Went on a field trip to San Juan Bautista and the teachers bought all of the chaperones empanadas! Mine ended up being apricot and very delicious! Next time I’m definitely going in on my own to buy more!
Aaron T.
Place rating: 2 Fremont, CA
Good bakery. I like the turnovers though they increased the price of them from $ 1.50 ea to $ 2.25 ea I think within the past year. They also don’t put in as much filling as they used to. Shoot, if I were to rate them 12 months ago I would have given them 5 stars. I hope they read this and rethink what they’ve been doing.
Allison N.
Place rating: 5 San Jose, CA
This place is so unique and one of a kind. They’re definitely worth buying pastries and what makes it even better is purchasing for a reasonable price. You’ll be surprised with special and cultural home baked goodies that are hard to find at any other bakery.
Dave S.
Place rating: 4 Salinas, CA
Old school… right? Reminding me of the old P.V. bakery in Watsonville were I grew up. The smell is beautiful as you step in through the door and all the original shelves and show cases are perfect. The breads, turnovers and cookies are the real stars of this throw back treat shack and the service is as sweet as the«Pieces of Heaven».
Santiago G.
Place rating: 4 Moss Landing, CA
I had the pumpkin turnover($ 2.25) and it was good but I prefer the Mexican bakery empanada style. I probably would have bought more if it wasn’t for the 50 cent debit card fee.
Meghan C.
Place rating: 5 Ingleside Heights, San Francisco, CA
Amazing service! Skipped out on breakfast and made up for it with a ham and cheese croissant and some heavenly bites! Highly recommended!
Annie S.
Place rating: 5 Morgan Hill, CA
San Juan Bakery — the only thing that disappoints me is when they change their hours for Winter, and they’re closed on Mondays! I LOVE everything I have ever gotten at San Juan Bakery. The item I love the most is their little filled and frosted donut holes. Glazed, chocolate or maple — they all melt in your mouth. The other donuts are some of the best I have ever had, second only to Stan’s Donut shop in Santa Clara. Everything else in the bakery is equally so, so delicious. Breads, cookies, turnovers, brownies. The only thing I haven’t tried is the pies. One thing I wish they would do is cakes. I bet they would be heavenly. I have a suggestion: why not start with one kind of cake and sell slices? Then, do another kind, and another. Then, offer them for sale on Fridays and Saturdays. If you offer slices for sale, people will be able to sample them and then want to buy them. I know I would! San Juan Bakery is my kryptonite!
Amanda M.
Place rating: 5 San Jose, CA
I don’t have many pictures to accompany this review for one simple reason… I can never help but eat what I buy before I even reach my car. This is not a joke people. I have legitimately tried… but the warm delicious smell of sugary wonderment that awaits my tastebuds is too overwhelming to sustain for long enough to snap a photo. This little shop is golden. From turnovers and cookies, to breads and pies. your options are endless when it comes to tasting this small town’s baked talents. The prices won’t break the bank and the quality far surpasses what you could ever expect. The aroma alone is enticing enough to walk in and take a peak, but you would be sorely disappointed if you left empty handed, I promise you that. In addition to the bakery’s little slices of heaven, it comes equipped with varied drink options, and an small but mighty«library» for which you can exchange or borrow at your leisure. There aren’t many places to sit, but much of their offerings are for«on the go» anyhow. If you haven’t strolled in yet, I suggest you stop in for something sweet or delicious and then take a tour of the rest of the beautifully historic, downtown San Juan Bautista.
Ramon M.
Place rating: 5 Santa Cruz, CA
Everything is delicious, I know because I’ve had one of everything. The prices are very reasonable and the coffee is just outstanding on it’s own. I especially love the texture of the cookies, snack heaven right up in here.
Kim C.
Place rating: 5 Salinas, CA
I think I finally found the PERFECT Bear Claw! We haven’t been to this bakery in some time and came in this morning to find a great selection of donuts, pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Breads. We had to try their Bear Claws, Apple Fritters, Guava Turnover and Blueberry and Strawberry Cream Cheese Croissants. The Bear Claw is delicious with generous amounts of brown sugar and almond filling. While still being a light and fluffy pastry. The Apple Fritter is a huge cinnamoninny dough, could use some apple chunks in there though. The Guava turnover is more of a hand pie with a glaze with sweet red guava inside mmm. The Croissants were crunchy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside with sweet blueberry and strawberry filling with cream cheese, so good! We will definitely be back!
Luke N.
Place rating: 5 Salinas, CA
This is my favorite bakery ever. I stop by every weekend for a resupply of baked goods. Their breads are moist and fluffy at the same time. the chocolate bread is oozing with chocolate yet still maintains that fluffy texture. white chocolate coconut bread is so good, I had to ship loaves around the country to share with friends and family. Macrooons… never been so good. *crunchy* chocolate chip cookies… just the way I like ‘em. This place is heaven on earth.
Marsha N.
Place rating: 5 Solana Beach, CA
Everything I have tried from this bakery has been very good. I liked their hamburger buns even more than I expected to. All the sweets are great, but my very favorite item they sell is the Ham & Cheddar Croissant. Ohmigosh, I am addicted.
Jerry R.
Place rating: 4 San Francisco, CA
SOMETERRIFICITEMS! Some of their items are just average, like the turnovers, etc. But they have wonderful loaves of sweet breads, most of them actually cakes(but not overly sweet). For a modest price, you can get a loaf of banana-nut bread, carrot-cake bread, lemon-poppyseed loaf, etc. etc. Any one of these loaves will last from several days to a week or more, depending on how often you eat it. When I have a chance to get down to that area I stock up. These loaves will keep in the freezer for several months. Last time down there I bought five loaves – I’m still using them, and they taste great.
Robert E.
Place rating: 5 San Juan Bautista, CA
First off, you can ignore reviews written before a couple of years ago. The place changed hands and went back to bygone recipes and courteous service — everything about the bakery improved dramatically. My favorites are the fruit turnovers and the danishes. No matter how many I decide to buy I always get an extra because I know darned well that I am going to polish one off before I even get to the car. My understanding is that Ansel Adams used to make a weekly trek here for the goodies they sell — and once you taste them you will understand. Great bread, great breakfast sweets, great desserts, and a wonderful staff.
Annie F.
Place rating: 5 Gilroy, CA
My son and I visit the bakery weekly… whether it’s for the wonderful guava turnover(my co-workers fight for the apricot ones), or the gooey maple bars, or the fresh and warm sweet french bread loaf. We LOVE the staff! They just added a gluten free options! Also I love the new addition of locally made unique cake plates… each week there are new ones to choose from and they are very affordable. Truly a small town gem!
Tanja F.
Place rating: 5 San Jose, CA
We came here in the afternoon, looking for a quick snack. As the front door opened, a wonderful smell welcomed us in and enticed us to explore all of the goodies in both the bakery case and the breads displayed on the walls. The cinnamon sugar apple turnover caught our attention and we gave it a try. Before I get into how good that was, I was really surprised at how nice the people who worked here really are. Even though they were out of coffee, and it was mid-afternoon, they started a fresh pot for us. That was just awesome. Now on to that apple turnover. It didn’t taste like your homogenized bakery desert like you’d find out that grocery store. The crust had the texture and flavor of being homemade/handmade. The flavors made you feel and taste the love that was put into it. Not only was it a mid-afternoon sugary pick me up but it was a comfort treat that brought a smile to our faces.
Yan S.
Place rating: 3 Sacramento, CA
The smell of freshly baked bread made me salivate as soon as I got out of my car. This place seems to be popular with the locals and rightfully so. Why buy bread from big manufacturers at the grocery store when you can get them freshly baked here for the same price if not cheaper. My fave so far is the chocolate croissant. They don’t skimp on the chocolate so there was choco-goodness in every bite! Can’t wait to come back and try the chocolate brownie bread next time. And yes, they accept credit cards.
David F.
Place rating: 4 Concord, CA
We discovered the San Juan Bakery during a stop in San Juan Batista on our way to the Central Coast. It was so good we made a point to return here on the way back north! Wonderful fresh-baked goodies galore — we tried their Lemon poppyseed cake, ham and cheese croissants, chocolate croissant, apricot danish, and guava, berry and apricot turnovers. Everything was delicious! Wish we had an option like this near us in the East Bay — although it might be hard to avoid getting fat!
Meg T.
Place rating: 4 San Jose, CA
You walk in and it smells like home… I walked the shelves debating what mouthwatering bread item I should purchase and ended up with an apple turnover that looked, tasted and smelled homemade. Like the type that your grandmother would make you and slip into your lunch. If you had a grandmother that cooked that is ;) Service was a bit reserved but was quick. No receipts were given and I’m not sure that they took anything other than cash, but it’s a cute place to stop in and their cinnamon smelled incredible. Mmmm
Dave S.
Place rating: 5 San Jose, CA
That smell? It’s called pure happiness. I Love This Place It’s not packed full of inventory. Possibly that’s because it recently reopened. But what you find here is all so very good. The kitchen door is open so take a peek and take a pic – they’ll smile for the camera.