Bakers Bench
Bakery · Chinatown
1021 Alpine St Unit A, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Highlights
Vegan croissants, cookies, and danishes; seasonal savory pastries
Vegan croissants, cookies, and danishes; seasonal savory pastries
"The bakery in the Alpine Street courtyard is a good stop for a pastry or a cookie to bring to a shared patio meal; "The move is to grab the croissant, which is among the best iterations of the laminated pastry in LA," according to Rebecca Roland." - Eater Staff
"Lesley Suter says her friend Jen Yee opened 'the most adorable little bakery in Chinatown' that 'feels like this fantastic garden oasis in the city.'" - Eater Staff
"Let’s be clear: although this Chinatown bakery makes entirely vegan croissants, we judged them with the same rigor as we did standard ones. Which makes their deliciousness all the more impressive. Less flaky and more chewy than other specimens on this list, the airy croissants at Bakers Bench remind us of Pillsbury crescent rolls in the best way possible. The lack of crispness might seem like a drawback, but it just means more of the tender, caramel-colored pastry ends up in your mouth rather than on your lap." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder, brant cox
"Jennifer Yee relocated her Chinatown vegan viennoiserie to Victor Heights within the Alpine Courtyard, continuing to bake croissants, palmiers, cinnamon knots, rotating cookies and muffins, and seasonal baked goods with a menu that's about 80 percent vegan and now includes sandwiches and focaccia slices." - Eater Staff
"When Bakers Bench first opened in 2021, it was a tiny Chinatown kiosk that would regularly sell out of plain croissants by early afternoon. The pastry shop has since moved just five minutes away to a much larger brick-and-mortar location in the same courtyard as Perilla. The counter-service bakeshop sits next to a burger joint in a craftsman bungalow, serving a full range of vegan sweets like yuzu poppy seed scones and cherry white sesame coffee cake, but the best items are still the flaky, buttery pastries. We especially love the furikake croissant—it’s got a fun crunch with toasty, salty flavor encrusted on every inch of its golden-brown top layer. Grab a box of to-go pastries, or hang out in the flower garden around back and contemplate the power of churned cream." - Nikko Duren
