Sugar and Scribe Bakery

super cute bakery in la jolla.
we picked up some breakfast goodies to take back to our hotel, scripps inn.
everything looked so fresh. we actually finished our croissants on our two block walk home. highly recommend the sweet and savory ones!
the patio looks perfect for a nice day.

I had breakfast here on Sunday. The owner/​chef and all her staff were very friendly. The restaurant was very clean and looked newly renovated… and the pastry selection is something everyone must see! Its amazing. The breakfast was so fresh! Full of natural ingredients and great portion size. I bought cupcakes and some goodies for family members and they all told me it was amazing! I always go to cottage across the way and decided to give this place a chance and Im soooo happy I did! Great food, great staff and amazing, fresh food!!! My soy latte was also the best I have ever had!

Not sure where the haters came from. I LOVED this bakery! I loved everything about it, from the jars of sprinkles adorning every surface to the cakes that double as works of art, to the friendly customer service (We mentioned that the 3 mini cupcakes we had bought looked lonely and the cashier threw in a 4^th for free), to the cupcakes themselves.

Thank you once again to this lovely bakery! They outdid themselves when they catered my son’s 1^st birthday party this weekend. I ordered sandwiches, quiches, a salad, cupcakes, brownies, mini sugar cookies, and my sons smash cake — everything was so delicious! So simple yet elegant. Everyone loved the food and dessert, they truly made the party extra special! I just placed an order for another cake and more brownies for my husbands birthday this upcoming weekend because we just can’t get enough of these wonderful treats! Thank you to everyone here! A special thanks to Jade who was a pleasure to work with. :) I will definitely be coming back for years to come!

My girlfriend and I came here for dessert after eating at a nearby restaurant. The reviews looked good, and we were excited. My girlfriend is a baking aficionado, and she loves trying new places.
We walked in and were greeted quickly and politely. This was a great start, and customer service goes a long way with me. The restaurant seems split into a baked good side and a coffee and tea bar/​savory food side. It’s very pretty and welcoming. Another plus, they have a nice outdoor seating option. On these points, without question, 5 stars.
Unfortunately, when you come to a cupcake shop, you can’t just rate them on these factors, you have to rate them on their cupcakes as well. After all, it’s a cupcake shop! And, here, the shop was disappointing.
Their tiramisu cupcake tasted more like bread than cake. I did, however, rather enjoy the frosting on the tiramisu cupcake. The base would make a wonderful bread, but just not such a good cupcake.
The red velvet was lacking cocoa powder and any real trace of chocolate. I think that many people forget that a red velvet cake is a chocolate cake, so it should at least have a hint of chocolate. In addition, while I again rather enjoyed the cream cheese frosting on the red velvet, that was its only saving grace as it was also very dry.
Both cakes were burnt slightly on the outside. The red velvet is 2 stars, and the tiramisu is a 3 or 4 stars.
Overall, I think 3 stars is fair, but I think that could go up after trying other options. If you’re in the area, it may be a good choice, but do not expect to be blown away.

I order my cakes from here, for all my children’s birthdays, but today was the first time I went in to eat. Everyone from the moment you walk in was really welcoming and nice. I came to order my twins, their 1^st birthday cakes, and they had me speak with Maeve (the owner). She was so helpful. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted because we normally order the Victoria Sponge Cake. Maeve showed me some examples from her phone and gave me some options/​suggestions. She introduced us to Amanda, who was just as nice and SO informative… it was truly a wonderful experience sitting in there. It was one hour before they closed but you didn’t get the sense of anyone rushing you. The servers were all so friendly… they even helped entertain my twins babies.
We had their arugula and avocado salad and it was amazing! Their bread (they ran out of the brown bread) was so fresh and soft! Melted in my mouth — just like the delicious, fluffy butter they gave on the side. Lemon cupcake was nice and their coffee smooth.
Looking forward to our next visit and can’t wait to see what our cakes look like!

Sugar and Scribe is an absolute treat in the village. Cakes, cupcakes and pastries made by an award winning baker, great staff with true barista skills and Calabria coffee. Love!

First — Congratulations Maeve! I eagerly anticipated, and then, when I stopped in Flagstaff, AZ on my way to Taos, NM, I was able to watch you win the Food Network Holiday Baking Championship. WOW!!!
Second — I was touched by your $ 50,000 championship award gifting thoughtfulness.
Third (and certainly not least) — The artichoke quiche and chicken puff that you made for my holiday trip to Taos were perfectly baked and exquisitely flavorful. You were right about being able to freeze them, and I was able to enjoy both delicacies throughout my ten day stay in the Land of Enchantment.
The new year will find me ordering and enjoying more quiche, chicken puff, pecan pie, stuffed Cornish game hen and many other Sugar and Scribe creations. My heartfelt thanks to you, your mother and your team for enriching our taste buds… and our lives.

Super yummy food. I got the chicken sausage & biscuits! Biscuits are moist and tasty! Swing by for coffee even if you’re not hungry. The coffee + pastries selections are BOMB! Love it, will definitely come back. Oh yea, staff are super nice and attentive!

My friends and I stopped in here today after seeing Maeve on the Food network and realizing that this bakery/​restaurant exists!
We had the eggs Benedict, lemon curd pancakes, grilled cheese, Levain toast and mushroom quiche.
The food was so delicious! It’s obvious that care is taken from beginning to end to make sure that the food is beautiful and tasty.
The service was also so great. We probably had contact with about 6 employees and they were all super friendly and attentive.
We stopped in to pick up some extra baked goods to bring home. We had some croissant, cupcakes, sugar cookies, monkey bread and brownies. Everything is beautiful and from what I’ve tasted, also perfect. I really liked the hot chocolate cupcake. The cake was moist and very tasty. Not overly sweet, which I really liked.
Finally, to top our awesome afternoon off, we stopped and chatted to Maeve, who is super nice. She told us a little bit about her adventure on the holiday baking championship.
We will definitely be back. It looks like they’ll have alcohol service by the end of January too, which is an extra plus!

Customer service is totally lacking in this new little darling and delicious place. When you enter you have to figure on your own as there is no greeter or acknowledgement of your arrival
that one needs to order at the counter. Then you climb the stairs to your table again no direction on that and the staff & plenty of it brings the food to your table. That’s it … no one ever checks back to see if everything is ok and as you leave no one notices that either. Sure hope that all that staff gets some customer and communication training.

Please Everyone… check out my Pink Floyd Dark Side cake picture. I was blown away and so happy! You rock and i never tasted a cake this good and moist. Cheers!

Such a nice place. I stopped on my way back from Fiesta Island. The first thing that struck me is that the bakery and restaurant are so pretty and stylish — I don’t know what I expected, but it exceeded those expectations.
There are patio tables outside. When you enter, savory food is to the left, cupcakes and sweet baked goods to the right with a table in the middle overflowing with delicious packaged things to buy and take home. The whole front area is bright and the wall of colored sugar and candies is really pretty. There is a whole floor for dining in, but I didn’t try that. I got two savory pies (delicious), a cucumber salad and some prepackaged treats (handmade marshmallows, thick chocolate chip cookies and the famous ginger chews.) Prices are surprisingly reasonable.
Really a nice place. I look forward to coming back.

I have the distinction of being one of Chef Maeve’s Internet customer reviews. I’m currently watching her on the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship, and I knew that her ginger chews were on my tasting to-​do list. Lucky for me, Sugar and Scribe is taking orders for some of their items, one being the ginger chews. Today they arrived!
1. I can understand why Chef Maeve is competing in this competition, she’s THAT good.
2. I can understand why the ginger chews are a top selling item in her bakery.
3. The entire ordering process was easy and my shipment arrived exactly when I was told it would, in perfect condition.
The cookies were chewy and had a beautiful ginger flavor that reminds me of this holiday season. The cookies also are nice and big, no skimping! The texture of the cookie was perfect and left my mouth wanting more. I shared the cookies with my mom and she also had nothing but positive feedback.
I can’t wait to visit the bakery when I’m back in Cali again.
Please expand your shipping options, I very much am interested in trying a pie!

Absolutely the BEST QUICHE in La Jolla (Tops my old favorite)! The inside of the shop is much bigger then I expected and looked like a fantastic bakery. There were white walls with some Irish scenery and great looking pastries all over the front area where you walk in. You order at the cashier and they give you a number for a server to bring you your food. Fortunately there were not too many guests behind me so I was able to stand to the side of the register and ask as many questions as I could to the young ladies regarding the menu. All the ladies I spoke with knew the menu well and were extremely friendly, I really enjoyed this because sometimes it’s hard to receive fantastic customer service and the Sugar & Scribe staff exceeded all of my expectations.
After ordering I sat outside to a quaint patio which wasn’t as crowded as the inside. First my coffee came in a unique mug with a large S on the front with room for cream as I had asked. Next me quiche came out and the server brought me out more coffee and water. The quiche was perfect, very flaky and buttery crust, with the right amount of filling. The egg filling was luscious and filled with prosciutto, onions, and celery? (mixpoire, I asked the staff and she told me, but I forgot already!) Again the crust was the best I have EVER had on a pastry, something everyone should try when coming here.
I liked how they had a fill your own water station but the staff always asked if they could bring out more. Secondly, they filled up my coffee 3 times without me flagging down a server as I was taking my time with my meal, nor did I ever feel rushed with a Sunday brunch crowd.
I can’t wait to come back and sample new dishes and pastries as I definitely see myself stopping by more after or before the clock in!

Found this place via Unilocal while contemplating if I really wanted to wait 30 min for the cottage. So glad I did! It’s a lovely spot with plenty of seating. This place is cute, airy, and doesn’t have a wait.
The highlight: dipping my (free if you check in!) mini peanut butter chocolate muffin into my Nutella latte. Heaven.
I also ordered a chicken puff pastry and loved the flakiness and cheese.
Their custom cakes are amazing works of art.

Honestly, we stumbled upon this gem while waiting in the massively overrated lines of the cottage. Don’t get me wrong, the cottage is a good place to have breakfast… But I think scribe has it beat.
Here’s why: the owner is an incredible person. Yep, each time I’ve been here I’ve interacted with her and she’s wonderful every time. She shared her family story, which can be found woven into all aspects of the décor, and her Irish heritage which is very evident in the cooking style. There’s something familiar yet new about the breakfast options. I’m not Irish, but after breaking into my soft boiled egg and lardo in my heart I’m an honorary member.
The food is spot on and fresh! Say it with me… Fresh. It’s so hard to find unprocessed food. It’s crazy that fresh food is so sparse, but that’s a tangent for another platform, back to the praise. The euro breakfast is my go to and it pairs nicely with my Nutella latte. Yep, Nutella latte.
Jerry Springer final thoughts: do yourself a favor and eat breakfast at scribe. Support these wonderful people and enjoy the love put into every aspect of their food.
Oh! AND their bakery is offfff the hook. Like stupid good. Enjoy!

Tip: check in for a free small cupcake!
Came here to grab some pastries for breakfast. Lots of seating both indoors and outdoors. The displays were gorgeous with all different kinds of cupcakes, croissants, tarts, etc. I got a cinnamon roll croissant (more doughy than croissant like) and a pancetta croissant. Both were super tasty!

I can’t give this place more than one star. I do feel bad for Maeve. No I don’t; she’s laughing all the way to the bank. Maeve is simply too flighty and unaware (or in denial) of the problems her store continues to have, despite the number of years she’s been doing this. I guess the ‘learning curve’ must take eons, as that is always her excuse whenever something goes wrong. That the Irish girls are still ‘learning’. No they’re not; they don’t care if they provide good customer service. Sad. The cashiers have always been snooty and rude, but customers can overlook that only to a point, then they don’t come back.
Why must everything Maeve does have to have the word «Irish» in it? Is Irish butter really better? No, it is not! Makes not a hill of beans of sense.
We followed Maeve from her Pacific Beach store. The last and final time we’d been in the store, it took 3 girls to wait on one customer in front of us. We were standing in line at least 10 minutes, knowing what we wanted to order. This is not an exaggeration, the cashiers were acting like it was their first day, and I know that’s not the case; at least one I’ve seen before, many times.
Typically, another cashier would’ve noticed the problem and taken us, since the customer ahead of us couldn’t figure out what they wanted. But no… it took 3 girls to handle one customer who couldn’t make up her mind. We literally stood there 10 minutes with not one of the 3 girls saying a word to us. Very poor customer service. Why couldn’t ONE cashier let the other 2 girls handle the indecisive customer, while the 3^rd one waited on us? See? Simple, really.
Terrible how that was handled. It almost made me late for an appointment. This place is cute, so one star for that… but…
I am never coming back.

Just a few months ago I finally decided to stop by the sugar and scribe bakery in PB only to discover it had closed. In the midst of my sulking I discovered great news — they’ve opened closer to me (la Jolla) and expanded to a full food menu as well!!! Yippee! Got to check out this gem of a bakery for breakfast this weekend and I am officially in a carb-​induced love.
The layout of the bakery is charming and a tad confusing. Luckily a welcoming host explained to us that the left side is is reserved for making coffee and other beverages while the right side boasts their impressive array of baked goods, from muffins to cakes and croissants. The sides are not bakery/​caffeine exclusive so you can order your complete meal on either side.
I opted for the «your way eggs» (2 scrambled egg whites) with levian bread (HIGHLY SUGGESTED), roasted tomatoes and salad. This makes the perfect build your own bite breakfast as you can stack your eggs and tomatoes on the bread and get to eating. Everything was delicious but I was especially blown away by the fresh bread (duh, it’s a bakery) which left me full and satisfied. And purely for Unilocal research I tried out their raspberry turnover and oatmeal raisin cookie. I don’t think you can go wrong with the baked goods and the hot food is up to par with all the other popular La Jolla brunch spots.
Very pleased to have found one of my new favorite bakeries/​brunch spots. While everyone across the street was waiting to get into The Cottage, I enjoyed a full, wholesome meal and got out before the cottage diners even got in — let’s keep this place a secret.