Hot Cross Buns: Houston's 10 Best Bakeries

By Katharine Shilcutt Fri., Dec. 9 2011 at 7:00 AM

Get your green waffles at Parisian Bakery III.

My friend Dr. Ricky has long said that there should be a comprehensive list of all the wonderful ethnic bakeries in town. I don't disagree, and in fact that's a list for another time.

Today, however, we're focusing on all the different forms and varieties of bakeries in Houston. And while that includes a few of the choice ethnic spots, we've also kept the list to bakeries that have permanent storefront locations, so you can swing by and grab a pandan waffle or marble rye for yourself.

10. Parisian Bakery III

What to get here: Pandan waffles (pictured above), sesame seed balls and Vietnamese coffee.

Photo by J.C. Reid

9. Acadian Bakers

What to get here: fancy pastry-laden opera trays, king cakes at Mardi Gras and cheeseburgers. Yes, cheeseburgers.

Photo by Matthew Dresden

French Riviera baguette in the rear.

8. French Riviera Bakery & Cafe

What to get here: Chocolate croissants, the Wu Brothers' famous farmhouse loaf and baguettes.

Photo by Mai Pham

Sponge cake at Six Ping.

7. Six Ping Bakery

What to get here: Baby cakes, any of the impossibly moist sponge cakes and as many Super Q Kawaii pastries as you can load on your little red tray.

Tags:

baked goods, bakery, bread, pastries

We Recommend

cafeluz

Props for including El Bolillo. We often stop there in the mornings to grab bolillos for sandwiches, serve with soups, etc. Our in house bakers are great but there's something magical about those light, airy but crispy and perfectly sized loaves!

itsdanilove

The poppyseed ring at Three Brothers is not to be missed!

Smokke

Try the Coconut Macaroons at El Bolillo. Theyare great!

Milonguero

Jungle Cafe is the *gold standard* for formal French-style cakes and pastry in Chinatown circles. Same class as Andre's.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/...

Jungle Cafe WAS the gold standard years ago. Now their stuff is dried out and flavorless, and they face pretty keen competition from places like Six Ping, Yannick, and Toules Les Jours (sp?).

I, too, was a huge proponent of Jungle Cafe when they were at their old location. I've since tried to give them a chance multiple times, but they make me oh-so-very sad, from their product to their service. Just a shell of its former self.

Dragana

Don't forget Ooh La La Dessert Boutique, winner of 2009 the Cupcake Throwdown. Their newest location is in Town and Country Village.

'stina

How is it possible that you've forgotten Moellers? The amazing petit fours there are practically required by city charter to be at every baby and/or wedding shower in town. I don't want to know what's in that icing, but oh my goodness it's good.

Eterry2

what is conspicuously missing from the list an Italian bakery.

Marie

Is there anyplace in Houston that makes authentic German brotchen?

Semcd44

If there is please tell me.

Nony

Manena's!

Doc Ricky

BTW, Three Brothers Bakery still disappoints me by not having babka bread on the regular rotation.

Doc Ricky

All this talk of "the best" bakery misses the point of this roundup - which is the sheer diversity of what constitutes a bakery in Houston. Of course, we aren't so blessed, for example, with a place that specializes in pretzels or aebelskivers, but here are some gems for the later list:

1. ECK for egg custart tarts and more. 2. Phoenicia 3. Lee's baguettes4. the pie places and the cupcake places, much as I am not enamored of the latter5. more traditional Indian sweet shops6. A sweet factory7. Marine's for Colombian breads8. Honduran bake shops9. Venezuelan baking

MadMac

You forgot to mention Marine's other specialty. Rudest service in an independent business. These folks seriously don't want to be bothered.

MadMac

Lower down on the food chain but my personal fav is Taqueria Del Sol for sweet breads.

MizzB

By limiting this list to only storefronts, you limited being able to list Houston's best vegan bakery, and my personal favorite Houston bakery overall, SINFULL BAKERY!Good post though, despite that.

Katharine Shilcutt

I really want to do another roundup, this one of the best bakeries that don't have traditional storefronts: Fluff Bake Bar, Slow Dough Bread Co., Angela's Oven, Jodycakes, etc. Maybe next week!

Margin Fades

I'll throw out that Royal Bakery in Montrose as notable: it's the only bakery in Houston that I'm aware of that that makes true Cuban bread (i.e. with lard).

Where can you get Royal Bakery products?

MadMac

THANK YOU! You're a nice lady!

Nicole

I think we could all (mostly) agree that Houston's best bakery is Slow Dough. Even if it's wholesale and there's no storefront - you can get their products throughout the city.