Postcard from New York: Bagels, Basque cheesecakes & bakery rebels

Key takeaways:

• A single standout product – like a cinnamon roll or kuih - can turn a tiny bakery into a viral destination.
• Bakeries that lean into cultural identity and personal storytelling create deeper, lasting connections.
• Scarcity, surprise menus and scroll-stopping visuals generate buzz long before the first bite.

There’s something electric about the city that never sleeps at breakfast. It’s not just the bagels or the butter. It’s the chase. A line that stretches around the block. The smell of laminated dough hitting hot air. The thrill of scoring something that sold out 20 minutes ago yesterday. In a city that never sleeps, bakeries are where the day starts.

In the past 18 months, New York’s bakery scene has been firing on all burners. But not in the way you’d expect. These aren’t big-deal patisseries or old-school institutions. These are tight operations with bold flavors, small menus and outsized influence. They’re rewriting what it means to be a ‘destination bakery’ in a city already packed with them.

What’s changed? Social media, sure. But also ambition. Craft. Niche. These bakeries don’t just bake – they broadcast. They build community through crumb structure, tell stories through egg yolk glazes and make people care about kuih, cruffins and cinnamon rolls again.

NYC’s bakery trailblazers

Forget polish and perfection – what makes Gotham’s bakery scene pulse right now is personality. These aren’t just shops with good croissants; they’re places with a point of view. Some are loud. Some are understated. Some change their menu weekly, others never stray from one perfected recipe. But each of them tells you something about the city: how it eats, what it celebrates and why the line outside might be longer than yesterday’s trend piece predicted.

Sunday Morning (20 Avenue B, East Village, Manhattan)

You’ll know you’ve found Sunday Morning when you spot the queue: teens in sweats, moms with strollers, someone FaceTiming their cousin to ask, “Do you want guava or Oreo?” It looks chaotic, but the mission is singular – get a cinnamon roll before they’re gone.

This tiny East Village shop opens four days a week and sells just one thing: ridiculous, glorious cinnamon rolls. They’re not subtle – glazes drip, fillings ooze, boxes collapse under the weight. TikTok got there first, of course, and now there’s no turning back. Some days they’re sold out by 10am.

The trick? They didn’t build a bakery. They built a craving.

Lessons for bakery entrepreneurs:

• You don’t need a portfolio – just a hit.
• Embrace chaos. A line down the block is your ad campaign.
• Turn scarcity into spectacle. Customers love the chase.

Bánh by Lauren (42 Market Street, Two Bridges, Manhattan)

This place doesn’t shout. There’s no neon sign, no window display stacked with glittery cruffins. Walk past too fast and you’ll miss it, which would be a mistake.

Inside, Lauren Tran is rewriting the rules with pandan sponge, salted egg croissants and fried sesame balls that sell out before you’ve finished deciding. It’s Vietnamese nostalgia filtered through Parisian technique, all folded into a menu that changes just enough to keep you guessing.

There’s something deeply personal about Bánh. Maybe it’s the quietness. Maybe it’s the way the coconut buns are placed just-so, like they’re being offered, not pushed. It doesn’t scream ‘viral’. But it sticks.

Lessons for bakery entrepreneurs:

• Quiet confidence travels further than hype.
• Let your roots show – customers crave specificity.
• Treat every product like it’s a gift, not a gimmick.

La Cabra (152 2nd Avenue, East Village, Manhattan)

La Cabra doesn’t need a mascot. Or a playlist. Or a color-coded merch wall. What it has is rye. And restraint.

Imported from Aarhus, Denmark, this Nordic bakery isn’t here to wow you with croissant cubes or edible glitter. It’s here to bake. Flawlessly. The sourdough has swagger. The cardamom buns? Elegant. Not too sweet. Not too spiced. Just right.

It’s the kind of place that earns your respect one bite at a time.

Lessons for bakery entrepreneurs:

• Flash fades. Craft doesn’t.
• Be proud of being boring – if boring means perfect crumb.
• Consistency is a brand.

Supermoon Bakehouse (120 Rivington Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan)

Imagine if a pastry case threw a rave. That’s Supermoon. Neon pink boxes. Croissants taller than coffee cups. Meringue-topped cruffins that look like sculptures and taste like citrusy dreams.

But it’s not just for show. There’s serious lamination under all that style. You don’t get queues like this - week in, week out - without backing up the buzz. Every week brings something new and fans treat it like a sneaker drop: first in line, first on the ‘Gram.

Lessons for bakery entrepreneurs:

• Drama sells, but dough keeps them coming back.
• Treat each pastry like an event.
• Rotation = retention.

Lady Wong (332 9th Street, East Village, Manhattan)

Lady Wong is what happens when precision meets pride. Cofounded by Seleste Tan and Mogan Anthony, this East Village shop specializes in kuih – a Southeast Asian family of desserts you rarely see outside of Malaysia or Singapore. Think glutinous rice, layered jelly, coconut custard. Soft, chewy, vibrant.

It’s not fusion. It’s not trend-chasing. It’s representation and it’s gorgeous. Each piece is a conversation starter. The kind of thing you bite into and immediately want to know more. And that curiosity? That’s how community forms.

Lessons for bakery entrepreneurs:

• Culture isn’t a trend. It’s your superpower.
• Show people something they didn’t know they were missing.
• Educate through indulgence.

Beyond Manhattan

Here are three standout bakeries outside Manhattan, each a buzzy, uniquely New York destination attracting both locals and pastry tourists.

Saint Street Cakes (86 South Portland Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

Started by Morgan Knight, this bakery grew from custom Instagram cake orders (she even made a celebratory cake for Olivia Rodrigo) into a full storefront by June 2025. The cakes are bold, nostalgic and decidedly Instagrammable - think ‘cake martinis’ in stemmed glasses, miso peanut-butter cookies and sunroom seating that elevates every visit to an experience.

Kora Bakery (45-12 Greenpoint Avenue, Sunnyside, Queens)

This Filipino doughnut pop-up finally went permanent in Queens, bringing airy ube donuts with Tiktok-worthy charisma. From its origins with a massive waitlist, Kora now delights East Coast pastry lovers with visually striking, flavor-forward creations.

Radio Bakery (Multiple locations, including Greenpoint & Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)

A rising star among New York’s best, Radio Bakery is known for inventive pastries like double-baked pistachio croissants and multilayered chocolate treats. It’s become a weekend magnet, drawing eager lines that move quickly but always linger for second orders.