La Panadería Bakery Café — Restaurant in San Antonio

OUTSTANDING food and AMAZING customer service and staff. My first time in San Antonio and thankfully La Panadería on E. Houston was very close to our hotel (St. Anthony). My sisters and I stayed over the Memorial Day weekend (Thursday through Sunday). We visited this cafe four, yes 4 times. Except for Thursday morning, there was always a line but it moved very quickly.Our longest wait time was 25 minutes on Sunday morning at 10am. The pastries are made fresh and so many choices. They have a variety of concha bread has a unique glaze that is similar to the concept of a French macaron with a shell on the outside and soft bread on the inside. I prefer Cortados over lattes and look at the pictures, perfect latte art but coffee is even better. We at some many different items throughout our weekend stay. The portions are generous and price is right in my opinion. The Avocado Toast with house made ranchero is on point. We went to lunch and had salads before we departed and dressings make an every day salad delicious.

The cafe has THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are more than a 5 star rating. From the person outside at the stand to the minute you leave. Everyone deserves a shout out. They are patient, they clean your tables often and they are all friendly. We had an issue one day where my sister's meal was delayed. Three people came out to apologize. The manager (I believe his name is Joshua) was very gracious. The female at the cash register came out and offered a soup or something while my sister was waiting for her meal. I am sorry I did not get her name. On another day, same sister did not get her order right. It turns out, it was our fault and we did not clarify she wanted eggs on her Vegetariano. The manager came out and apologized. He informed us the eggs were not added to the order. We offered to pay for it but he said not to worry. He brought out the eggs personally as soon as it was made. He apologized even through it was our fault. La Panadería has incredible customer service and I am truly amazed, so much so that I had to come her and tell Yelp views. Shout out to Juan who cleaned our table and brought us an extra chair with a smile. I won't get all the names correct but Jesus, Joshua, Rafa, Louisa, Leo and many others whose names I do not remember. You all made such an impression on me and my sisters. We are coming back to San Antonio very soon because of your dedication to making customers happy....

I have been to other various La Pandería locations multiple times, my dad and I go often, about once every two weeks. We always dine in but order to go because the portions are so large and I can never finish my food. I feel like it is better to just order to go immediately so that I already have a box and figured it gave them less dishes to wash. I’ve always had a great experience until today when I went to their downtown location with my husband and my brother in law who came all the way from Europe to visit San Antonio. As usual, I just order my food to go and we sit down, initially we sat at a large empty table but the manager (or who I’m assuming was the manager) asked us to sit at a smaller table and we did so right away. We got our food and we ate, talked quietly, did not disrupt anyone and then we were asked to leave by the same employee, he lectured us that we ordered to go therefore, we “weren’t suppose to sit down” and that’s not how that works. I was completely baffled at how he was talked to us, he treated us as if we were not also paying customers, his tone was condescending and even aggressive like he was upset with us simply for existing, for sitting… and somehow since I asked for the food “to go”, I was not allowed the same treatment as the people who asked for their food “for here”. Somehow those two simple words decided whether we would be respected customers or not and unfortunately, we picked the wrong words as he wanted us to leave like we were a nuisance. My husband, I and my brother in law cannot wrap my brain around this interaction as we have never been treated so poorly in our lives. And now I’m left wondering, is this simply how they treat all to-go customers at this location or was it just us who were discriminated against? Either way, it is extremely disappointing. San Antonio is suppose to be a city of welcoming people, we rely on tourism, is that not that the case anymore? Is this bakery so popular that it feels that it no longer needs to treat all paying...

La Panaderia Review

My wife and I ate at the La Panaderia twice, because our first time was such an impactful and positive experience.

If you are familiar with either Panera Bread or the St. Louis Bread Company, you may recognize the ambiance. As you enter the line, you are met by a plethora of French, Mexican, and Italian breads. Next were the French and Mexican pastries. At the end of this line were desserts that looked like they came straight from the patisserie in Europe. And to compliment your meal, you could enjoy of lovely latte or espresso.

The menu itself is somewhere between French, Mexican, Italian, and Mediterranean. During our visits, we tried the El Pastor Bowl, Ham and Egg Sandwich, Chicken Milanesa Bowl, and the Tequila French Toast. The Bowls were largely the same, except for the meat. But the spicy sauce that came with the meal brought all the flavors together in a way that I was not ready for. WOW! It was like a spicy Caesar dressing. Not a hot spicy, but full of incredible flavors that made everything else brighter and better. The French Toast was too big for one person. Thank goodness. The Tequila flavor was subtley integrated into the custard, but it complimented the fruit and the rest of the dish perfectly. It came with maple syrup, but the dish was perfect without it.

On one of our visits, our order got messed up. Rey and his crew took care of us as though we were family. The rest of the crew was also amazing. They were eager to talk to patrons about their experience and travels but not in a “hey I want to disrupt your meal” kinda way, but in a “Wow, I haven’t seen you in a minute” kinda way. It really did feel like a home cooked meal prepared by someone who knew exactly what we wanted to eat and experience.

Rey, thank you and your crew for taking care of us they way you did. It wasn’t just a meal: it was...