They may not get as much of the limelight as bars and restaurants, but bakeries are every bit as important to Chicago's eating ecosystem. So we're setting our sights on some of the city's sweet-makers. From a time-tested German bakery in Lakeview to a whimsical spot in Wicker Park, here are the best places to score baked goods in 20 Chicago neighborhoods.
Andersonville
Swedish Bakery
Address and InfoIt's no surprise that Chicago's historically Scandinavian neighborhood would lay claim to -- you guessed it -- a historical Scandinavian bakery that's been satisfying sugar cravings since the late 1920s. The business has changed hands a couple time since then, but has upheld its commitment to all things sweet. Stop in for traditional braided cardamom coffee cake, toska tortes, and gourmet imports like lingonberry preserves and Swedish crisp bread.
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Avondale
La Farine Bakery
Address and InfoAfter its start in Palatine and a three-year stint in Wicker Park, this popular bakery has settled into a spacious spot in Avondale. It's undoubtedly known for its award-winning breads made with natural starters, but a veritable French macaron rainbow, a selection of seasonal cakes, and plentiful breakfast pastries are just as irresistible, especially when paired with a cup of coffee or tea.
Edgewater
Lovely, Too
Address and InfoThis northern expansion of West Town's Lovely: A Bake Shop proves to be even better than the original, thanks to its enormous kitchen and expanded cafe menu. Score everything from molasses-y chocolate ginger chews and perfectly toasted coconut macaroons to a selection of breakfast pastries and even a BLT with Sriracha mayo.
Evanston
Hewn
Address and InfoOK, so Evanston is technically a suburb, not a neighborhood within Chicago, but as both the city's closest Northern neighbor and the home of an artisanal bakery of Hewn's caliber, we're pretending it's a 'hood for the sake of this list. You'll be hard-pressed to find better hand-forged bread than the beautifully crusty loaves here, and pastries like monkey bread, muffins, and fruit-studded scones are delightful enough to turn just about anyone into a morning person.
Gold Coast
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Address and InfoSure, Downtown shoppers and bachelorette parties flock to this local outpost of this cupcake chain like bees to honey, and while the cutesy branding and gimmicky cupcake ATM likely have something to do with that, we have to admit, the cupcakes are worth the hype.
Greektown
Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop
Address and InfoA sticky-sweet piece of baklava is the obvious choice at this Greek-leaning destination, and it certainly doesn't disappoint, but it's hardly the only thing the sweets shop does well; don't miss the chocolate-y karioka and "Louie's cookies," which are specialty walnut meringue cookie sandwiches with a fudge center.
Jefferson Park
Delightful Pastries
Address and InfoUnlike most Chicago-area bakeries, which only bring out the pączki once a year, this European shop offers the traditional Polish pastry year-round for your enjoyment. The treats come in flavors like plum jelly and custard-filled, and share the stage with everything from apricot kolaczki to blueberry turnovers. Even if you're not in the Jefferson Park area, you can get your fix at the bakery's French Market location.
Lakeview
Dinkel's Bakery
Address and InfoFrom strudels and tarts to cookies and its famous stollen, this German bakery has had the answer to Chicago's collective baked-good needs for the better part of a century and is still going strong. If sweets aren't your thing, don't worry -- they have quiche and plenty of savory croissants, too.
Lincoln Park
Sweet Mandy B's
Address and InfoGiven that Sweet Mandy B's and Floriole are the charming bakeries sharing the same block and producing some of the best baked goods in the city -- let alone, their neighborhood -- we couldn't recognize one without the other. Washed in pastel hues and equipped with a pastry display bursting with colorful cookies and cupcakes, Sweet Mandy B's is a veritable sugar fiend's fairytale. Floriole plays it a bit more simple, with an airy space conducive to working while you munch on European pastries, like almond-y gateau Basque, pain au chocolat, and a variety of scones; don't forget to pick up a loaf of fresh-baked bread on your way out.
Little Italy
Scafuri Bakery
Address and InfoThis time-tested, family-owned establishment has been around since 1904, and after just one bite of its cannoli, you'll understand why: It's that good. The assorted Italian cookies and sfogliatelle are equally to credit for its longevity.
Logan Square
Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits
Address and InfoGet your pie fix and a piping dish of biscuits and gravy at this rustic eat-in bakery and cafe. The pies rotate daily, and are available for pre-order every day of the week.
Loop
Revival Cafe Bar & Bakery
Address and InfoHelmed by pastry great Mindy Segal (Mindy's Hot Chocolate), this cozy oasis within the buzzy Revival Food Hall, this part-cafe, part-bar offers all things caffeinated, boozy, and baked. Stop by the one-stop shop for brioche donuts and nitro draft lattes during the day, and stiff (and coffee-infused, if you wish) cocktails in the evening.
Navy Pier
Goddess and the Baker
Address and InfoSure, you can score a well-rounded meal here, but wouldn't you rather have a multi-course feast of rainbow layer cake, iced cut-out cookies, pecan sticky buns, and hulking rice crispy treats?
Noble Square
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
Address and InfoWith locations in both Chicago and Evanston, this kitschy pie shop has earned a slice of both city and suburban pie markets with its rotating selection of fresh-baked pies. The sweet creations are available whole, by the slice, or in flights, and come in flavors like Hoosier sugar cream, pear-apple-cranberry with walnut crumble, and maple pecan.
Old Town
La Fournette
Address and InfoStep inside this classic French bakery and you'll swear you've just been teleported to a quiet Parisian side-street; brioche, croissants, beignets, and baguettes abound.
Pilsen
Panaderia Nuevo Leon
Address and InfoWhile its neighborhood has seen its fair share of change and evolution in recent years, this Mexican bakery remains steadfast, just as it has for the past half-century. It specializes in traditional favorites, including pan dulce, churros, and flan, as well as savory tortillas made with jalapeño and chili guajillo.
Ravenswood
Baker Miller
Address and InfoWhether you're lingering over a casual oatmeal breakfast or dropping by to pick up a bacon, egg, and brie sandwich on the go, there's no better place to kickstart your day in Ravenswood than here. All the baked goods are made with flour milled in-house.
West Loop
Little Goat Bakery
Address and InfoThis carbo-loaded attachment to Stephanie Izard's Little Goat Diner sells some seriously decadent goods, like "fat bread" (smoked duck fat, pickled mustard seed, and beer), crusty tortone made with garlic and mashed potatoes, onion rye bagels with kimchi cream cheese, and don't-knock-it-'til-you've-tried-it chocolate, peanut butter, and Cheez-It cake.
West Town
West Town Bakery & Diner
Address and InfoArtsy, graffiti-inspired walls and red, white, and blue booth-seating reflect this bakery/diner's playful array of offerings: Dark Matter coffee, booze aplenty, sustainability-driven baked goods, and gut-busting brunch eats like a duck confit Cubano, and malted chocolate and toffee pancakes.
Wicker Park
Alliance Bakery
Address and InfoFrom whimsical custom cakes (Narwhal cake, anyone? How about a 3-D Ninja Turtle?) and fruit tarts to macarons and kouign amann, the creativity at this lauded sweets emporium knows no bounds. Be sure to pair your sugar high with a caffeine jolt, courtesy of the bakery's full espresso bar.
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1. Swedish Bakery
5348 N Clark St, Chicago -
2. La Farine Bakery & Cafe
2909 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago -
3. Lovely Too: A Bake Shop
1138 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago -
4. HEWN Artisan Bread
810 Dempster St, Evanston -
5. Sprinkles Cupcakes
50 E Walton, Chicago -
6. Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop
322 S Halsted St, Chicago -
7. Delightful Pastries
5927 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago -
8. Dinkel's Bakery
3329 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago -
9. Sweet Mandy B's
1208 W Webster Ave, Chicago -
10. Floriole Cafe & Bakery
1220 W Webster, Chicago -
11. Scafuri Bakery
1337 W Taylor St, Chicago -
12. Bang Bang Pie Shop
2051 N California Ave, Chicago -
13. Revival Café Bar & Bakery
125 S Clark St, Chicago -
14. Goddess & Baker Navy Pier
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago -
15. Hoosier Mama Pie Shop
1618 1/2 W Chicago Ave, Chicago -
16. La Fournette
1547 N Wells St, Chicago -
17. Panaderia Nuevo Leon
1634 W 18th St, Chicago -
18. Baker Miller
4610 Western Ave, Chicago -
19. Little Goat
820 W Randolph St, Chicago -
20. West Town Bakery & Diner
1916 W Chicago Ave, Chicago -
21. Alliance Bakery
1736 W Division St, Chicago
Swedish Bakery is an Andersonville institution specializing in Scandinavian-style baked goods. With nearly a century of baking under its belt, the storefront produces pastries, petit fours, coffeecakes, cookies, wedding cakes, and more for the sweets seekers of Chicago. While they cover their ground in offering all things dessert, their Swedish specialty pastries -- including marzipan cakes, almond tarts, and Tosca tortes -- are the spirit behind the bakery.
Located in Avondale, La Farine Bakery & Café originally opened with the sole purpose of baking for wholesale only. Over a decade later, and in a new location, La Farine offers more than just bread -- though the loaves are worth the long lines they draw. Seven days a week, you can also indulge in Bridgeport coffee, “morning goods” like pastries and croissants, savory items like sandwiches and quiches, as well as their sizeable repertoire of macarons (in nearly 20 different flavors) and seasonal cakes.
At the intersection of Berwyn and Broadway is Edgewater’s iteration of Wicker Park’s Lovely Kitchen & Café, Lovely, Too. It’s an independent coffeehouse and bakeshop serving anything from coffee, chai, and espresso drinks to sandwiches, bagels, cupcakes, and cookies. The bakeshop offers a wide variety of coffee drinks, as well as a large selection of teas from Chicago’s beloved Rare Tea Cellar. Open weekdays at 7am and weekends at 9am, Lovely, Too is a solid bet for breakfast, lunch, or coffee on-the-go in Edgewater.
Appropriately named, Evanston's Hewn is bringing back widely forgotten break-making techniques -- kneading dough for 30 minutes, letting it ferment overnight, and then baking for a total 20 hours of fermentation every singe day, master bakers create the fresh bread that goes into every single one of their cheddar or pumpkin seeds baguettes, scone, croissant, and sandwich. The offering's a little different each day, but the online bread schedule should keep you in the loop.
Sprinkles ignited a cupcake mania when it opened its first Beverly Hills store in 2005. Since then, the bakery has expanded across the country -- with both brick-and-mortar outposts and cupcake ATMs -- and added ice cream and cookies along the way. Bullseye-dotted cupcakes remain the trademark, with flavors varying from mainstays like red velvet (available in gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegan varieties) and peanut butter chocolate to seasonal creations like olive oil and pumpkin.
There’s more to Greek pastry than baklava, and Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop on Halsted is spreading the word. It’s a decades-old mom and pop café in the heart of Greektown introducing Chicago diners to authentic Greek pastry and baked goods. They’ve got classic pastries and specialty items native to smaller, specific regions in Greece, cookies and biscuits, tortes and cakes, even a small selection of breads and savory items. Stop by for baklava and beyond, seven days a week.
The name pretty much says it all. This Jefferson Park dessert-stop can satisfy any sweet tooth with their donuts, cakes, cookies, brownies and more.
Dinkel's is serving up some insanely delicious baked goods, but be sure to hone in on their donuts and specialized cakes.
With delicious confections like cakes that come in flavors that range from Pumpkin to lemon to Snickerdoodle, Mandy B's is your one-stop-shop for sweets in Lincoln Park. Don't miss their stand-out cookie, The Ranger, that's crammed with coconut, oats, and chocolate chips.
Floriole Café & Bakery’s beginnings were confined to a 10-by-10 tent at Green City Market, where the menu was limited to pastry alone. Today, from its two-story Lincoln Park-based brick and mortar, Floriole continues to sell its French pastries, en masse, but with an expanded inventory. Now, you can enjoy your pastry with coffee, quiche, breads, sandwiches, salads, and more. The levain, canelé, and other French delicacies may rival those actually made in France -- the baker cut her teeth at San Francisco’s acclaimed Tartine Bakery, after all -- and the quiche is served in shells that are like golden-brown butter sculptures, and are not to be missed.
Scafuri is an Italian blessing -- their pastries and treats are that good.
Logan Square's Bang Bang Pie Shop is a reminder of a simpler time, when everyone's favorite neighbor Ethel would let her pies cool on the windowsill. The pies at this bright and buzzy corner bake shop are handmade daily using the freshest seasonal ingredients, and their comforting scent alone will have you floating through the entrance. There are classics like key lime and apple, plus unique recipes like butterscotch meringue and maple bourbon pecan. You won't want to miss the small-batch sour cream biscuits either, which are served with ginger-sage sausage, gravy, a poached egg, and a side of seasonal jam.
Revival Café Bar & Bakery is a full service coffee bar and all day café, with bakery offerings, savory options, craft coffee, and cocktails -- craft coffee cocktails included. It’s located within the Revival Food Hall in the Loop, and is the place that will sate your every craving, morning, noon, and night. The bar program is run by the man behind renowned cocktail bars like The Aviary and Celeste, and the savory and pastry (and of course, hot chocolate) menu is driven by James Beard Award Pastry Chef Mindy Segal of Mindy’s HotChocolate, there’s nothing Revival Café can’t do.
This all-day cafe and bakery on Navy Pier offers up freshly-brewed coffee, made-to-order sandwiches and salads, and creamy gelato from Zarlengo. Then of course, there are the baked goods: cut-out sugar cookies, hefty scones, and glazed breakfast buns are just some of Goddess & Baker's specialities. The counter-serve spot has a few seats available, and it's a great spot for a coffee rendez-vous.
The simple value of Hoosier Mama cannot be understated. They serve up scratch-made pies (available whole, by the slice, and in flights) in styles like classic apple, banana cream, peanut butter, and maple pecan. The space is open and sunny, and, in addition to the sweets, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served, with salads, sandwiches and savory pie options available in the later hours.
This wondrous bakery offers a wide selection of authentic breads and pastries from Alsace (that's in France, FYI), including treats such as kouglof, an open-faced tarte flambee broiled with bacon, beer breads, beignets, and macarons. Wash it all down with some Intelligentsia coffee. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Grab a tray and some tongs and go nuts at Pilsen’s Panaderia Nuevo Leon, where the pastry is plentiful and authentic Mexican fare is king. The traditional Mexican-style bakery is self-serve, so you can load up on pan dulce, conchas, cupcakes, churros, and flan. They also offer savory options, like empanadas, pan de queso, and flour tortillas -- as well as tortillas made with chiles, spinach, nopales, and black beans. Monday through Saturday from 6am to 8pm, the pastry case at Panaderia Nuevo Leon is yours to peruse and to plate your preference.
The owners of Bang Bang Pie Shop are behind this grain-centric sweet and savory bake shop in Lincoln Square where all the items from breakfast to lunch -- and the flour itself -- are made in-house. Of Baker Miller's breakfast options, the milky bowl of oatmeal topped with seasonal jam, cultured cream, and toasted pecans is a standout, as is the heirloom blue corn grits with sausage. There are a few sandwiches available on the lunch menu, like a BLT with feta and tomato jam, which are served with a slice of pie or side salad. That's a no-brainer.
Right across the street from its upscale sister Girl & The Goat, Stephanie Izard's Little Goat is an all-day upscale diner that serves insanely creative takes on classic American comfort food. Split between a sit-down restaurant and a bakery, Little Goat is the place to go for over-the-top breakfast (breakfast spaghetti, banana peanut butter waffles), exceptional burgers (you can choose between a beef, goat, and veggie patty), and crazy desserts (smoked pork & toffee crunch milkshakes, Cheez-It sundaes). If you can't sit and stay -- or handle the long weekend waits -- then hit the "Grab and Goat" take-away area.
With its graffiti walls and funky atmosphere, this joint features all-week booze, and menu items from carrot cake waffles drizzled with cream cheese icing and pineapple-caramel sauce, to grass-fed steak benedict with crispy onions and enough Cabernet hollandaise to have you needing a cab to get home.
Alliance Bakery in Wicker Park's got fine European and American pastries and a full espresso bar.