Athan's Bakery & Cafe

i think athan’s is lovely — it’s one of those places you visit because of nostalgia and the need to pacify a craving for some semblance of home. it’s your grandmother’s cookies, it’s the pastries your neighbours bring for every holiday where gift giving is warranted. it’s personal and lovely, and it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. much could be said about upkeep or service but you come to athan’s for the food, and if you’re coming for something else, then you’re fooling yourself.

Love love love this cafe! Used to come here almost everyday to work and study. Homeliest, coziest, sweetest little spot with a perfect view of Washington square and the green line. Used to sit by the windows during the snow. Recommend their mango pastry, figo (MUST TRY, BEST THING THEY HAVE) and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Warm and welcoming atmosphere and a go to place for a long study session. The service is wonderful and makes me want to go back every day. The food is quite fresh and the place smells like my childhood. I'm looking foward to coming back here during the school year and getting lots of work done while having a good coffee. Tried a London Fog Tea here for the first time and absolutely loved it!

Super friendly staff, tons of small-group seating, and delicious pastries and treats! If you haven't been, I'd recommend trying the Athan's blend tea along with any of the cake slices. I stop by almost every week and continue to be impressed.

Fantastic unique cakes & pastries. Great coffee. Only drawback was that some cakes were defrosting, still a bit cold/frozen inside. EXCELLENT baklava.

Great spot for anyone seeking traditional Mediterranean and European pastries and some of the city's best Baklava. Brookline has a lot of ethnic bakeries and Athan’s is among the local’s favorites. With its classic wooden interior and relatively large seating area, it offers a comforting atmosphere, perfect for a peaceful morning treat. During my recent visit, I was immediately greeted by the attentive staff, who guided me through their variety of Baklava. I got one of each and these bite-sized Baklava pieces were amazing – achieving the ideal balance of density and flakiness, with nutty fillings that were simply sublime. Among these, my favorites were the chocolate walnut and almond varieties. Their cake selection didn't disappoint either. The Napoleon puff pastry was delightful – light, airy, and spongy – while the Amendoa's delicate vanilla sponge and almond flavor was a pleasure. An unexpected highlight was the ham and cheese croissant, served warm from the oven, with enticing cheese crisps at its edges. Overall, a great bakery that serves amazing traditional pastries. I'm already looking forward to my next visit to explore more of their cake and cookie offerings.

I really liked their cake(don’t remember the name) and 5 star is for that, and Cannoli was just ok maybe a 3-4 star cannoli.

This is a Greek patisserie and is excellent for pastries and cakes. I got myself the Jamaica cake which is a complete chocolate layered cake. It’s exquisite. There many other flavours but I like this the best.

Great pastries and really nice place to work. Orange Marmalade Biscuits are a real treat. My one plea is to turn off/ down the music or change the station. I have become a frequent there and I think I've memorized the bistro station. I can judge how long I've been working by how many times "La Mer" has come on (I typically spend 3-4 La Mers before heading out). Great Pastries, nice physical space, too many Marimba Take Five Covers.

HVAC was down when we arrived and it was a humid hotbox. We showed up late in the evening after a 25-30 min walk to find the place, our navigator friend had us walking thinking it was a 10 min walk haha. They didn't have gelato or ice creams left at the time we went. We grabbed a tiramisu cake slice and a M&M cookie to go. Nice staff, bathrooms to the back. Cookie was the thin style and not overly sweet! Enjoyed right away on our walk back! The tiramisu was light and airy. Heavy on the coffee flavor and the lady seemed to enjoy it!

I was having dinner in the area & decided to go for a stroll around the neighborhood. We stumbled upon Athan's Bakery and WOW! Pretty big space and they have lots of different desserts available to choose from. We were hoping to give their ice creams a try, however, looked like they were no longer serving ice cream at the time that we arrived... about an hour before closing? We ended up getting a slice of tiramisu & an M&M cookie. Both desserts were very enjoyable! The cookie was a good size, not too big and not small... perfect size that wasn't overwhelming. Tiramisu had lots of cocoa powder dusted on top. I liked that it wasn't dry at all but wished that it had more espresso flavor. The worker that helped us with our desserts was very kind and checking out was easy. Overall, seems like a good place to come and grab some desserts. I definitely want to come back to try more of their offerings, so will for sure stop by again whenever nearby.

Great drinks, great baked goods and great staff! Tons of room to sit with my laptop, high internet speeds too. I felt so welcomed, that's great beauty of locally owned business!

Rustic Bakery in Washington Sq. I first thought it was closed when I walked in as there were empty displays on first sight and nobody on the main entrance side. The lighting was dimmer. The tiramisu was tasty. Baklava was soaked in honey. In conclusion, I would likely not return to Athan's and opt for Cafe Nero across the street instead.

Warm and welcoming atmosphere and a go to place for a long study session. The service is wonderful and makes me want to go back every day. The food is quite fresh and the place smells like my childhood. I'm looking foward to coming back here during the school year and getting lots of work done while having a good coffee. Tried a London Fog Tea here for the first time and absolutely loved it!

My friend and I came here for a sweet treat on a Sunday afternoon. We both picked out a piece of baklava. It was so good! Very sweet-- as expected-- but also surprisingly salty (in a good way). There's a lot of tables inside; it seems like a good cafe to bring a laptop and get work done.

What a wonderful treat after a nice dinner here in Boston. It's a quaint European bakery with lots of delicious treats. They have everything form croissants, baklava, cookies, homemade pies, and other goodies such as candies and coffee. I opted for an almond croissant and my little one wanted a peanut butter cookie and a lollipop. On the other side is a cute quiet area to hangout and eat for snacks or even work. I loved this place! Next time I'm in the area I will be buying a whole cake!

Very good cakes at this bakery, all three I got were tasty and fresh. Price point is $6-7 for a good size. Highly recommended!

This is a wonderful bakery with lots of European/greek pastries, cookies and baklava sure to please anyone with a sweet tooth. We tried the Bolero which has milk chocolate, almond, and chocolate mousse. It was incredibly moist, had a creamy delectable chocolate mousse, and a nice nuttiness. Sitting area in the back was nice and service was excellent. Will definitely be back to try more pastries.

Great family run spot. Good space to sit and work, also kid friendly. Pastries and cookies are all excellent.

Came on a Thursday morning around 9am for a quick bite. I chose an almond croissant and iced chai latte, but there's a large variety of treats that I definitely want to try next time. The space is large and open, with tables of various sizes. It's a peaceful environment with music playing and there were a few people there with their laptops. I didn't look too closely but there are outlets scattered around to plug into. While the chai wasn't great, I enjoyed my croissant. I'll give them some leeway since it's a bakery, not specifically a cafe.

This coffee shop is a fine place. The croissant was solid, the vibe was fine, and the noise level was manageable. The thing that would keep me from going back is the person who helped me get my croissant/coffee and check me out. She was happy to do her job but wasn't the friendliest person I have encountered in a coffee shop.

Was with my husband and his family who use to visit ATHAN'S bakery when they lived in the area. They hadn't been back in years so, of course we had to get some baklava to go. We took it home to share with the rest of the family. Wow! It was sweet and flaky, I can see why they use to frequent this bakery. I wish we could have gotten more items but we were just passing through for the night. I can't wait to go back and try other delicious treats!

Really nice place, but you need more than one person working there at a time! It's not fair to the person working and the lines get way too long and too slow. I made a special trip to Athan's this evening but gave up and left when I saw how slow the line was going to be, despite the counterperson working very hard. No one could keep up with all of that.

Got a variety of things here and really enjoyed them! We can see how some things may be hit or miss, but we really enjoyed the ganache cake, florentine cookies, and chocolates. Would like to try more baklava and pastries before making a decision.

after visiting athan's for the first time, i think it's pretty overrated. the bakery itself is very old-looking and there's no ac. a large portion of the pasteries were not covered and fully exposed to the open air. it didn't look very sanitary. i got the tiramisu cake for $5.45. it was ok - not extremely special or delicious. the size of the cake was also rather small. there was only one server, and she wasn't the nicest. there's another part of the bakery where you can sit and enjoy your baked goods + coffee. other than that, i don't see anything that special about athan's. overall rating: 5/10

I thought the Jamaica (chocolate ganache cake) was to die for -- truly exceptional. The fig mousse pastry was a bit sweeter than I would have liked but was excellent as well. We got the Black Forest cake to go and that wasn't as good as the others. The tea/coffee selection is pretty good. 5 stars for the desserts, but the service could have been better. Definitely come here and try the Jamaica :).

I had the raspberry croissant and a vanilla latte and it was great! Service was great as well.

Limited food options, food is good but not worth the price, workers are not very kind to my children.

Quality and execution of baked goods was really good. I think knowing what you like is important though here to be satisfied! Plain butter croissant was as stated, a plain croissant with the butter flavor. The texture was light and airy with good air pockets. The outside was flaky but not hard.

I've got mixed feelings about this bakery. We got a number of items from the case for the family and some were fantastic while others went right in the bin. First the bad: Basically anything in the Pastry case that wasn't a cake (a fruit tart and a rum baba). The rum baba was not a baba at all, but something much denser and not very tasty it was hard and crumbly not soft and spongy. The fruit tart I did not try but the report was that it was very disappointing and I think it was to do with the filling and minimal fruit if the filling for the "baba" was any indication. The good: The cakes and tiramisu have all gone over pretty phenomenally. They are all very similar in structure and equally pleasant, so I think they have that down to a science. Also the frangipane apricot pastry being sold by the register was really nice. The place is cute inside and the staff was nice enough.

My inner southern is coming out. Y'all---!!!!!!!!! (there now it's hidden again) If you are not patronizing this place you are missing out. I mean. Just look at my accompanying picture. Best business in town! Best desserts ever! (Creamy , flaky , succulent, holy goddess tasty pastries, and cookies are buttery and perfect and addicting ) Best people who work there! We are all vectors of COVID and they still serve us with smiles and delectable calories. You have to go. And keep coming back. Because deliciousness. And small business support. You know what I'm talking about if you come here. You will thank me if you haven't been here. Sorry if I murdered any commas. I'm in a coma and can't think straight!

Great family owned place. The owner and the family care a lot about the quality of the food and making sure everyone has a seat. I highly recommend the baba dessert. This is a nice spot to work or catch up with friends as they have a spacious cafe.

First off the hours are great. Open til 10pm, very convenient. And right across from the T. Parking is nearby on the street -- again its easy to get to. Two the service is very polite and helpful. Always have lovely counter staff here. Ordered some pastry for dinner and it was light and fluffy. If you need fresh baked goods this is the place. Well done!

Wow, I can't believe I came to Athan's for four years but never tried their croissants. I came back after a year (due to not needing to be in Brookline for a while) and tried an almond croissant because of all of the rave Yelp reviews. The croissant was amazing! And at a great price too! I didn't realize that Athan's made basically all of their products, including the baked goods and the chocolates that I've bought--I only found out this past visit from the friendly girl working at the counter. I would definitely get the almond croissant again--it was super flaky and had the right ratio of flaky layers:soft interior, and the almond filling was creamy and delicious! I also love their chocolates--they make great gifts, and I'm not even sure how many of the little ballotin boxes I've given as gifts over the years. (They wind up pretty reasonably priced and are cutely packaged with a sticker and ribbon.) I also have gotten chocolates "a la carte" for snacking, and they're always great and fun to share. They have a color-coding system for the wrappers, which I learned over my many visits (shiny gold=dark chocolate, matte gold=milk chocolate, other colors=usually fruit/floral I think?) I love these chocolates because of their realistic size (perfect for sharing), smooth, high-quality chocolate, and delicious fillings! One of my favorites was rose loukoum (not positive about spelling), which was a chocolate with a fruity-floral chewy-ish jelly. I also love their chocolates with alcoholic fillings, although the alcoholic flavor is pretty strong, in case you don't like that. This last time, the chocolate table was looking sparse (due to some staffing issues), but I picked up one of the alcoholic milk chocolates and a dark chocolate mint cup. I was worried they might be stale because of potentially low turnover during covid times, but they were delicious and as fresh as the ones I remembered in the past. Hopefully they will bring back more of the other chocolates soon :)

A very cute, European-themed shop. For $1.75 you can get a delicious elephant ear-style pastry. Everything looks scrumptious. Also a nice quiet ambiance for getting some work done. There was only one person working there from what I could see, so perhaps try not to go at rush hour. Will be returning!

Accidentally stumbled upon this place one day and I'm glad I did! Ok, let's start off with why I didn't give 5 stars! So there was an older woman and younger woman at the counter. I had some questions about what kind of breads were still available, since it's was difficult to see. She basically just waved me off, told me to look for myself. The younger woman saw and then came to help me grab the cakes I wanted. Then when I went to pay, the older woman was super rude and standoffish, not sure why. But the food here is great! They have a huge selection of chocolates, pastries, and baked goods!

Athan's has so many goodies in their bakery. Your choices for cakes and cookies and pastries feel endless. I've tried a couple of things here. The chocolate chip cookie is very delicious and chewy, and accompanied my latte very well. I also recommend the latte! The espresso was smooth without a bitter aftertaste. The tiramisu was a little disappointing though. The cake layer was a bit dry and didn't have a strong espresso taste. The other cakes looked delicious so I would definitely try some of the other ones before getting the tiramisu again. I came to get work down in the afternoon on a weekend and while it got crowded, there was always still space. Keep in mind, they have a 2 hour WiFi limit on weekends. Overall a great experience

$22 truffle? Yeah, we went a little mad today and didn't see a price. My friend ate the truffle and declared it as good but not five times better than a $4 truffle. The other stuff looked awesome. Lots of chocolate treats that I skipped over as it would have melted in the 90 degree heat. But many others without chocolate that went into the box and were enjoyed later for dessert. Baklava with pistachios? Yes. With walnuts? Yes. Yum! There is also a second half of the shop with a coffee bar and a number of tables for laptopping. Great spot (other than the truffle that was very expensive).

Cute neighborhood bakery and coffee shop. Always people inside hanging out and working. I was surprised to see they have vegan biscotti too! The only thing I didn't like was that they wouldn't put my coffee in my re-usable cup to save a disposable one. That's okay though, everything else was enjoyable so I'll definitely be back.

One of the friends recommended the tiramisu: It was good, but the coffee tastes amazing. The ambient environment is pretty chill/relaxed with plenty of space for friends gathering or just work/reading. There was literally one guy that is responsible for all the things: from taking orders to making your coffee! It was kinda cool.

This was my second trip and the first was great. However this last trip was not good and we didn't even finish our pastry. Everything was stale and they were sold out of much. Lastly, my children got chocolate and thought it was gross, why because it had liquor and it wasn't labeled and the young women failed to tell us until after my children tried eating the chocolate. Overpriced not fresh, skip it.

Athan's is my favorite bakery in the Boston area! I mainly go there for the baked goods (croissants and palmiers) The almond croissants are delicious and my go but the ham and cheese as well as the plain croissants are great. They are flakey, buttery and SO good. we also love the cakes and chocolate almond bark. I love knowing that i am supporting a family owned business, and you see the quirks of each member who works there, every time I go it is an enjoyable experience! I would highly recommend giving it a try

I popped in early on a Saturday morning and was overwhelmed by the variety of cakes, cookies, chocolates and pastries (to name a few) at Athan's. The quantity of items here is truly astonishing. I wanted to try everything, but we were late to lunch already so we returned in the evening. Upon our return, I was thrilled to see they had not run out of tiramisu, which I had been dreaming about all day. We decided not to over-indulge and settled on just one slice. The tiramisu was hefty and generously dusted in cocoa powder whose bitterness complemented the layer of sweet mascarpone custard nicely. However, while the custard was rich and thick, the layer of supposedly espresso-soaked cake was not. This layer lacked the dark, acidic essence of espresso I had been looking forward to. It was also somewhat icy, evidence that the tiramisu had been previously frozen, or at the very least, refrigerated for too long. I understand that it is unreasonable to expect everything to be fresh out of the oven at a place like Athan's where so much is made in-house, but the icy layer really turned me off. Because of the above, I felt that $5.30 was a little steep. However, I would definitely give Athan's another try. The next time you're in Brookline, check them out! They may be at the end of Beacon Street, but they're sure to have something that speaks to your sweet tooth!

More of a 3.5 than a 3. Pros: Convenient location, quick service, usually space to study, nice music and overall atmosphere. Their small cake slices are good, especially the black forest cake. Cons: Their wifi is weak and spotty. I ordered a spinach and feta handpie to eat at the cafe, and although the barista warmed it up, it was ice cold inside and essentially inedible. Their cookies are just okay.

Really liked the vibes of this place. I went to read and have coffee and it was definitely perfect for that. Had a mocha latte that I really liked. They have plenty of pastries to try so I'll almost definitely come back again sometime.

Desserts are great.... but never anyone working here so is naturally slow, no background music and weirdly quiet ambiance like a library, and the wifi is spotty at best. I want to like it so bad but I feel like the owners have given up TBH

The chocolate we got was actually quite good. The service was a bit rude as they seemed annoyed by the two of us as they were restocking inventory at 5pm on a Friday. They just about wiped us out with a tray full of desserts with no apology. Whatever.

Three times they screwed up. They shouldn't serve regular coffee if they need to ask 5 times how we wanted our coffee. This is a pattern. We walked out after paying when given black coffee that was filled to the rim. We requested it be emptied out to make room for milk. The employee had an issue with that. My friend was fed up and we left. We went to the French restaurant just across the street and we treated like royalty.

I've never been disappointed here. The cakes, cookies and croissants are always lovely. The lattes are always spot on too. I usually stop by around 9 or 10 pm so it is quiet but never empty. I like to come by because it is the perfect spot to get a small treat and relax at night

I drove past here on my way to pick up dinner and spotted some of the pretty pastries from the car and had to stop in. It was late so they were pretty wiped (understandably so) and I got 2 pistachio and 2 chocolate baklava. They were soooo yummy! The perfect after dinner treat. Plus, the folks who work there are really kind and helpful!

Gladys is a treasure at Athans. Their apple strudel is delicious. I buy a whole one heat it before serving and pretend I made it!!! I love the Eggs Benedict with absolutely delicious Hollandaise sauce. The baklava is yummy! Saved me embarrassment when I was to bring homemade baklava to a gathering(I really do know how to make but ran out of time) Athan's is a destination place to meet someone for breakfast, lunch or coffee and a pastry. Plenty of room and-tea is served in china teapots! Gladys is so welcoming, industrious and kind. She makes it even sweeter to enjoy Athans. Remember to buy a loaf of bread to take home.

Tried their black Forrest cake. Was excellent, it's hard to get Black Forest cake and made right.

It's nice having access to European pastries but they aren't the best. Baklava is way too soggy. Cannolis were meh- nothing like what you get in the North End but I think even Whole Foods cannolis taste better. The cannoli shell was also too soft/moist. We didn't try any of the cakes. Staff are really nice.

Perfect pastries and drinks! The service though, oh boy. I'm yet to go into Athans and find a upbeat, thoughtful, considerate, welcoming (or ANY of the above) bakery attendant. They're always mad, stressed, and act like I'm inconveniencing them And efficiency... not a priority. Evidenced by the fact that the (typically) solo employee always has to walk into a different room to make cafe drinks, and awkwardly doesn't not acknowledge anyone else in the line prior to doing so. I think improving staff culture and efficiency would do wonders for this bakery, since their pastries are so wonderful.

Came here with a friend for morning coffee, left with a box of baklava, an almondoa, and a piece of chocolate cake. THE ALMOND CAKE WAS AMAZING. In case you skipped over that last sentence, I'll reiterate, AMAZING. This is a situation in which I will always recommend dessert before the meal. I ordered an iced chai latte. The spices were blended perfectly to bring warmth to this cold beverage. The service at Athan's is extremely friendly. The barista was helpful and even offered to put my drink in a to go glass when my friend and I realized we were running late. Great place for morning coffee, catching up with friends, or post date dessert!

I was really turned off by one of the older men who work here. This was my first time in the establishment and I was there to do work and grab some breakfast with a group of people. I wander to the back of the place where all the seating is and locate a table with 3 chairs. There was a sign flipped over on the table so I flip it over to read what it says because I thought it could have been a reserved sign. Turns out it said something along the lines of "reserved for parties of 3 or more", I don't remember the exact message. I place it back flipped over in its original spot where I found it only to have this man come over and basically rebuke me for not placing it back on this small stand on the table where it belonged after I had read it. I was utterly confused as to why he was being so aggressive and told him it was my first time here and that was how I found the sign, not knowing it was meant to go on the stand next to it. He proceeds to ask me not once but twice if I actually have a party over three coming since I was by myself at the time. It was very unnecessary for him to ask me more than once and in a very condescending tone. I definitely was super turned off by him. He could learn to be more welcoming to customers. I was also ignored by the cashier when I asked for a receipt because the same man was running around and distracting her and she looked at me like a I was crazy when I had asked for a receipt the second time since she didn't hear me. You order everything in the front of the place and wait for it in the back area where the tables are. It wasn't too clear at first and the only signs they have to tell you that are right above the trash area in the back. The food was fine, nothing great but I was so turned off by the service that it's not worth coming back for me.

A dangerously delicious place for desserts! We treat ourselves to goodness when we need pick-me ups or serve them when we have special guests coming over!