Wow, all stunning and delicious pastries! And the sweetest interaction. I found Onki at the Redwood…read moreCity Farmers Market on Saturday mornings and was lucky there were any pastries left. Most of the time, they are sold out by 9:30am. Check out their Instagram for real time updates! You can find their pastries at other local cafes. Almond Croissant (5/5) - I'm looking for a favorite almond croissant in the Bay Area and this is currently the top one! Kouign Amann (5/5) Lemon Madeline (4/5) Chocolate Croissant (4/5) I really want to try the cute animal shaped (or normal cube shaped) milk bread and try the seasonal Kouign Amann flavors so I will be back!

Waited online for about 45 minutes and was able to get some of the few pastries left. The baker is…read moredefinitely dedicated to their craft and even avoids placing the finishing touches on some of their items until the customer orders it (This happened with our matcha Kouign-amann). We purchased the black sesame crossiant, which had a nice flaky texture and nuttiness. It also included chocolate as part of the inner layer of the crossiant, so it was partially a black sesame and chocolate crossiant mashup. The outside was topped with a black sesame and cream cheese-like frosting -- I could have had a little less of the cream cheese flavor (generally not a fan of cream cheese), but did enjoy it. If you want to enjoy any of the crossiants at this pop-up, get there early. We arrived only 15 min after their opening and was online for 1/2 hour and almost missed the black sesame and also missed a few of the other pastries already. It seemed like this popup had frequent visitors and that they tended to order in bulk, with each customer ordering multiple boxes of pastries even for a small group. We saw about 15 minutes after we left they were already sold out, so even arriving after the 1/2 hour mark may be too late to enjoy any of these pastries. There were a lot of options for fans of sweet pastries, but no savories at this one. I'll watch to see if the menu expands and maybe go again for the black sesame and a few other options in the future.

Plenty of space Empanada…read moreOrange juice fresh squeezed with the latte Choripan nice chimichurri Bread crisp on outside, chewy inside

This place was just OK, I'd like to give them another shot but the first impression wasn't great…read more Went on a weekend late afternoon and the place was pretty full. But even though the seats were filled up, it still felt empty since it's a large space with high ceilings and it's not very cozy. Like getting pastries in a bank lobby. Many of the pastries were not available which is understandable since they were closing soon. They had a quince tart which is not something you often find so had to try that and of course an empanada, they had few available so I got the bacon and cheese one. Service wasn't super friendly and when I went back to ask for another spoon I got the "I'm doing you a huge favor" look. The owner came by to check on us and he was definitely super friendly and engaging, but the folks behind the counter were not. The quince pastry was unfortunately a let down, very dense and not flavorful. The pastry itself was too doughy. The empanada was ok but not flaky enough. I want to give them another shot, but I had heard glowing reviews of this place and maybe had too high expectations. But even if I had gone in blind, I would have still been underwhelmed.

Love how fluffy and flavorful the cakes are without being overly sweet. The mango pancake is also…read moredelicious.

Wow! We were surprised how good the mango cake that we got. They wrapped it so nicely…read more Also, they have different pastries that reminds me of 85 degrees. But this place is much better.

Hey hey hey! (Good old "Music Champ" or for those not familiar with that Japanese variety show,…read more"Fat Albert"!) Another legit Japanese bakery in the Yay? You bet! Jiro/Jirou Cafe & Bakery (Jirou Sabou/二郎茶房) is a Japanese cafe on Belmont's Las Pulgas and Carlmont. From what I have gathered as I did my prior scouting/dining scouting (I can't recall anymore), the place is only 3 years old. Seeing that I'm a San Jose/Milpitas cat, I'll type what this place has over Clover and vice versa. This is done not only so that I can recall what I ordered should I enter as I get off 101 again. This is also done so that Belmont residents, Frisco ones and those nearby can get an idea of what to expect when they can decide whether Jiro or Clover has the better batch of items. I felt awful for staying in for 3 hours of the 4 weekend hours of operation yesterday, but as I type up this review and remember to insert the usual "Yes guys, the ladies are cute!" statement, I did get more items before this place closed for the day. I blame/thank the music, especially an Utada Hikaru-san song. The staff's really terrific. The look seems random with a simple look wall and a white and pink stripe look wall that gives me shades of Anna Miller's, but it works because the place is really cute. I mean, there's a Kuromi decoration as opposed to the Too Short name dropped Kitty in Clover! Though there's a kiosk, there's also the ever important bottle of sanitizer and the register should you pay with cash. Okay, I better get the comparison paragraph pair out of the way. Let me show you something--I mean start with what Jiro has over Clover! (Yay "In Living Color".) As I typed in the last paragraph, Jiro has Kuromi. Beside that, there are items such as an iced houjicha latte with in house cream, Japanese sodas including my San Franciscan friend's melon soda that made him wish he's back in Japan, cat shaped bread along with multiple forms of cat decorations, Anpan Man pan with Jiro being the second place I have been to carrying them after Sac's Mahoroba, big savory sandwiches such as yakisoba sando, tonkatsu quesadilla, yuzu cheesecake, pan such as sakura pan, matcha panna cotta, Belgian chocolate brownies, juurokucha bottles (a non-caffeinated tea of 16 ingredients) and on the go snacks such as the Japanese animal crackers boxes. I can't forget the seating, an element Clover had before the pandemic mess. What Clover has over Jiro. Clover has the cooler Sanrio character. Regarding the foods and drinks, Clover has Italian sodas with the Torani syrups, ice cream for the French ones as opposed to cream or half and half, piroshiki/pirozhki, mini versions of sandwiches such as korokke/croquette and okonomiyaki/modan'yaki pan (savory pancake with noodles for the latter if you are not familiar with Japanese food), donut twists, strawberry sando, and Japanese strawberry shortcake. Regarding what I bought, I picked out items I can't get at the other Japanese bakeries I've been to in the sakura pan, the yuzu cheesecake and the houjicha latte. The latte's cream is so silky. The sakura pan is also good. As for the cheesecake, while I think Charlie's (as in the cheesecake place on Redmond) makes the most yummy cheesecake, Jiro's for me probably makes the least guilty cheesecake (a very good trait to have) because it's not that sweet, and yuzu's a good fruit to have. The flaws. Outside of the parking lot across the street, the place has really bad parking, as you can only park for 20 minutes in front of the cafe. You figure that there's the lot around the corner, but don't use it, as it's for the medical center. Also, there are limited hours of operation (11-5 Wednesday to Friday and 12-4 on the weekends). Neither flaw can't be helped I suppose, especially since Belmont isn't really a suburb you think of regarding Japanese food. If only there's a fruit sando or a korokke pan. Jiro is an amazing spot for me. While it unfortunately will never be my top Japanese bakery (I've known Clover's for around 20 years), it is a very good bakery never the less. To think, I found this spot on the fly after having lunch. If you live in Belmont, visit this place often because having a Japanese bakery is like having a Mr. Mays baseball card or for some of you, a shiny Pokemon. Get there early so you don't miss out on items. +/Jiro is a jiving cafe because of its adorable staff, brilliant visuals, and a grand list of Japanese pastries and drinks. -/Carpy parking and limited hours made me twitch.

Not. Good. At. All…read more Nothing is fresh here, it's a little pathetic really. Pork kastsu sandwich: Nearly tasteless, luke warm, cold sauce, cold untoasted bun. I would prefer a mayo or thousand island dressing. No side. Expensive for what you get Yakisoba: Some kind of cheap microwave situation. No meat. Rip off. Came here because of the good reviews and feel duped. AVOID! Bad bad bad. Just horrible.

Super cute cafe serving sweet and savory pastries, cakes, sandwiches, salads, and drinks! Quality…read morefood and delicious flavors! Ample indoor seating. Parking is limited (small lot with about 8 spots) but there is street parking. Zulemy is so kind! She's great at recommending salads to try! Will be back to try the Chicken Sonoma next!

I was craving croissants on Sunday morning so I went to check out this place since it's close to…read morewhere I live. Just a heads up parking is honestly pretty difficult so it may take you a bit to try to find parking in the area. I got the strawberry croissant, chocolate croissant, and almond croissant! along with an iced latte. Took all of them to go to eat back at home. The iced latte was just ok but the croissants were pretty flaky and smooth! Both the chocolate and strawberry have a cream filling on the inside. I would try to come again earlier in the day to get a fresher batch. I would say the croissants are the best thing to get at this cafe.

Finding this cafe was the highlight of my trip. I came back for 4 days straight and worked from the…read morecafe, no need to try anywhere else because everything was soooo good. They have wifi for those who need to work remotely and the food was amazing. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Some of my favorites were the beet salad, the ham and cheese croissant sandwich, the Mediterranean sandwich, the apple mini tarts, and the tomato soup. If you're looking for a deal, they have a lunch special from 11 AM to 4 PM That includes a sandwich, a salad, a small pastry and a drink/coffee for $15. The employees are extremely accommodating and provide amazing service. I am allergic to eggs and lactose intolerant. They can modify almost everything based on dietary restrictions. I also tend to struggle with gluten (Im not celiac) but had no issues with their croissants. They use really fresh ingredients and everything's clearly made day of. I'm a big foodie and I also enjoy cooking a lot and I am generally not easy to please when it comes to food. You truly cannot go wrong with anything on their menu. A must try!!!!

We were craving dessert after eating at state of mind , and the spot was next door…read more They have lunch items but also cakes and gelato . I tried a sample of the Oreo gelato and it was way too creamy, like had more of a mousse texture. My friend and I got two desserts that looks beautiful in the case but wow, I have not had cake that dry at a store ever !!! It tasted like if I had birthday cake and kept it in my fridge for 2 weeks. The inside is cute , with lavender colored decor. The lady also seemed eager for us to leave.

Went to the San Mateo Backhaus and was very impressed! I've been to the Burlingame location and I…read morelove this one equally. The baristas are super efficient and nice to talk to. The interior was limited seating but the back patio is spacious. I got a croissant and an iced americano. The crossing was delicate, flakey, warm, buttery and tender- so delicious! The coffee was very satisfying, with a bold, smooth flavor. Great experience- also bonus points because this location is walking distance to the Central Park Japanese Garden.

The plain croissant was excellent--beautifully flaky with a delicate sweetness and satisfying…read morecrunch on the outside, while remaining soft and pillowy on the inside. The chocolate croissant was just as good, featuring the perfect balance of sweet and slightly bitter chocolate wrapped in layers of buttery, flaky pastry. The latte, topped with a leaf design, was rich, smooth, and flavorful. It provided the perfect pick-me-up while making a headache disappear. The café offers plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors, with additional space upstairs and downstairs. Friendly staff, a welcoming atmosphere, delicious pastries, and good coffee make this cafe well worth a visit.

Everyone loves the cupcakes! The decorations are so cute and will definitely reorder in the future!read more

A very overdue review - I realized I never left one for my son's birthday mini cupcakes 3 years…read moreago! I requested 3 batches with 3 different themes (birthday, construction, and Bluey) and they were perfect!