15 Best Bakeries in San Mateo

“I found this bakery when I was looking for a place to purchase alfajores and I was so happy to have found it! I was greeted as soon as I walked in and my first visit was nothing but a very nice experience. Two young men behind the counter seemed really friendly and helpful. The other customers in the store at the time seemed very happy. I came for alfajores today, but I will definitely go back for more alfajores and other goodies!“

“The bacon scallion scones are delicious!“

“Purchased a Claire’s mocha crunch cake today and it’s absolutely delicious. The cake was moist, mocha was delicious but not too sweet but the crunch is so amazingly delicious. 10/10 for the cake. It was very nice meeting Ms. Claire as well. She seems like a very nice lady. Definitely will back for another cake. Maybe the pineapple upside down or the coconut?“

“This place doesn’t look like a place trying to impress anyone. It looks like a shop that has been doing one thing long enough to know what shortcuts ruin. The counter is small, the room unadorned, the kind of space where quality hides in plain sight because the people making it assume you’ll figure it out on your own.

Cannoli demand precision. If the shell softens, you failed. If the filling weeps, you rushed. If the ricotta is grainy or heavy or over-sugared, you didn’t understand its behavior under temperature and time. Romolo’s gets all of this right.

The shells are made the way people make things they intend to stand behind. Not brittle, not oily, not collapsing under pressure. They have that snap you only get when dough has been rolled to the correct thickness and fried at the right temperature, long enough to blister but not blister apart. You can tell someone here still listens to the sound of the shell when it cools.

The filling is clean, balanced, and confident. No perfumed overcompensation. No reckless sweetness meant to distract from inferior ricotta. This is filling made by people who understand ratio and restraint. The texture stays smooth because the ricotta was drained properly, not hurried. There’s discipline in that step alone. Most places skip it. Romolo’s doesn’t.

What impressed me most is how the cannoli hold structure on the way home. Ricotta interacts with pastry the way moisture interacts with almost anything that should remain crisp: it wants to weaken it. But Romolo’s fills to order, and they fill with judgment. Enough to satisfy, not enough to compromise the shell before you get to experience the contrast that makes cannoli worth eating in the first place.

The people behind the counter treat you the way good shops do. Direct, warm in a grounded way, the kind of friendliness that seems rooted in pride more than choreography. They hand over the box carefully, as if they know what they made can survive the trip but also know that respect is part of the craft.

This place doesn’t rely on nostalgia or theatrics. It relies on technique. On the quiet confidence of a place that has figured out what works and kept doing it. You taste repetition, patience, and the refusal to let a simple dessert become sloppy.

If you want a cannoli that proves why the thing exists at all, this is the place“

“Great place. Long lines and worth it“

“Your cookies are extraordinary delicious! excellent! Love all your cookies!!!!“

“My son and I are truly grateful for your kindness, Nicole. Thank you for taking the time to charge his phone, wait for a call to come through, and help arrange for us to reconnect with him. You didn’t have to do any of that, yet you did it with such care. The world needs more people with your spirit. Wishing you success and blessings in everything you pursue.“

“Yesterday I tried Uncle Tetsu inside Hillsdale Shopping Center for the first time and I really enjoyed it. There were so many flavors to choose from but I only got the coconut pandan Japanese cotton cheesecake and the ube cheese tart. They're selling the mini cheesecake - cheesetart combo for only $10, a pretty good deal!
Cotton cheesecake was super soft and fluffy, and the flavor leans more towards the coconut. I think pandan was only there for the color. Like you can see it but the flavor was really light, not super strong like I expected.
Ube cheese tart was also good but definitely on the sweeter side. Me and my friend shared one because it gets kinda sugary after a few bites (but it's still delicious, I highly recommend). The texture is nice, very creamy and buttery inside with a slightly crunchy crust.
Place was not busy, and staff was nice. I’d probably come back again when I'm craving desserts.“

“Cozy little hidden place in San Mateo. A bakery, coffee shop and specialized on cakes. They do offer some Filipino delicacies.“

“We tried hokkaido sponge cake, crème brûlée, chestnut slice cake, tiramisu and chocolate mousse cake on various occasions. They all were delicious. The staff was also friendly. It’s hard to find parking due to the busy downtown location. The place gets crowded very quickly. Their egg tarts and buns are also popular.“

“This place has been around for a long time! It’s really cool :) it’s not the same as being in the original Chinatown, the San Francisco Chinatown? But wait! I think the Amtrak train system exists because of the chinese train workers and the laborers“

“There was a cheesecake like pastry that was very nice that the lady behind the counter suggested. It made me think of Uncle Tetsu's but with a more flan like center. Five starts for thatThe vanilla roll was a bit dry and had gone hard on the bottom, but the lady did recommend going with the strawberry one (there were more of those and they looked fresher)There was a sugar covered croissant that was alright (and the lady in front of me got like six of them) but I'm used to the flakey buttery French kind and these are soft and more bread likeSo maybe ask and go with what they say is good ?“

“Bad customer service They ask you if you want napkins even when you buy a dessert and man was not polite new people can Be hired“

“Friendly staff. Parking right in front. I usually get a parking spot each time I visit. I love their Atoles ( corn flavor). We usually buy a lot of Champuradas and the long one coated with sugar. Prices are reasonable for all sorts of varieties of sweet bread.“

“was an amazing vibes lovely crew coffee was so good!“