The 31 most amazing bakeries in Chicago

Armed with a fine-dining background and stints at RIA and Sixteen, Aya Fukai took her talents wholesale in 2018, adding toothsome pastries to the menus at etta, Tempesta Market and All Together Now. Fans of Fukai’s pristine pastry work can now shop a selection of macarons, pies and cakes at her West Town storefront. We're especially drawn to the bakery's more fanciful, whimsical cakes—the Paris-Brest, a 9-inch creation comprised of praline mousse-filled cream puffs and hazelnut crunch, is fit for a tea party, while rice flour lends appealing chewiness to the matcha mochi cake. 

This Andersonville bakery and café pays homage to the neighborhood's Scandinavian roots in the most delicious way. Chef and owner Bobby Schaffer—whose star-studded resume includes Grace and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York—is the culinary mastermind behind a drool-worthy pastry program that encompasses cardamom-scented chocolate croissants, lingonberry almond cakes and calamansi meringue tarts. Savory enthusiasts have plenty to look forward to, too, with Lost Larson's selection of open-face sandwiches that are topped with fresh produce and quality meats.

Hailed by many as Chicago’s pastry and dessert queen, Mindy Segal closed her beloved Bucktown restaurant Hot Chocolate in 2020. She made her triumphant return in 2022 with a new project just a few blocks away, where folks will find a trove of baked goods. Open Wednesday through Sunday, Mindy’s Bakery offers sweet and savory Danishes, quiches, sticky cinnamon rolls, cookies, breads and much more. We suggest getting giardiniera cream cheese to spread on your bagel and a dog biscuit for your four-legged BFF.

Stephanie Hart turns out a number of "down-home delights" at her bakery, many of them smacking of the shop’s eponymous ingredient. Peach cobbler, pineapple upside-down cake and sweet-potato pie, as well as by-the-slice or whole cakes such as caramel, German chocolate and carrot are just a sample of Hart’s cavity-producing creations. Celebrating? Custom cakes are Hart’s specialty, and she goes to great lengths to please with imaginative concoctions.

With its range of Eurocentric items like petite, olive-stuffed brioches and super flaky kouign amann, no one could call the pastry program at Evanston’s Hewn an afterthought. It’s just that the bread here is so well crafted, it sort of takes the cake. Each day this snug, carryout-only bakery offers its signature country bread—a large, dark boule with a chewy crumb that’s mildly sour, thanks to a 17-hour fermentation—along with a couple of rotating choices from a menu that includes inventive loaves like caramelized onion rye and walnut ricotta. 

If you grew up in the Midwest, there’s a good chance your archetype of a bakery looks a lot like this Southwest Side institution. After all, the focus at this perpetually packed spot is on hearty, comforting fare that’s descended from German, Polish and Scandinavian roots, yet over time it has evolved into its own regional character. Breakfast pastries are a particular strength here; the cheese sweet roll, with its silky filling and buttery streusel topping, is a worthy indulgence, while the chocolate cake doughnut, surprisingly light beneath an icing of chocolate ganache, is a customer favorite. 

You’ll want to schedule your mornings around this small Logan Square shop to snag its most popular goodies before they sell out. Owner Dina Cimarusti has quickly earned a loyal following since launching Sugar Moon in 2021, and it’s easy to understand why. The tahini chocolate chip cookie is a contender for the city’s best, while pizza focaccia and rotating breakfast pastries like an Italian beef roll are similarly remarkable. Fans line up before opening so don’t dawdle if you want first dibs.

Dim sum fans are accustomed to cart service and ordering cards, but the majority of the small dishes traditionally served originated in tea houses and bakeries in southern China. Chinese bakery Chi Quon has been making these delectable items for decades, attracting locals and visitors from around the city with dishes like fresh BBQ pork buns, sesame balls filled with bean paste and decorative mango mousse cake. Pop in for a snack or make a meal out of the various baked goods on display. 

Dynamic couple Genie Kwon and Tim Flores run this acclaimed Filipino restaurant and bakery that’s one of the hottest spots in town. By day, Kwon, whose impressive resume includes stints at Boka and Oriole, whips up a selection of inventive and irresistible pastries. The ube and huckleberry Basque cake and the truffle croissants are must-tries but if you want something a bit savory, grab a foie gras- or Serrano ham-topped Danish. Plan to arrive early, too, unless you fancy a wait.

The award-winning bakery from One Off Hospitality recently added a cafe to its wholesale operation. Stop by in the morning for a flaky croissant or kouign-amann with your coffee, or come later to enjoy tartines and big sandwiches sold by weight. Make sure to pick up a loaf of bread to take home, too.

What this scrappy retail operation lacks in size it makes up for in expertise. Belgian chef Renaud Hendrickx is the creative genius behind the various buttery croissants, pastel-toned macarons and a host of cakes and breads that make us never want to give up carbs. Though the front room is teensy-tiny, guests are invited to poke their heads into the kitchen to see what Hendrickx is baking (he might even offer you a sample if you're nice).

The dreamy, creamy cupcakes here have us at hello. Well, us and every other Chicagoan with taste buds. This sweet-as-can-be bakeshop may have cornered the local market with its simple little chocolate and yellow cakes slathered in a colorful array of buttercreams, but there’s much more to salivate over. We like the puddings (chocolate, banana with Nilla wafers), the crispy, big-as-your-head cookies, the seasonal fruit crisps and the whoopie pies. We haven’t encountered a dud yet.

This Avondale bakery and cafe has made waves for its exceptional breads and pastries. You’ll spot the loaves of the day behind the counter and you’ll definitely want to order a tasty breakfast sandwich, served on either an English muffin or croissant. Loaf Lounge owner Sarah Mispagel also worked as a pastry consultant on FX hit The Bear and her chocolate cake, which was featured on the show, is on the menu as well.

With an assortment of breads, tasty sandwiches and seriously delicious cookies in its repertoire, this airy Lincoln Park bakery-café certainly has range. But Floriole’s soul is its French pastry, skillfully executed by owner Sandra Holl. Among our favorite offerings are the canelés, petite, fluted cakes with caramelized exteriors and custardy cores flavored with vanilla and rum. Another showstopper is the lovely Basque cake, a sweet, almond cake filled with pastry cream and tart berries and baked 'til it's golden.

Macarons from heaven. Tarts from someplace even better than heaven. Pastry chef Sophie Evanoff cranks out dozens of types of gorgeous French pastries daily. The Manjari entremet, a chocolate flourless cake topped with chocolate cream and chocolate mousse, is our favorite, but it’s hard to choose. These confections make a great gift, but the packaging is so mod and sexy, you’ll want to keep it.

Alliance is perhaps best known for its elaborate celebration cakes, which are proudly displayed in the windows for passersby to ogle. But this bakery also traffics in coffee drinks and other pastries like cookies, macarons and tarts, which are available to take away or to bring next door to a seating area. Bookmark the custom cake work for a special day and stock up on macarons any day of the week.

Home to one of the largest communities of Mexican-born immigrants in the United States, Chicago offers much more than just tacos and margs. This Pilsen bakery has been specializing in Mexico’s famous sweet breads and other sugary goods since 1973. Grab a pair of tongs and stock up on conchas, butter cookies and gorditas, all for only a few bucks.

This iconic Polish bakery closed in October 2019 after decades of serving pączki, doughnuts, cookies and other candy-colored sweets to its fans. Thankfully, new ownership swept in and restored the spot to its former glory. Shop cakes and doughnuts, eclairs and cookies, bacon buns and whole loaves—and of course, don't miss out on the bakery's much-loved pączki.

Mother-daughter team Dobra Bielinski and Stasia Hawyrszczuk opened this Jefferson Park bakery in 1998 and have established it as the preferred stop for those seeking Polish pastries (or other European sweets for that matter). Polish specialties like angel’s wings cookies and kolachki are always popular, but come Paczki Day (Fat Tuesday in the Big Easy), this place sells thousands of the lard-fried, cream-filled doughnuts, including one specific to the holiday filled with boozy custard. Coffee cake, muffins and breads have universal appeal year-round.

Dealing in handmade chocolates and buttery pastries, Good Ambler keeps the West Loop sugared up from morning until early evening. The exceptionally cozy space is anchored by a sprawling pastry case stocked with edible eye candy, including croissants, tarts, babka, muffins, cookies and candy bars. A menu of coffee and tea drinks keeps you from slipping into an inevitable sugar coma.

Life's sweet at Veranda Runsewe's South Loop bakery, where the pastries are baked fresh daily and the custom cakes are crafted with love. The muffins and loaf cakes pair nicely with the lengthy list of tea varieties, from cinnamon-plum and jade oolong to matcha-ginger buzz. To see Runsewe's skills on full display, you'll want to order a cake, which can be customized to your every whim—whether you want it covered in sprinkles, dripping in caramel or iced to perfection.

One of Chicago’s oldest family-run businesses has operated out of the same storefront, distinguished today by its vertical neon sign and quaint painted lady facade, since its establishment in 1911. Today it’s a good all-arounder, with doughnuts and danish for breakfast, and a wide selection of cake slices and cookies (many in Chicago sports team motifs) for dessert.

More than a century after its establishment, this family-run Taylor Street bakeshop continues to turn out spot-on renditions of southern Italian classics, like mildly sweet, cinnamon-scented cannoli that are filled to order and dipped in your choice of chocolate or chopped pistachios. With selections that many Italian-American bakeries offer only at Christmastime—tender, fig-stuffed cuccidati and crisp, pine nut-encrusted pignoli, for instance—the cookie section also impresses. On the savory side, the thick-crusted Sicilian pizza is uncomplicated, salty goodness.

Kristoffer's is synonymous with tres leches cake—more specifically, one of the best versions of the delicacy in all of Chicago. The family-owned business in Pilsen makes the milk-bathed sponge cake in seven flavors—from vanilla and coconut to chocoflan and caramel. You can get it by the slice, but after just one bite, you'll wish you'd ordered a full cake for yourself.

One of Chicago’s finest Chinese bakeries offers an impressive range of treats both savory and sweet from its Chinatown storefront. The cha siu bao—baked buns filled with sticky barbecue pork—make a good option for an on-the-go lunch, and the egg tarts have a fan following for their just-barely-set custard filling and crumbly shortbread crust. Between bites, sip on the Hong Kong–style milk tea, a creamy, sweetened black tea that’s refreshing over ice.

Fans of massive, gooey cookies, rejoice—acclaimed New York bakery Levain has arrived in Chicago. You can now snag the bakery’s famed chocolate chip walnut cookie, plus loaf cakes, breads, muffins, pastries and more in the West Loop. A second location is set to open later this year in River North.

Upon entering this small but mighty Latin bakery, you'll grab a basket and a pair of tongs from the folks working the counter. Do a lap and plot out your order before opening the pastry cases and helping yourself to pillowy conchas, stuffed churros and colorful, candy-studded cookies—all made fresh daily. You may as well toss in anything else that catches your eye, as most pastries ring up for a few bucks. Racks of buns and breads are constantly being ferried from the back kitchen to the tight storefront so that you can snag something fresh from the oven.

There are plenty of seasonal options to drool over at this beloved pie shop (like the swoon-worthy Berries n Cream Cheesecake, a vanilla bean cheesecake studded with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and topped with vanilla bean whipped cream), but we're especially fond of the key lime pie, which you can snag year-round. You can also fill your kitchen with delightful smells by grabbing Bang Bang's coveted biscuit mix.

Walk into this cheerful Wicker Park bakehouse, and your eyes will instantly be drawn to the jam-packed pastry case, which displays platters of freshly baked muffins, buttery scones, decorated cookies and sprinkle-covered cupcakes. The assortment changes daily, but you'll want to show up early for prized items like weekend sticky buns and flaky croissants.

Sure, the rainbow cake is undoubtedly the attention grabber at Goddess and the Grocer, but the cafe’s varied cake lineup pleases all palates. Whether it’s cupcakes, carrot cake or cake pops, there’s something for everyone. And thanks to multiple locations and the option to ship anywhere in the country, it’s super easy to satiate those sweet cravings.

The quaint neon marquee above the door and the cake decorating window might trigger childhood nostalgia, but it's the air vents along the sidewalk that do the best advertising for Bennison's. The wafting odors of fresh doughnuts and breads is hard to resist. And those doughnuts are traditional and perfect, eschewing the big-as-your-face, loaded-with-candy trend. It's simply a moist cake doughnut with the right amount of frosting. Seasonally, the bakery serves up pączki and king cake. There are also macarons, soft pretzels, scones, tortes, etc. It's a continual walk-in holiday.