50 Best Bakeries in San Diego

“I knew I wanted to move to San Diego the second I arrived… but I was planning to take my sweet time. Then I ate the chocolate croissant and their sandwich, and now Zillow is open on my phone and I’m emotionally packing boxes. I might be moving next week.

This place is dangerous. Every bite felt illegal like I should have needed a permit to enjoy food this good. The chocolate croissant alone deserves its own national holiday, and the sandwich? I experienced a full body spiritual awakening somewhere between the first and second bite. I saw colors. I forgave people. I briefly considered texting my ex just to thank them for leading me to this moment (I didn’t, growth).

The staff was incredibly kind, welcoming, and patient while I stood there chewing dramatically and whispering “wow” to myself like I had never eaten before.

If I disappear from my current city, please check here first I’ll be the person eating pastries like it’s my full time job.

Would be down to get a job here too, as long as you dont count my pastry intake“

“Love their new location downtown. More space with the same high quality croissants and sourdough loaves. Chocolate croissant and olive pecan sourdough are my favorites.“

“O my goodness! Their almond filled pastry/croissant is one of the best food I ever tasted. Filling is not stingy, almond is fresh. I bet this would be good with their coffee. Definitely recommend the almond croissant 🥐. Next time I go back I'll try their other baked goods.“

“Wonderful experience and an even better cake! The staff and manager were very helpful in coordinating the delivery and the s’mores cake was delicious! Will definitely order from here again. Thank you for making my brother’s birthday special!“

“By far the best donuts in San Diego, especially their Apple Fritters!! Very nice family running this shop ... for many, many years. They have watched my kids grow up since they were toddlers, and now my youngest is almost 19 and my oldest is 24!“

“I absolutely love this place. It’s warm, inviting, and filled with amazing pastries and cakes. The atmosphere is cozy and homey, with a charm that takes you back to an old-time, local bakery in a small European village. The staff are genuinely friendly and welcoming, which makes the experience even better. You can sit down, enjoy pastries fresh and hot out of the oven, and pair them with a great cup of coffee. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to stay a little longer. Try it, you won’t regret it.“

“Had a fantastic first-time visit to YikoYiko in San Diego while celebrating a birthday for a family member --- came on a recommendation since I'm not local, and it did not disappoint!

This spot is a super cute little shop that instantly screams elite bakery vibes. Watching the girls in the back hustle like true professionals was a highlight, beautiful to see that level of craft in action.

We grabbed a cake that was outstanding: perfectly moist with a light, balanced sweetness that let the all the flavors shine without overwhelming my tongue with sugar. Loved the thoughtful touch of the included little cutter kit, so convenient for easy serving.

This is absolutely the kind of place you return to just to try everything else on the menu. Highly recommend for birthdays or any special treat!“

“Best sourdough rosemary bread ever. Always buy extra loads when I’m in town.“

“Thank you French Oven! Everyone at Construction Notice Services loved the pastries I brought for work today.They were literally gone in minutes! Everything was fresh and delicious as always.“

“The cookies 🍪 are amazing!“

“I tried the Coconut Cake...best I've ever had. The Mango Cheesecake was delicious! To drink, I had a Double Cortadito, so good! What brought me here were the Guava and Guava Cheese Pastelitos. I have only ever had these from Portos. Sadly, they were too rich! Not the Guava or Cheese, they were way too buttery! The amount of butter used over powered the Guava. Hopefully it's just the batch I had. I will be back to try their other cakes and sandwiches.“

“My family and I were visiting San Diego for my daughters 21st birthday. I thought of everything but the cake. I called Kona Kakes on Friday hoping for a cake by Sunday, I was told they are closed on Sunday, so they could have it ready on Saturday. We were enjoying the zoo Saturday and I completely forgot about the cake. It was after store hours but I tried to reach them by phone anyways, the owner answered and said she would wait for us to arrive. This in itself was truly amazing, but the cake! The cake was beautiful, delicious, moist, decadent, and extremely flavorful! We had the Caramel Macadamia Nut Cake. Everyone and most of all, my daughter loved the cake! If you live near Kona Kakes then count yourself blessed and try this place. I wish there was a Kona Kakes in Las Vegas.“

“The cheesecakes here are so good. Super soft, moist, and fluffy! They’re slightly sweet, which is so addicting. I love the original flavor the most. The pandan one wasn’t that good.
The strawberry burnt basque cakes is also very good. It’s better than the original one.
Parking sucks though because the shop shares a small lot with many other stores, so it’s always difficult to find parking unless you come right when they open.“

“Everything is spectacular but i especially looooove their lemon bars! 🧡“

“Audrey was the best! We came from Maine and short notice we were able to get a dozen cupcakes ordered for pickup with 2 days notice. They were fantastic and gone quickly!! Thank you again!!“

“I went here, not realizing, and it was gluten-free until I got to the actual location, because I was looking for vegan friendly bakeries in the area, and it was the best gluten-free stuff I ever had. The espresso ganache thingy was insane and I never thought I liked anything gluten-free in the past. It was moist and good, not like the dry falvorless gluten-free things I have had before. So rather your vegan, gluten-free, or just a regular person I’m sure there will be something that you like here!“

“I had the privilege of being a customer of Elite Baking. I live on the east coast and was ordering a cake for a friend in San Diego. Elite Baking's communication was wonderful. I sent her some inspiration and vision pics and the result was way better than anything I asked for. She has so much attention to detail and thoughtfulness in her design. My friend was blown away with beauty of the cake and said the cake tasted delicious! Elite Baking went above and beyond for the delivery and were so patient as it took a bit longer for her to get in touch with my friend for delivery. I would recommend Elite Baking to anyone. The quality in the product and the customer service was phenomenal! Thank you to Elite Baking for adding the joy and memories of my friends birthday!“

“I'm retired but I like it more than others because the service here is fast and they always have cookies available

Parking: I think it's okay except that there are more businesses and a restaurant on one side and it takes longer but it is very big“

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a gem in San Diego. Everything is so good. The cinnamon pull apart bread is something that you will always remember of how good it is. I have dreams about it. The Apple strudel omg.... the cakes. As soon as you walk in you can smell the delicious chocolate. Highly recommended!“

“This patisserie/coffee shop provides a nice respite from the busy city life during the middle of the afternoon. Their signature yuzu lemon tart is both sweet yet tart enough to make you pucker your lips. The baked goods are pleasant and Illiana was very helpful and welcoming but the prices are steep.“

“Delicious Mexican sweet bread, very tasty and fresh, they always have a great variety, the only thing is that they are slow to serve, they sell you the box for one dollar and they only accept cash. Open from Monday to Saturday from very early.“

“We loved this place so much we already have made plans to go back. The food was delicious and portion size is great. Friendly crew, helpful and great service. You can also purchase frozen pies to take home which we will be doing“

“Amaya was so easy to work with from before placing an order to post-delivery for our baby shower. On our initial call, she listened carefully to my requests and how I envisioned our dessert table to look like. She was always available via text messages or phone calls for any questions. Her prices were also reasonable. On the day of the delivery, my friend who was handling my event set up said Amaya was very sweet and came on time to deliver the desserts. She even left us a sweet thoughtful card congratulating us on our baby shower. As for the desserts, they were to die for!! I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and my husband is all about desserts. So between the two of us, we can be picky. From the cookies to the fruit cups to the cupcakes, everything was delicious. Special shoutout to the fruit cups, they were so good (highly recommend them)!! Our guests loved the desserts and asked where we got them from. I will definitely use Love and Bake again for any future events. Thank you Amaya for being so wonderful to work with!“

“Be back fo sho. Delicious“

“The crêpes at this location are superlative. I ordered the galette complete, and was elated by the perfection that this crêpe held. I have been to France and tried many exceptional crêpes, and Ally (the chef) curated a dish that supersedes the majority of them. However, from my personal experience, this was the best crêpe I have had in San Diego.

To relay the flavors that I experienced: as you take your knife to split the crispy egg, a perfect runny yolk flows onto the buttery crêpe. As you take your first bite, your palette is met with a silken béchamel, enriched with cheese, brings a gentle creaminess that lingers without overwhelming. It wraps itself around a generous portion of thin slices of tender ham that anchor the dish.

If you seek a galette complete without buckwheat flour, it is necessary to come, as I am most certainly returning.“

“I love good, freshly baked bread and we have been looking all over San Diego to find it. Secret Sisters has the best country loaf yet and we highly recommend it!!!!!!!!! For us, it's a bit of a drive but worth it.“

“Great little breakfast spot that opens as early as 5am! Was perfect to grab some breakfast to go early in the morning. Super solid breakfast sandwiches, I got a sausage, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel. They have a good selection of muffins and donuts as well. Super friendly and quick service, plus they threw in a few donut holes in the bag with our muffins.“

“Great place! Highly recommend!“

“Every time we visit San Diego this place is must stop!! Pan dulce is so soft and fresh we need one on Los Angeles 😎“

“Really solid cheesecake. The passion fruit is my favorite. I would love a bit more tang and a slightly thicker texture, but it is still delicious. We took it home and dressed it with fresh berries, which made it even better. Definitely one of my go-to spots for a special-occasion dessert.“

“delicious cookies and amazing staff!“

“hands down the BEST earl grey matcha I’ve ever had ‼️ ITS LIFE CHANGING ‼️ I want this in my system 24/7 🙂‍↕️ (also, shoutout to the worker that gave us the biggest piece of black sesame butter motchi💗 may the sun always shine on u and both sides of ur pillow stay cold)“

“Thank you Sarah � The macarons were delicious � Will be ordering again!“

“Mejor pan dulce en San Diego!“

“Amazing bakery! love the food and the employees are so nice! Las day here had to come lil“

“Amazing quality and delicious products.“

“Recomendada! pedi in pastel para mi hija y supero mis espectativas en el diseño 😊 puntual en la entrega y muy rico!“

“I love pan dulce, and this bakery has been my favorite. I recently started coming to this bakery, owners have been at this location for over decades and known for the best Michoacan traditional pan dulce. Its heart warming to be able to eat traditional pan dulce from where my father originated from. Cakes also made here for any special occasions, I guarantee its worth the visit.“

“Lovely decor with outdoor seating. The Avocado Toast was delicious 😋“

“i love this place! their coffee and taro cake rolls are my family's personal favorite. its fluffy, flavorful, and not too sweet! they do sell out quick though! so i highly recommend going early unless you want frozen rolls! the cake rolls pair nicely with soymilk. the owners are really friendly and will go to long lengths to search for your desired flavor! 10/10!“

“5 star rating 👍 we ordered our kid 1st birthday cake here. it looks wonderful & tasted yummy. it came out as we expected. Thanq so much 🤩. without any doubt u can order it from here“

“First visit bought a loaf of sourdough which was devoured in a day, came back for second and then tried our first baked good (cinnamon roll), which was then subsequently inhaled. We’re on vacation so sadly will be leaving but if we were local, this would be our go to bakery!“

“First and foremost, I truly appreciate the service I received at Hey Sugar. She was kind, knowledgeable, and I felt welcomed as I stepped through the front door. I had the delicious cake jar, and I can’t wait to try my cheesecake. The venue was cute, petite, and vibrant. Thank you for a wonderful experience! I pray your business continues to thrive. ❤️“

“Cake exceeded our expectations, making a unique cake for our party to celebrate a Nobel Laureate. We sent complex pictures of what we wanted to include in the design and a few words on what we envisioned, and what we got was better than we had even imagined. He was taken aback by it and very touched. Thank you so much!“

“cake was delicious, red velvet unicorn cake.highly recommend it.😁“

“I absolutely love this place although the owners are different than the original I have still been coming to this location since 1986 this is one of the best of the very few places in San Diego that make birote rellenos although I work in Rancho Bernardo I literally drive down four times a week just to purchase food again I absolutely love this place and hope it never goes away“

“Food from heaven! I moved away from San Diego but I asked my friend to take balboa bakery all the way for me. My persian azizam pissed them off saying this is not even the authentic middle eastern bakery but trust me that little brown flower will make you forget what authenticity is“

“Just a hole in the wall donut shop offering traditional tasty donuts. I have to say with everyone describing the dough as fluffy.... they are spot on. There's something about it that's so soft and almost has the melt in your mouth feeling.
We ordered an old fashioned glazed and chocolate, as well as a chocolate twist. The gentleman that helped us was so nice and helpful. He gave us 2 donut holes for each of pur orders. It may not seem like much but this is a nice gesture for any guest.

My husband ordered the iced mocha coffee, he said it was ok. I ordered a hot coffee with cream. I have to say that the coffee was bold and good. I didn't expect that.

Definitely will be back for the good donuts and good prices!

Price $16 & some change for
Small coffee
Large iced coffee
5 donuts“

“Tastylife™️. Would buy treats again.“

“Thank you Woofpac for dropping off some Advent calendars at our veterinary hospital! These are honestly the first treats that every single one of my dogs loved! I will be stopping by Irvine Spectrum soon to get them more goodies 🐶❤️“