's and cross over.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Melon Pan