Sweet Stuff

8 San Antonio bakeries to satisfy serious pastry cravings

We might not be in France, but our city is filled with enough flaky, buttery, and sweet patisserie to fulfill your Francophile fantasies. From unique twists on classics to simple and straightforward, here are eight of San Antonio best bakeries with fantastic pastries.

Bakery Lorraine
Bakery Lorraine is the mecca of bakeries in our city. In addition to aromatic fresh breads and baked goods, Bakery Lorraine has a mouthwatering selection of patisserie such as canelé, pan aux chocolat, kouign-amann, Danish, traditional croissants, and tarts.

C'est La Vie Baking Company
Among other doughy items, C'est La Vie Baking Company makes memorable French croissants with a twist — stuffed croissants — and they're baked to perfection. For something sweet choose honey pecan, pear cranberry, apple cinnamon, blue cream cheese, almond, chocolate, or pumpkin spice. And for something savory select ham and cheddar; ham, cheddar, and jalapeño; or spinach pesto.

CommonWealth Coffeehouse & Bakery
This coffee shop nestled in a quaint house offers a relaxing ambiance and an authentic croque monsieur. In addition to savory treats, CommonWealth has a great selection of French pastries including croissants, tarts, and viennoise au nutella.

La Boulangerie
This quaint and colorful French-style bakery dishes out some of the best patisserie in San Antonio. Favorites include croissants, éclairs, fruit tarts, and madeleine cookies.

Malinalli Bakery & Bistro
Dine in or dine out at Malinalli Bakery & Bistro, where the bread is made fresh daily and the pastries are heavenly. One of the few places in the city to get a canelé, these small brown treats are sweet, crunchy, buttery, and should not be missed. Malinalli also has croissants — plain, almond, and chocolate — down to a science.

Mi Tierra Restaurant & Bakery
It's all about Mexican delicacies at Mi Tierra. In addition to the sweet cookies, cake, and savory empanadas, Mi Tierra offers some of the best pan de huevo (semi-sweet egg bread topped with sugar) in town.

Nadler's Bakery & Deli
Nadler's has a wealth of sweets to choose from, but the pastry menu is hard to beat with deli classics such as pecan Danish, apple strudel, cream puffs, and cinnamon crispie.

Sol y Luna Baking Company
This family-owned bakery is a flour, butter, and sugar lover's dream. In addition to incredible breads, the bakers mix up some of the best sticky buns in town. Sol y Luna also has a delectable selection of croissants, kolaches, lemon tarts, and more.

Bakery Lorraine offers breads, baked goods, and pastries.

Bakery Lorraine/Facebook

Bakery Lorraine offers breads, baked goods, and pastries.

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In-slider knowledge

Well-known brunch eatery adds location at changing Riverwalk mall

Photo courtesy of Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia

Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia is joining a growing list of businesses flocking to the Shops at Rivercenter.

The well-known San Antonio brunch spot Alamo Biscuit Co. & Panaderia is continuing its takeover of the city with a third location. The new eatery is expected to open in March 2025 at 849 E. Commerce St., adjacent to the Shops at Rivercenter.

The new restaurant will span a 7,000-square-foot space, including a 1,200-square-foot patio, which will host a total of 250 guests. San Antonians may remember the space from its days as Enrique Tomás, an upscale Spanish restaurant. Things will be different at the very casual Alamo Biscuit Co., which operates more like a diner.

Biscuits are, of course, the anchoring menu item, and are served in sweet and savory flights when they're not providing support for other dishes like Nashville hot chicken, eggs Benedict with various proteins, or a classic sausage, egg, and cheese. Other specialties include pancakes (sometimes with extravagant toppings), French toast, and tacos.

The new location comes with new menu items that haven't been announced with, plus a full bar and espresso bar, according to a release.

Alamo Biscuit Co. is hiring 80-100 team members starting in January, according to the release. That will include "management, servers, cooks, and dishwashers."

The Shops at Rivercenter are in the middle of a larger renaissance. The mall opened in 1988, and has weathered the coming and going trends of retail. Since 2005, it's been owned by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, which also owns famous properties like Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace and New York City's Plaza Hotel.

Just in 2024, projects announced at the Shops at Rivercenter include an overhaul of dining by celebrity chef Jason Dady, as well as the San Antonio debut of the trendy Australian mini-golf chain Holey Moley.

“To be invited to open a location on the San Antonio River Walk is an incredible honor and a blessing,” said Alamo Biscuit Co. owner and UTSA graduate John Vale in the release. “In just five years, Alamo Biscuit Co. has become a part of San Antonio’s culinary fabric, and now, we’ve been given the opportunity to share our passion for great food and community in what I believe is the best location in Texas. This is a gift from God and a privilege we don’t take lightly.”

brunch riverwalk openings