National Bakery & Deli

I have loved this bakery ever since I was a young child. I grew up only 2 or 3 blocks away from it and my grandmother would always send my mom and I there to get things. From the bakery, to the hot ham and rolls, to the paczkis there’s almost nothing here I don’t like. I have even continued the tradition and have started taking my daughter there. She loves their colorful sugar cookies… right now she has one shaped like a rabbit
I’m also pretty sure I’m going to be able to convince my fiancé to have them do our wedding cake.

We went to National Bakery to get enough cakes for a funeral dinner banquet, after my Godfather passed last week. We worked with Diane, who was so friendly, and gave us exactly what we were looking for. We had five chocolate tortes (my Godfather’s favorite) and we had a ½ sheet of yellow cake with buttercream frosting. The place we were having the dinner was going to cut and serve the cake for us, so National Bakery scored the frosting, and decorated it so each person would have a decoration and colors on their piece. The pricing was great, considering the highest quality, the freshness, and the aesthetic of their work. We’ll definitely be going back. (If only for their amazing donuts!!!)

This place is a great traditional bakery and place to buy donuts. I got a few donuts here recently and they are pretty good. Only thing… ordering by number. What is that? Wife wants a lemon donut. Is that #2 or a #5? And Crullers. I don’t know what a cruller is. So I have to ask «do you have any crullers?» Or cream filled. Am I a magician? Can I see inside the donut? No. Sadly, I cannot.
Okay… enough of that tangent. I was in on a weekend morning, and they were well staffed to handle the line of donut seekers, even with my list of questions. And the staff is friendly, and prices are good!

It was a warm nice and cozy bakery. I’ve heard a lot of rave reviews from colleagues so I’ve decided to go and visit this bakery. Lots of packaged cookies and assortment of pastries along with meats, cheese and other deli assortment. Employee was very helpful and courteous. The price of items was very reasonable. If your in the area for your sweet tooth cravings pay national bakery a visit. I’ll definitely frequent this establishment more often for bakery/​deli items.

First time visitor to National Bakery on a Monday morning in October. After all the great reviews, I was so disappointed by the selection! My cousin was visiting from California and they only had one of the five Polish bakery items on her list. Boo hiss! On a positive note, the employee working was very helpful and tried to help us find other bakeries that had the items we wanted. (Note: We also went to the National Bakery location in Greendale and the selection was equally disappointing.)

National Bakery does have several locations now. But, the 16’th street location is the original & has offered awesome doughnuts, bread & deli meats since 1925. National is known for their Polish bakery, especially paczkis. National offers the best long johns anywhere along with at least twenty other varieties of doughnuts. Get a box full, they travel well! They have a numbering system for the doughnuts to expedite service. They should associate a description for each doughnut too. Time & time again, I hear customers asking: «What’s in that one.»
People rave about their sweets but I have to say I like the deli even more. The ham and turkey are the best. And the prices are very reasonable. Be sure to grab your free rolls with deli meat purchases..

The ham is so good and truly my favorite deli ham. I also love the dutchy crust rolls and the frosted cookies but it is true that something is different about National overall. I can taste the grease every time I get a doughnut recently and, while my junk food loving savory food craving palate is ok with it, I do know things tasted better ten or so years ago. Also I think they changed the filling to the jelly doughnuts? Still, the ham is boss and even if different the doughnuts are pretty good, too.

We love the National Bakery. Last winter we got our post-​swimming-​lesson donuts there every Saturday morning. But most recently our love has been amped up by some serious birthday cake successes. In July, they made my 2-​year-​old daughter an amazing birthday cake with a «Humpty-​Dumpty-​like» character on it. More recently, I was scrambling to get to to NB before they closed at 5pm to pick up my wife’s birthday cake. I must’ve missed 5pm deadline by a couple of minutes, but the gracious and merciful staff unlocked the doors and got me the cake that — in all seriousness — probably saved my life … or at least my marriage. Plus it was delicious and beautiful — cherry filling OMG4eva!

In response to the Cory T. news paper story by a guy named Cory. I don’t believe a word of it.
Been going to National Bakery for years and never had an issue like the one described by him. And yet, it does not mean it will not happen. Given the fact that anyone would go to a bakery on July 3^rd and take delivery on July 4^th should expect a cupcake with a bit out of it. Mine. Mr. Cory T. expected from the #1 bakery in the area to get a cake the following Day??? Ya Right if you want quicker service done well go to Sam’s club and buy one from there. Maybe that will fit your taste better.
Soon I will be going back to order another cake from them for my Grandson. I know I will not have an experience like the one old Cory described but I don’t expect the cake to be made and decorated by the following day either. Again I don’t believe the review at all. Have a nice cake filled day !

This is a painful review to write. I have many fond memories of this place, spending my first 19 years 3 blocks away from this bakery. The smells that came out of this place every morning as I walked past going to school were intoxicating. Unfortunately the quality of the product has gone down considerably.
Let me preface this by saying I did come here the morning of Paczki Day, and the Raisin Paczki’s are super good. If everyday was Paczki Day, I would say fight the crowds and get some.
Paczki Day is an anomaly here, as most days they’re busy but not swamped. I ordered my usual, a donut and a cream puff for later. My service experience was better than most, but it took a minute to decide what kind of donut I wanted. The lady told me to let her know when I was ready. When I made my decision, I raised my hand to flag for her. As she was making her way to me over by the donut counter, some elderly gentleman walked right past me, grabbed her and ordered some deli meat. Instead of telling him she was helping me first, she ignored me and went on to help him. Maybe it’s time to go back to taking numbers.
Anyways, for my donut I went for the sugared butter twist. I’ve had this donut many times before and it’s usually pretty good. Not the case this time. First of all, the donut tasted like it was about 2 days old. If they are in the business of selling stale donuts now, that’s not a good sign. Another thing, I know I ordered a sugared donut, but good lord, can you scrape off about a pound of that sugar off of every donut. I was hungry, so I ate it in the car and I was lucky not to be pulled over. I looked like one of those cheesy comedy movies where the bag of cocaine explodes all over the guy driving.
As far as the cream puff goes, these used to rival only State Fair’s in my opinion. That’s certainly not the case anymore. Not only is this puff smaller than it used to be (at a higher price), but I had one of these two years ago and I swear it doesn’t taste the same. The puff part was almost cracker thin on both sides. The cream tasted like straight Half and Half. There was no sweetness to this cream puff whatsoever, outside the minuscule dusting of powdered sugar on the top half of the pastry. A sorry excuse for a cream puff.
Normally I would just attribute this change in taste to my youth and inexperience in the past, but I visited a couple years back and ordered almost the same thing. It tasted 20 times better. I told my Mom about this trip, and she told me that maybe my pallet is more sophisticated, and I told her that Taco Bell tastes good to me when I’m sober and I’m anxiously waiting the return of the Twinkie. She then said «They probably did change the ingredients».
Come in for Paczki Day, stay away every other day.

PROS:
–Nice variety of breads and sweets.
–Delicious deli meat selection.
–Fair prices for all.
–Cherry nest desserts FTW.
–The ham is incredible. Get 6 free rolls (your choice) when you buy 1 pound? Sold!
CONS:
–A bit of a distance to travel for me; if you live close by this is not an issue.
–Know what you want if you arrive when it is busy. If you’re indecisive, take time to look around before getting in line. You’ll be bypassed if not ready to order!
Summary: even though this is a bit of a distance for me, I would easily return. Nice work and service from a classic bakery that is nearing 90 years of age!

A LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP
I have flip-​flopped back and forth about how I feel about this place, and I’m still undecided. But one thing is for certain: I have experienced better, hence the two stars.
THE MISSION
After listening to fellow Unilocalers and South Side compadres about the fabulous attributes of this neighborhood bakery, I decided to trust National Bakery with the most important and daunting task: creating a birthday cake for my mother. I call her Endora for a reason – a petite woman with big red hair, and even bigger opinions! I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Here is what happened…
THE GREETING
Remember, it was my first time visiting National Bakery, and I went in all excited with high hopes. I was met with the personification of a raincloud. Misery, thy name is DAWN. Others have referenced her in reviews, and I have to say I agree. I approached the counter, and very unassumingly stood there waiting for a response. This is uncharacteristically calm for me, so I was surprised to get this vile reaction from dear Dawn. She gasped and sighed. Then she barked out, «someone will get to you in a minute.» Just reading it in print may not sound like that big of a deal, but you had to be there to hear how condescendingly and snottily it was communicated to understand the full impact. Ewww, negative stars. Anyway, moving on…
THE ORDERING PROCESS
I was taken care of by a very pleasant woman. Ah, redemption. Stars redeemed. Since I was coming in on July 3^rd for a July 4^th birthday cake, I had reasonable expectations and asked first if they were even able to create the cake on such short notice. I came in at 10 a.m. and was told they would have it ready by noon. I said, «how about I come in at 4 (an hour before closing) to give you the time you need.» I placed an order for a chocolate half sheet cake with chocolate buttercream icing and filling. I told them to give the cake a patriotic red, white, and blue theme, and to make sure to spell my mother’s name correctly (as it is a bit unusual). I specified that I wanted the borders to be the standard full shells.
THE PRICE
WOW. Jeez-​a-​loo! Does $ 42 sound high to anyone else besides me?! BUT, I heard how «amazing» this bakery was, so…
THE PICK UP
Or should I say the disappointment. Given the extra time I gave them, I was shocked when the gal went in back to retrieve the cake and presented me with a cake that had A MISSING BOTTOM BORDER! Instead, it looked like excess frosting was wiped from the edge, all the way around the gold cardboard platform, with someone’s finger. YUCK! The design on top was scant, lacking frosting – so much so that in parts of the message and my mom’s name, the decorating tips dug into the top of the cake! There were some spider looking «fireworks» sprays of frosting on the top, and two mylar and toothpick pom-​poms stuck in the top of the cake. Honestly, I could have done better with my Wilton decorating tips. I accepted it, because I was pressed for time. Hmmm, back to being not thrilled.
THE TASTE
I had one guest at a party of 50 people that was extraordinarily eager to cut into the cake, singing the praises of National Bakery. I saved my calories for the experience. The cake cut perfectly. Nice. I might like this place, after all. Then I tasted it, and it was okay. Hmmm. The frosting was corn-​syrupy generic. Not even that good, naughty wedding cake frosting taste at all. Very «out of a can» flavored. It left a very bad taste in my mouth, figuratively and literally. I don’t see what the big deal is about this place. In fact, I was back to not liking this place at all.
VERDICT
I feel like Cybil. I hated the initial discourse with «Dawn», who engendered every negative quality you can imagine in terms of customer service. Then I was enchanted with the great service from the gal taking the order, and the willingness to get the cake done the same day. Then I was disappointed with everything thereafter.
It wasn’t even good cold. You know, that taste of cold chocolate cake that is so good with a cold glass of milk? 2 STARS. A step down from a Hostess Ding Dong.

After knowing about National Bakery for years, I finally made it to their oldest location on 16^th Street. They have been in business since 1925 and are known famously for their Polish bakery, especially paczkis
I am bringing a couple of groups up from Illinois to spend the day enjoying Milwaukee’s finest culinary offerings. I have to include some great Polish bakery and here’s my place to get it!
Everything looked really good, and because we are in Easter Week, they had a wonderful selection of Easter Lambs, Hot Cross Buns and all kinds of bunny & egg cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
Today, I tried the Raspberry Paczki. They will always have Raspberry & Prune paczkis that have icing, powdered sugar or glaze on a daily basis as these are the original flavors. On special occasions, they have different flavors with Fat Tuesday being the busiest day when they offer a wide variety and sell 1000’s of these power packed bundles of sugar & goodness! Just be careful as they are known to be pretty messy when the filling explodes on your first bite.
It is sad that we lost many of our ethnic bakeries in Milwaukee. But National Bakery carries on the family tradition with some really fine Polish bakery as well as many other good looking sweets.
I am glad that I don’t live too close to this bakery!

The donuts and sweets are the best! I am a fan of the variety of Persians they offer here (think apple fritter), and the plum (prune) filled donuts — very Polish. The Bismarck’s are top flight and awesome. These are real donuts. They have a numbering system «21» etc., and I have no idea how it works, but like buying things in Poland, I pointed and said «what’s inside that one» and bought a dozen. I think my dozen donuts set me back about $ 12.
The bread selection was modest, but it was darned good. I got a Vienna loaf, and want to come back to try the rye. The rolls come in a darned good selection, and come free with purchased meat. This location is not open Sunday so don’t expect HOT HAM AND ROLLS — something that anyone born and raised South of the Hoan Bridge knows makes Milwaukee — um, Milwaukee.
They had an automatic coffee maker which made real coffee — and had a «no free refills» sign on it. Love it.
Now I have a loaf of bread and a mix and match dozen donuts. Crap. So much for the low-​carb diet this week!

Unbelievable. Ordered a cake. The cake was over $ 50 and I was not happy about the price but I went ahead since the quality seemed to be good. The day I had to pick it up, a Saturday, I find that the cake couldn’t be made as ordered. No one called to leave me a message to let me know. It was too bad so sad as far as they were concerned. So, I now have a cake I dislike and it cost an arm and a leg. No apology no nothing. What a horrible experience.

I had never been here and realized I was in the neighborhood and looking for a snack before dinner, so I pulled up the address and headed on over.
I only had a piece of carrot cake, so I know I’ll have to go back before I can truly appreciate what they have to offer, but I was pretty impressed for my first time.
It was mid-​afternoon and the cases were still mostly full and there was plenty of selection. A lot of bakeries worry about having leftovers at the end of the night and when you go after the morning rush, the pickin’s are rather slim. I appreciated that there were still plenty of doughnuts, cookies, pastries and breads available to make me happy.
My carrot cake slice wasn’t particularly eye appealing, but I’m a sucker for carrot cake and had to try it. It looked like it might be dry and boring, but the first bite proved it to be soft and fluffy, with just the right amount of cream cheese frosting on top.
Love the small deli area, meaning that you can one-​stop here for a quick lunch or to grab the ubiquitous south side ham and rolls.
The best part might be the freezer, where you can get pie dough, turnovers and all kinds of reasonably priced goodies.
Now that I know exactly where it is, I know I’ll be back. As a baking student, it’s all research after all, right?!

National Bakery & Deli is a frequently visited place for not only myself, but everyone in my family. Being that I was born in St. Francis Hospital (located across the street) and spent 18 years of life visiting my doctor, stopping by NB&D was somewhat of a tradition and a reward for being a «trooper» when I was younger. Now, I just go if I’m in the area for the nostalgic experience… and those damn sugar cookies.
As the years go by, I begin to value the location and its employees for being gracious. Most importantly, for them knowing exactly what designs to put on the sugar cookies to make the kiddies crack a smile. Notice how devoted I am to these things? I’m an adult and can still appreciate a well-​designed sugar cookie. In addition to that, you can indulge the usual cupcakes, cakes, danishes, scones, and bread — freshly baked each morning. On the pricey side, but not much of a difference from what you would pay at a grocer.
Although I’m not a deli-​meat kind of person, a small portion of the place does sell bologna, corned beef, ham, turkey, and the-​like. A sub-​par offering compared to other places in the city, but hearty enough that the locals appreciate it for what it is.
Unless you have a strong sweet tooth and/​or have been raised on this place, chances are you won’t leave with a memorable experience. The place is pretty basic. You will, however, appreciate the hospitality and doing good for the community.

A childhood favorite that’s just as good today. The deli ham is perfectly delicious and they have case of deli salads to go with. Sandwiches are available at lunch if you can’t wait.
The baked goods are the winners (it is a bakery after all). For bread, I like the European Rye which has a wonderful chewy crust and moist interior. National offers the best long johns anywhere along with at least twenty other kinds of doughnuts. My sisters like the #23 which is a chocolate glazed doughnut split in half and filled with pastry cream. Cakes are a staple for family birthdays.
National Bakery does have several locations now, but the original is a great slice of life on the south side. During a recent visit, a geriatric gentlemen was getting his ham which comes with free rolls. The counter person patiently listed all the types — dutchy crust, butter crust, sesame seed, poppy seed, rye, plain. The old guy bellowed «you got potato?» even though at no point had potato rolls been mentioned. He was not thrilled at having to begrudgingly accept dutchy crust. I love the south side.

Great variety… cookies, cakes, breads, deli meat/​cheese, even hellium balloons! Place is always busy but line moves quickly. People are friendly, samples are generous. Good stuff, I’m just afraid of the bright shortening based frostings! But the ethnic baked goods are authentic and tasty!

National Bakery has the nicest staff in the busiest of times. They are helpful and patient while I have trouble deciding between all the wonderful goodies.
There’s a reason to stop in even if you are trying to avoid things like donuts and cakes. People rave about their sweets but I have to say I like the deli even more. The ham and turkey are the best. And the prices are fair.