The 14 Best Old-School Bakeries Across California

California is known for great cuisine, mainly thanks to the wide array of cultures that are represented throughout the country. Over the past few hundred years, California has drawn in immigrants from lots of Asian and European countries, and many of these immigrants have created long-lived family businesses. One of the types of businesses that we've seen thrive in California are bakeries. Whether you're looking for a classic American bakery, a French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, or anything in between, you can probably find a bakery in California to fit the bill.

We decided to comb through old-school bakeries in California that have been around for 50 years and longer. Many of these bakeries offer a nostalgic, vintage vibe that is a perfect escape from the modern, trendy world. Others have unique items on the menu that may be something completely new for you to try. We're excited to dive in and give you the 14 best old-school bakeries across California.

If freshly baked focaccia is one of your vices, you'll want to check out Liguria Bakery in San Francisco. This Italian-owned bakery has been open since 1911, and not much has changed about the location since. It's placed on a modest street corner, has large vintage windows, and the interior is small with just enough room for customers to line up and place their orders.

Originally, the bakery was known for making sourdough bread loafs and bread sticks. Eventually in the '30s, it morphed into a shop that primarily focused on selling focaccia. Each day, the bakers begin baking the focaccia in the early hours of the morning, and then the freshly baked items are sold until they are out for the day. It's not uncommon for people to line up, ensuring that they get their flavor choice of the day.

Customers particularly love the focaccia from Liguria because of its pillowy texture, even balance between the toppings and the dough, and the fact that it is made fresh every single day. People also admire the business's vintage and nostalgic vibe, welcoming atmosphere, and personable workers.

(415) 421-3786

1700 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

In Los Angeles, steps away from Dodger Stadium, you'll find a Chinese bakery called Phoenix Bakery. Older than the Dodger Stadium by more than 20 years, this bakery has had its doors open since 1938. Founded by the Chan family, this bakery was first created to offer a place for people to connect over traditional Chinese pastries and cookies. In the '70s, word began to spread throughout LA about the bakery — particularly about its famous Phoenix cakes.

Although the core of the bakery lies in Chinese pastries, the cakes that it became famous for aren't necessarily created from Chinese influence. These cakes are ornate, extremely customizable, and are a prized treat in the LA area. Reviews boast about the various types of fillings that you can get within a cake, and they say that the whipped cream used in the recipes is always incredibly smooth and never too sweet.

If you're interested in trying one of the traditional Chinese pastries, you should try the bakery's moon cakes. These are traditionally made using wooden molds that were imported from China. 

phoenixbakeryinc.com

(213) 628-4642

969 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012

If you grew up in the Bay area, you have probably had a cake from Schubert's Bakery to celebrate someone's birthday or life event. This bakery has been serving the community since 1911. It was originally opened by German immigrants, and today the shop is owned by fourth generation German bakers. Customers can still purchase the types of cakes that were sold in the bakery back in 1911, and they can also opt for more modernized options as well.

This is a great spot to order from if you're looking for a unique type of cake to celebrate an event. For example, you could get a tiramisu cake that has ladyfingers surrounding the edge, a piña colada cake, or a classic Swedish princess cake. Customers love the endless variety of cakes to choose from, and say that they always tend to be light and delicious. Loyal customers who depend on Schubert's for their birthday cakes each year appreciate that the quality remains the same, year after year.

schubertsbakery.com

(415) 752-1580

521 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118

In Stockton, California, which is a city in between Sacramento and San Francisco, there's a famous bakery named Genova Bakery. Open since 1918, this bakery is known for its freshly made artisan breads. To make the bread, a large brick oven that was built by German engineers is used, and everything is made fresh early in the morning. The bakery keeps its old-school vibes intact today, with nostalgic looking wooden shelves and letter menu boards that definitely don't scream "2026".

Speaking of 2026, the bakery was named the best bakery and deli by the 2026 community choice awards of San Joaquin . Visiting the bakery today, you'd have a lot of options to choose from. You could get French rolls, French baguettes, large Italian loafs, baguettes, and much more. There is also a deli in the bakery, where you can get cuts of meat and cheese to make sandwiches with the bread that you buy. You could also opt for a sandwich made in the store, making it a great grab-and-go spot for lunch as well.

genovabakery.com

(209) 466-6145

749 N Sierra Nevada St, Stockton, CA 95205

If you want to take it really old-school, if you have to check out Carmel Bakery in Carmel By-The-Sea. This is one of California's oldest bakeries that is still running today, having been open since 1899. The town of Carmel-By-The-Sea is known to have a lot of fabulous restaurants, and has a very distinct old Hollywood vibe to it. The bakery itself fits into that charm, especially when you look at it from the street. There are large, welcoming windows that display the types of pastry on sale inside, and an vintage sign in the shape of a large pretzel.

Founded by European immigrants, this bakery is known for its German-style pretzels. Made fresh in the morning, they aren't your average pretzel. The dough is a bit softer, they are quite large, and the bakery offers many different toppings and dips to go with them as well. Many visitors love to stop by the bakery to grab a pretzel as a snack in between sight-seeing the charming town. There are many other treats offered, plus breakfast and lunch offerings, too.

chefpepe.com/carmel-bakery

(831) 626-8885

Ocean Ave, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921

Porto Bakery has six locations scattered around the greater Los Angeles area. It was originally founded in 1976 by Rosa Porto, a Cuban immigrant who was passionate about baking. After moving to California with almost nothing to her name, Rosa and her husband worked hard to open the bakery. It soon became a family affair, with their children helping to run the bakery as well, and it eventually expanded to what it is today.

Many people consider Porto Bakery to be an iconic California bakery, especially because it offers unique and exciting baked goods that aren't commonly found around the state. Two of the most popular things to get at the bakery are the cheese rolls and seafood potato balls. These are both more savory, and guests say that they are consistently fresh and delicious. For something sweeter, the guava strudel is also a fan favorite. Often times there are various twists offered on the guava strudel, but at the core it's made with a puff pastry, guava jam, and cream cheese filling.

portosbakery.com

Multiple Locations

Sourdough is all the rage these days, and if you want to visit a bakery that really knows what it's doing when it comes to sourdough, Boudin Bakery in San Francisco is the place to go. The bakery can be traced all the way back to 1849, and today, there are 29 locations around the bay area. The flagship location in Fisherman's Wharf is definitely worth the visit — with a 30-foot observation window where you can see the bakers making sourdough by hand right before your eyes. There's also a bistro and cafe to visit on site as well.

When you visit any Boudin Bakery location, you can get fresh sourdough to bring home. However, it doesn't stop there. The bakery also offers full meals that feature its sourdough — the most famous being its sourdough soup bowls. The soups  vary by day and location, with one of the most popular being a clam chowder soup. Customers say that the creaminess of the soup matches perfect with the flavor of the bread.

boudinbakery.com

Multiple locations

Recognized as a historic landmark in Los Angeles, we have 27th Street Bakery. The bakery can be traced all the way back to 1956, when the Patterson family opened up a specialty pie shop connected to a restaurant that they already owned. Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, the Pattersons brought their secret family recipe for sweet potato pie to Los Angeles. Today, the bakery is still famous for that pie.

Everything at 27th Street Bakery is always made from scratch, including the yams that are used in the pies. Every single day, the workers fill pots with fresh yams, using hundreds each day. You won't find any canned ingredients being used in this bakery. Beyond the famous sweet potato pie, there are tons of other treats you can get there, from peach cobbler to tea cakes.

27thstreetbakery.com

(323) 233-3469

2700 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90011

You'll find Smith's Bakeries, in Bakersfield, California. It's a spot that has been around since 1945. At the time, it was a small, individually owned business. Now, it's stood the test of time, and has expanded to several locations around the Bakersfield area. In 2025, the bakery celebrated 80 years in business, and was even honored publicly by a local Congressman for its sense of community, spirit of entrepreneurship, and high-quality goods.

The bakery sells just about every classic baked good that you can think of, however the star of the show is the cookies. There are always a ton of different cookies available with various flavorings and designs offered. From the famous happy face cookies, sports themed cookies, classics like chocolate chip and oatmeal, and beyond, this is a great bakery if you want a fun and exciting treat. Customers on Reddit have even desperately discussed trying to recreate the happy face cookies themselves at home, and some joke that you'd have to sell your soul to get the recipe.

smithsbakeries.com

Multiple locations

In 1962, Mr. and Mrs. Dianda from Lucca, Italy opened up a bakery in San Francisco, California. With a goal of bringing the unique tastes of Italy to California, Dianda's Bakery was born. Over 60 years later, the business is still going strong, is still family owned, and there are now two locations where you can get the delicious Dianda's baked goods.

The menu features Italian American specialties, specifically cakes, dessert pastries, and morning pastries like tiramisu, cannolis, and apricot twists. You can get a slice of cake to have yourself, buy an entire cake that was freshly made that day, or even order one for a birthday or wedding. You can also get a box of your choice of dessert pastries, and let's be real, who doesn't love a box of Italian cookies? Customers online rave about the freshness of the baked goods, the variety that's offered, and the great customer service.

diandasbakery.com

Multiple locations

In the Chinatown section of San Francisco, there is Eastern Bakery – the oldest Chinese bakery in the area. It's been open since 1924, and much of the decor has remained the same over the past 100 years. On the exterior, there is a giant neon sign with the bakery's name on it, instantly bringing you back in time. Inside, the rounded glass display cases for the baked goods are vintage-red trimmed. To this day, the bakery remains cash only (but will also accept Zelle or Venmo if you're desperate).

Eastern Bakery has two items that are considered to be the most popular: mooncakes and coffee crunch cakes. The recipes for these two baked goods have been with the bakery since the very beginning, and people flock to the store to get a bite. The mooncakes are made traditionally by hand, which is rare these days, and is served fresh and warm daily. The coffee crunch cake is made with a sponge cake base, mocha whipped cream, and has toffee crumbles on top.

easternbakery.com

(415) 433-7973

720 Grant Avenue San Francisco, CA 94108

In Bishop, California, Erick Shat's Bakery is a historic relic. It was opened in 1938 by immigrant Basque sheepherders. They missed the bread of their homelands, and began making and selling it in California. This became known as sheepherder bread, which is made with well water and stone ground unbleached flour. The loaves are shaped by hand, made fresh each day, and are baked in a European stone hearth oven.

While Erick Shat's Bakery is most known for the sheepherder bread, it offers so much more than that. The bakery is ginormous, with various counters to order things like sandwiches, soups, freshly baked pastries, bread, and more. You can also walk throughout the store and shop for pre-packaged goods as well. While customers say that there is often a large line inside the bakery, it's always worth it. When combing through reviews, it seems like customers are equally as pleased with treats like cookies and pastries as they are with the freshly baked bread.

schatsbakery.com

(760) 873-7156

763 N Main St, Bishop, CA 93514

Who doesn't love a homemade donut? In Santa Clara, Stan's Donut Shop is considered to have some of the best donuts in not only California, but the country. The bakery opened in 1959, and it still holds much of its '50s charm to this day. The donuts are made fresh daily, and you can also enjoy counter service in the bakery as well. Milkshakes, root beer floats, coffee, and more can be ordered while you enjoy a fresh plate of donuts.

Stan's Donut Shop offers a large array of donuts. The most famous donut is the classic glazed, which can be ordered with sugar, chocolate glaze, or maple glaze. Assorted cake donuts are offered as well, with various types of frosting and sprinkles. There are also old fashioned, French cruller, buttermilk, jelly filled, cream filled, and custard filled donuts as well. Just about anything you could dream of, you'll find. Customers love how fluffy, fresh and addicting the donuts are.

stansdonutshop.com

(408) 296-5982

2628 Homestead Rd. Santa Clara, CA 95051

Cinderella Bakery is a Russian bakery and café that was founded in 1953. First opened by two Russian women in the '50s, a man named Mike Fishman from the Soviet Union trained to take over the bakery. He learned techniques and recipes from the two women, and then adjusted the menu to focus on using high-quality local ingredients. Everything in the bakery is still made from scratch daily, and Fishman aims to keep everything is authentic as possible as the years continue on.

One of the most famous items on Cinderella Bakery's menu is the honey cake. It's said to be incredibly moist and soft, there are thick layers of cream in between the cake itself, and it's not overly sweet. One customer on Yelp even referred to the honey cake as an equivalent to Cinderella's glass slipper — something so magical and special that it can't be found anywhere else. Beyond the cake, there are tons of other Russian pastries (like vatrushka) and cookies (like Russian honey cookies) that you have to try if you visit Cinderella's Bakery.

cinderellabakery.com

(415) 751-9690

436 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94118

When finding the best old-school bakeries across California, we decided to focus on bakeries that have been open for 50 years or more. We searched high and low to find as many old-school bakeries that we could find throughout the entire state, and once we had that list, we dove into learning more about them. 

We looked to see if certain bakeries were honored through awards or public acknowledgement, checked reviews on sites like Yelp, GoogleMaps, TikTok, and Tripadvisor, and highly considered bakeries that kept popping up on various blogs or websites. All in all, we ended up with 14 old-school bakeries that we highly recommend you take a visit to.