Pictured above: Bakeshop’s rhubarb and ricotta cream tart

For months, we visited dozens of bakeries in the city to find the best of the best, with a focus on breakfast pastries, plus shoutouts to excellent desserts and breads. What we looked for: superior craft, creativity, going the distance, surprises, and the little personal touches that can elevate the ordinary to something special. Some places had notable weak spots but enough note-worthy finds to still crack the list. 

Our findings are here, at last—the six top destinations, ranked, plus a guide to our neighborhood favorites. 

Destination Bakeries, Ranked

1. Bakeshop

5351 NE Sandy Blvd, Rose City Park 

If you like the challenge of hard choices, this is your place. Do you go for a plain croissant, able to hold its own in Paris, or a chocolate one, with its elegant crackle and darkly delicious interior, courtesy of Portland's esteemed Woodblock Chocolate, which makes a custom blend for the shop? But that would mean missing the city's best almond croissant, swaddled in crunch and oozing near-custardy nut paste. And that doesn't count the fresh-picked berry tarts, the seasonal hand pies, the candied coconut muffins, and the killer Basque burnt cheesecake, whole or by the slice. Instead of cruising ten years in, Bakeshop has recalibrated its formulas and jumped to another league—no longer just Portland's best bakery, but a national gem. James Beard-medaled cookbook author and grain baking pioneer Kim Boyce puts beautiful flour front and center, rouges de Bordeaux to rye, some hand-milled per batch. , Sat-Sun only, walk-in pastry case or pre-order at bakeshoppdx.com —KB

2. Jinju Patisserie

4063 N Williams Ave, Boise 

They were born in Seoul and trained under French pastry gods in Las Vegas before ditching Sin City for Stumptown in 2018. Now, Jin Caldwell and Kyurim Lee are Portland heroes who create their own brand of art, craft, and community. Walk in and pick from an outsized collection: mondo croissants warm from the oven each morning (plush milk to crispy ham and cheese), intricate savory tarts, and fancy, Instagram-ready desserts. For her weekend-only Q'een Amman, Lee (known as “Q”) puts Nutella where the gods meant it to be: on top of a classic kouign-amann pastry.

Another cult item emerged recently—the pain suisse. Think cream-filled chocolate croissant meets an ecstatic eclair. It's outrageous and bodacious. In other words, perfect. To go or limited outdoor tables, jinjupatisserie.com —KB

3. Baker and Spice

6330 SW Capitol Hwy, Hillsdale

The Portland faithful have turned out for Julie Richardson's baked goods since 1998, when Baker & Spice premiered at the Portland Farmers Market. Long lines are still a constant, for good reason: pretty much everything pleases. Chocolate crinkle cookies melt in your mouth, berry hand pies are flaky, fruit-filled wonders, and the signature Katie roll still delivers—rolled flaky dough with a brown sugar-cinnamon swirl, punctuated by juicy golden raisins. The chocolate croissant is one of the city's best, its tangy, bittersweet chocolate center surrounded by airy layers of crisp-edged dough, all laced with a sweet-salty butter flavor. Don't write off the whole wheat croissant as a lesser, healthy version. It's nutty and savory, absolutely loaded with butter, and sprinkled with everything seasoning. To-go only, bakerandspicepdx.com —KH

4. Sweedeedee

5202 N Albina Ave, Humboldt

Scones, forgive us, are not usually the stuff of dreams.  I see a scone and I see a thudder, something dull and heavy. Which is how I fell for the new iteration of Sweedeedee, a charming indie restaurant with a daily bakery case. Here, a scone is unforgettable—at once a tender biscuit cake and a hand pie, with sticky, jammy fruit leaking out of the sides. Little details add the bright flavor pops that makes the house repertoire sing: marmalade-brushed dough, farm fruit, hints of cardamom. The kitchen's Mason Kale Herbert Suda, an old baker soul at 26, and Patty Seward lean into homey-refined comforts, not too sweet. Expect six or so options, perhaps a slice of buckle cake, a custard bun, or a grapefruit curd-filled sandwich cookie. Bonus: breakfast! Indoor and outdoor seating, sweedeedee.com —KB

5. Berlu Bakery

605 SE Belmont St, Buckman 

One reason to get up on Sunday mornings: this small collection of traditional and contemporary Vietnamese treats. Berlu Bakery is an off-shoot of Vietnamese tasting menu hot spot Berlu, from talented chef Vince Nguyen. I'm a fool for the bánh bò nướng, a pandan-fragrant honeycomb cake with an exquisitely chewy texture. Nguyen's upside-down cassava cake, embedded with caramelized quince, jumps off tradition then flies in its own direction, fantastically. Expect eight to 10 options a week, mango cake rolls to a stately old-school chả trứng, a steamed, noodle-threaded pork meatloaf with a wafer-thin omelet roof—all dairy-free and celiac-safe. Make life easy: just order the “everything box.”  Walk-up window or pre-order (takeout only), berlupdx.com —KB

6. Café Olli

3925 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Boise

In a world of limited hours and restaurant industry burn-out, Cafe Olli feels like a pastry. At this all-day cafe/bakery, opened in late 2021, the light is gorgeous, the vibe sweet, and the ethos simple and handmade. Order at the baked goods case and daily bread shrine and stick around for coffee and breakfast: You want pastry chef Siobhan Speirits's bomboloni, sugar-rolled Italian donut “bombs” filled with changing delights, chocolate custard to malted vanilla pastry cream (weekends only). Sourdough baguettes from baker Daniel Greene are reason enough to come here, but his weekend morning buns get their own twist: cinnamon-sugared right out of a scorching oven, when the butter is hot and bubbly and the sugar clings for its life. Some things are a little drier than you wish, but clearly, Olli is special and just winding up. Indoor and outdoor seating, cafeolli.com —KB

Neighborhood Gems

Bella's Italian Bakery 

9119 SE Woodstock Blvd, Lents

Find amore at this corner bakery stocked with savory and sweet items, espresso drinks, and wine—everything you need for a hearty breakfast or a sunny picnic. For breakfast, I love the signature ciambella, an airy coffee cake with bright lemon zest and a cinnamony crumb topping. Afternoon  desserts shine, anise biscotti to crunchy jam tarts to almond cakes to stellar, freshly piped cannoli. But it would be a crime to skip the savories here, including the greens and ricotta-loaded grass pie, the sfincione, a focaccia-like thick square slice of pizza with tomato and anchovy on top, or the Italian train station sandwich, the lightly meaty focaccia number you’d expect to take aboard Trenitalia for a couple euro. Indoor and outdoor seating, bellasitalianbakery.com —KH

Coquine Market

6833 SE Belmont St, Mt. Tabor  

This sweet little chef-driven bakery-market, opened in 2021, has its own morning pastry bar, everything stacked on tall pie plates. Also in the house: a dedicated barista. Next door is the acclaimed Coquine Restaurant. Come for dainty cake squares that announce the season, persimmons to huckleberries or crisp waffles, handed over in paper jackets. Old-fashioned donuts vie for the city's best, with a weekly flavor from cardamon to chocolate glazed with peanuts. Consistency has swerved a bit with staffing shortages, but this much is certain: The smoky chocolate chip cookies are epic.  To go or outdoor patio seats, coquinepdx.com —KB

Ken’s Artisan Bakery

338 NW 21st Ave, Northwest

Respect. This spacious bakery helped jump-start Portland's artisan food culture, way back in 2001. Bread and pizza master Ken Forkish brought serious French baking to a sad, squooshy bagel town, paving the way for today's flourishing bread-baking community. We still admire Ken's while acknowledging it no longer sets the bar.  The taste of butter mysteriously vanished from the vaunted croissants several years ago, never to return. Even the titanic boule bread needed salt recently. But in a sweet move, Forkish sold the business to longtime employees in late 2021. So count us in on rooting for an institution and friendly neighborhood hangout. Long live the iconic orange zested morning buns, the berry-pocked Oregon croissant, and the goat cheese and leek croissant, all best heated up at home.  To-go only, kensartisan.com/bakery —KB

Lauretta Jean’s

3402 SE Division St, Richmond

Portland’s go-to pie shop boasts an impressive collection of pies six days a week, whole or by the slice. Our desert-island fave: the tart cherry, boasting one of the best crusts around and full of mouth-puckering, bursting fruit. Close behind is the tangy, custardy key lime pie in a buttery graham cracker crust. The salted honey pie, while good in small slivers with a cup of black coffee, is a bit too rich and overly sweet. The pie-averse can happily wallow in the cowgirl cookie, a chaotic take on the chocolate chip cookie that mixes in oats, dried blueberries, coconut, cornflakes, and toasted pecans.  Outdoor seating, laurettajeans.com —KH

Little T Baker

2600 SE Division St, Hosford-Abernethy 

When it opened in 2008, this SE bakery was dubbed the church of heavenly bread. Bread remains the star, righteous spelt loaves to the snappy long skinny. I still ride with the Sally Lunn, a pale yellow beauty with a rich buttery crumb. It's one of the best sandwich breads you will ever find. Alas, the pastries are not so saintly—too sweet, too one-note. The laminated dough has no shatter, no swagger. But the croissants will do in a pinch. Keep your eyes on the breads—the occasional raisin-pocked loaves are rustic lovelies, incredible toasted.  littletbaker.com —KB 

Milk Glass Market

2150 N Killingsworth St, Overlook

Baked goods are the backbone of Nancye Benson's lovingly stocked neighborhood market, born in the pandemic. Gone is the once-bustling cafe scene, but the veteran two-woman kitchen remains with Benson, a food cart pioneer in 2005, as our chatty store guide. From the changing pastry case, watch for cake slices, wild leek scones, and homemade graham crackers. I loved the tender, smoky, maple-glazed raised brioche donut. But quality can vary—one day's donut had no flavor at all. Creative macarons are a standout. One crackles with Japanese black sesame paste; another reimagines an old-fashioned cocktail via orange bitters, bourbon buttercream, and a Luxardo cherry. Eureka moment: heat the apricot “pop tart” at home and watch it transform into a wonder of butter and flake, melty icing, toasted almonds and saffron threads. Outdoor tables, milkglassmrkt.com —KB

Mio’s Delectables 

Portland Farmers Market, Portland State University, 1830 SW Park Ave, Downtown Portland 

Every Saturday, rain or shine, petite baker Mio Asaka mounts an eye-popping DIY bakery in the middle of the PSU Farmers Market. Just look at the line of people standing around pointing and exclaiming,  “Wow.” More than 50 options line the makeshift shelves, among them dozens of tricked-out fruit tarts and unusual seasonal specials like bright pink cherry blossom cake. Asaka taps her design background and backyard garden flowers to create her own style. Some things are more ravishing to behold than to eat, but poke around and find what you like. The seven-layer raspberry cake, tinctured with Clear Creek Raspberry Liqueur, would be right at home in a high-end restaurant, and the teeny roasted sesame cookies (baked with local Jorinji Miso) never fail.  portlandfarmersmarket.org and miosdelectables.com —KB 

Nuvrei

404 NW 10th Ave, Pearl District 

Marius Pop has his own pastry aesthetic—light, a little French modern, and always an unexpected twist. Nuvrei (pronounced noo-vray) was a groundbreaker in 2008 and at one time, it hosted an underground, music-throbbing French macaron den below the bakery. Now it's settled into a solid spot for a quality treat—perhaps an orange-glazed cinnamon roll or poppyseed scone bound in crackling white sugar glaze. The chocolate cookie is wonderfully crippling—no flour, minimal sugar, just all dark chocolate, walnut-chunked intensity, with a mesmerizing chew and the rich wallop of a brownie. Experiments don't always work, but creds to Pop for pushing. His latest: tea-infused croissants, rose brioche, and playful milk breads.  nuvrei.com (currently closed for water damage; reopening April 9) —KB

Oyatsupan

16025 SW Regatta Ln, Beaverton

We dare you not to order everything at this Japanese bakery—with such a wide selection of creative pastries at accessible prices, it’s hard not to. The bacon epi is  an endlessly snackable pull-apart baguette with bacon, mayo, and cheese rolled into its crevices. The melon pan is the ideal morning treat, a fluffy roll with a buttery, crisp, slightly sweet sable cookie crust; don't miss the chocolate chip or  matcha versions. The thick-sliced square shokupan is a staple, a fluffy yeasted loaf perfect for anything from your morning toast to sandwiches—try the bakery’s ready-made egg salad sandwich for inspiration. Indoor seating, oyatsupan.com —KH

Seastar Bakery

1603 NE Killingsworth St, Vernon

These grain-centric baked goods are part free-spirited Portland and part French finesse, united by a love for butter. Prime example: the coconut “volunteer,” a playful,  anti-capitalist take on butter-loaded French “financier” cake. It's  excellent, too—nutty, delicate, and lightly sweet, like a paradoxical featherweight pound cake. The apricot cardamom tart also straddles this line, its fruity marmalade bursting with flavor at the center, surrounded by a crumbly buckwheat scone crust. The cinnamon roll comes with a spelt-flour twist (healthy!) and thick, tangy cream cheese frosting (good for the soul!), while the Zena cake is a Portland hippie dream: a turmeric-loaded vegan muffin with sesame seeds and poppy seeds for nutty flavor and crunchy texture. Outdoor seating, handsomeseastar.com —KH

Sebastiano's

411 SE 81st Ave, Montavilla

This tiny deli with a walk-up window mainly focuses on sandwiches, cured meats and cheese, and pantry supplies, but the baked goods are the ace up Sebastiano's sleeve. How can a tiny Italian flourless almond cookie, less than an inch in diameter, have such a powerful hold on a person? Nuggets of almond paste get baked to a beautiful golden brown, amped up by house-candied orange and honey. The almond-anise biscotti, a fragrant and super-crunchy treat, is ideal for dipping in coffee. Pass on the dull vegan olive oil chocolate chip cookie in favor of the fluffy, citrusy olive oil cake. The cannoli are the best in town, the crunchy fresh-fried shells piped to order with a tangy ricotta filling and garnished with pistachio, baby-sized Italian chocolate chips, and candied orange. Outdoor seating, sebastianospdx.com —KH 

Tabor Bread

5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Mt. Tabor 

Local chefs and bakers alike are regulars at this decade-old bakery, known for its dedication to wood-fired, long-fermented sourdough breads and baked goods made with flour ground on-site or grains from local producers like Camas Country Mills. Everything is tangy AF. Love it or leave it, this is one creative repertoire. Too much sourness detracts from some of the laminated pastries, like the pistachio-encrusted baklava chocolate croissant where the sour (yet wonderfully flaky) dough overpowers the nuts. But a little sourness works exceptionally well in the chocolate babka, where the rich cocoa notes contrast nicely with the buttery dough. Breads are a must—the einkorn pan loaf, red wheat loaf, and country loaf beautifully pit the nuttiness of the grain against the tang. Outdoor seating, taborbread.com —KH

Twisted Croissant

2129 NE Broadway, Irvington and 1625 SE Bybee Blvd, Sellwood-Moreland

Laminated pastry rules the house here, where impeccable croissants sit in a white-tiled room like objects of art, each with its own shape, garnish, and flair. All the staple croissants are fine examples of the form: the thick-sliced ham and cheese flecked with bits of rosemary, the striped chocolate stuffed with a pudding-like ganache. The towering raspberry rose cruffin, a shop signature, juggles delicate vanilla custard and jam with just a touch of rosewater glaze, bringing to mind a strawberry shortcake. Glorious. And the seasonal kouign amann—perhaps marionberry with fromage blanc—is a delight, especially the caramelized, crisp bottom. Indoor seating at Sellwood, takeout-only at Irvington, twistedcroissant.com —KH