The 9 Best Bakeries Around the World

The French know bread like few else, and Poilâne is the best of the best. The shop only uses carefully selected stone-ground local grains for their expertly fermented sourdough. Their bread and signature wheat flour have a global fan base, and they now ship worldwide as a result. While bread is the headliner at Poilâne, the viennoiseries (i.e., plain croissants, pains au chocolat, chaussons aux pommes, and the like) are just as revelatory.

Pastry chef Sadaharu Aoki opened his first shop in Paris, but has since moved east with his storefronts as well as inspiration. Don't leave his Tokyo pâtisseries—of which there are four spread throughout the city—without trying his matcha macarons. With the fervor for French culture in Japan, Chef Aoki’s pastries, replicating the thick chantilly cream, dark chocolate, and croissant layers you’d find in Paris, are a smashing success.

Started by sculptor-turned-breadmaker, Jim Lahey, the Sullivan Street Bakery brings the tradition and artisanship of Italian bread to New York City. Lahey is known for introducing no-knead bread to the at-home baker, and his team at Sullivan Street bakes some of the highest-quality (read: perfectly crusted) loaves in the city.

Since 1786, this Austrian bakery has been keeping traditional European cake recipes alive. Here, you can find some of the best Sachertorte, Apple Strudel, Annatorte with Paris Cream, or even "Fächertorte" around. If you have a hankering for Viennese baked goods but won’t make it to Austria any time soon, fear not, Demel ships their candy, jams, chocolate, and other various confectionaries worldwide.

This bay area bakery emphasizes the importance of warmth and expression through quality baked goods. Tartine has garnered something of a cult-following, thanks to their bread, pies, and absolutely stunning cookbook. And they’ve now expanded to southern California with a storefront in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

An unexpected vegan spot full of exceptionally decadent and showstopping pastries and desserts, Vegan Treats is not a stop to be missed on any American vegan goodie crawl. Founder Danielle Konya is determined to offer cakes that aren’t just good by reduced dietary standards—but are in fact better than non-vegan cakes. Try her vegan tiramisu and prepare to be amazed.

Serving both the savory and the sweet, this Boston bakery is any bread lover's paradise. From sticky buns and scones to cakes and sandwiches, this cafe has it all. Now with several locations throughout Cambridge and Boston, Flour still sources their flour from a local grainery in Lynn, MA. Don’t skip their sour cream coffee cake and bring home a chocolate cream pie for your next birthday celebration.

On Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal, you’ll find an iconic Paris-style boulangerie guaranteed to serve some of the best croissants and most indulgent opéra gâteau outside of Paris. A Québec staple since 1952, Duc De Lorraine is Montreal’s oldest bakery which only adds to the charms of this Mont Royal-adjacent shop. Dine in for a French-style lunch (think: croque monsieur, quiche lorraine, and salade niçoise) or grab a café au lait, a few croissants, and a mille feuille to sample in the park later. 

Complete Deelite is a cake shop opened by one of the most celebrated cake decorators in Asia. Cake artist Jacinta Yu has achieved fame across Hong Kong, appeared on several cooking shows, and often bakes and decorates cakes for high-brow corporate clients. But she’s still a cake maker for all—and that’s what her shop is about.  At Complete Deelite, she does made-to-order cakes for birthdays, weddings, and any celebration, as well as selling delicious cupcakes and cake pops, among other sweet treats.