La Mejor Bakery

This is star of a bakery. The cakes exudes timelessness and to me, personally, reminds me of my mom’s homemade raisin cake. Its just so viscerally ordinary that it stands out from the contemporarily popular bakeries. I will continue to be a regular here.

We popped in last night to get some bread to accompany a home-​cooked dinner, and were very pleased.
Their dinner rolls were fresh and tasty! We also got a sweet sesame roll after trying their samples and had it for breakfast today — that was good, too!
The service was very friendly and polite and it was very sweet of the gentleman serving us to include a free cookie with our purchase! :)
Lovely bakery — we’ll be back!

To be honest I came in looking for empanadas. I had walked by the day before and saw it written on the front and told myself I would be stopping in the next day for one. When I got in it was the kind of place I like to see. Tiny, hot and lots of locals hanging out. As for the empanadas they only have sweet ones and I was really in the mood for chicken or beef so I went with the chicken tamale which was incredible. They also serve it to you with a huge piece of bread. It was really cheap, the service was great and it’s the perfect place to grab and go as you are making your way around town.

We were staying in another area but decided to walk around the Mission area to see what it is like (in case it is completely gentrified the next time we make it back) and to look at the murals. We also wanted to see the local library.
This bakery had a cute Father’s day painting on the window, and that plus the delicious smells emanating from it drew us in. We were kind of lost once we went in (Nothing is familiar! Nothing has labels!) so we just stepped up to the counter and asked — what do you recommend? The lovely woman serving us asked us if we wanted something sweet or something savoury, and we chose sweet. We went with her two suggestions (a guava cake thing and a cream cheese pastry) and she threw in 2 cookies for free! How nice! They were all really tasty.
We like supporting small businesses like this when we travel, and the friendliness of the service was really appreciated!

Five stars for the authenticity of the breads. Not for those looking for healthy alternatives. The empanadas are amazing, both crème «de crema» and pumpkin (it’s like a slice of pumpkin pie you can hold). Also great conchas and sugar cuernos. In SF fashion nothing is cheap, but at 1.50 for most pieces great bang for your buck.

This is a great little spot to pick up some pastries or cookies on your way to work. Service is SUPER friendly. The cookies were delicious and affordable at only $.50 each. As the other reviewers say, this is why we need to support small, local businesses.

I love this place for the customer service and the attitude of the ladies. AND they always put a free cookie in the bag!
I go to so many taquerias in the Mission where I get some racist-​a attitude from the servers, so the friendliness of these servers is such a welcome change.
$ 1.25 for a pan + a cookie? Not bad pricing.

I come here for the salvadorean tamales that are addicting. They have great pastries and one of the few AUTHENTIC hispanics shops that are surviving the transformation of the mission to a «hipster spot».
I’m reading some of the poor comments and must add that those who complain about the texture of the pastries are probably not familiar with TENDING to the pastries. If you don’t wrap them properly they will go bad overnight. This is something my parents taught me LONG ago.

It is not an overstatement to say that the extraordinary staff at La Mejor restored my faith in humanity.
I went in there one day to buy a going away dozen of sweets for my coworkers. It was my last day at the site, and the last time in the foreseeable future I’d be in the Mission. I picked out a dozen sweets and handed them my credit card, only to discover it was a cash only place.
Darn. I find I only have $ 6. So I apologize and ask her to remove everything beyond that amount of money and I’d just take the few pastries and spread them out. First thing she says (I think it was a woman named Gloria?) «Don’t worry, just pay me later.»
I stood shocked. I said «But I’m a stranger. You don’t know me.» I was literally dumbfounded. She said «It’s ok. We do that here. Just pay us later today.»
After taking like 2 solid minutes to process this unrecognizable kindness, I figured out that I only had credit, not debit, and couldn’t get her any extra money. I explained it again, and she smiled and told me to hold on.
When she returned with a wrapped dozen pastries for me, she simply said «Take them. Enjoy them.»
I was shocked. I tried to give her everything I had on me that was easily worth money — a BART card, all my cash and change… she just smiled and let me go on my way.
It made my whole day. I told every student and every member of the staff at my office that day the story of these amazing people at La Mejor, and this coupled with the absolutely delicious pastries we enjoyed, I’m certain everyone left with a positive feeling about the place.
Whether I want a sweet or not — every single time I am in the Mission, I will be stopping by La Mejor to pick up something. Businesses who operate heart first need all the support and patronage they can get! Excellent, wonderful place, wonderful people, wonderful sweets!

Woman at counter was very helpful and threw in a free cookie with my three pieces of «Pan dulce.» The concha was ok considering that I ate it right away. However, the other two pieces of bread I saved for my morning coffee the next day. BIG MISTAKE!
They were both rock hard and stale! I threw them in the garbage. I took a small bite of the free cookie and it tasted like shortening! Yuck! I won’t be back.

Just steps away from my office is this little nook. After lunch I always find myself craving a little something sweet. For those who say the pan was hard, don’t wait till early evening. Get it fresh or not at all. My conchas and besos are always great. The ladies behind the counter are sweeties and always toss a free cookie or two in my bag.

Grabbed a concha here and it was light and delicious. Will be back.

Time: 12:53pm/69°F sunny
Purpose: On my way to Big mouth burgers checking up on account. I’m a sucker for those bright colorful Mexican bakeries.
Ambiance: Local seniors sits in there all day with buns and coffee cracking jokes in Spanish I dont know what was said but I laugh also to make it seems I get the joke too. Hope they weren’t talking about me or else I will be laughing at myself. Place is small not outside seating inside holds about 3 tables and three display cases fill with breads and pastries of all type. You can say kind of hole in wall also because that would fit the description.
Staff: Man and women probably husband wife duo. Very friendly smiling taking their time explaining items that I’ve ask about.
Cleanliness: Clean for what it is no complaints.
Eats/​Drinks: Two mini cornbread walnut loafs $ 1.75 ea. Was very airy and delicious I’ve never had this kind of cornbread loaf. Man I can really eat that all day not too good for the artery though.
Products: Breads, cookies, loafs, coffee, assorted buns.
Punch Line: Great for afternoon snack, nearby churches, Bart, grocery stores, restaurants, repair shops etc. Come in with $ 5 leave with up to 6 – 7 different items depending what you get though.
Final Thoughts: Of course when you’re the owner performing such task of employees is more personal. Owners will take pride and do as much as they can, employees on the other hand don’t care not their business just there to do enough to get by. It will be my go to bakery in the mission when ever I need a Mexican bun. The lady was so nice even toss in a few butter cookies for me free of charge, nice!

This place is excellent. The woman at the counter was so helpful and patient with me. (I ask a lot of questions) Just good service in general. I got a few things and she even threw in some free, very cute Halloween cookies.
The sweets were delicious!!! Especially with some Mexican hot chocolate :) I’ll definitely come back when I get my sweet tooth.

.La Mejor Bakery is a local mexican pastries selling same for either .80 or 1.10. prices for pastries on sign. pastries not individually identified. cashier gets all your choosings for you. no self service.
–eats, 2 pastries @1.10
tasted very fresh
–all pastries behind counter
crumbs
–cash only
–no bargains like in oaktown

This place reminds me of why we need to support local businesses and just the fact that there are good, kind hearted people out there.
The first time I went I ordered a bunch of stuff to bring to my coworkers who had worked late and realized I had no cash (of course it’s cash only). The lady (who works there ALL DAY EVERYDAY) simply smiled and let me know i can just come back later. I offered to write my phone number down and she didn’t even want my number. WHO IS SHE!?! Who, in this gentrified mission neighborhood where I can’t seem to find anyone without a Philz cup and a pair of raybans, trusts people that way?! Tell me.
I went back the next morning and paid and bought more goodies (my office loves me).
The bakery is tiny, located right by the bart station (perfect stop on my way to work!). there are always people in there in the morning, but none of the common mission-​hipster-​waitforthwgooglebus type.
They have great stuff — best Mexican baked goods in town made with lots of kindness and heart. The lady gives me an extra smiley cookie every time.
No, this is not Tartine, but what we lack in the mission is friendly non-​pretentious donut joints, Chinese restaurants, sandwich shops that aren’t overflowing with people who are willing to wait 2hrs to sit down to complete the 7×7 list (fine I’m guilty too) and then complain it’s not worth the wait. Like this bakery.
I love this place and you should go support it, too.

A thick n’ girthy slice of bread pudding for eighty cents. Can you go wrong? Fair warning that there are raisins in this bread pudding.
I led a crew of nine gay boys here to have some carbs, so again, you know this place is worth it.
Not much room to scarf it down indoors, so stand out in the cold a bit. Cozy place, and the woman at the counter is more than eager to sell you sweets and tamales.
Right by the BART station.
And come on, it’s calling itself THE BEST BAKERY.

The service can’t be better, no matter the hour the owner greats you with a big smile and often, a little something extra dropped in the bag. A sweet place to go before getting on BART for your commute…

Something that totally sucks is when my craving for pan dulce hits me at some sort of ridiculous hour in the evening. It’s not the best time of the day to be craving baked goods. Thankfully, Panaderia La Mejor has a pretty wide range of open hours.
I realized that the conchas I craved so much weren’t gonna taste as fresh as if I’d showed up earlier in the day, but I think the more important thing is that they had them. I got my conchas and a they threw in a cute little cookie-​type thing with my order.
Pan dulce craving successfully satisfied.

(See pics)
Review #1059.
Bakery aroma. It’s so hard to walk by and not following the scent into the bakery. Loads of flaky delicious baked items that were fresh off from the oven and still warm when I got them. I love the cornbread and the Mexican custard filled pastry. For those 2 items it was only $ 2.50. They also have a vast selection of conchas, empanadas, orejas, and many more I don’t know.

I’m a huge fan of sweet breads. However, if it’s not freshly baked earlier that day, then I really don’t want anything to do with it. Seriously, who wants stale, crusty, and DRY sweet breads that’s been sitting for awhile? And that’s what La Mejor has. As a matter of fact, I have yet to find a panaderia that equals my favorite one in SSF.
I should’ve known something was up when all the locals were all sitting down, drinking coffee, and chatting but not really snacking at all during Merienda time.
Everything that I picked up from the apple fritter round ball bread — DRY. pretty much tasted like flour and that’s it, DRY, custard roll, DRY, need to add more custard, state, DRY, tasted a day or two old, and DRY. Oh and did I mention DRY? Only about 25% each of the pastries were edible.
Oh, and you don’t pick up your own breads here on the supplied trey and tongs in usual panaderia’s. With so much other potential in the Mission, I think I’ll pass.