La Mejor Bakery

If you're in the Mission district on a Sunday morning, or any morning, for that matter, stop in and see my pal Joe at La Mejor bakery on 24th St between Mission and Valencia. Try the Salvadorean tamales for a real treat. They say it's all in the maize when it comes to tamales and these tamales are amazing!Go check it out!PS, the baked goods are also fresh and tasty.Yer pal,

A reliable staple in the Mission with reasonably priced tasty treats and a vibe that feels like the past 30 years have passed them by (in the most charming way!).I usually come for the "sweet bread" or the cheesecake, and a cup of joe. The pastries range from $2-$5, and they're always rotating (recently tried a peanut butter cookie with a pineapple custard, and that was delicious!)It's a good place to come if you are looking for something sweet, the staff are friendly, and you're sure to meet neighborhood locals if you decide to eat in or take it to go.

My friend was hyping this spot up so we decided to swing by around 10:00am on a Sunday. Originally came in for some conchas but they were out (definitely shows how popular they are!) so we asked for some recommendations on what else was good. The cute lady working suggested a pastry that used similar ingredients as conchas so we tried that. Unfortunately we didn't really enjoy the pastry we got, it was hard, dry and overall lacked flavor. I'll still give them the benefit of doubt though since it was lying there for a while, so it probably would be better if I came earlier. For now giving this panadería a 3/5, but would be willing to come back to try their conchas.

This is such a fantastic little bakery. No frills and small hole-in-the-wall with the friendliest staff. They were super helpful in explaining some of the breads to me. I got a Pan Rico de Muerto which is a sweet bread baked for El Dia de los Muertos. It was soft and crumbly and not too sweet despite being coated in sugar. It would have probably paired really well with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee.

Whenever I'm in the area and taking Bart I stop here on my way out. The Mexican pastries are pretty good yesterday's pineapple pastry was really good! And I bought a couple tamales this time. I've only had one tamale so far and I really enjoyed it for lunch today.This place if I'm quoting you right has legacy status with San Francisco. They've been in business for 30 years and they showed me the certificate on the wall, how awesome is that!Coming here you'll always see it a lot of local patrons getting their coffee and pastries and possibly tamales. It has an old school San Francisco local vibe but they're happy to welcome everybody! So next time you're by this location check them out!

Came by early to pick up sweet bread to take to work. It was about 6:30am and their display stands were packed with fresh bread and cookies. They were busy so early in the morning with people coming in before work. The couple working the counter were so sweet. They gave me a few extra cookies too.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this spot and I'm glad it's cash only otherwise I'd be here wayyy too much. The one thing I got here a while ago that I'm obsessed with is their cheesecake bread? pastry. Not sure what else to call it but it resembles the fluffy cheesecakes in Asian stores except it's firmer. It's a huge slice for about $3 and the lady always gives me a cookie or something extra with it which is so sweet. The workers are really friendly here and it has a very neighborhood vibe.

IMPRESSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS (updated): Because of our previous tasty experience, we made a special trip here to have their delicious tamales again! However, I am very sad to say that over the past few months, their tamales have changed significantly. The tamales were dry, with minimal meat and a lot of masa. We likely won't be back.

There were lots of times when I wanted to walk into this bakery but was honestly intimidated by all the dudes lurking in the front. Finally, I gained the courage (because I made someone come with me) and tried their chocolate cookie, one of the giant cake rolls covered in sprinkles, and the cheese jalapeño tamale. The tamale is $4 and quite good. The cookie has an interesting texture. It's almost sandy, not really chewy or crunchy. It came with two smaller free cookies, and those were frankly not good. They had a strange coconut-y taste and were grainy. The cake roll was pretty good and very dense. I might try the conchas and bread here someday but I'm not sure if I'm willing to brave it again.

I absolutely love their Mexican cheesecake. I get this every time I go there. It's lightly sweet and thick (but not heavy) in texture. Just so you know, they sell two kinds of cheesecake, the wedge-shaped European style (in the far case from the door) and the brick-shaped Mexican style (in the case closest to the door). I'm reviewing the Mexican style. I haven't tried their European style, so can't comment on that one.I also really like their bread pudding. Both the cheesecake and the bread pudding are consistently good.I also once tried their bread with butter. Yes, they have a thick slice of bread slathered in butter. Not really my thing, but it was good enough and if that's what you're looking for, you'll likely be happy with it.Depending on who's behind the counter I might get waited on in English or Spanish, but it's friendly service and it's all good.