Welcome to the Tour!!
Hello hello! Whether you live in the Los Angeles area, are planning to travel there in the near future, or just like looking at über fancy desserts in the heart of Hollywood, you have come to the right place! My family was gracious enough to make stops throughout our family vacation to many bakeries I had been scouting out these last few months, and now I get to share them all with you!
Bottega Louie:
700 South Grand Avenue • Los Angeles, CA 90017
The first stop on our bakery tour, at Bottega Louie, was absolutely amazing. It really reminded me of one of my favorite bakeries in New York City, Ladureè. With beautiful marble countertops, flawless desserts on display, and a wide arrangement of chocolates and macarons to choose from, it was hard to leave!
The prices were also fairly decent, so I ended up leaving with a couple of white chocolate coconut & pineapple bars as well as a chai macaron, both of which were delicious!
Pictured below is a beautiful, traditional French dessert, known as a St. Honoré cake. This classic dessert is comprised of a puff pastry base, topped with caramel dipped pate aux choux or cream puffs, and then a fresh whipping cream. I so wish I could have tried one of these, but we were out and about in the city of stars for the whole day and knew it would melt in the car. Ah well, this just means I gotta try to make my own! 😉
The Three Broomsticks
100 Universal City Plaza • Universal City, CA 91608
I will be the first to admit I did not expect good food at an amusement park. Universal Studios totally crushed my expectations, though!!
You walk into Harry Potter World and of course are in total awe of the life-size castle and the insanely realistic Hogsmeade. As you go down towards the Castle, The Three Broomsticks, named after the restaurant in the popular books and movies, will be on your left. Inside, it is dark and crowded and seems as though there are not too many options to choose from. I encourage you to not be discouraged! The simple sausage with potatoes is amazing. So is the fish and chips. We ordered pretty much one of everything and can tell you from experience they’re all killer!
And of course I can’t mention a meal without dessert, right? So let’s talk about butterbeer. If you are familiar with the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, you hopefully remember the scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to stop in the Three Broomsticks for some warm butterbeer.
Ours was cold, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way on an 85-degree day in Los Angeles! Sticky Toffee Pudding was also a must according to other bloggers on the internet, and I am so glad that I listened.
A trip to Honeydukes is also a must if you’re a Harry Potter fan. They boasted shelves of chocolate frogs, candy slugs, and of course, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavored beans!
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe:
7640 Beach Blvd • Buena Park, CA 90620
This bakery, Porto’s, was probably most like the bakery I work at home. It has a wide variety of desserts and pastries, while also serving coffee and sandwiches. The place was so big, they actually had two separate showcases that held all of the same products!
I really loved the interior of this bakery with the marble and wood accents that were seen throughout. It was so simple which meant the focus was really on the desserts (as it should be!).
While I did not get to try any of the beautiful desserts, I did pick up a fresh strawberry croissant which was seriously good, especially when enjoyed on the California coastline!
- Strawberry Croissant. So. Dang. Good.
You may not know this, but I am also a total interior design nut. I love watching HGTV and browsing around furniture stores. I already have a pretty specific idea of how I want my shop to look someday, and seeing other bakeries with styles similar to my tastes is like seeing my dreams as a reality! I also love love love vintage. And neon signs. And Porto’s had both, so they automatically ranked high on my list.
Everything that they had on display looked amazing and so detailed, it was hard to believe they had so many different desserts to choose from and so many different flavors! I was really drawn into a passion fruit, mango, and coconut mousse cake, but that’s just me.
The iron and industrial feel of the bakery reminded me of many establishments around my hometown of Portland, Oregon, which was so nice to see after being surrounded by palm trees and rolling dry hills. The windows throughout the space made it feel so large and open, which I absolutely loved.
Alright, all geeky interior-design notes aside: this place rocked, and definitely has something for everyone. Check it out!
Disneyland:
1313 Disneyland Drive • Anaheim, CA 92802
Probably the most fun bakeries that I visited on this trip were not surprisingly the ones within Disneyland. With all of the vibrant colors and whimsical decorations, I can see how many kids become enthralled with these sugar-filled shops.
Before coming to Disney, I, of course, familiarized with the most popular treats around USA’s Main Street in Los Angeles, CA. The top treats included Mickey Mouse Beignets, Matterhorn Macaroon, Character Candy Apples, and of course… DOLE WHIP!
I was a bit skeptical, I will admit. I mean, it’s just a bit of pineapple sorbet, right? Oh man, I was so wrong. When in line, and this is no joke, there was a man wearing a shirt that said: “I am only here for the Dole Whip” and wow I am currently frantically trying to find that shirt for myself. It is just so refreshing, melt in your mouth and creamy, and so worth the hype.
I, unfortunately, did not get the chance to try any other sweet treats. What are your favorites? Have any of you tried the Mickey Beignets? Those definitely looked great to me, but I was unfortunately way too full and tired after a long day at Disney. Slightly regretting it now that I am looking through my photos two weeks later. Well, maybe next time!
Kettle Glazed Doughnuts:
6211 Franklin Avenue • Los Angeles, CA 90028
Alright, so for all of my fellow Portlander’s, we have got some great doughnut shops around here. My favorite being Blue Star Doughnuts, with Voodoo, of course, being a close and fun second. So I had high expectations going into Hollywood. And oh did Kettle Glazed Doughnuts deliver!
With fun flavors ranging from s’mores to something, they call a ‘cruffin’ (croissant+muffin).
The interior was fun and fairly 70’s (check the ceiling!) which I can totally dig. At first sight, it may not look like Bottega Louie, but once you sink your teeth into any of their pastries, you will see why it is such a big deal.
These doughnuts are guaranteed to melt in your mouth and pack a flavorful punch. Out of the ones that I tried, the s’mores and the double chocolate with rainbow sprinkles were the best. It should be known though that declaring these as the best was a difficult decision to make.
I had known that doughnuts were really hitting the scene in Portland, but I had no idea what was coming for me when I came to L.A. They were like McDonald’s and could be seen on almost every corner – whether they were a chain or independently owned.
The Pie Hole:
6314 Hollywood Boulevard • Los Angeles, CA 90028
When doing my research and choosing the bakeries that I wanted to visit in the Los Angeles area, I wanted to make sure that I had a wide variety, and wasn’t visiting cupcake shops the entire time (although that would have been SO fun too!).
I really wanted to visit the Milk Shop, which has become a social media frenzy through its build your own macaron ice cream sandwiches and other dairy-filled treats, but unfortunately, time did not allow. Sigh. I can’t expect my family to eat sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner though.
The Pie Hole had great reviews online and a great website, so I was very intrigued. I was slightly disappointed when I showed up to find a simple showcase of both regular and hand-held sized pies, that really did not look much out of the ordinary to me. As you will see below, they did have a ‘Cereal Cheesecake” Pie which was intriguing, but other than that it was fairly boring. And I feel truly, truly sorry for saying that. But it’s true!
The interior was basic, the pie flavors and decorations were basic, and prices were not out of the ordinary. Because of this, and as I now regret, I did not try a slice, which, if I am going to blog about this place, I really should. If this is your favorite place, let me know!! Maybe I am wrong and totally judged a book by its cover.
So, unfortunately, if you are in the Los Angeles area and looking for a slice of pie, this is not one that I can confidently recommend.
Hollywood Doughnuts:
1645 N Cahuenga Boulevard • Los Angeles, CA 90028
Another doughnut shop that I had stumbled upon (again, it was easy to do with so many in the area!) is Hollywood Doughnuts. Tucked into a side street of Hollywood, I was drawn in by their large windows and displays of colorful doughnuts that could be seen from across the street.
It was really fun strolling into this doughnut shop after just stopping at Kettle Glazed just because I could make an easy comparison. Both had a s’mores doughnut, so I guess this must be the new ‘hip’ thing that I need to make next?
The flavors featured in this shop reminded me of the doughnut shops around PDX, boasting a maple bacon doughnut, creme brulee, and of course the fruit loops confection. I was super intrigued by the creme brulee doughnut because 1: You should know by now that I LOVE combining yummy things and 2: creme brulee (duh).
The top was coated with a torched sugar, giving that iconic crunch that creme brulee is so famous for. I thought the doughnut was pretty good, although the filling lacked some flavor. We found this to be a common theme among the other few doughnuts we had purchased from here, which was a disappointment.
Coming from my brother though, who is a bacon fiend, this was the best maple bacon doughnut he had ever had. Which, I can believe. There have to be about 3 strips of bacon piled on top of that thing!
So, all in all, if you wanna stop in here, go for the classic.
Thanks for taking the tour! I hope that these recommendations will be useful to you in future travels down south to the infamous city of stars.
Abby
abbysartisanadventure.wordpress.com 
So many good sweets in LA!
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