Bakeries in Philadelphia: The Ultimate Guide
Our carb-loaded list of all the best places to get artisan breads, beautiful cakes, flaky pastries, and every other baked good your heart desires.
Bread from the bakery at High Street Philly | Facebook
We’ve never wanted for baked goods around here, or for great bread, for that matter. Family bakeries that make old country recipes are an important part of Philly’s food story. But there’s a new chapter being written, too: Young talents who are obsessed with technique, ingredients and experimentation are breaking rules and making babka and focaccia worth talking about.
So whether you’re looking for some old-school loaves or cutting-edge cakes, here’s where to get your carbs — no matter where you are in Philly.
Bakeries You Must Try First
Merzbacher’s | Facebook
Merzbacher’s, Germantown
The Philly Muffin is what started it all — a kind of bagel/English muffin/sandwich-roll hybrid. But this place (which was formerly known as Philly Bread) also does Pullman loaves and baguettes that people travel to get their hands on, along with plenty of other breads made from farmer-sourced grains and hand-milled flour. Get their goods at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market on Saturdays and at just about every specialty grocer and food co-op in the city. 4530 Germantown Avenue.
Machine Shop Boulangerie, South Philly
Machine Shop’s sunny space on the ground floor of the Bok Building has quickly become one of the hottest spots in town for lemon meringue tarts, cannele, morning buns and other French-inspired baked goods. Go early, especially on the weekends when they’re likely to sell out. 1901 South 9th Street.
Korshak Bagels, South Philly
Korshak exploded onto the scene in 2021, and following a write-up in the New York Times, their naturally leavened bagels are tough to get. You’ll have to wait in line, but the sunny, inviting space and lighter-than-average, totally delicious bagels are worth it. 1700 South 10th Street.
Eeva, Kensington
If you didn’t know better, you might think that Eeva is just a pizza place, but you’d be wrong. On the weekends, they serve bagels, bread and other sourdough-based items, all made from the same sourdough starter as their pizzas. There’s coffee, too. 310 Master Street.
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Mighty Bread Company, South Philly
The new cafe is big and bright and airy. The food menu is small and focused. And their sourdough is amazing: impossibly large air pockets in the middle, a nice shatter on the crust. But when asiago, romano and parmesan cheeses get folded into the dough, the result is dizzyingly good — and it’s what you should use grilled-cheese sandwiches on from now to eternity. 1211 Gerritt Street.
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Dodo Bakery, South Philly
Way down in South Philly, Dodo Bakery makes freshly baked Hong Kong-style pastries and buns, plus bubble tea and smoothies. You’ll find pork floss buns, egg tarts, sponge cakes and more. 2653 South 11th Street.
New June Bake Shop, Fairmount
Noelle Blizzard’s weekend baking pop-up has quickly become a hot ticket. Her weekend brunch baskets sell out fast, but if you can get your hands on one, you’ll enjoy an ever-rotating selection of cookies, bars, cake slices, and whatever else she dreams up to feed our sugar cravings.
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Second Daughter Baking Company, South Philly
Sister team Rhonda Saltzman and Mercedes Brooks run Second Daughter out of the Bok Building. Each week they accept preorders for their seasonal menu, but the biggest star is the brownies, which are incredibly fudgey, perfectly salty bars of pure chocolate goodness. No wonder they earned a 2021 Best of Philly nod. 1901 South 9th Street.
Kouklet, East Passyunk
This Brazilian bakery just opened a brick-and-mortar space where they’re turning out bolo de rolo: soft, spongey cake rolled with guava, chocolate or passionfruit, and a variety of ever-changing other flavors and Brazilian-inspired treats. For non-Philly-based cake-lovers, order nationwide delivery via Goldbelly. 1647 East Passyunk Avenue.
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Fitz & Starts, Queen Village
Expect perfect croissants, perfect biscuits, and perfect, gorgeous, caramelized cannelé, all from James Beard-nominated baker extraordinaire Pat O’Malley. 743 South 4th Street.
Jezabel’s Cafe, University City
In addition to insanely delicious empanadas and alfajores, Jezabel’s Cafe is a go-to spot for larger-format cakes and pies that go beyond the basics. Consider a burnt ricotta cheesecake or passionfruit pavlova for your next holiday or birthday. We promise no one will miss the grocery-store sheet cake. 206-208 South 45th Street.
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Fiore Fine Foods, Queen Village
During the week, Fiore is an Italian restaurant serving up flame-kissed classics. But on the weekends, owners Justine MacNeil and Ed Crochet transform the front window of the airy space into a pastry case full of pistachio cornetti, anise-scented morning buns, freshly made doughnuts and more. 757 South Front Street.
Ursa Bakery, multiple locations
Vetri’s head baker split in 2018 to start her own bakery, with fresh-milled flour, mostly from Pennsylvania wheat, and loaves sold at farmers’ markets in Ambler, Fairmount and Glenside. She does primarily sourdough (she used to live in Seattle — go figure), but also slings some other loaves from time to time. Her bread is well worth seeking out — as anyone who has ever tried it will tell you.
Corropolese Bakery & Deli, multiple locations
On first blush, it’s hard to know what Corropolese is, exactly. A deli? A bread-maker? A pastry shop? Don’t overthink it; just walk around and grab a little bit of everything: a hoagie on a just-baked roll, tomato pie that’s prized for its tangy sauce and crisp edge, and maybe an apple fritter to top things off.
K’Far Cafe, Center City
This all-day cafe from CookNSolo does amazing things with kubaneh toasts, rugelach, stretched-out Jerusalem-style bagels, and chocolate babka for dessert. 110 South 19th Street.
The Night Kitchen Bakery & Cafe, Chestnut Hill
Night Kitchen’s birthday cakes are worth sitting in traffic on the Conshohocken Curve — full of homemade soulfulness, yet most definitely something you couldn’t pull off in your own kitchen. When you visit, spare time to linger; the coffee, sandwiches and counter sweets will call to you. 7723 Germantown Avenue.
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Lost Bread Co., Kensington
Lost Bread started off with Beard-nominated baker Alex Bois doing rolls and sandwich breads for wholesale through Avram Hornik’s restaurants, bars and pop-ups. But when they opened their retail location, they added a whole spread of products for the home cook and entertainer: beautiful loaves of rustic bread, the addictive pretzel shortbread cookie, pastas, granola and more. Everything is made from their own hand-ground flours (which they also sell at the shop, along with free sourdough starter). 1313 North Howard Street.
Aux Petits Delices, Wayne
At this decades-old Wayne pâtisserie, there are Yule logs at Christmas, chocolate bunnies at Easter and, well, deliciousness every other day of the year. The French bakers here were doing macarons before they were cool. 162 Lancaster Avenue.
Metropolitan Bakery, Rittenhouse, University City and Reading Terminal Market
It ushered in an era for Philadelphia — before it opened in 1993, gourmet bread in the city was rather elusive. All these years later, owners James Barrett and Wendy Smith Born manage to keep the Metro magic alive, in part because their bakeries double as neighborhood hangouts.
Isgro Pastries, Bella Vista
It was founded in 1904, still uses original recipes, continues to be run by family, and has lines that grow longer every year. All of that puts Isgro beyond one of Philly’s best bakeries; it’s Philly food royalty, up there with the Di Brunos, Pat Olivieri and Georges Perrier. 1009 Christian Street.
Best Bakeries in Center City, Queen Village and Bella Vista
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High Street Philly
If Paul Cézanne were still around, he’d surely paint High Street’s focaccia — polka-dotted with roasted cherry tomatoes, sometimes patterned with purple basil. It’s just one example of the grain artistry that the bakers create here. 101 South 9th Street.
Termini Bros., Reading Terminal Market, South Philly, Bella Vista and Center City
With several locations around the city, you can get your cannoli fix anywhere these days. But you can’t call yourself a true Philadelphian without a visit to the East Passyunk flagship, for the original cash registers, the dizzying array of confections and, often, live music.
Sweet Life Bakeshop
Nowhere else in the city will you find so many types of banana pudding: They do the classic as well as strawberry banana, salted caramel banana, peaches and cream, and more. They also sell cupcakes, mini pineapple upside-down cakes and mini pies. 740 South Street.
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Bloomsday Cafe
Bloomsday serves up a rotating variety of housemade pastries. Sometimes they do an absolutely over-the-top Paris Brest filled with hazelnut pastry cream, which is a must-order, especially when paired with an excellent cup of coffee and maybe a bottle of wine for later. 414 South 2nd Street.
Miel Patisserie
Miel is all about indulgence. Their French pastries are the kind of thing you dream about (if you’re the sort of person who dreams of pastries). There are bars and cookies, macarons and opera cakes, fruit tarts and more. The shops — one in Rittenhouse and another in Cherry Hill — also offer short, sweet menus of sandwiches, soups and coffee. 204 South 17th Street.
J’aime French Bakery
Bastien Ornano didn’t just bring his French pastry skills to Philly; he brought his je ne sais quoi, making this spot — with its all-white everything — the neighborhood’s freshest hang. 212 South 12th Street.
Bakeshop on 20th
With a vast selection of cookies, brownies, scones, sticky buns, croissants and more, Bakeshop is bidding hard to recreate the comfort foods of your childhood. For those looking for something a bit more substantial, there are also soups and sandwiches on offer from the all-day cafe menu. 269 South 20th Street.
Flying Monkey Bakery
Whoopie pies are what first put Reading Terminal Market’s Flying Monkey on the map. But their menu of sweets, cakes and pies here is massive, with just about any kind of pastry you can imagine — from bourbon-apple bundt cakes to banana bread, cupcakes and hand pies.
Small Oven Pastry Shop
Out of a small space on Washington Avenue, Chad Durkin serves up gorgeous classic French pastries like mille feuille and cream puffs, plus a variety of cookies, cakes and tarts. If you’re in the mood for something savory, add a porchetta sandwich from Porcos, which operates out of the same space. 2204 Washington Avenue.
Best Bakeries in Spring Garden, Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond and Northern Liberties
Cake Life | Facebook
Stock’s Bakery
Undoubtedly, if you know about Stock’s, it’s for the pound cake that people go bonkers over a few times every year. But this small, unadorned bakery also does some solid pastries, cookies, pies and cakes for the neighbors (and anyone else who drops by for pound cake). 2614 East Lehigh Avenue.
Bread Top House
This cozy corner bakery in Chinatown specializes in Asian baked goods, especially moon cakes, egg tarts and pineapple buns. It’s cash only, but they’ll also take Venmo. 1041 Race Street.
Kaplan’s New Model Bakery
It’s been serving kosher baked goods to Philly for over 100 years, which is impressive all on its own. But the rye bread here has been a multigenerational favorite, gracing tables across the city for decades. 901 North 3rd Street.
Cake Life Bake Shop
After a lengthy COVID pause, Cake Life is back to turning out their beautiful layer cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. These are the people who made Beyoncé’s birthday cake several years in a row, so you know they’re good. 1306 Frankford Avenue.
Whipped Bake Shop
Sure, the place does cupcakes. But baker Zoe Lukas and her team also craft some absolutely remarkable cakes for weddings, birthdays, Tuesdays — and whatever other kinds of days you like. 636 Belgrade Street.
Philly Style Bagels
The place does bagels, bagels with spreads, and bagel sandwiches — nothing else. But the bagels are groundbreaking, infused with Yards beer during the boil, and so good that they’re already their own unique and recognized style. Multiple locations.
The Kettle Black
This small-batch, artisan bakery and coffee shop specializes in just a few loaves, bagels, and some really good coffee (and hot chocolate). Look for their jet-black bagels and loaves, spiked with activated charcoal for a little drama and digestive support. 631 North 2nd Street.
Darnel’s Cakes
Think of Darnel’s as your weekend to-go brunch spot. They’ve got excellent breakfast sandwiches and quiches that will make you realize that quiches are actually good — plus a large selection of cakes, of course. 444 North 3rd Street.
Best Bakeries in Pennsport and Old City
ICI Macarons & Cafe | Facebook
ICI Macarons & Cafe
Macarons with your morning coffee? Oui. And at ICI, France’s most delicate export is as it should be: dainty, tasty and easy on the eyes. 230 Arch Street.
Cake & Joe
Co-owners Trista Tang and Sarah Qi opened their cozy Pennsport space at the tail end of 2020 and have gained a dedicated following since then by serving intricate, elegant mousse cakes and other pastries. 1401 East Moyamensing Avenue.
Oui Pastries
Oui’s selection of super-French pastries is excellent, but we keep going back for their bake-at-home croissants, which you can keep in your freezer until the night before you want to eat them, then defrost and bake. Trust us, there’s nothing better than freshly baked croissants in your pajamas. 160 North Third Street.
Creme Brulee Bistro & Cafe
Opera cakes adorned with gold leaf? In Pennsport? You betcha. Armando Tapia’s cafe does the tartlet better than some of Rittenhouse’s poshest bakeries. Plus: colorful meringues, textbook éclairs, and plenty of seating to take in the aromas. 1800 South 4th Street.
Best Bakeries in South Philly and West Philly
Mighty Bread | Facebook
Frangelli’s Bakery
It’s rare that a shop is good at cake and yeast doughnuts, but Frangelli’s churns both out daily, just as the original owners did in the 1940s. But don’t stop there: The cannoli cake, cookies and sticky buns get less attention but are just as delectable. 847 West Ritner Street.
Crust Vegan Bakery
You don’t need to be vegan to enjoy Crust’s classic American pastries. They do excellent pies, cookies and cakes, all without any animal products. They’ll also sell you their recipes for a fair price if you’re interested in getting into vegan baking. 4409 Main Street.
Cacia’s Bakery
The Cacia family — you’ll find a member on-site at the South Philly location 363 days a year — swears it’s the brick ovens that make their food taste so good. Maybe so; the tomato pie and stuffed breads that come from them (even the sauce-less pizzazz pizza) are first-rate. But that doesn’t explain why the dinner rolls and pastries are just as tasty. Get their goods at the South Philly flagship or at one of several suburban locations in Delco or South Jersey. 1526 West Ritner Street.
Artisan Boulanger Patissier
The people huddled on the street munching almond sticks and croissants at 7 a.m. on weekend mornings should be an indication of how good this place is — you can’t even make it back home before digging in. If that doesn’t convince you, their three James Beard Award nominations should. 1218 Mifflin Street.
Potito’s Bakery
In the sphere of South Philly bakeries, Potito’s (which opened in the 1980s) is a relative newcomer. But it doesn’t play second fiddle: Its traditional confections are revered by throngs who drive into town just for a visit. 1614 West Ritner Street.
Varallo Bros. Bakery
An authentic Italian bakery to its bones, this spot has drawn South Philly neighbors for decades to munch on traditional cookies, pastries, cakes — and everything else under the sun. 1639 South 10th Street.
Essen Bakery
Tova du Plessis’s shop is a throwback to a time when bakeries felt personal — when you actually interacted with the person twisting your babka with chocolate; when chocolate chip cookies still tasted homemade; when you were encouraged to grab a seat, settle in, and eat your toast on-site. 1437 East Passyunk Avenue.
Vanilya
Expect perfect New York-y bagels, Aleppo-pepper-speckled croissants, Turkish pide and some truly beautiful desserts in a delightful little cafe space on East Passyunk Avenue. 1611 East Passyunk Avenue.
Stargazy
London native Sam Jacobson has packed his tiny South Philly pie shop with nothing more than a sprinkling of tables, some mismatched spoons, free tea, and, oh yeah, two bakery cases brimming with flaky sausage rolls, an ever-changing roster of pastries and meat pies, and traditional beef pies with mash and parsley liquor, fresh from the bakers working in the back. 1838 East Passyunk Avenue.
Four Worlds Bakery
Baker Michael Dolich started his bakery in his home kitchen before moving to this storefront location near the Grays Ferry Bridge, where he specializes in sourdough loaves and bagels, dense challah, flaky croissants and more. 4634 Woodland Avenue.
Best Bakeries in Northwest Philly, North Philly and the Northeast
Haegele’s Bakery | Facebook
Denise’s Delicacies
When her bakery caught fire some years ago, Denise Gause was about to call it quits. But the community insisted she reopen her doors, and in 2016 the customers came flooding back. Her pound cakes are legendary, whether ordered plain or dressed up for a birthday party. 2916 North 22nd Street.
Georgian Bread and Cuisine
Sure, it’s a restaurant along one side (offering fantastic Georgian cuisine, khachapuri, and pelmeni the size of your fist), but it is also a full-service bakery, turning out fantastic breads and European pastries from their stone ovens — which you can watch in operation right from the front window. 10865 Bustleton Avenue.
Haegele’s Bakery
Around since 1930 and still family-owned, Haegele’s is a Northeast institution (despite being pint-sized) and one of the few places left where you can get German sweets like kirschenstrudel and hefekranz as well as a ton of seasonal options. 4164 Barnett Street.
Lipkin’s Bakery
Kosher bakeries are rare these days; good kosher bakeries are even more so. That’s one of the reasons Lipkin’s — which was sold to a longtime customer in 2016 — has thrived for more than 40 years. 8013 Castor Avenue.
Frosted Fox Cake Shop
Expect unicorn cupcakes, custom cookies, chocolate chip brownie bars and — no lie — to-go cups filled with leftover pieces of cakes, fillings and icing, all mixed up. They’re called Scrapple Cups, and they cost $4. 6511 Germantown Avenue.
Michael’s Bread
This operation bakes an amazing, fresh sourdough loaf that’s only available for delivery via a weekly subscription or at Germantown’s Kitchen Garden Farmstand — it’s just that good. Check them out if you’re looking for something personal and delicious. Home delivery in Northwest Philly.
Wild Flour Bakery
Wild Flour is a small family operation that has been supplying some of the best restaurants in the city for more than a decade. From their wholesale bakery in Holmesburg, they do breads and pastries, and now also sell at the weekend Headhouse, Rittenhouse, Collingswood and Bryn Mawr farmers’ markets, among others. Multiple locations.
Baker Street Bread
You’ve no doubt had Baker Street’s bread; the company has been supplying some of the city’s top eateries since 1992. It’s still worth a visit to the Chestnut Hill storefront though, where a giant wall is filled with shelf after shelf of goods straight from the oven. It’s a sight (and smell) you’ll never forget. 8009 Germantown Road.
Bredenbeck’s Bakery
This sweets shop (it also serves ice cream) is a Chestnut Hill stalwart, in part because it does it all — from the glazed rum ring with your morning coffee to baby’s first birthday cake to mini key lime pies that can (and should) be ordered by the dozen. 8126 Germantown Avenue.
Best Bakeries in the Philly Suburbs
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Delice et Chocolat
French-born brothers Joseph and Antoine Amrani worked at Le Bec-Fin when Perrier had the tallest toque in town. Now their sleek cafe comes complete with artisan chocolates and delicate macarons, among other treats. 9 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore.
Dulce Artisanal Pastry
Dulce’s rotating seasonal menu features treats that veer off the beaten path of croissants and cakes. Instead, they do desserts like masala-chai rice pudding, chocolate-coconut-pecan bread pudding, plus a selection of fresh breads. 740A Haddon Avenue, Collingswood.
Clay’s Creative Corner Bakery
If you grew up on the Main Line, there’s a strong chance that every single one of your birthday cakes came from Clay’s — which is no doubt why people have such strong connections to this Berwyn bakery. 700 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn.
Clara’s Custom Cakes
For those moments when you absolutely, positively need a birthday cake that looks like two meerkats. Or a zombie, Boba Fett’s helmet or a birch-log wedding cake with two peoples’ initials carved into it — which doesn’t sound impressive, but has got to be one of the coolest cakes I’ve ever seen. Just sayin’. 130 West Main Street, Collegeville.
Pie Lady Cafe
The muffins and doughnuts are good, but really, take a clue from the name and get a slice (or two?) of whichever pie special is on the board, be it fruit- or custard-filled, latticed or crumble-topped. 9 East Main Street, Moorestown.
Barry’s Buns
I get it. The place is famous for its sticky buns. But I am all in on Barry’s cinnamon rolls. Get twice as many as you think you’re going to eat. You can thank me later. Multiple locations.
Napoleon’s Cremepuffery
Is cremepuffery a word? Who cares — this South Jersey bakery has been putting out puffs since the ’80s, when owner Charlene Napoleon converted an old ice-cream truck to a mobile bakery (so ahead of her time!) for traveling to festivals. 947 East Gibbsboro Road, Lindenwold.
Le Petit Mitron
Some would consider this bakery the heart of Narberth — it’s where neighbors meet for coffee and kids pick up after-school snacks. Narbs are lucky it’s so authentic: It was started by a sweet French couple, and the goods are baked fresh daily. 207 Haverford Avenue, Narberth.
