The 8 Best Bakery Chains In The US

There is something inherently comforting about a bakery. Walking past one early in the morning, breathing in that warm, sweet scent, can bring back memories of childhood or at least provide some solace on a cold day. But that scent also sets up expectations, and there's nothing worse than following your nose into a bakery just to find that the donuts are stale, the cookies are old, and the bread tastes mass-produced.

To avoid such a fate, we've put together a list of the best bakery chains in the U.S., basing our choices on personal experience and professional and social media reviews. Sure, you may be able to find a better mom and pop establishment where the main ingredient in the croissants is love (and lots of butter), but that's not what this list is about. Instead, this list is to highlight widely available, national chains with 20 or more locations that offer more than one type of baked good. That way, you'll be able to make an easy and solid decision about where to stop on a busy morning or for a a quick lunch, and avoid walking into a sub-par bakery and suffering the accompanying disappointment.

This bakery — which started out as a small outpost in New York City — somehow manages to offer a mom-and-pop, artisanal feel while also running more than 20 successful bakery locations across the country. Its enormous cookies are what made it famous. They taste and feel homemade, boasting an unparalleled freshness and generous amount of chocolate chips. The insides are gooey, and they come in many flavors, including oatmeal raisin and double chocolate chip.

If you don't live anywhere near a Levain, don't worry; the company ships its cookies nationwide. However, if you do manage to stop by a brick-and-mortar location, you'll find many more baked goods than just cookies. It also offers loaf cakes in various flavors as well as baguettes that can be made into sandwiches, flatbreads, muffins, and bread rolls. Stop by for breakfast, lunch, or a snack; you won't be disappointed.

This French-Asian bakery, dessert, and treat chain, which literally means "every day," blends elements of both cultures into its products. For example, you may find French-style pastries made with yuzu, or a purple sweet potato loaf. The company takes pride in using fresh ingredients, which it uses to create tasty baked goods with inventive flavors, making it stand out above all those other bakeries with nothing to offer but "the usual."

Indeed, many reviewers have raved about the freshness of its products. Reddit users widely agree that the baked goods are great, while some advised also picking up some kimchi croquettes when available. One Yelp user called this their go-to spot for cakes and other baked goods because its cakes have a good texture and are not too sweet, while another praised the freshness of the baked goods. It's nice to know that there is a good-quality bakery chain out there that can also provide a unique selection of goods along with the classics.

One funny thing about this Korean bakery with French undertones is that it doesn't seem to specialize in baguettes; though you should be able to find some if it hasn't sold out by the time you stop by. Instead, Paris Baguette specializes in pastries, cakes, tarts, and other sweet treats, though it also offers sandwiches and savory pastries. But all this doesn't just happen in a void. It happens in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, something the company has worked hard to achieve, as part of its drive to become a neighborhood spot for communities across the country.

While some Reddit users point out that the prices are a bit high for a bakery chain, others note that in some cases, such as in New York City, prices are what is to be expected given the location. As for the goods themselves, Yelp reviewers have high praise for them. One person said they stop at Paris Baguette almost every morning, while another singled out the jumbo twisted donut, calling it soft and fluffy. Many reviewers have also mentioned the strawberry croissant as a particular favorite.

If you like whole wheat bread but can't find a good one at your local grocery store — or didn't learn to make it during the pandemic like everyone else — you'll probably like the whole wheat bread from the Great Harvest Bread Co. This is what this chain is known for, though it also makes other types of bread as well. The quality of the offerings likely comes from the fact that the company sources its wheat from family-owned farms in Montana and goes to great lengths to ensure its freshness, which, in turn, allows the bakery to avoid artificial additives to make its loaves look bigger.

It isn't just the bread that wins customers over. One item people seem to come back to again and again is the cinnamon roll. A whole slew of patrons mentioned how good it was, while one went so far as to say it was their favorite cinnamon roll ever. Meanwhile, at the Lexington, Massachusetts, location, people seemed to be especially enamored with the various sandwiches, all infallibly prepared with Great Harvest Bread Co. bread.

In some ways, La Madeleine French Bakery is like Panera Bread. It has a similar menu, with a slew of baked goods available alongside soups, salads, and sandwiches, and it even has a separate kids' menu. But the quality of these offerings is far and above anything offered at Panera Bread. Indeed, there is a whole Reddit thread dedicated to the opinion that La Madeleine is the Panera Bread that never was.

People rave not just about the bread, cookies, and other baked goods at La Madeleine, but also about the accouterments that go with them, like the chicken in the sandwiches or the mushroom soup. But what makes this place truly stand out, according to a whole host of Reddit users and industry pros, is that the chain offers genuinely good coffee alongside a cozy, welcoming atmosphere that makes one feel more like being in a living room than a bakery chain.

If you don't know French, Le Pain Quotidien might sound a bit scary. Who wants anything to do with pain? But the name of this chain means "the daily bread," which sounds a lot friendlier. And it's also accurate. Every day, you can be sure to find a truly vast selection of bread here, along with other bread-adjacent baked goods, like croissants, muffins, breadsticks, bagels, and more.

While we thought some of its baked goods have a mass-produced feel to them (which is why it may be helpful to first see which Le Pain Quotidien pastries are better than others), they are always plentiful and hearty, and never as mediocre as the ones often found on grocery store shelves. Another plus is that many locations also serve cocktails and offer sit-down areas, so it can also be a solid weekend lunch place or a spot to while away an afternoon.

This chain means "from good bread" in French. Or perhaps more accurately, "at the place with the good bread." And indeed, you can expect good bread at this place, especially after Au Bon Pain's revamp initiative, which gave the stores an updated appearance and introduced convenience elements like grab-and-go areas. After years of frequenting this spot, we've found that the key here is consistency and reliability, and Au Bon Pain delivers in spades with its vast selection of breads and baked goods.

Patrons often mention the quality of the sandwiches, from the BLT on a croissant to breakfast and lunch sandwiches. Almond croissants and other such pastries are also popular, and, somewhat surprisingly, many people have also raved about the coffee, with some saying it is better than Starbucks' coffee and cheaper to boot. Perhaps the secret to ABP — as those in the know like to call it — is the simple ingredients it likes to use in its baked goods. As the company claims on its site, there is nothing in its baked goods that you wouldn't be able to recognize.

San Francisco has a plethora of incredible bakeries – most of which are not chains. Even so, Boudin Bakery does manage to stand out in this city of bakery giants. Its flagship location, which has been in operation since 1849, is the oldest bakery, and business, in San Francisco, making it a long standing member of the local community. This longevity has turned the place into a major tourist destination, especially because of the bakery's emphasis on sourdough. It uses the same starter that it made at the very beginning.

But all the hustle and bustle of the place doesn't take away from the quality of the sourdough and other baked goods, such as cookies, croissants, and muffins. In fact, some people may enjoy the hullabaloo and the chance to take pictures next to shaped loaves made to resemble turtles, bears, or crabs. Be sure to enjoy some soup with your baked good, especially a clam chowder served in a bread bowl.

America loves breakfast, but many people don't have time to sit down and enjoy a plate of something hot. It's no surprise, then, that bakery chains have proliferated across the country, offering busy morning rushers the opportunity to grab a quick croissant or a muffin. The same calculus goes for lunch, where sandwiches have saved many a hungry office worker from oblivion. But sadly, most of these bakeries are mediocre at best. 

So to weed those out of this list, we relied on our personal experience in trying out some of the best bakery chains in the country while backing up our opinions with professional reviews and by scouring hundreds of social media posts on various locations of each chain. We only included chains that have 20 or more locations and focused on establishments that had a wide range of baked goods. Of those, we looked at which bakeries use the freshest ingredients, provide the most inventive flavors, have the widest selection of goods, provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, have long-standing ties to a community, or have other redeeming qualities, such as outdoor seating and drinks. Or, in the best case scenario, all these qualities at once.