We’ve searched high and low in the Bay Area for the best classic french pastries and these are the ones gives us a little taste of France.

What makes us qualified to rank French bakeries you may ask? Well we are not qualified nor are we professionals at all, but we do appreciate and enjoy delicious quality food. My husband was born and raised in France, and together we’ve traveled throughout France one to two times per year since we’ve met, so I do feel confident in saying that we are capable of comparing the pastries and patisseries between the Bay Area and France.

Our favorite french pastries are the traditional classic ones rather than the ones that are trendy (think cronuts, spiral, cube, cruffins, and recently the crookie) so those will be the ones we focus on at each of these bakeries. Alors, a list of our favorite bakeries below!

Best French Bakeries in the Bay Area

1. Pâtisserie Rotha – Albany, CA

Favorites: Almond Croissants, Canelés, and Galette des Rois

Pâtisserie Rotha is only open 4 days a week from Thursday through Sunday and it is our absolute favorite French bakery in the Bay Area. They have also been featured in many lists as the best French bakery in the East Bay and so do many others when you see all of their rave reviews. I recommend that you come early and get in line because even though their hours say from 7am until 11am, they will run out of their more popular items throughout the morning. We have tried the majority of their pastry selections, from the plain croissants to the Moelleux au chocolat. All are delicious but our all time favorites are the almond croissants and the canelés. 

Their almond croissants are exactly like the ones you’d get from a good French bakery. They’re not too sweet and they have a delicious almond cream that doesn’t have that artificial almond extract flavor most other almond croissants usually have here in the US. The bottom is crispy and you can taste the nice roasted almond aroma from the sliced almonds that are sprinkled on top.  

The canelés are the best we have tried so far ever. We’ve tried a few in Paris and in other towns in France but even those do not compare to Rotha’s canelés. We have yet to try the ones in Bordeaux though, which is where canelés originated from, but we hope to soon! Tradition has it that canelés were first created by French Catholic nuns who made these delicious treats for the poor since winemakers donated a lot of the egg yolks that were leftover from their winemaking process, which primarily used only the egg whites.

Rotha’s canelés have a nice and even caramelized outer layer with that unique canelé crunch not found in other pastries. The inside is dense and custardy with a pleasant and delicious aroma. It is one of my favorite French pastries and my absolute favorite is from Rotha’s.

Seasonal Pastry from Rotha

Every Epiphany we also order ahead a Galette des Rois from Rotha. With their almond cream and puff pastries being so delicious, we knew we couldn’t go wrong with ordering it from there and it has not yet disappointed us in the two years we have ordered it. A side note, they don’t advertise that they make it and it is not every year that Rotha decides to offer it. Leading up to Epiphany, we showed up every few weeks and ask if it would be available to the point where they now recognize us as the couple that keeps asking if the Galette des Rois will be offered. We also love interacting with the wonderful and kind owners there that are always working right behind the display case

2. Arsicault Bakery – San Francisco, CA

Favorites: Butter Croissants, Almond Croissants, and Savory Scones

Second on our list is the famous Arsicault Bakery. It definitely lives up to its title of being one of the best french bakeries in the country. The line is long but it tends to move quickly. This bakery has our favorite plain croissant ever outside of France. The buttery croissants were still warm when we got it so it had that wonderful melt in your mouth moment when we bit into it. The butter is aromatic and really stands out but not in an overpowering way. It was flaky with tons of layers and had just the right amount of crispiness. We highly recommend you eat it fresh if you can for the best experience. 

From this bakery we also love their almond croissants and savory scones. We also tried their kouign-amann and found that to be quite tasty too. If you ever come here on a Sunday (between 9 am and 2 pm), you will have the opportunity to discover the quaint Clement Street farmers market. You can sit at the tables they have out to enjoy your pastries.

3. Maison Nico – San Francisco, CA

Favorites: Pâté en Croûte and Brioche Feuilletée

One of our newer finds was this amazing “épicerie”, or French- inspired market and cafe, as it is called by the owner/head chef. Maison Nico has some of the most unique French treats we have yet to encounter outside of France. From there, we got to try many new french dishes we didn’t even know about and loved almost every single item we tried. The prices of the items here are a bit on the pricey side but hey, it’s San Francisco after all. You can also tell that the ingredients used are of high quality so that would help justify the prices.

The winners for us, hands down, were the pâté en croûte and the brioche feuilletée. For the pâté en croûte, we got the duck and pork one that has pistachios and apricots. We love all things duck and this did not disappoint. It was my first time ever trying a pâté en croûte. It was so delicious that I’m already dreaming of eating as many as I can the next time I’m in France. 

The biggest surprise of all was how much I loved the brioche feuilletée. This was something new for the both of us, including my husband who grew up in France. I don’t even know if we’ve ever seen it in France but now I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for it. The brioche feuilletée may have become one of my new favorite viennoiseries. This buttery brioche was flaky and crispy on the outside but was perfectly moist on the inside. It pulled apart so nicely that you can enjoy it piece by piece, which added to the fun of eating this pastry. The caramelization around the loaf was delicious with just the right hint of sweetness. I cannot wait to go back and get an entire loaf next time (to share of course).

4. La Farine – Oakland, CA (multiple locations)

Favorites: Rustic Baguettes and Frangipanes

Next on our list is La Farine, which translates in French to flour. This quaint little French bakery has multiple locations in Oakland, CA and it’s never out of the way for us when we are in the mood for some french pastries or baguettes.

This bakery hands down has the best baguettes we’ve tried in the Bay Area. It is the most similar to the traditional baguettes you find in France. My husband even goes so far as to say this is the best baguette he has tried outside of France and he has lived in various states across the US. You get that great crunch from the crust when you give it a squeeze and you also get that little bounce back that great baguettes have. The inside is the right moistness and full of the air bubbles characteristic of a traditional pain. 

Other items that we recommend you try from La Farine are their Frangipane pastry as well as their quiches. Their fruit tarts are also a very popular option for those looking for a dessert for a special occasion.

5. B. Patisserie – San Francisco, CA

Favorites: Kouign Amanns and Almond Croissants

B. Patisserie is another renowned and well-loved bakery in San Francisco. Co-owners Belinda Leung and Michel Suas definitely bring an asian flair to their pastries with exciting flavors such as pandan, which I personally love. They makeour favorite kouign amann, which I believe is also their specialty and what they’re most famous for. We have tried the original kouign-amanns as well as a couple of their flavored ones such as chocolate and a seasonal fruit one.

Their kouign-amann is so delicious and definitely a treat for special occasions. The shape of the pastry, which is like a flower to me, allows it to have a nice crunch with its many flaky layers and folds but still allows it to have a moist center. When you bite into it, there is a tiny bit of butter and sweetness that oozes out from the center which gives it a wonderful moistness and sweet aroma. 

Other selections we love from this bakery are their almond croissants and we highly recommend you get that also. B patisserie now has two locations in San Francisco. I highly suggest placing an online order ahead for pick-up to avoid their long lines. 

6. Maison Benoit – Danville, CA

Favorites: Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants) and Traditional Baguettes

Over to the Tri-Valley area we have a fairly new bakery in the beautiful and quaint town of Danville, CA. The bakery is on a busy road in the downtown area and always has a line out the door no matter what day you go on. You really cannot go wrong with any of the pastries or breads here. We highly recommend their baguettes, almond croissants and caneles. Around Epiphany, they also sell multiple flavors of Galette de Rois! We were able to get a traditional king’s cake right before the season for it ended and it was everything a good Galette de Rois should be: flaky pastry with a delicious almond creme inside that did not have an overwhelming almond extract flavor. They also provided a very cute fève (the little trinket/charm that’s hidden inside the cake).

However, my absolute favorite thing from Maison Benoit is the pain au chocolat! At first bite, it immediately became my favorite chocolate croissant EVER. The flakiness of the pastry was just right and not falling into pieces all over the place. You can tell that Maison Benoit uses high quality butter because it melts in your mouth but you don’t get that greasy feeling. Also, the butter is just delicious and you can really taste it. The dark chocolate has just the right snap to it. I do not like it when the chocolates inside chocolate croissants are too stiff or just has no bite to it at all and is just mush.

French Bakeries – Honorable Mentions

Here I will mention some bakeries that have nailed some French specialties. 

Whole Foods Market

Favorites: Espresso Eclairs

Didn’t expect to see Whole Foods’ bakery on the list of best French Bakeries, did you? But their espresso éclairs are some of the best éclairs we have ever had, especially when served chilled. We try an eclair here and there in France for comparison sake but so far they have all been too sweet for us. These ones are just right and have been a huge hit with everyone we’ve bought them for. This just goes to show that you definitely can get delicious pastries from grocery stores.

Flour & Bloom

Favorites: Croquembouche/Pièce Montées

Flour & Bloom is an honorable mention because it isn’t a bakery you can just walk into and order pastries or desserts from (aka not retail bakery). Flour & Bloom was actually the cake vendor we went with for our wedding cake and we could not have been happier with her work. The flavors were delicious (we got lemon and chocolate espresso cake) and the cake was dense and moist but not too sweet. It was just perfection. It was such a huge hit at our wedding that people kept asking us for the vendor’s information. 

The unexpected star of our wedding cuisine – The Croquembouche

The surprising and real star of our wedding desserts was not the cake, despite how delicious and beautiful it was. It was the croquembouche towers. Not only was it beautiful and such a unique addition to our wedding, it tasted amazing! The puffs were perfect. The cream was delicate and so tasty with a very delicious vanilla aroma. The caramel was drizzled on, which was perfect because it was not too sweet nor hard on the teeth.

Traditionally in France, croquembouches (or commonly called pièce montée in French) are used to celebrate big life events such as at baptisms, first communions, confirmations, and weddings – basically all the sacraments. With my husband being French, we wanted to incorporate in that tradition. We searched high and low in the Bay Area for bakeries that would make it for us but none did. I just happened to stumble on Flour & Bloom’s website while looking for cake vendors in the Bay Area and loved her work. It wasn’t until later when I looked deep into her Instagram account that I saw one picture of a croquembouche tower and immediately reached out.

I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I found Flour & Bloom, especially after we did the taste testing and fell in love with the cakes. We ordered two towers of pièce montées for our 200+ guests and it was the dessert that got raving reviews from all of our guests. There were no leftovers. I still dream about that croquembouche today and am hoping to be able to order it for another special occasion in the near future. Flour & Bloom was one of my top wedding vendors and the cherry on top is that the owner, Ora Beth and her partner, are so kind and easy to work with.

All the French bakeries we’ve tried in the Bay Area

Flour & Bloom

Arsicault – San Francisco, CA

Miette – Oakland, CA

Maison Benoit – Danville, CA

Maison Alyzée – Mountain View, CA

Maison Alyzée – Mountain View, CA

Alexander’s Pâtisserie – Cupertino, CA

La Farine – Oakland, CA

• Fournée Bakery  – Berkeley, CA
• La Noisette Sweets – Berkeley, CA
• Acme Bread Bakery – Berkeley, CA
• Starter Bakery – Berkeley, CA & Oakland, CA
• Miette – Oakland, CA
• Tartine Bakery – San Francisco, CA, Mission District
• Crispian Bakery – Alameda, CA
• Alexander’s Pâtisserie – Cupertino, CA
• Maison Alyzée – Mountain View, CA

Recommendations from you

We know there are a lot of other bakeries in the Bay Area that have delicious French pastries and patisseries. We are still making our way through them and will update accordingly. 

If you’re from the Bay Area or have been here, we’d love to know what your favorite bakeries are and what you recommend for us to try from there. We are really interested in finding more gems in the area. It is such a nice treat for us when we are missing France.

In the meantime, bon appétit!