The 10 best bakeries in Boston
Bread, babka, egg tarts and cannoli all have a place on this list of bakeries inside the city limits of Boston. The ten shops below run from the North End and Chinatown to Dorchester, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain, and the list is meant for residents planning a weekend errand as much as for visitors with one free morning.
The list favors bakeries that make their own bread and pastry on site, most of them locally owned. A cookie or pastry generally costs $3.50 to $7 where prices are published, and a sandwich runs $12 to $14. Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville bakeries are left out because those are separate cities.
How we chose
The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each bakery was checked as open in November 2026 and chosen on local reputation across independent sources, coverage in local press, years in business and a spread of neighborhoods and baking traditions. No single review site’s star rating decided a place.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Bakey
Babka is the reason to walk into Bakey, a bakery and cafe on Tremont Street across from Boston Common. Danish-Israeli baker Uri Scheft and business partner Or Ohana opened the shop in September 2021, according to Boston.com, and Scheft told the outlet he wanted pastries sold straight from the oven. The online ordering menu in November 2026 lists babka slices in almond, chocolate, cinnamon, raspberry and blueberry at $6.50 to $6.90, plus cheese burekas at $4.75. A chocolate banana pecan babka is sold Thursday through Sunday. Whole pans need at least four hours of notice.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 151 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02111
Why they made the list
- Scheft founded Lehamim Bakery in Israel and wrote the cookbook Breaking Breads, Boston.com reported on September 17, 2021.
- Time Out Boston included Bakey in a bakery guide dated May 26, 2026.
- The menu covers savory burekas filled with cheese, spinach and cheese, or potato.
- Boston.com reported that unsold pastries go to Women’s Lunch Place, a nearby day shelter.
Bova’s Bakery
Open around the clock on Salem Street in the North End, Bova’s Bakery sells bread, cakes, pies, cookies and Italian pastries at any hour. The Bova family has run the bakery since 1926, by the bakery’s own account, using recipes passed down through three generations. The cases hold cannoli, tiramisu and sfogliatelle, and the kitchen also turns out Sicilian-style pizza and other prepared foods. Late night is a practical time to go, when Hanover Street pastry shops have closed and the corner of Salem and Prince streets is quiet. Online ordering and delivery through GrubHub and UberEats are available on the bakery’s website.
Hours: Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Address: 134 Salem St., Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The bakery’s website says staff bake through the night as well as the day.
- Time Out Boston listed Bova’s in a bakery guide dated May 26, 2026, noting the Italian breads and calzones.
- Family members including Anthony, Ralph and Mary Bova are named on the bakery’s own history page.
Elephantine Bakery
Fort Point’s Elephantine Bakery is the second cafe from a company that started in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where the original still operates. The Congress Street shop bakes croissants in plain, almond, pistachio and ham and cheese versions, along with cardamom buns, ricotta lemon danish, baguettes and pain au levain. A full breakfast and lunch menu runs beside the pastry case, with Turkish poached eggs, a croque monsieur and a jambon beurre sandwich. Coffee leans Italian, and the drinks list adds a cardamom latte, an Aperol spritz and a mimosa. Weekend brunch is the busiest stretch, so weekday mornings are easier for a table.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
Address: 332 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210
Why they made the list
- Sourdough breads are made by hand, according to the bakery’s website.
- The Boston menu lists more than a dozen pastries, from lemon madeleines to pecan banana bread.
- Catering for offices and events in the Seaport, Fort Point and downtown is available.
See the full directory listing
Flour Bakery
Joanne Chang, a James Beard Award winner, leads Flour Bakery as pastry chef and co-owner with business partner Christopher Myers. The company opened a first bakery in the South End in 2000 and now counts nine locations in Boston and Cambridge, according to the Flour website. The sticky bun is the item most people come for, priced at $5.25 on the Fort Point online menu in November 2026. Cookies such as the TCHO chocolate chip and the Chunky Lola are $3.50, and sandwiches run about $12.50 to $14. Sticky buns can sell out, so order early in the day.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 12 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210 (Fort Point); other Boston locations include the South End
Why they made the list
- Time Out Boston placed Flour in a bakery guide dated May 26, 2026.
- The menu goes beyond pastry to made-to-order sandwiches, soups and salads.
- Flour ships sweets nationwide and runs baking classes, according to Time Out Boston.
- Half sandwiches are $7.25 on the Fort Point menu, a cheaper way to add lunch to a pastry order.
See the full directory listing
Fornax Bread Company
Roslindale Village has had Fornax Bread Company on Corinth Street since 1997, the year given on the bakery’s website. Bread is the core of the business: loaves are made in-house every day, and the bakery supplies restaurants in and around Boston as well as walk-in customers. The counter also sells pastries, soups, salads and sandwiches built on the house bread. An Improper Bostonian write-up described Fornax as family owned and singled out the boules, the Irish soda bread and a rosemary batard. Holiday pie orders open ahead of Christmas, and the website posts the notice when ordering begins.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 27 Corinth St., Roslindale, MA 02131
Why they made the list
- Fornax has baked in Roslindale for 29 years as of 2026.
- The Improper Bostonian traced the name to the Roman goddess of ovens.
- Wholesale customers include Boston-area restaurants, according to the bakery.
Great Taste Bakery
Hong Kong-style baking shares a Beach Street storefront with a full restaurant at Great Taste Bakery in Chinatown. Boston magazine recommended the Portuguese egg tarts in a February 5, 2019 guide to Chinatown pastries, describing a crisp shell around caramelized custard. The bakery side also makes cakes and desserts, and the dining room serves dim sum, rice soup, noodles and an early breakfast. Dine-in parties that spend $150 or more qualify for a free 6-inch birthday cake, with larger cakes at higher totals, according to the restaurant’s website. Bring cash for a small pastry order, because cards carry a $10 minimum.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Address: 61-63 Beach St., Boston, MA 02111
Why they made the list
- The restaurant’s website says Great Taste stays open on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Takeout orders are taken by phone as well as at the counter.
- Frommer’s and the Improper Bostonian have both written up the shop in past guides.
See the full directory listing
Greenhills Bakery
Irish breads and scones come out of the ovens at Greenhills Bakery in Adams Village, Dorchester. Time Out Boston reported that owner Dermot Quinn named the bakery for his home in County Offaly and bakes soda bread and brown bread as a tribute to his grandmother. The bakery’s website also lists handmade cookies, fresh pies, soups, sandwiches and custom wedding cakes. Mornings are the time to go: doors open at 6 a.m. and close in mid-afternoon on most days. The bakery points customers to Facebook for holiday schedules, which matter most in the weeks before St. Patrick’s Day.
Hours: Opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. most days, according to the bakery; confirm on the bakery’s Facebook page.
Address: 780 Adams St., Dorchester, MA 02124
Why they made the list
- Time Out Boston named Greenhills in a bakery guide dated May 26, 2026.
- Custom wedding cakes are made to order.
- Lunch is available, with soups and sandwiches sold alongside the bread.
Modern Pastry
Cannoli at Modern Pastry are filled to order, a practice the Hanover Street shop advertises on the company website. The family-owned business has been operating for more than 90 years by the shop’s own account. Torrone is sold in several package sizes, the tiramisu cake is described as the most popular cake, and pistachio macaroons are the top-selling cookie. Time Out Boston also points to the sfogliatelle. An underground dining room below the shop keeps separate evening hours. Lines form on weekend nights, and the shop stops taking pastry, cookie and torrone pre-orders in the days before Thanksgiving, so holiday orders need to go in early.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Address: 257 Hanover St., Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The storefront spans 257 and 263 Hanover Street.
- A second Modern Pastry shop is open on Salem Street in Medford.
- Time Out Boston listed Modern Pastry in a bakery guide dated May 26, 2026.
- The underground dining room opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at 10 a.m. on weekends.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe
Tzurit Or started Tatte in a home kitchen and at the Copley Square Farmers Market, according to the company. Boston magazine dates that start to 2007 and the first shop, in Brookline, to 2008. Tatte has since grown to cafes across Greater Boston, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York, which makes the company the largest operation on this list. The Seaport cafe at Pier 4 opened in September 2018, Boston magazine reported. Time Out Boston recommends the pains au chocolat, kouign amanns and croissants. The menu draws on the Eastern Mediterranean and runs from breakfast through dinner.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 200 Pier 4 Blvd., Boston, MA 02210 (Seaport); several other Boston locations
Why they made the list
- Panera Bread took a majority stake in Tatte in February 2016, according to Boston magazine.
- Bread and pastries are made in house, the company says.
- Downtown cafes include One Boston Place and 125 Summer Street.
See the full directory listing
Third Cliff Bakery
Meg Crowley sold baked goods from a tricycle at the Egleston Farmers’ Market for five years before opening Third Cliff Bakery on Washington Street in Jamaica Plain in October 2020, according to Boston.com. The opening menu included kimchi cheddar croissants, guava and cream cheese croissants, dark chocolate chip cookies and salted peanut butter cookies. Breads included anadama, Japanese milk bread and focaccia. The name comes from a beach in Scituate that Crowley visited growing up. Online ordering covers certain items on weekends, and orders are due by noon the day before pickup. Hours posted on the ordering page conflict, so confirm before a trip.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 3531 Washington St., Suite 103, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Why they made the list
- Crowley developed several recipes at CommonWealth Kitchen, the Dorchester food business incubator, Boston.com reported.
- Third Cliff began as a farmers market stand in 2015.
- Menu and pricing questions go to the bakery by email.
See the full directory listing
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