Haute Top 5: Best Bakeries in San Francisco 2017

Every time we find ourselves on Chestnut Street we make a stop at Le Marais. The French bakery is one of the best traditional bakeries in San Francisco. A third location in the Castro is coming soon but until it opens you'll have to head to Chestnut Street or Ghirardelli Square to get the flaky buttery melt-in-your-mouth croissants. Le Marais’s pastry case is filled with fancy French pastries, such as kouign-amann, financier, choux a la creme, and pain au chocolate. If you want something more substantial the cafe offers scrumptious breakfast and lunch items. There are four different types of croque, quiche, onion soup, merguez sausages, and more.

When we’re in need of a delicious loaf of sourdough (or black pepper parmesan buns) for a special occasion dinner, we head to the Mill on Divisadero Street. This bakery from baker Josie Baker (yes, that is his real last name!) is credited with bringing the toast craze to San Francisco. Order a slab of their dark mountain rye toast with cream cheese and apricot chili jam and get excited. It will be the best toast you’ve ever tasted. The menu changes daily with seasonal specials like egg salad, hummus, or housemade nutella and Four Barrel coffee. Every night except Tuesday, the Mill hosts a casual, but delectable pizza party with one type of vegetarian pie on the menu. This week the pizza has spring onion, arugula, and pecorino cheese for toppings.

Craftsman and Wolves is an avant-garde bakery from pastry chef William Warner. There are three locations: one in the Mission, another in Nob Hill, and a larger facility known as the Den in Portola Place. The rebel within is Werner’s signature dish. It’s a divine sausage and asiago muffin with a soft-cooked egg inside. Craftsman and Wolves also sells all sorts of amazing treats like smoked butter caramels, passion olive oil curd, vanilla violet cheesecake, and matcha snickerdoodles with candied ginger and white chocolate.

Mr. Holmes Bakeshop is one of the city’s most Instagrammed food establishment. It has cute packaging and a cult-like following making it a hot spot for millennials who don’t mind waiting in line for a donut. However, it’s not just any donut, but a cruffin—a croissant baked like a muffin and filled with a sweet cream. Flavors change daily and are creative. Think chocolate passionfruit, honey lavender, or bourbon orange. Only a certain amount of cruffins are made per day and they always sell out. Other innovative pastries include a California croissant with smoked salmon and wasabi, blue cheese and bacon danish, and raspberry hibiscus kouign-amann.

If you prefer a more old-school bakery where there are no crazy flavors and huge lines, allow us to introduce you to Batter. The team makes all-American sweets with premium ingredients and seasonal flavors. Coffee cake, banana bread with chocolate chips, peanut butter cookies, and devil’s food brownies are a few of the amazing desserts you’ll find at Batter. The cool thing is they also sell cookie and cake batter, so if you want to impress someone by making a cake, but have no baking skills, Batter is your secret weapon.