Bakeries and pastry in Chicago

This guide is for anyone who wants a good loaf, a box of conchas or a birthday cake in Chicago and would rather buy it from a neighborhood bakery than a grocery counter. It covers 15 bakeries and doughnut shops across the city, from Pilsen and Little Village on the Southwest Side to Andersonville and Jefferson Park up north, grouped by what each one does best.

Every bakery here was open as of late September 2026. Transit and parking notes are included because most of these shops sell out of their best items before noon.

Mexican panaderías

The two big Mexican bakery corridors are 18th Street in Pilsen and 26th Street in Little Village. Both work the same way: grab a tray and tongs at the door, load up, pay by the piece. Prices are low, and the bread is baked through the day.

Pilsen

The anchor on 18th Street is https://windycitymagazine.com/business/panaderia-nuevo-leon/Panadería Nuevo León at 1634 W. 18th St., a family-owned shop that Block Club Chicago reported in January 2026 has been baking in Pilsen for 52 years. Conchas, bolillos and cuernitos are the everyday buys. Around Three Kings Day the ovens switch over entirely to rosca de reyes (medium roscas sold for $38 in 2026, large for $50, no preorder needed, per Block Club). The Pink Line 18th stop is a two-block walk east; street parking on 18th is metered and tight on weekend mornings. The Pilsen neighborhood page has more on the area.

Little Village

On 26th Street, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/la-baguette-chicago/La Baguette Chicago at 3103 W. 26th St. is a newer, larger space in the Discount Mall Plaza with a team of bakers working in view. Block Club reported the shop made more than 1,000 roscas for Three Kings Day 2026, with classic wreaths priced from $28 to $64 by size and filled versions from $65 to $85. The 26th Street strip is walkable from the Pink Line California or Kedzie stops, about a 15-minute walk south, or take the 60 Blue Island/26th bus, which runs the length of the street. Parking is free on side streets but heavily used; the plaza has a small lot. The same report noted that both bakeries lost foot traffic on days when federal immigration agents were active nearby.

Polish, Swedish and German bakeries

Polish: Jefferson Park

For pączki, the Northwest Side is where Chicagoans line up, and https://windycitymagazine.com/business/delightful-pastries/Delightful Pastries at 5927 W. Lawrence Ave. in Jefferson Park is the shop most of them name first. The bakery sells home-style European pastries, cakes and breads year-round, and WTTW reported in February 2026 that the shop makes 13 varieties of pączki and around 40,000 of them each season. Hours from the bakery’s site are Tuesday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday, and the phone is (773) 545-7215. Lawrence and Austin is about a mile west of the Jefferson Park Blue Line and Metra station, so take the 81 Lawrence bus from the transit center or drive; street parking on Lawrence is easy on weekdays. On Fat Tuesday expect a line before the doors open.

Swedish: Andersonville

Andersonville’s Swedish bakery tradition lives on at https://windycitymagazine.com/business/lost-larson/Lost Larson, 5318 N. Clark St., a Scandinavian-inspired bakery that stone-mills regional grain in house. Cardamom buns and the cardamom chocolate croissant are the reasons to go, and the shop makes a different semla each week in the run-up to Fat Tuesday. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day at both locations, the second being 2140 W. Division St. in Wicker Park, and the pastry case tends to be picked over by 11 a.m. on weekends. Take the Red Line to Berwyn and walk west about 10 minutes, or the 22 Clark bus stops out front. Clark Street parking is metered and slow to find on Saturdays; the side streets east of Clark are residential permit zones, so read the signs.

German: Lincoln Square

The German side of the story is https://windycitymagazine.com/business/lutz-cafe-and-pastry-shop/Lutz Cafe & Pastry Shop at 2458 W. Montrose Ave., which has made tortes, strudel and chocolates from European recipes since 1948 and still serves them with coffee at tables in back. The bakery’s site lists hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday; the phone is (773) 478-7785. Montrose and Western is a short walk south from the Western Brown Line stop, and the 49 Western bus stops at the corner. Street parking on Montrose is free but limited to the bakery’s block and the residential streets nearby.

Modern pastry and croissants

The laminated-dough crowd has a few standouts. https://windycitymagazine.com/business/hendrickx-belgian-bread-crafter/Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter, 100 E. Walton St. off Michigan Avenue in the Gold Coast, is Belgian chef Renaud Hendrickx’s shop with 13 kinds of croissant on the board, plus Belgian chocolates and sandwiches at lunch. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Monday. The Red Line Chicago stop is two blocks west; do not expect to park on Walton, where the nearest garages charge downtown rates.

In Avondale, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/loaf-lounge/Loaf Lounge at 2934 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite E, is the bakery behind the chocolate cake that appeared on FX’s The Bear, according to Time Out Chicago’s September 2026 bakery roundup, and the breakfast sandwiches on house bread sell as fast as the pastries. The shop is a 10-minute walk from either the Logan Square or Belmont Blue Line stops. Milwaukee Avenue has metered spots, and the side streets are mostly unrestricted.

Bread people go to https://windycitymagazine.com/business/publican-quality-bread/Publican Quality Bread at 1759 W. Grand Ave. in West Town, head baker Greg Wade’s retail bakery, opened in June 2022 and built on heritage grains from Spence Farm milled at Janie’s Mill. Wade is a James Beard Award winner, and the croissant and kouign-amann are the pastries to get, with tartines and big sandwiches at lunch. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, phone (312) 605-1618. Grand and Wood is a 65 Grand bus ride from the Blue Line Chicago stop; street parking on Grand is metered but usually available on weekday mornings.

Cakes worth ordering ahead

For a South Side layer cake, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/brown-sugar-bakery/Brown Sugar Bakery at 328 E. 75th St. in Chatham is the destination. Owner Stephanie Hart has run the shop on 75th Street since 2004, and the caramel cake is the order; cake slices come three to a box for anyone not ready to commit to a whole cake. Hours from the bakery’s site are Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m., phone (773) 570-7676. The Metra Electric 75th Street (Grand Crossing) station is about a half mile east, the 75 74th-75th bus runs along the street, and parking on 75th is free and easy. Order whole cakes a few days ahead before holidays.

On the North Side, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/bittersweet-pastry-shop/Bittersweet Pastry Shop at 1114 W. Belmont Ave. in Lakeview is the city’s default for a celebration cake that looks as good as it tastes. Signature cakes start around $68, fancy tiered and bow cakes run $96 to $148, and the bakery has brought back a limited-run Atomic Cake, which the bakery’s site calls a South Side tradition, priced from $82. The Lakeview shop is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; smaller shops are in Pilsen and the West Loop. The Belmont Red, Brown and Purple Line stop is two blocks east; Lakeview street parking is permit-heavy, so budget 10 minutes to find a metered spot on Belmont.

Two old family bakeries still decorate cakes the way they did decades ago. https://windycitymagazine.com/business/roesers-bakery/Roeser’s Bakery at 3216 W. North Ave. in Humboldt Park opened in 1911 and does buttercream birthday and wedding cakes, cupcakes and coffee cakes, plus doughnuts. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Monday, phone (773) 489-6900. The 72 North Avenue bus stops in front; street parking on North Avenue is free but the lane is busy. https://windycitymagazine.com/business/webers-bakery/Weber’s Bakery, 7055 W. Archer Ave. in Garfield Ridge, has been on Archer since 1930 and is a drive-to bakery for the Southwest Side and the near suburbs, with fondant and buttercream custom cakes, breads, cookies and pastries. The doors open at 5 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 5:30 a.m. Sunday, closing at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively; the phone is (773) 586-1234. Midway on the Orange Line is more than two miles east, so plan on driving.

Doughnuts, by neighborhood

River North

Start at https://windycitymagazine.com/business/doughnut-vault/Doughnut Vault, 401 N. Franklin St., at Kinzie, the little walk-up shop that sells classic doughnuts and a rotating daily special from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. or until they run out, whichever comes first, usually the latter. Preorders are taken online, and the Merchandise Mart Brown and Purple Line stop is across the street. A few blocks east, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/firecakes-donuts/Firecakes Donuts at 68 W. Hubbard St. runs much longer hours: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday, with a walk-up window and a second shop at 2453 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park. The shop is cashless. The Red Line Grand stop is a five-minute walk; parking in River North means a garage.

Chatham

On the South Side, https://windycitymagazine.com/business/dat-donut/Dat Donut at 8251 S. Cottage Grove Ave. is known for the Big Dat, an oversized glazed doughnut, and hand-cuts its cake doughnuts and apple fritters daily. The Chatham shop is open 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, phone (773) 723-1002; a North Side shop is at 947 W. Wellington Ave. in Lakeview. The 4 Cottage Grove bus stops out front, and there is free street parking along Cottage Grove.

Good to know

• Fat Tuesday in 2027 falls on February 9. Delightful Pastries takes pączki preorders online and Roeser’s and Weber’s take them by phone in the weeks before; Lost Larson bakes a different semla each week leading up to it.
• Three Kings Day is January 6. Panadería Nuevo León and La Baguette Chicago sell roscas without preorders, but the lines start the Friday before.
• Bittersweet’s Atomic Cake and its Rosh Hashanah challah are seasonal and come and go from the online menu.
• Doughnut Vault and Lost Larson routinely sell out before their posted closing times. Firecakes says the same on its site and suggests calling first.
• Delightful Pastries, Hendrickx, Roeser’s and Weber’s are closed Monday; check before driving.
• Checked September 28, 2026.

Know a place that belongs in this guide, or a detail that has changed? Send a correction.