Do not buy cakes from this store. The cakes are a hit or miss. But it's already been 3 times that they sale us a rancid cake from the fridges. We called to let them know and they don't even offer for reimbursement nor replacement . read more

Delicious bread! Very affordable prices, service is very fast, bakery seems clean every time I've came in. The bread selection is great!

Bread looks and smells so good. It's super soft but this morning my son found a penny inside one of the concha's. ‍. Called them to let them know but all they said was to send them a picture of it. Didn't offer a refund or anything. read more

El Metate Panaderia - A penny in the concha. - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

See all

Excellent bakery!! Service was unbelievable and friendly. I'll be back to try there Tamales's.

I really wanted to like this place with all the good reviews about their cakes! I ordered an 8in tres leche for a family christmas party. I wish they took orders over the phone bc I had to drive there just to place an order (They dont accept payment over the phone). It was $29 for an 8in cake which I think is such a good price!! One of the ladies walked me through flavor, design, occasion, pick up date etc. It was a little hard to understand her when she asked about some options for the order but she was super nice and helpful. I paid in full and picked up the cake a week later! A week later I came by to pick up the cake and also picked up a palmier and this other pastry filled with cream! Palmier was really good but the other pastry was a little burnt and the cream wasnt a smooth texture. The biggest bummer was the cake! I was sooo happy with the pretty christmas design. All of my family was so excited to try the tres leche cake! Unfortunately when we cut into it, it wasnt a tres leche cake at all. It seemed to be maybe a vanilla sponge with some strawberry cream filling. If the cake was good, I probably wouldnt have minded the mistake as much... However the cake was too dry and the strawberry filling was a little too jelly-like which I didnt enjoy much. It wasnt a horrible cake... But given it was the wrong cake and just ok, it was pretty disappointing... read more

See all

We were on the search for tres leche and this spot is open an hour later than other area bakeries. They don't have it by the slice, but their smallest cake isn't expensive at 5 bucks so we got that. Service was great, just wish there was a table on their floor space to have ate inside instead of our car. The bottom layer was perfectly soaked and overall I enjoyed it. read more

El Metate Panaderia - $5 tres leche cake - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

It definitely was not as I remembered. I have not been on that side of town for a few years now. We Realize that we were nearby and decided to stop. The bread was nice and soft when we bought it. But by the next day, It got hard, and my husband no longer wanted to eat it. It was a bit of a bummer. But I ate most of it, warmed it up, and it still tasted pretty good. read more

The bread is so good fresh and soft the price is right everything is delicious I highly recommend this place

This is probably one of the best Panaderia's I've ever been to. Their Mexican breads are always fresh and full of traditional flavors. I also recommend trying their Cafe de Olla coffee. The ingredients are simple however the taste is delicious. read more

Disappointed in the rosca 2022 - decepscioniada de la rosca este ano. Le falto canela savia vieja todos los anos llegando aqui para esta rosca pero a la basura se fue. Missing flavor tasted old reheated its been traditional over a number of years to come here so dissapointed this year wasted 30 bucks read more

When do they have their ham, cheese and jalapeño long baguette. It hasn't been in stock in forever. Everytime I go, they don't have it. But they claim to have it. Only make in on current days ??? I called and asked the lady what days but she doesn't recall. That's the only thing I go in for ? And i have never been able to find it. If anyone knows please reply. I'm tired of going every now and then and they tell me they won't have the item that day. ): read more

The tres leches cake is so good! The circular one is only $15 and big enough to feed 12-16. The employees there are also super friendly. They can write a message on the cake for you and when they heard us talking about star wars, offered to give us some star wars toy rings as toppers on the cake. I brought this to a party and so many people asked me where I got the cake. read more

El Metate Panaderia - Tres Leches cake. So delicious! - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

My first Moca tres leches! I came looking for a tres leches cake for my husband's birthday but all the tres leches had a very feminine decor. When I said it was for a guy, they showed me some with blue roses... I decided to go for something else. Service was excellent, he was very friendly and even opened one of the individual slices they sell so I could taste it for free and even offered me to take it home. Although it was not as moist and sweet as the traditional tres leches, it was good and had a strong coffee flavor which is the other thing my husband loves so it worked out. The parking lot can feel a bit ghetto but it's a small store so you just go in an out quickly... read more

El Metate Panaderia - Moca tres leches - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

There bread Is amazing !!! Highly recommended this place there borachitos are the best !!! By far the bests bakery in Santa Ana

Best place! I've been coming to this Bakery since I was a kid and I still drive the 40 minutes it takes to get here from where I live now. I use to live a block away! For so many years I thought this was part of El Toro and after 34 years, I just found out it isn't, lol! What an embarrassment on my part. Regardless, this has always been my go to place for birthday cakes, pan dulce and gelatinas! They are very popular and have a huge following. They bake all day long and they sell out all day long. read more

See all

Ordene dos pasteles, hoy que los partí me decepcione bastante. Ya que los había pedido muy mojados y los pasteles muy secos. Hable y lo único que dijieron fue de tráigalos, claro NO!!! los llevo a plena fiesta y dejo a mis invitados sin pastel. No me quedo de otra que darlo asiii, no vuelvo a comprar ahí. Porfavor hagan lo que el cliente pide. Estoy enojado lo que di fue PAN y no pastel read more

El Metate Panaderia - a slice of cake - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I love the bread ! ! but the Service is bad . I always call before driving to Santa Ana and i never get a clear answer or the girl clicks on be before answering my question or they don't answer the phone . read more

El Metate Panaderia - Unanswered calls from bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I came to the bakery in error looking for the market, but what a lucky mistake. The bread is very good. Love the elotes, the conchas and the other items I bought. I'll be back for more with photos!! read more

Took a trip to California last weekend . This bakery keeps being number one to my heart . They had everything I was looking for .

Great delicious bakery BUT they aren't Always fully stocked with every bread :( . They are so good that I'm sad to drive all the way there and to not have my cravings Fully satisfied from a particular item sold out fast :/ But they do have a large variety of sweet breads to choose from and even make and sell cakes. read more

Great variety and good customer service. It's a little hard to find since it's next to a super market, but I definitely recommend this place. read more

El Metate Panaderia - Delicious - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

A small store off the road so if was a bit difficult to find. Parking was a bit tight since it shares the lot with quite a few other stores. It is a small little mexican bakery with a bunch of different options! But the reason why I was there was to get a last minute birthday cake. I was reading the reviews about the tres leches cake and decided to try it out. The lady working was super busy - she had to be the cashier and server at the same time! There was a bit of a wait but understandable since it was just her. She helped me pick out a cake. It was only 15 bucks and it was a good size, served about 10ish people! Everyone at work really liked it. I'm not super familiar with OG tres leches but my coworkers said it was pretty authentic! The cake was actually moist throughout all the layers, not just the bottom. Not a huge fan of the frosting though, it was hard read more

I'm impressed of how good the bread and the cakes are. I had a traditional 3 leches cake and it was so good. All bread is fresh and prices are good too. read more

Def worth the drive. Best Panaderia in all OC.. been coming for years... parking can be a pain in the ass.. "A STONERS PARADISE!"

Had to pick up a bday tres leches cake for someone. Drove deep into Santa Ana because if we're going to go with tres leches, I don't play. They had quite a few cakes in the display case and all very reasonably priced. I got the medium round for $15 and it easily serves 10. The gal who helped me was very helpful. This parking lot is pretty cramped. Could be a little sketch but hey it's true Santa Ana. No issues though. This place is cash only. read more

As far as Mexican pan dulce (sweet bread) goes, this place has been making the BEST bread in orange county. This was called Ruben's Panaderia(bakery) back in the day but its now called El Metate Panaderia. The name changed but the recipes stayed the same! You can find people buying bread all day even through the night. They also make excellent 3 leches cakes, mexican gelatins, and flans. You can preorder a cake for any occasion. You can even buy huge slices of 3 leches cakes. The parking lot is compact and combined with the busy nature of the nearby businesses, it sometimes may take a while to park. Don't let that deter you from stopping in if you want the best pan Dulce around. They only take cash so keep that in mind. read more

I've been coming here for years. The last year it has gone down hill. Less choices to pick from, and what they do have it might be stale. I bought conchas one of two was stale. The rest lack the Mexican bread flavor sweetness. The breads should and need to fresh! As you all know a law passed you must bring your own reusable bags. TIP: they comply so bring your bag, but for whatever reason they charge $1 if you want a box for the roscas. The roscas are all ready pricey include the box. The large rosca $35. Wow! Another bakery was charging half the price. I usually buy cakes for work function and birthdays, I think I will be going elsewhere. Tip: CASH ONLY bakery. the customer service lacks as well. One of ladies was so rude to another customer. Go somewhere else. read more

Best bread in oc, fresh bread all day been coming here for 20+ years and even though it's not local since I've moved, other places dont compare. super cheap too, bring cash though. read more

We were recommended to this place by a close family friend and boy are we happy we came here. I am half Mexican but this place blows anything I am used to out of the water. We now use this place for all of our birthdays and were lucky enough to use them for our wedding. All 310 guests loved the cake and we are grateful to this day for them accommodating our wedding in Los Angeles. I like the tres leches the most. I highly recommend this place but more importantly, my Mexican mother does as well. read more

This is hands down my favorite place to buy cakes wonderful prices and the taste is amazing. I personally love their marble cake it's soft and delicious. I bought my 25th birthday cake here for my unicorn party and it was definitely a great hit because everyone loved how cute it looked and tasted so good. I recommend it to everyone I will definitely keep coming back for all my cakes! 5 stars! read more

El Metate Panaderia - My unicorn cake was super cute loved it!!! - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

So very, very, friendly. Picked up a cake from the fridge. Brought it to the register. Asked about customizing the cake--before I was done asking, someone was already from the kitchen with a frosting bag to write whatever I wanted on the cake. Then, without asking, she grabs a stool, climbs up to a top shelf and grabs some decorations and shows them to me and asks if I'd like some decorations for the cake. Customized cake (which was really good, by the way) out the door in like 3 minutes. read more

I love this place! They did amazing for a gender reveal cake! Tres leches with blue or pink cream in the middle for the surprise, and took the order last minute! Voy a regresar por todos mis fiestas!! read more

El Metate Panaderia - Bakeries Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Super yummy conchas! Love the mini ones and they are amazing with a good cup of coffee.

This place is A+. They always have cakes ready to go and when they don't, they can make an easy one within 10-15 min. Also, price is reasonable. $35 for a large rectangular cake. Thank you Metate Panaderia. read more

The bread at this bakery never fails is delicious. My experience was great lots of bread to choose from and there was not a lot of people there at that time. read more

Call in advance for a special order of pan or jello the best in Santa Ana read more

Fresh Mexican bread that is unlike the one you find at any grocery store. I live in Anaheim and I gladly drive there once in a while to get the delicious bread. Plus, it is cheap! AND it is right next to El Toro market so you can get some good carnitas next door. read more

I've heard about this bakery! I've gone maybe 2 times and yet I'm not satisfied with the taste of the sweet bread! The conchas don't really taste that good. I will definitely try going to other places for my sweet bread! read more

Hands down the best bread outside of Mexico. My family has been coming here for years and the bread is always fresh. My favorite are the conchas and my wife always gets the puerquitos. They have a Choco-flan that is absolutely delicious as well. They also made our wedding cake at a very affordable price. THIS PLACE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! read more

This place is a hidden gem! Their tres leches mocha cake is the best I ever had! Also took flan home which was amazing. This bakery bakes everything fresh on premises. read more