Bear Buns Bakery

Cute lil neighborhood spot, wish the owners were friendlier — it’s ok to be nice to your customers guys!

This little neighborhood gem is fantastic! Delicious coffee, scrumptious pastries, egg sandwiches, a cozy lounge area inside along with a pet friendly patio, and a family atmosphere from the energetic staff. I look forward to starting my mornings off at Bear Buns. Thanks to the wonderful staff for making Gus the Pug feel like a celebrity:)

I came to Bear Buns looking for some great pastries to start off my morning for the day. This bakery shop is located off one of the main roads up in the Sierra Mesa area above Mission Valley. Along with offering freshly made pastries they serve Café Virtuoso’s coffee and espresso drinks. Every morning they offer both a medium and dark roast of their locally roasted blends. Also they have a small breakfast menu featuring egg sandwiches and other items.
When I visited this place it was still early morning and the case was fully stocked from their first batch. I really wanted to get a lemon poppyseed muffin with my coffee, but their cinnamon rolls came highly recommended from others. I decided to try both, getting my cinnamon roll packaged to go. The lemon poppyseed muffin was average sized and drizzled with a bit of creamy frosting ontop. The top was moist and had great lemony taste but barely any poppyseed inside. Once I got to the center, the muffin didn’t seem fully cooked as you can see in my picture, it was still slightly doughy. Didnt even begin to finish the muffin, I don’t like uncooked stuff like that.
The cinnamon roll on the other hand was very good and pretty large for how much you pay. The frosting was very sweet and was piled on thick. I personally don’t care for frosting much, but they made great creamy frosting here. It was rasinless which is always a huge plus in my book. The roll it’s self had a robust sweet cinnamon flavor and a very soft pull apart texture to it. The inside had a buttery flavorful taste to it. I devoured that whole roll it was so amazingly good. The only thing I’d change was the amount of frosting they put ontop, but they sell plain rolls as well and you can ask for some on the side.
Bear Buns makes great cinnamon rolls for sure, but lacked a bit on their muffins as far as time kept in the oven. The bakery overall was a decent place to grab a morning sweet before heading off for the day. As I was heading out, the line begin to pile up out the door, the locals seem to love it alot as well. I’d love to come back and try their sticky buns next time.

They completely lost my ticket somehow. I waited a half an hour before I had to go up and request to get my food which the breakfast sandwich was poor quality. The only thing good was the monkeybread

The pastries here are just phenomenal and the staff is always friendly. My favorites are the Nutella croissants and the cinnamon buns. Make sure to get there early because things run out quickly.

Probably the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever had. Great customer service and amazing breakfast sandwiches!

Have come here several times now and my only complaint is that sometimes the line gets backed up and it’s a bit of a wait. I personally don’t mind much cause I only come here on leisurely weekend mornings.
Favorite thing that I’ve tried so far… filled croissants (turkey and cheese), breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, chocolate tart… ok so I love everything.

Came here to try the bread pudding, but they were sold out.
The employees here are super friendly and helped me make a choice– brownie cheesecake is delicious!
Great service!

My favorite bakery! It’s in my neighborhood so it’s so convenient. The staff is so friendly and awesome. They have the best deserts and treats. They got such a variety of different sweets. The best cinnamon rolls as well!

Pros: short walk for Serra Mesa residents, great, personable service, knowledgeable and skilled baker (s?), real sticky buns, real homemade food, real coffee, and quaint sitting area.
Cons: music nice but not built for people who want to work on book (that’s me), or whatever requires quiet coffee time, but I’m not gonna request they turn it down cuz employees need sanity-​keeping sound too.
Happy employees = happy customers. The great quality food and coffee helps with this cuz the employee is proud to make and sell it. Baker knows what he/​she is doing. I’ve been to other bakeries and their sticky buns were dry and virtually a frostless cinnamon roll. I worked as a baker for six years give-​take, and I am always in awe how some bakers stay in business. Also in awe of the dough bakers cuz my field was glaçier, and pastry. Love my bread makers. Love this one in particular.
Their homemade roll is savory and holds awesome flavor without overwhelming the sammy. I had basic b-​fast sammy. I would soften the eggs a bit though. Mine was scrambled hard and when it comes out on the Sammy and rests after served it gets a little dry. Recommend medium if it can hold itself. If not, no worries. Still a good product.
The sticky bun is soft and – guess – sticky. Sweet and flavorful. Gotta run six miles after eating all those calories (or 30min cross-​training) but these are calories worth satisfying your sweet tooth.
My near-​5yo had the sugar cookie. He’s not a fan of sprinkles but he ate that entire cookie. He loved it. That says a lot.
Barista lady created my iced Americano and made sure she got it right. Coffee is Virtuoso, a local organic coffee, which I discovered is amazazing. Has a distinct flavor I’m not used to, kinda spicy. Can’t describe it. Not burnt like some major sugarshake stores claiming to have coffee. No. This place has coffee. It’s awesome.
Barista girl with runway red hair was also amazazing. Chatted me up, making her relatable; she’s skilled and helpful. Very nice.
I like the seating. Easy clean-​up space, and comfy chairs for long visits. Good for small get-​togethers. Outdoor seating as well. Four tables total outside. Seven tables inside. Five cushy chairs. Not for large groups. Great for to-​go food. Good atmosphere for casual. I’ve seen fitness gurus stop by, as well as a new mom, and business people. Great, local place. Will be coming back for that good coffee. And occasional cheat meal.

Cute, friendly neighborhood bakery and café. We meet friends here at least once a month and stop in a few times between. The staff is always friendly, the coffee and drinks are great, the sweets and food items are fresh and delicious. Pet friendly is an understatement. The place is always buzzing with pooches. The line can get long but it goes quick. Check out the board of business cards and keep it local.

============Keeping it REAL with 1000 reviews!!! ============
HOLY STICKY BUN THE SIZE OF MY HEAD. No joke.
Their baked goods are FATBULOUS, yes FATBULOUS. They are sooo good, you can taste the butter melting into your tongue followed by some sugar and more butter.
Gosh DARN, this joint is spectacular and cozy. Various pastries to choose from along with caffeine fueled drinks. We ordered and SPLIT a sticky bun that was laced with pecans. My fingers were sticky, and the syrup did not want to leave my hands. Although we were headed to LA, we figured we needed to fuel up with sweets and some protein. For protein, we headed to Cotixan across the street. Yeah, that’s how I roll, breakfast burrito and sticky bun. Did I mention the STICKY BUN?
GET IT.

If you are in the area, this place is a good spot to satisfy your sweet tooth. There is parking behind the building, if that small lot is full there is parking across or on the street. This business is easily accessible.
There were about 3 people in line when I arrived at 8:30am and the stream of people continued to grow. The gentleman at the register was very personable and was sparking a conversation with everyone in line. The person making the coffee was quickly filling the orders, and they always ask if you would like to have your treat warmed up. The cinnamon roll was as expected, soft and sweet. The coffee was strong, a great quality for an Americano. Both good in my book.
There is a lot of seating indoor and out and a good selection at this time. There is not anything extraordinary about this place but I will return to try more treats. In my opinion, this is a good spot to do homework, work online or read a book.
A solid 3 stars. Love the name.

Still live this place. It’s pricier than a chain coffee shop (Starbucks) but you can taste the difference in quality. The mom and pop vibe is something I appreciate and their treats are delicious (haven’t tried the food yet). Worth the extra $ all day every day.

I love love Bear Buns.
Before my boyfriend and I moved in together, he used to live down the street from Bear Buns. We loved coming here on the weekend for coffee and baked goods. We don’t come as often, but definitely go out of our way to come here.
I’ve literally had almost everything from here (food wise) and everything was tasty! My favorites are the cinnamon rolls (obviously) and the bread pudding.
It’s such an awesome hidden gem! It’s nice to see the little strip mall across the street has filled up as well, which I’m sure is great for business.

Super cute and intimate shop. I ordered a Lemon Poppy Muffin and one of the staples the Cinnamon Roll!!! The muffin went well with the Guatemalan coffee I got. So moist, and very much lemony. I like lemons, so I liked how it was a little sweet and a little tarty. I should also describe as a mountain of pastry. I ordered the Cinnamon Roll for Hubbs, he stated as he ate «this is the best cinnamon roll, I have ever eaten.» I got a couple of chomps in as well, Soft. Big. moist, frosting creamy, no so sweet and the cinnamon in the roll was spicy and sweet!
***Confession time… I came here for a bread pudding… left with a lemon poppy muffin, huge cinnamon roll, and a coffee!!!
Neighborhood was nice, parking was on the street, I went around 9:40ish am, so it was not that busy. The structure is cool, like a wizard’s home… and the inside has quite a few seats and cushioned chairs. It would be good to come here on a date, or girl time. Parking in the front is for 15 minutes at a time. I would have loved to stay but I was on my way to church. Maybe next time… :)

Mmm, fresh baked goods.
I had the Bennie breakfast sandwich. Similar ingredients to an eggs Benedict, but on their house made bun. The bun is soft and delicious; the sandwich was delectable — not the typical eggs benedict flavor but I liked it.
The house coffee they serve is also for sale (they got a few varieties bagged up, below the register when you walk in). For your coffee they have half & half, powdered creamer, splenda, sugar, and simple syrup. Yum.
Good amount of seating in here — I count 16 wooden chairs and 5 comfy leather single chairs. Mmm. Comfy.
They do punch cards for those who come here often. Also you’ll see corkboard on portions of their walls with local business cards. Yay for community. Kudos to this place for helping spread that word.

I was in the neighborhood and decided I’d check this place out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this place offers quite a few choices of brewed, iced, and blended drinks. They also had delicious buns, croissants, danishes, cookies and other goodies on display in their pastry case.
The place had a handful of customers seated inside and outside most of them were enjoying both a beverage and pastry. After looking at the choices offered, the almond croissant caught my eye. I knew I needed a pick me up. I thought I’d compare their Iced Caramel Macchiato to Starbucks. I felt like I was dragging butt, so I opted for their larger 24 ounce size.
Service was great. The ladies were friendly and offered to warm up my pastry which I thought was very nice. My pastry was warmed up fairly quickly (within a few minutes) and my iced drink came out soon after.
The almond croissant was delish… it had a nice combination of textures: soft buttery dough with some crispiness on the outside and plenty of crunchy sliced almonds. It was not overly sweet despite what looks like a ton of powdered sugar in my photo. I felt that there was an appropriate amount of powdered sugar and filling inside the croissant as well. I was happy that they didn’t over do it with the sugar or filling. It tasted very balanced.
My Iced Caramel Macchiato was only okay because they put too much milk in it. I mixed my drink very well, however, the milk still ended up being the dominant taste with every sip. It was still drinkable (drank about two-​thirds), but I’d rate Starbucks’ Iced Caramel Macchiato higher.
Croissant: ⁴⁄₅
Drink: ²⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Décor: ³⁄₅
Although my drink could have been better, taking everything else into consideration, I’d rate this place a 3.5. I’ll have to visit this place a few more times to see if the drink issue was just a fluke.

Love love this place! Their muffins are AMAZING and HUGE! You can get four for $ 10 depending on which muffins you select. I love their blueberry muffins moist and filled with delicious blueberries I also love their cranberry orange muffin! They also have tasty croissants stuffed with cheese and spinach. They have also have breakfast sandwiches with a delicious soft almost garlic bread.
Next time I want to try a cinnamon bun or one of the cookies. Such a great assortment of baked goods!
They also have coffees and teas. I’ve had a latte which is standard. If you’re not feeling baked goods, they serve lunch paninis as well. Oh and sometimes they have doggy treats.
They have a few seats both indoor and outdoor if you’d like to enjoy your food there. There’s ample parking on the street.
Great bakery with low prices! Definitely one of my go to spots!

The employees here are very nice! The red eye coffee is a life saver for those nights you didn’t get enough sleep! I probably owe my job to that coffee!
I rarely get any baked goods because I try to stay away from sweet sugary carbs. My son loves the Mexican wedding cookies and the chocolate chip cookie!
They recently updated their register system. Now they have a way you can easily tip on your card.