La Panadería Bakery Café — Restaurant in San Antonio

Last weekend, my friend and I decided to meet at La Panadería, a place we both love for its great food and atmosphere. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so we were really looking forward to catching up. Knowing it gets busy, we arrived right when they opened to avoid the rush.

We ordered our food, enjoyed it, and each paid a 20% tip upfront, even though the service was a bit lacking—our coffees weren’t refilled, for instance. (We had to stand up and refill it ourselves)

After finishing our meal, we were still sipping our coffees and chatting when a waiter came over and asked us to leave because there were people waiting for a table. We were in the middle of a conversation, and while I understand the need to accommodate other guests, there was no clear policy mentioned anywhere about a time limit for tables.

It was disappointing and honestly a little upsetting. Weekends at popular restaurants often mean waiting for a table, and we had planned accordingly by coming early. We weren’t lingering excessively, just enjoying the coffee we paid for while catching up.

We didn’t argue with the waiter, who was likely just following orders, but this experience left us feeling unvalued as customers. I hope this review reaches the owner, as it’s sad to have such a negative experience at a place we’ve always appreciated. We know we’re just two people and our visit might not make much of a difference to their business, but it felt disrespectful and rushed.

It’s a shame, because the food and ambiance are excellent, but this situation really tainted the...

Ah, La Panadería — the perfect place to test your patience, social stamina, and ability to eat while standing. First off, parking? Don’t even bother. Just go ahead and schedule a rideshare, or bring a bike, or maybe a helicopter. That’ll save you the 15-minute “find-a-spot-and-still-end-up-parking-in-a-different-zip-code” experience. Then comes the wait in line. Yes, outside. In the blazing sun, wind, or drizzle — nature’s little welcome party. Hope you like standing, because you’ll be doing it for a good 25–30 minutes just to get inside. Once you do make it through the gates of carb heaven and actually pay? That’s when the real fun begins. Seating is survival of the fittest. Tables don’t turn over — they just vanish and reappear like you’re in a glitchy video game. People are hovering like hawks, waiting to pounce. It’s like a weird brunch-themed version of “The Hunger Games.” Now let’s talk food timing. If you're in a group, prepare for a staggered dining experience. One person might get their meal in 10 minutes, another in 25, and someone else might still be waiting while you're halfway through dessert. It’s giving “surprise me” energy — and not in a good way. On the bright side: the staff inside are super sweet, and the pastry line runs smoother than the rest of the operation combined. Honestly, they deserve medals for holding it all together. Final verdict? If you enjoy stress, crowd-watching, and eating your breakfast in shifts, La Panadería is the spot for you. Otherwise… maybe just grab a concha...

This was my first time at this new location, I frequent the original and the one at the Cantera but the experience I had yesterday at this new one is really putting me off from visiting any location again. I understand there is a need to make sure the line keeps moving but when I get to register with questions, it really off-putting that the waitress at the register doesn't care to answer your questions to explain a menu option. She seemed bothered that I wouldn't know what I wanted even though there was hardly a line in front of me for me to have time to look their menu and decide what I wanted for breakfast. My aunt and uncle were also given attitude and bad service by the same woman. It was so bad that they didn't even order any pastries after being rushed forward to a register because they were "holding up the line" while looking at the pastries. They ended being so uncomfortable that they ordered one item off the menu and shared just to be done with her. We were also asked every couple of minutes, with food still on our plates, if we were done eating so they could take our plates. The bad service and rushing us out of the table was enough for me to put out this review because I love the restaurant, we go a lot to the other locations but this one experience at this new location has me rethinking if we should come back. Reevaluate who you have working at this location, they need to be trained in proper...