OKAY WOW. This lil family owned bakery has treats I literally** dream about. Spot is in the redwoods. Has house made Italian desserts and treats, yummy YUMMY calzones, AND honestly, the best pizza in the county (and I worked at PMH for several years -- so I am going on a limb saying that!) Great customer service, and a better spot to just connect with good friends. COME HERE! Everything is chef's kiss!! ‍ read more

Best bakery in Santa Cruz County! Every one is super friendly and it's very homey. All the pastries are made with love and they import all their flour from Italy. So, if you, like me are gluten intolerant you can eat everything here with no worries. Also they do an authentic macchiato and a delicious dirty chai. read more

A great place to stop if you do t want a full meal, but something light in the afternoon. Great quality pastries and desserts. Easy access and a great patio to relax on. Friendly service. I look forward to coming back to have gelato. read more

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Everything is delicious! Tastes exactly like the places in Italy. I'm very impressed and thankful to have this place in our small town . I only wish they had vegan cheese for the pizza . Go here you won't be disappointed:) read more

La P'laca Bakery: Our Breakfast Heaven in Ben Lomond! If you're ever in Ben Lomond and your stomach is rumbling, do yourself a favor and sprint, don't walk, to La P'laca Bakery. We stumbled in there for breakfast treats and left wondering if we could just... live there. Their breakfast treats are ridiculously good - seriously, we almost fought over the last crumb (we didn't, but it was close). And the coffee? Oh, the coffee. It's the kind of coffee that makes you believe in magic, or at least makes you capable of facing Monday. Our only regret is that our stretchy pants weren't stretchy enough. We'll definitely be back for more deliciousness (and maybe a new pair of pants!). read more

I'll try not to gush but it won't be easy. This is one of my favorite bakeries around. I thank heaven I don't live closer than 2 hours from this bakery or I'd be a walking breathing sfogliatelle by now. Everything I've tried here is amazing, and I've tried waaay too many things here to count. The pizza alone would be reason to visit. Sooo good. Perfect crust, perfect toppings. I love the pastries so much. I'm not sure which ones are housemade and which are not, but I don't care - everything I've tried here is delicious, I don't really care if it's made in house. The bombolini, the sfogliatelle, and the myriad of cookies are all winners. My favorites are the little mushroom cookies - incredible. I've never tried the cakes or cannoli, biscotti or tiramisu, but I know they have all that as well. The coffee is pretty good, and a variety of imported Italian sodas. Service is very friendly and helpful. Just writing this makes me want to drive to Ben Lomond tomorrow. It's worth it! read more

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Amazing service, very helpful lovely lady. And the pastries were a 100/10, so many yummy options. Highly recommend read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

On the pricey side, but everything they make is absolutely delicious!! Friendly and welcoming staff! read more

This is the best bakery I have been to.Everything I've gotten here has been delicious. I have gone several times to this bakery, and love it! read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Tiramisu - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

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Super cute bakery with amazing variety of Italian treats. Staff was very nice and coffee is fast!

Always a great selection of pastries and other Italian treats! Service is good, always good to see other motorcycle riders!! Plenty of seating tables and nice friendly people!! read more

Wide variety of tasty sweets and the pepperoni calzone was tasty too! Will try their gelato and espresso next time in town! Friendly service! read more

What a lovely unexpected find in the Santa Cruz mountains! For those of you who are gluten free, this place is the Mecca of all things delicious, they even sell GF pasta from Italy to boot. Reasonably priced, La Placa sells Italian GF pastries as well as pizza. I don't recall if they do a GF crust however. They also do coffee, I was impressed with the quality of my decaf Americano. There is seating outside and I dig the homey vibe. Definitely returning! read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Gluten free! - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

Pros: Excellent baked goods, pizza, gelat, Italian vibe and the location in the redwoods. Cons: tidy up the side and front. Giant generator is an eye sore and everything exterior seems to need a little TLC. Attention to detail. read more

This place is an amazing little shop serving excellent pastries, cookies, and desserts. We were so amazed by the smell of the pizza that we came back just to try it. Even the pizza is epic! I can't wait to visit again. read more

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Amazing pizza! Best pizza in the area for sure. However their pastries are a hit or miss. What should have been light, buttery and fluffy was extremely chewy and tasted like their pizza crust with a cream center and a dusting of powdered sugar. Go all in on the pizzas and you can skip their bakery in my opinion read more

The nice woman at the counter greeted me with a smile when I walked in. There was a friendly feel to the restaurant, and an amazing selection of baked goods. I tried some salted caramel gelato, spumoni, and a berry tart. Everything was delicious and I'd go back to the area just for more! read more

Out for a drive and made it a point to return. I picked out a few pastries and enjoyed them on the road. Staff was friendly and everything was tasty. read more

The pizza was incredible and it was the largest large size pizza I've ever seen! That would be an extra large at almost any Pizzeria I've ever been to. Very expensive but worth it because they actually offered a type of pizza I've never ever see and it was amazing even cold the next day. They're baked goods, however, we're dry and brittle and inedible and we paid a lot for them. We got a little bit of everything and almost everything went into the garbage two days later. Things that were supposed to be soft and Flaky and buttery we're just dry as dirt. It was like eating bran flakes. The things that were supposed to have filling we could barely even find the filling at all. Cookies were brittle and just basic and boring. You can get better buying Pepperidge Farm brand. Service was wonderful though and will definitely be back, when we're in that area in one or two years, for the pizza. read more

This is my favorite bakery. I will travel anywhere just to go here and have the cloud pastry. They have some unique pastries that are absolutely delicious. The service is friendly and simple. The ambience gives Santa Cruz Mountains bakery. I highly recommend this place. read more

Best Italian almond cookies outside of Italy!! Love this place! Pizza is great too but those cookies!

It's a cozy little Italian bakery. We visited on a morning and I was able to snag one of my favorites Italian pastry treats, a sfogliatelle. With its orange ricotta filling and super crispy flaky exterior, I had a joyful time eating such a delightfully light and texturally contrasting pastry. The prices were quite reasonable for each pastry. With regards to the almond cookies, my friends and I all felt that the cookies were much too sweet. It was a bit overpowering and almost tasted like eating marzipan with regards to texture and taste. On another note, the store workers were friendly, but they accidentally punched in my sale wrong, charging me double the price of what I ordered. I didn't realize and we went back to get it corrected. Luckily, the workers were very nice about it and they apologized while processing the adequate without any fuss. read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Assortment of Italian pastries - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

Secret gem in the redwoods- love the pizza and treats. Always fun to sit on porch with kiddos and hang. This place makes me smile!

WOW! Killer spot. You must go. I went on a whim on a rainy night in Felton seeking pizza to bring me warmth, and La Placa brought me the joy I needed and more. The spot itself is big and spacious and comfy to just hang out in, but I was on a mission to bring home the pizza and had to return another day (morning, in fact) to try the pastry. More on that soon. The staff is terrific! Knowledgeable and kind. Made me feel at home right away. :-) I actually wondered if I made an error in making the order to go -- we should have brought wine to the shop and made a party right there! Ahhh . . . well, anyhow, I made the rainy windy trek back home and was super stoked on the flavors and everyone had many kind words about this hidden pizza spot in the woods. Truly amazing to discover! A few days later we returned for pastry in the morning and they did not disappoint. We happened to have our own coffee because we are cool like that, brewing at home, you know how elites roll -- but the pastry was not something we could make at home -- super super yummy! Flaky, fresh, sweet, just what we needed to get a jump start on the day. But seriously, that pizza?! WOW. We got five flavors because who can decide! Just get them all. Oh, and I picked up some almond based cookies for dessert on pizza night plus some crazy tasca or tosca flaky puff cream thing they made and I was dying with pleasure. Can you do that? Well, I did. I shall be back and you shall go NOW. Deal? :-) read more

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i've been coming here for years. The pizza is the best in town with real Italian flour. Their pastries are always amazing and their staff is kind and personable. I've never had anything. I didn't love here! They also have a lot of gluten-free options as far as their pastries go:) read more

A Happy Accident! My daughter got married in Ben Lomond. She ordered food for her welcome party but there was a date mixup. We rushed to LA Placa to see if we could get last minute pizzas. We are not from CA and knew nothing about this place. They were kind and quick to assist. Quickly made 8 huge pizzas and did a few boxes of desserts cut into sample sizes. Food was AMAZING! The guests raved about the pizzas and desserts. The next day we returned to try pastries and took some for family and the bridal party. Fantastic! Stopped by on the way out of town the next day for MORE pastries. We will never forget them and hope to visit again. If you go, get a pizza and try the pastries. Especially the sfogliatelle! Thank you La Placa for making my daughter's welcome party and our visit better than we could have imagined! read more

I have two words for you...ALMOND COOKIES!? They are a must try. We had a local suggest the a little place as it was a great bakery filled with Italian pasties. But, man oh man I had no idea what was in store for me! I mean love almond cookies in general, like I love them! But, these have to be the best I've ever eaten! The first bite was just as good as the last one. I didn't want it to ever end, it was chewy almond goodness to the last drop! I loved the texture of the almond paste cookies and the sweetness was just right. The almond cookie was rich with that decadent almond flavor. I had a variety of almond classics to try, it was so hard to just choose a few. It was like being in almond heaven! I loved the plain style of the almond cookies with the Ricci. As well as the salty addition from the almond cookies covered in pistachios. I mean that sweet and salty combination can't be beat! The apricot almond cookie had a nice balance between sweet almonds and tarty apricot jam. The puff pasty was filled with delicious custard and bananas. I'm so happy I tried this place! I'll be dreaming of those almond cookies endlessly! read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

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good food but terrible customer service. I was promised a call for a requested special order. Never received a call; when I called back, they were "oh, we can't give you your special order"....clearly they knew I had a request. but No response even though it was promised. I get that they did not have my requested treat; just bummed that they didn't give the bare minimum of requested response. read more

I wish I could give a million stars. This is the perfect place for a late night treat since they are open until 8 pm. The staff is always so friendly and helpful - great ambiance inside and always smells amazing too! They have a few gluten free dessert options also which is a bonus! read more

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I have loved everything Ive gotten from here. The pizza San Daniele being my favorite, with arugula on the side for takeout. Their pastries and cakes are so good as well. Their pizzas are the best in the area and have great crust. read more

LOVE. THIS. PLACE. Can't get over how amazing their pizza is. And the pastries. THE PASTRIES!!!! I unfortunately didn't get the name, but the standout was this one pastry filled with ricotta, chocolate chips, with marscapone on top. Delicious. See pix to drool over. read more

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Great pizza and amazing pastries. My son loves the gelato and asks for it every time we drive by. I'll be bringing a pizza home tonight!

Truly a hidden gem! Pizza and pastries were insanely delicious. Stopped here after a long day of hiking with the kids and it definitely hit the spot. Need to make a return soon. They also have a great coffee bar and make their Italian sodas in house. read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Sora approves - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

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Tiny place on the side of the road, AMAZING PIZZA! I ordered a pepperoni thinking I'd eat half on my drive back down to Santa Cruz. NOPE. I ate it ALL. The crust was thin and delicious. Zero pieces left. I called and ordered ahead it was ready when I arrived 15 minutes later. I also ordered one of almost every cookie that included almonds. They have an espresso machine and a drinks menu as well. read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Seriously one of the best wood oven baked pizzas I ever had. - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

Somebody is up during the wee hours of the night, watching this dough rise. Then rolling out these fresh daily decadent delights ... such a great variety too. This bakery also secretly carries the best pizza in the area too. Order a whole pie though, don't be cheap! And be sure to LEAVE A CASH TIP for the ladies... They bust their humps keeping the place orderly and flowing... especially Alina read more

This little gem is tucked away in the redwoods on Hwy 9. If you blink you might miss it, so pay attention because it is worth stopping for. The fresh house made pastries are delicious and perfect with an espresso drink. Sometimes after all the sweets, we finish strong with pizza. Maybe you know how that can be. My personal favorite is the sfogliatella, if you like crisp and flaky this is the one. The filling is lightly sweetened and softly orange scented. My mouth does cartwheels with the contrasting flavors and textures. Friendly service. Cute porch seating. Do yourself a favor and visit! read more

La Placa Family Bakery - Gelato Near Me - Ben Lomond, California

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Quaint, rustic, family-business, campground feel - all good descriptors for La Placa Family Bakery in Ben Lomond. They have extra large pizza options, and beautiful gelato, together with their bakery selections. The pizza was amazingly fresh and tasty, made to order. Crust was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the palate. Meat combo had pepperoni, sausage, olives, green peppers and mushrooms. Size is also LARGE - easily enough for 4-5! Pastries - all really pretty and uniquely crafted and I recommend: Half Moon with vanilla cream and fresh banana Tasca with vanilla cream and fresh strawberry Hazelnut almond cookie Some of the baked items look better than what you experience on the palate but I guess that is the way a lot of baked goods are. At $3-4 per piece, it can add up pretty quick and it's easy to start piling on because they have so many interesting selections. In addition to edible items, there's also other packaged items for sale, interesting decor, and a few benches on the large wooden porch outside. Definitely worth a visit while off the beaten path in Scotts Valley read more

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THIS IS PIZZA the way it's meant to be!! I moved to SLV from Philadelphia 36 years ago where I was involved in the Pizza business. Until NOW I have not found pizza that matches New York City or Philly. So if you've never been there you can get a taste of it today at La Placa. The wait was pretty long but worth it. (I hope this review is a compliment btw) read more

My large pizza was $56 without tip. Knowing the price I'm not going to be able to enjoy it regardless of its taste. Nowhere on the menu are their surprise charges posted either. Buyer beware. Way to rip off people that live in the neighborhood read more

Excellent pastries! Love their pizzas, calzones, cinnamon pastries etc. Staff is super nice too. They have gelato as well n