Café Dear Leon

Great coffee, pastries and sandwiches! The café is small, so there is no seating, but there is outdoor seating. They are also dog friendly, but only one dog at a time. I recommend the Crab Tamago Sando, which is egg salad, old bay, and crab meat on a spongy Japanese bread. They did forget to make one of my coffees. I noticed because everyone after me was getting their orders before mine so I did have to wait a bit longer to get my coffee.

Ok so I decided to check this place out today. I thought to myself, it's a Tuesday. Surely I'll be in and out right? Wrong! There was a line upon my arrival and I got there around 9:15 a.m. I believe the cafe opens at 6 a.m. I will say the line moved rather nicely and I appreciated the warmers once you got under the pergola. There's menu's outside along with signage of how things operate. Everyone's there for the crab dip bagel which becomes available at 9 a.m. If you take a look at the menu, the stagger the items being offered by certain times. So I waited and chatted up a few folks in line and before I knew it, it was my turn to go in. They allow 6 people and 1 dog in the cafe at one time so you just go in as people come out. You are limited to 2 crab dip bagels so I grabbed those and I got a chocolate croissant along with a dulce de leche iced latte, which wasn't bad. I waited until I got home to try the bagel. Rewarmed it a bit. It was good! It didn't blow me away but it was good. There was corn and I believe maybe an artichoke or onion, wasn't too sure but that was different for a crab dip. The staff were very friendly! Kind and welcoming upon entering the cafe! There is a public restroom if you need to use it. My experience was a good one and there were tons of delicious offerings! I'd say to get here as close to 9 a.m. if you'd like a crab dip bagel. After grabbing mine, I overhead the staff say there were about 11 left, plus what was on the display so some folks were definitely not going to be able to grab any that were in line. Just a heads up. Check this place out if you're interested and you have some free time.

Stellar coffee. A little uncomfortable to order/wait though when it's busy, the lobby is super tiny.Workers were nice. Bathroom available.

round 4! I came here with a friend but for the first time for LUNCH! I have been dying to come around for lunch to try their famously loved egg tamago sandwich (releases around 11 am!) Tamago Sando 4.5/5, the ONLY reason this got 4.5 instead of 5 was due to the size, as I did need to eat a little pastry from them that I ordered after to be full and I don't have a big appetite. Considering the price is around $8, I would just recommend ordering 2 of these if you aren't into a side pastry. The bread is lightly toasty w/ a nice crunch and the eggs are nicely softCrab tamago sando 5/5, my friend got this and loved it. She noted that the crab added not only additional protein but was seasoned to add a little spicy kick which was nice.Yuzu & Satsuma Danish 2/5, this was unfortunately a miss for me :( I like citrus-y Yuzu and after confirming that Satsuma is another type of citrus, I expected this to be still slightly sweet and sour. The bread itself is like the rest of Cafe Dear Leon's pastries, soft and pleasant to eat but unfortunately the combination of Yuzu:Satsuma was way too acidic and sour for me. The citrus meringue on top was really what sent it over the edge and then the Satsuma marmalade and Yuzu curd made it feel like an ultra-lemony sour center.

CDL is such a Baltimore staple. There's no wonder that they always have a line- the perfectly crafted coffees and the delicious food items that rotate throughout the year are always a delight! The customer service is excellent as well. They always move so quickly through the line- I promise it is worth the wait!! It's such a cute coffee shop and I love the outdoor seating when the weather is nice.

Very small, unassuming cafe in canton neighborhood. Parking was easy enough to find on a Sunday afternoon. Yes, you have to wait in line as the shop is THAT small !! But the line moves quickly since all food items are prepared in advance. Around 12:30 there wasn't much pastry items left so I chose the smoked salmon bagel and one of their cookie. Price wise I spent $18 for both. Was it worth it ? The cookie was delish, the sandwich was okay...it was my first time have smoked salmon on a bagel and I wanted more from it (maybe a splash of some of the caper juice? Some hot sauce? Do you put hot sauce on lox? Lol. I digress. There was also an Italian sub option and tomago sandos which kinda felt like a Japanese take on egg salad sandwiches. I think they do pastry well here ! I would recommend grabbing a few of those items to go. The s'mores cookie looked amazing and so did the almond croissant !

Ever since this bakery was recommended to me by a friend who used to live in Bmore, I've been dying to try it. He told me it was 100 times better than the best bakery in our city (which is one I adore) so I was super excited to try it. The extremely long lines at this place should be an indication of how good it is. In the past, I've had a few experiences where a long line wasn't warranted, but for this place it totally is.We visited on a Sunday morning so the line was almost wrapped around the block. I didn't time how long we were waiting, but I was with my best friend and we could talk for hours. I recommend either waiting in line with someone time flies by with or listening to a good audiobook because it was a bit of a wait.The bakery itself is super tiny. It can only carry about four customers inside at a time. There wasn't any indoor seating when I visited, but they had quite a few tables outside. My friend had been before and said it best, it's a good idea to order a bunch of things from here because some things are incredible and others are just fine.On my visit I got the matcha red bean bun, pomme turnover, and pain au chocolat. She got a very delicious fig pistachio tart. I adored my pain au chocolat. It was buttery perfection. The matcha red bean bun was very ok, the bun was drier than I had hoped. I absolutely loved the pomme turnover. It was not only delicious, but beautiful too. I'd be excited to return to try the sandwiches. The friend who originally recommended it likes the almond croissants the most. If you have time in your day, I recommend checking out this delicious bakery.

I've been hearing a lot about this little cafe so I decided to stop in on a Sunday morning. Despite it being 8:30am there was still a line outside to enter the establishment. They allow 6 people and 1 dog inside at a time. The interior decor is so cute, there is not much room inside hence the people limit. We only waited about 4 minutes to get inside. I ordered the bacon frittata sandwich, ham & cheese croissant, and the seasonal black sesame salted caramel latte. My friend got the pistachio croissant and the breakfast sandwich. I loved the sandwiches, the focaccia bread was crispy and chewy and the croissants were buttery and flakey. The season drink was delicious as well!They have a rolling menu, with new food items coming out every hour or so. There are seats outside if you want to dine-in however it was too cold for us. I'd love to come back and try the egg sando! Definitely stop by if you are in the area!

Pros: amazing service, delicious pastries!Cons: not the establishment's fault but the lines are very long and it's hard to get the desserts you wantThis place is really hyped up and I can see why! I have tried multiple items and they were all delicious, well-presented, and fresh.My favorite has been the smoked salmon bagel. Mmm! The everything bagel has a firm bite and the smoked salmon tastes so fresh. The capers and dill add great texture and flavor.I've also had the crab and tamago sando. The flavor is terrific, but I do find it very small. I think the average person would need to eat two to feel full!For desserts, I loved the Ispahan Danish (this might be a summer only special). The pain au chocolat is also sooo flaky and buttery! Neither dessert is too sweet (perfect for me!)The staff is very friendly. The lines do get long on the weekends; I came on a fall Sunday at 11:40a and got in at 12:30p. Not the establishment's fault, but just be aware. The inside decor is super cute, but know that you can't stay inside. The outdoor seating is basic but fine.Street parking is nearby.

I've heard a lot of great things about this place. Every time I walk my dog down to this area, there's a line around the block. Today I waited for 45 minutes and it looked like I was still going to wait another 45 because they only allow six people in at a time, so I went somewhere else. Talking to the people in line, it's definitely worth thewait, but if you're planning on going here, you need to plan on waiting. Check out the menu on their website. It changes monthly, I think. Everything looks fantastic. There's no doubt these people are doing great and I definitely hope to try something there myself.One day later... the line was a bit shorter today. Possibly because it looks like it might rain... Which really shows you how much people enjoy this place because even the threat of rain still has a line that almost reaches the end of the block.I got a selection of pastries, all of which look absolutely fantastic. Extremely friendly people behind the counter and my items came out with a very minimal wait.