Named for co-owners and chefs Lya and Jeff Becnel’s beloved daughter, La Petite Sophie offers what may be the area’s best croissant selection. Both Becnels bring their extensive training (she: Le Cordon Bleu; he: CIA) and experience in both American and German restaurants to bear on sweet and savory varieties of the French breakfast staple, including chocolate almond, kumquat, ham and cheese, and kouign amann, Brittany’s salted caramel take on the pastry. Also available: sweet buns, quiches, muffins, palmiers, and soft German pretzels. 

Now in its third generation, this family-owned bakery is best known for the tens of thousands of king cakes it produces each Carnival season (many of which are shipped out of state) and its custom designed confections, including wedding cakes. While other bakeries on this list may look to Europe for inspiration, Haydel’s remains firmly rooted in New Orleans and Cajun country with Saints-themed cupcakes and the Cajun Kringle, a praline-filled couronne topped with a caramel glaze and pecans. Now with a location at 3117 Magazine Street.

Warm, woody, and welcoming with seating inside and out, this neighborhood bakery has become a popular weekend breakfast spot for the Riverbend since opening in 2012. Always popular for its vegan and gluten-free options, last year Breads on Oak madr the switch to 100% vegan, serving up delicious versions of crusty artisanal rolls, decadent sweet rolls, brioches, quiches, cakes, and hot and cold sandwiches. Open Wednesday through Sunday.

Nancy Nguyen’s Uptown bakery flies under the radar, situated in a house set back from the street next to a small shopping center on Magazine, but inside she churns out light-as-a-cloud buttercream cakes. Nguyen is more accommodating than many bakers, often trying to get that last-minute cake ready (and sometimes she has some ready in the case). If committing to a cake is a bit much, be sure to scoop up a few of her lovely petit fours, or organize your visit around lunchtime and leave time to devour the chicken salad on a croissant.

The fact that Gracious now has three locations plus a cafe in NOCHI, the fancy new culinary school, speaks for itself. Word of this upbeat, modern, and light-filled breakfast and lunch spot from pastry chef Megan Forman quickly spread and with good reason: Gracious serves up satisfying sandwiches on homemade bread that won’t leave one in a food coma. The chicken tarragon and meatloaf options are good bets. Gracious also offers a small breakfast menu and outstanding breads and baked goods: baguettes, sourdough boules, and ciabatta; pastries, cookies, whole cakes, and pies.

This bakery and cafe has found a sweet spot (sorry!) in a pocket of Broad (at one time, it was actually on Laurel Street) that for years was in desperate need of one. Step inside sunny and hip Laurel Street Bakery, and it’s hard not to feel an uptick in good vibes. More than anything, it’s bagels that rule the day with a solid selection including spreads, all made in-house. Schmear options include shallot and bacon, date and honey, pimento olive, and lox. And yes, sweets do abound: cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, rolls — you get the picture. Open 7 days.

After building a following online, this much-accoladed former pastry chef for Lilette (and trained interior designer) opened a storefront on Baronne last year. The spare, ethereal space offers a gallery-like feel that puts the focus on the art: Biundo’s upscale, immaculate cakes, tarts, and sweets. A top choice for custom, contemporary wedding cakes as well. Tip: A visit to the beautiful space begs a bottle of Champagne from the nearby Martin’s Wine Cellar to accompany the sweets.

Link Restaurant Group alum Christina Balzebre opened her own bakery to great fanfare earlier this year, having gained a name for herself at farmer’s markets and then popping-up for Saturday brunch at Mosquito Supper Club. In addition to Balzebre’s stunning tarts, pastries, cinnamon rolls, and crusty loaves of bread, Levee currenrly offers a few breakfast and lunch items (like a garlic croissant bun with prosciutto and asiago cheesewine) with plans to set a small menu soon. Open Wednesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and starting October 2, the same hours Wednesday through Sunday.

Sugar and booze: so simple, so needed. One wonders why it’s taken so long. Thanks to Debbie Does Doberge founders Charlotte McGehee and Charles Mary IV, the wait is over. Bakery Bar’s location in the shadow of the Crescent City Connection may be off the beaten path for some, but consider a detour. Until 3 p.m., Bakery Bar functions mostly as a serious eggs and grits brunch spot; come 5, it’s dessert and drinks that rule the roost, including key lime pie, vanilla doberge brûlée, or the ultimate chocolate three-way Grasshopper Pie Bombe. Doberge cakes available for order. 

Look down as you enter to see the tiles embedded in the sidewalk from when this French Quarter storefront say “Angelo Brocato.” Indeed, the space once belonged to Angelo Brocato’s, the city most beloved gelato and cannoli maker. Croissant has kept its vintage tiled walls and handsome Italian looks, and the result is a classic breakfast and lunch cafe with a secret courtyard worth seeking out. Aside from tarts and mousses, traditional French baked goods include quiches, and of course, croissants. Sandwiches also available. Open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Tuesdays. 

University area residents in the late 1990s will remember Cake Cafe owner Steve Himlefarb walking around Maple Street peddling his plastic-wrapped cake slices held high above his head on a round tray. It’s been more than a minute since then and years now since he graduated big time into the quirky and funky brick-and-mortar cafe loved for its cakes, breakfast, and add-a-cupcake-for-$1 option in the Marigny. Plus, his boozy cupcakes are a perfect fit for the city. As the name of his cafe makes clear, the core of his business is still the fluffy cakes he once sold from business-to-business and door-to-door.

For years this New Orleans East Vietnamese bakery’s perfectly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside take on french bread has been the undisputed reigning champ of po-boy loaves. This year, the recent James Beard Award winner made headlines when it announced that, after reports of scalping and fistfights, its highly sought after king cakes would be pulled from vendors and sold only at its Chef Menteur location. Always worth the drive for its banh mi, the bakery also offers a sampling of Vietnamese sweets such as moon cakes. Worth noting: Best bakery website. Ever. Dong Phuong’s animated site is so beautifully rendered that it could bring one to tears. Worth a visit in its own right.