Cream Pan Bakery Lomita — Restaurant in Lomita

Service: slightly chaotic but friendly. Parking: small private lot maybe 20 spaces (enter on 240th St.) with free street parking.

Based in Orange County, Cream Pan finally opened up shop in the South Bay... yasss!!! Located off Narbonne Ave. & 240th St., the bakery was a bright white so it stood out in the residential neighborhood. The street is fairly busy on a Saturday afternoon that I was almost rear ended when I slowed to a sweet spot adjacent to the bakery before noticing the private lot. Yikes!

Once inside, its goodies run lengthwise as you enter from the right & peruse your way left through all their offerings. The 1st case displays their best seller -- strawberry croissants -- prepackaged in a box of 6. Gotta get me some of those!! If you buy the box or trays, it's slightly discounted (between 2% - 7%) from an individual serving.

With just a couple of hours left before closing, I was surprised at the amount of goodies left. According to their website, Cream Pan has a pretty substantial menu & not everything was displayed during my visit. I'm guessing they're working on it since I consider this period as their soft opening to work out their inventory & kinks. There were several people ahead of me, but the line was held up by the customers & staff trying to figure whose first. It took me a second before realizing I could skip ahead to pay for my grab-&-go box. I inquired at the counter if they have a loyalty program. Nope. Not that they need one to encourage loyal patronage, though it would be a nice reward for us customers. Here's hoping they may create one (85°C, JJ, Torrance Bakeries does)

The bakery is close to home & walkable, but not in this early fall that feels likes summer. I don't think these strawberry croissants would hold well for a 25-min. walk, maybe doable when the weather's cooler. We were home in a couple of mins. & my 7 YO immediately dove into his; a huge smile lit up upon 1st bite. While the croissants are slightly smaller than other local bakeries, they still have that buttery flaky goodness. Cream Pan's has more of a crispy texture, & it's stuffed with a light custard & fresh strawberries that you get a delicious taste of both in every bite. Soooooo yummy!! Strawberry season has passed so they're not as sweet & juicy... I can only imagine how this treat will get better during strawberry season. Oh my!

The owner, Yoshinori Inaba, initially focused on cream pans (sweet buns with light custard), hence its name, then expanded to pastries, breads, cakes, Japanese-style sandwiches, & savory rice dishes.

I plan on tasting through their menu; starting with: apple croissant, blueberry croissant, strawberry banana croissant, pan au raisin, azuki cream, croquette & yakisoba sandwiches (this noodle sandwich sounds interesting) so I can recommend/use them to cater our morning meetings. Cream Pan has shorter hours than the local bakeries; however, they open early enough & would be a great option for our morning meetings.

Only 2 weeks in & Cream Pan already has 40 Yelp reviews... with their rising popularity, I'm sure a long line will be forming for their baked goods. Come early so you don't miss out on their treats!

Highly Recommended: Strawberry...

I visited this bakery for the first time today. I'm really impressed with everything about it! This is a Japanese bakery, and they have items like Cream Pan, Curry Pan, sushi rolls, rice balls, pork bao, sandwiches to drinks like freshly squeezed juices and coffee. The atmosphere was nice with soft music playing, and the bakery is organized with fresh bread in the front and a line you get into to request different hot items. Parking can be kind of tight, but at least it is in a residential area so there is ample parking on the street. Service is fast for having to train employees, and they have an efficient method for taking orders. I would definitely return again! I just wish it was open til 8pm instead of 7pm! Update: 12/31/23: Well, I invited a friend here for breakfast. I was really annoyed to see that they blocked off the seated areas to avoid people sitting down and dining. This was really frustrating because my friend travelled far and in the rain to try out this bakery. I don't know what the big deal was. They allowed us to sit because my friend came far to eat here. To my disappointment, one of the workers started putting chairs away. Really? I know you are closing at 5pm today but you didn't have to close off your dining area. I think it left a bad impression on my friend and I think it's a bad...

I give Cream Pan 2.5/5 stars.

Reddit brought me here. Unfortunately, I left disappointed.

I fist tried the strawberry croissant, the most popular item. Yeah, I don't understand the hype. While the cream filling was good, the croissant was on the small side; with only 2 thin slices of strawberry, there's not much strawberry about this.

The next item I tried was the curry pan. The flavor was good, but it was cold. Do they have an option to warm up upon request?

The star of the show was the crispy cheese bread. This, crispy, and delicious.

I skipped going to Corridor Flow for some good coffee to grab coffee here. Huge mistake.

I purchased a few more items, but I'm in no rush to eat them.

There are plenty of tables, and I feel that the space is more seating than food options. It didn't feel like a cozy, inviting atmosphere usually experienced in bakeries.

Parking lot is small, and a nightmare. Best to find street parking.

Will I come back? No. There are better bakery options in the South Bay. And for the price, Cream Pan is an overrated...