Good Taste is a weekly menu for eating well in the Bay Area. Today, we’re talking about croissants.
For the last several Mondays, I’ve been double-fisting my phone and laptop in order to compete with literally hundreds of people for the chance to pay $30-50+ for a pre-ordered box of croissants and other sweet and savory pastries from Butter & Crumble (271 Francisco, SF). Despite my concert-ticket-acquiring prowess and the fact that this business has been open for about a year and a half, I’ve been unsuccessful at getting one of these boxes every time I try, and have resigned myself to the fact that tasting them will require braving a very long line. (I’ll probably cave in and do that sometime.)
All this effort made me realize that there are plenty of wonderful options in San Francisco, so I created a croissant crawl for you to consider if you want to try classics as well as modern creations.
Classic or Sweet
Among the five locations and different concepts from Le Marais Bakery in San Francisco and Marin County are its Croissanterie Bakery Commissary (1138 Sutter, SF) and the Le Marais Bistro & Crêperie (498 Sanchez, SF), which should be a stop on any classic croissant crawl. Expect to be tempted to try other items beyond the croissants—the bistro has an awesome French onion burger as well.
There’s a good chance you’ll also encounter a line at Arsicault Bakery (397 Arguello, SF; 87 McAllister, SF; and especially at the new location at 1070 Bridgeview, SF), which is another place to try for classics, but they’ll be shorter on a weekday. Shortly after Arsicault opened the first spot on Arguello in 2015, Bon Appétit named it the best bakery in the country for the year, and the lines have been there ever since.
Savory
Just today, I learned that none of the pastries in current rotation at Juniper (1401 Polk, SF) are too sweet, and there are some especially lovely savory and subtle croissants: a ham and cheese and a Cubano. I was excited to hear from Eater SF’s Paolo Bicchieri this week that Juniper parent Saint Frank Coffee will open a Sunset District location in the summer.
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Located in the beloved Japan Center Malls, there’s often a small-but-fast line at Jina Bakes (1581 Webster #150, SF). If you eat meat, do not pass up the chance to try a kalbijjim croissant, whose cheese-topped meat sourced from Daeho, the Korean beef specialist that’s located around the corner. It’s a beloved collaboration that has become one of Japan Center’s trendy treasures. Also be on the lookout for savory seasonal specials, like the heirloom tomato and fromage croissant that was on the limited menu last fall.
Croissant creations
Juniper makes a whole black sesame croissant loaf that I wish I bought when I was there earlier today. The turmeric-and-chili-flavored monkey bread at Vive La Tarte (4026 24th Street, SF) is made from the bakery’s croissant dough, and I’m so glad it’s still on the menu. Ditto for the croissant-based ginger pull-apart from Neighbor Bakehouse. Both are wonderful stops for classics as well. Get out there and support these indie businesses!
Tamara publishes the California Eating website, newsletter, and zine.
