For a little taste of Cuba in Houston, head straight to Azucar on Westheimer. The coffee is strong and the desserts are sweet, fitting for its name. At Azucar, several unique products are baked fresh daily, including specialties like the capuchino, spongy yellow cone-shaped cakes drizzled with spiced syrup, and pastelitos—think flaky pastries loaded with guava, beef, or cheese. And of course, there’s flan, empanadas, and Cuban sandwiches. For a pick-me-up, try the cortadito or café con leche. If you’re feeling extra bold, order the café Cubano.

The world of Israeli baking meets the Bayou City at Bādolina Bakery & Cafe, from the team behind swanky Mediterranean steak house Doris Metropolitan and Israeli restaurant Hamsa. At Badolina, owners Itai Ben Eli, Sash Kurgan, and Itamar Levy introduce pastries they grew up with in Israel through one-of-a-kind goods like the shakshuka (spiced tomato sauce, egg, and feta) and burekitas (small hand pies with savory fillings). 

But the star of Bādolina may very well be its breads: a hearty, eclectic lineup featuring sourdough and other specialties. A picturesque bakery with outdoor seating in the heart of Rice Village, Bādolina is the kind of place where craving and culture meet. 

Since 1997, this Hillcroft Avenue mainstay has served vegetarian Indian fare, including lunch and dinner offerings and desserts galore. At Bombay Sweets, diners will find a colorful confectionery selection with more than 100 varieties of mithai (Hindi for sweets), including jalebi—deep-fried, sugar-soaked pretzel-shaped or circular crisps—and many types of barfi, fudge-like squares or diamond-shaped treats.

Not sure what to order? Try the gulab jamun, a popular Indian dessert often enjoyed at festivals and weddings. These doughy, fried, berry-size orbs are soaked and served in a rosy sugar syrup. Whether you’re sampling one morsel at a time or purchasing a box of sugar-laden treats to go, Bombay Sweets is your stop for Indian delights in Houston.

In the heart of the gayborhood, this colorful cafe spills out onto the sidewalk as families enjoy brunch together on the patio. The owner of Cuchara, a Mexican restaurant nearby, opened this offshoot in 2022. If you’re just looking for a sweet pick-me-up, walk inside to the counter where all of Cucharita’s baked goods are on display. We come here for the fluffy conchas, berlinesas, and sweet empanadas.

Sara Brook's love for baking began when she was in preschool and persisted throughout her pursuit of a law career. Eventually, culinary arts won her over. After a couple baking business ventures, Brook launched Dessert Gallery in 1995, serving Houstonians and visitors seeking to satisfy their sweet tooth. Fan favorites include carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, milk-soaked tres leches, chocolate-dipped chocolate chunk cookies, and seasonal specialties—think cupcakes of all sorts and other sweets like truffles, brownie balls, and pecan pie bars. 

Dessert Gallery has a second location in The Woodlands.

El Bolillo Bakery, a Mexican panadería, is a local institution that now has five locations. Head to the Houston Farmers Market in the Heights, where you can load up your tray with canastas, empanadas, marranitos, and of course, bolillos. There’s also an abundance of conchas to choose from. These classic sugary shells are filled with vanilla or chocolate, and even topped with unicorn-inspired shades. And if you're in need of a cake for a special occasion, the bakery’s tres leches is the best in town.

The bakery also has locations in Gulfgate, Mission Bend, Pasadena, and Mid West Houston.

Owner Kripa Shenoy brought the cutely named Eadough to the East End in 2022, and since its opening, it's been an indispensable source of stellar pastries. The walk-up spot sells classics like butter croissants, pain au chocolat, muffins in rotating flavors, and thick, decadent cookies. Diners can also treat themselves to several coffee options, such as cortados, cappuccinos, lattes, americanos, and an iced s'mores latte. 

Imagine a shop in the Heights that serves your favorite childhood treat crafted and baked by a notable pastry chef, who studied at Le Cordon Bleu. That’s Fluff Bake Bar, the culinary headquarters of Rebecca Masson, a Wyoming native whose influence on the Houston food scene has earned her the nickname “the Sugar Fairy.” Here, butter, cream, and sugar coalesce into dreamy classics like snickerdoodle cookies or creative treats like the Couch Potato, a comfort-food treat complete with potato chips, pretzels, cornflakes, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. Yes, all in one cookie.

After years of successful pop-ups at Houston farmers markets and a four-year stint at a Tomball bakery, chef Jane Wild is back and better than ever with her new brick-and-mortar in the Heights. At this bakehouse, Wild shares her love for fresh ingredients and sustainability, including a no-waste policy for food. The menu is ever-changing, but diners can expect a rotating roster of toasts, sandwiches, salads, and Wild's famed egg tart. One thing that won't change: the opportunity to indulge in the bakery's sourdough bread. 

For even more appetizing bites, visit Lil' Koffeteria in the Quads on Brittmoore Road. 

Being able to wake up on a weekend morning and get your well-deserved kolaches via a drive-through is peak Houston luxury, in our opinion. No one does the traditional Czech pastry quite like Kolache Shoppe, which sells sweet versions filled with all kinds of jams—our faves are peach and lemon—and savory buns with breakfast fillings, Kiolbassa Polish-style sausage, bacon, and venison. 

Kolache Shoppe has other locations in Greenway, Pearland, and Memorial. 

For Diego Chiarello, pastry chef and native Sicilian, experimentation is the name of the game. Chiarello’s La Sicilia Italian Bakery & Cafe treats diners to traditional Italian baked goods like cannoli and cornettos, and even breakfast and lunch options. To experience some of the best of this Montrose bakery, you’ll need to look beyond the menu. In the past, this included the briochella. This Chiarello invention was a fried mixture of brioche, croissant, and ciambella (kind of like an Italian doughnut) with a golden glow and flaky consistency with some saltiness from the inside. It’s this type of culinary creativity that’s made La Sicilia a top bakery in town. But beware: Chiarello’s innovations often appear for a limited time only, sometimes only a couple weeks.

As soon as you walk into the building that houses Love Croissants’ tiny counter, the gratifying smell of pastries will make your mouth water. This bakery has everything—from simple butter croissants and layered pastries stuffed with sweet and savory fillings to goodies like berry key lime tarts. Love's continuous experimentation also keeps things interesting, with the exploration of new flavors, textures, and any other cravings yielding monthly renditions of croissants. Plus, who doesn’t love a good backstory? According to the website, chef-owner Omar Pereney turned to baking to find a mental escape and a new skill. With such tasty pastries, we’re thankful he did.

Otto Sanchez was born with ambition. One of his early aspirations was to be a foreign correspondent. These days, the Salvadoran pastry chef continues to perfect his baking craft even after a decades-long career in the trade and years of experience in some of Houston’s top kitchens. Magnol turns out hundreds of baguettes each week, as well as butter, chocolate, and twice-baked almond croissants, several tarts, and a variety of coffees. 

Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe originally started out as Not Jus’ Donuts in 2000. Since then, this Third Ward mainstay has established itself as a full-service Southern-style bakery with a special focus on cakes and pies. Born out of Myrtle Zachary Jackson’s desire to leave a legacy for her family, Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe boasts heirloom recipes and techniques passed down from generations of the Jackson family. Today, Jackson’s two daughters and granddaughter, all of whom are employed at the bakery, are working to keep Ms. Myrtle’s spirit alive through decorative cakes, pies, cobblers, seasonal desserts, and pictured cookies.

Pondicheri is famous for owner Anita Jaisinghani’s Indian cuisine, but don’t miss out on a trip upstairs to the bakery for a sweet treat and some chai. The Pondicheri Bake Lab's menu offers cinnamon blueberry oats, chila (a fermented chickpea crepe with green pea masala), bottomless masala chai and Madras coffee, and a standout chili chocolate chip cookie. Pastry buffs needing more can place catering orders by the dozen for savory and sweet baked goods, including cookies, whole cakes, pies, and tarts. 

Even if you haven’t been to Sinfull Bakery’s Midtown locale, which opened in 2020, it’s likely you’ve had a bite of its vegan offerings at any number of Houston coffee shops, like Black Hole Coffee House and Coral Sword. Since 2010, Sinfull Bakery has been a local go-to for vegan delights. Take the kolache assortment, for example: warm buns filled with vegan spins on fillings like sausage, bacon, egg, and cheese. Try the pop tarts or go for the classic Everything Bar, which features a loaded assembly of ingredients, including pecans, almonds, raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips, and flaxseeds.

Walking into the Original Kolache Shoppe feels like walking into a grandmother’s kitchen, and that’s because it was, at least for Kevin Dowd. This 720-square-foot space was passed down generations, to his mother, and then, in 2011, to him. Here, traditional Czechoslovakian kolaches, round fruit-filled pastries, are handcrafted each day from a family recipe and move near seamlessly from the prep table into the oven, to the display board, and out the door. Since owner Dowd took over, he has expanded the menu to include house-roasted coffee and crowd favorites like cheese-topped croissants filled with fajita meat.

The story of Three Brothers Bakery begins in 1930s Poland, where twin brothers Sigmund and Sol Jucker learned the art of Eastern European baking at the tender age of 10. But in 1941, Sigmund, Sol, and their family were sent to a concentration camp. Roughly eight years later, Sigmund, Sol, and their younger brother Max purchased a bakery on Houston’s Holman Street, serving specialty breads like egg, rye, and pumpernickel, all originating from the Jucker family’s Polish roots. Today, Three Brothers Bakery is a Braeswood staple serving everything from specialty breads and Kaiser rolls and bagels to coffee cakes, pecan pie, and gingerbread men made year-round.

The bakery now has three other locations in Memorial, Tanglewood, and on Washington Avenue.

The brainchild of Mohamed Shaker and Mohamed Kachach, We’re Dough is Houston’s landing spot for Levantine specialties. You can’t go wrong with any variation of manoush, a Lebanese flatbread topped with ingredients like za’atar, halloumi cheese, labneh, or meats like sujuk or ground beef. And then there’s kaak, the cheese-stuffed, sesame-glazed Lebanese street bread that’s equal parts crispy and chewy.