Anh Son Bakery

Anh Son Bakery is a Vietnamese bakery shop that has been around for over 15 years located at the clock tower building serving freshly oven baked breads and croissants. Their prices are damn cheap and the owner is super nice so I came by on a Sunday morning light traffic and business are still closed. Baguette and croissants are $1 each and pate chaud (pate heo nóng) only comes in pork for $1.75 whereas some places charge as much as $2.50. There's no room to sit it's an oven baked kitchen set up with racks of freshly baked croissants, pate chaud and biscuits simply walk-in and placed your orders cash only. Definitely be back my go to baguette great for making bánh mi and pate chaud (bánh pate so) are large size with generous fillings so support your local business.

Still the same great bakery. It's not closed. I just bought two giant croissants and a loaf of French bread.

TLDR: ALL BREADS! Get there early, once it's gone, it's GONE for the day.Yeah, believe the hype. Not only is the bread freshly baked every morning, but all the ones I've tried are super delish! And best thing is it's tres CHEAP! One loaf of garlic bread is a couple bucks. A regular french roll is less than a dollar. It's a very small no-frills shop. They don't have a counter for you to look and browse and hold up the line. It's literally a door, and then a small area for 1 person to stand and then rows and rows of bakery racks.Plus, it's almost like the bread-nazi. You go there, tell him what you want and how many, and they give it to you. No time for chit-chat. No time for checking out this bun or that loaf. He grabs it and you accept. Pay the cash and go!ONLY downside is... you gotta go early. Usually by 10am, most of the REALLY good and special stuff is gone (like the garlic bread or sesame bread).

Don't expect anything fancy. You'll be acknowledged by two elderly Viet employees, who will ask you what you want. The elderly man's tone might sound brusque, but don't be alarmed. Personally, I don't mind this sort of straightforward and quick interaction. Hopefully you'll order pate chauds and coconut pastries, which definitely deserve 5 stars in my book. You hand them cash and walk out with your goodies. This is the sort of mom and pop shop my soul craves sometimes. The pate chauds and coconut pastries remind me of the lazy Sunday mornings I had as a child, where my parents would drink ca phe sua da and bring home a selection of banh mi and pastries for us to eat.

This place is my favorite spot to get croissants and meat pies. When you take a step inside a guy will pop out and ask you what you would like, pulling the selection right off the cooling trays. I want to say it is cash only as I haven't even seen a cash register.

The $1.50 pate chaud/meat pie is phenomenal, as are the garlic and sesame breads ($2/baguette).The rolls are also delicious, and all the good local banh mi shops use theirs. Last time I was there, I saw a woman buy two shopping carts full of them. Although the croissants will contain a certain comfort-food nostalgia for those of us who are Bay Area natives (and filings range from pineapple to ham and cheese), they are not the same as those you'd find at a patisserie. Ridiculously affordable and should be a part of your weekly rotation.

I have an addiction, and Anh Son is my dealer. My addiction makes me lunge for more. My craving makes me shelve off what little money I have...I am done, I am on ruins and only their biscotti is my saving grace.I was once an innocent bystander, minding my ways and living a sober life. I never give biscottis a second glance, heck its just old stale bread, baked the second time and slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar. No biggie, wouldn't really care,..or so I thought until that one faithful day.It started with a smile, and a pang of curiosity at the break room. I was hungry, well I need to snack on something and a co-worker showed me a normal package. She looked at me , I looked at her ... and with a nod she said, "Try it, it's good." it was at the moment , that first bite that surprised me. What I thought was just a normal double baked bread was light, buttery and crunchy all at the same time. The moment it touched my tongue it crumbled and all my taste reception was amplified. It was sweet with sugar but not too sweet at all. The balance of buttery goodness and lightness was unexplainable like a gastronomical miracle. I took a bite, and another ...and another...this went on until I realized I just have to buy my own pack. The package says Anh Son Bakery...and I have never turned back.It took me alot of intervention and self support to keep my munchies to a minimum ( ha!) and once I have been to the actual bakery, I found out that they also sell them in unbranded packages for a dollar a pack (4 slices). Just FYI.. The ones they sell in the grocers have 10 pieces of biscotti which they sell for about $3.50 but buy 3 fresh packs and you get 12 superb golden crunchy biscotti thats delicious in every bite.

ESSJ often gets a bad rap as it's long been considered the so-called "bad" area of San Jose. But even in a slightly sketchy area like McKee and Toyon, you'd be surprised at the gems that can be found. Anh Son is one of those gems.I had wanted to come by here ever since I read Robert C.'s review. Yesterday morning, I finally hauled @$$ and arrived first thing at 7am. First off, don't think for a minute that this is the kind of bakery where you can casually walk in, order pastries and coffee, and sit down with newspaper in hand for breakfast. There are no seats. There's no glass case with pastries, bread, etc on display. From the front to the back of the store, all you'll see is racks of bread and other freshly baked goods. The prep/baking area is in the back.Anh Son is essentially a bakery that bakes bread and whatnot for local restaurants, cafes and other eateries. But they also sell to regular customers, like you and me, who come in during their hours of operation. It's a perfect opportunity to get really, really fresh bread.As I walked in, a man sitting in a chair behind one of the racks stood up and grabbed a paper bag before I even said one word. After quickly examining the racks in front of me, I selected two croissants (big ones at that) and two french bread baguettes. My total? $2.70. That's right. You read that correctly. The croissants were $1/each and the baguettes were 3/$1. Dirt cheap. I paid in cash and left.I had one of the croissants as part of my breakfast yesterday morning and the other this morning. They were absolutely delicious and very light and airy. The baguettes were still soft even after one day. Bottom line, don't let the fact that this bakery is located in ESSJ distract you from the freshness and high quality of their wares and the ridiculously cheap prices. If you want to actually sit down and eat, you're best off going to The Coffee Cup just a few doors down. I think they're owned by the same people who own Anh Son. Also, bring cash. I'm pretty sure that they don't accept credit/debit cards or checks.SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES.5 stars all the way

Meat pies and fresh garlic bread are delicious . Will definitely shop here again (but come early - they sell out!)

This bakery is NOT closed. I just got some bread as of 6/2/2024. The best sesame bread in town!