Wayfarer Bread & Pastry — Restaurant in San Diego

So to set the scene, I drove down from carlsbad in the rain to pick up a few things from a cool local bakery (the baguettes are solid and the English muffins are worth the drive)

It’s STORMING. (Not their fault.)

Parking absolutely sucks (not their fault)

They were busy (couldn’t be happier for them) Monitors outside in the rain for about 10min and gave up.

Fast forward, I still wanted a sandwich, baguette and muffins so I went over to google to see if I could grab their number to call and make sure that they weren’t sold out before I schlepped back down.

No number.

I went to their website…..

No number.

I jumped I the car and drove all the way back down there, spent 15min looking for parking, waited in line and got to the counter….

Sandwiches were sold out (I get it, it happens)

I said “hey, I couldn’t find a phone number for you guys online”.

The guy helping me (short, dark hair) said yeah, we don’t have a phone. (It’s 2024 and this is a service business)

I said, I drove all the way from carlsbad in the rain twice. I would’ve liked to be able to call to find out if you had what I wanted.

Guy: it’s first come first served anyway, we don’t take reservations….

Me:….

Here’s the thing, if I’d been able to call & they had what I wanted in the first lace, I would’ve still made the drive. If it were sold out before I got there, no harm, no could, I’d rolled the dice and lost. No biggie.

The fact that he didn’t grasp that and that he seemed to have a really shvtty attitude about it really sucks for a small, local business. It’s too bad, there are half a dozen other local bakeries that I drove past to get there that I’ll patronize in the future instead of this one.

Kicker: they take pre-orders but only online…. So, they DO allow “reservations.”

Remember when the service industry...

I haven't tried their baguette or pizza yet, so this review is strictly for the two things I have tried. I came across this bakery on one of the Eater videos, which deemed it as the best bread in San Diego. So, well, I had to check it out. I saw that the bakery closes at 2:30 pm and opens at 4:30 pm, so we went there close to 4:30 pm on a Sat. We saw a couple of people waiting at the door before the bakery opened. We didn't think much about it and wandered around. As more people started showing up, we decided that we would stand in line. So we were 4th. I was under the impression that they restock when they open in the evening. How wrong I was! Since it was a Sat, and their pizza night, they were only selling what was left from the morning. This included some chocolate cookies, orange cookies, a couple of croissants, 3-4 baguettes and 2 loaves of multiseed bread. As people started choosing things, we became anxious that there wouldn't be much left! And when we got to our turn, there were no baguettes left (which is what we had eye on) and one croissant (thank God!). So we ended up buying a chocolate cookie, the last croissant, and the multiseed loaf of bread. The best of them? That croissant. WOW. It was buttery, soft and firm and delicious. Absolutely delicious. Also, quite big, so my husband and I were able to share and still get enough to eat. The chocolate cookie was nice, but a little too crunchy for my likes. We had the multiseed bread with our homemade soup and it was delicious. My only issue with it is that it became hard within 48 hours, which was disappointing. We learnt a few lessons about coming to this bakery so we will use them when we come back for more croissants and to get that...

This bakery has been on my must-try list since I saw the owner's short video online about her process and inspiration. I try to support local small businesses whenever I can as their products are labors of love. She is obviously passionate about her craft.

The line on a Saturday was expectedly long but it moved pretty quickly. Seasonal baked goods are displayed in cases with their labels with a loaded rack on the side for a quick collection of requested items. I truly wanted one of everything as I know next week's menu will be different. Their website breaks down the menu to which ones are staples and which ones are seasonal. This is a mark of creativity and passion, and I am happy to oblige as a taster and beneficiary.

The employees we interacted with were courteous and patient to us newbies. All of the baked goods I purchased did not disappoint. In fact, they exceeded expectations. The scone was a perfect texture of crunchy on the outside and cakey on the inside with poached pears. The high quality of the ingredients shine through.

Patrons can stay awhile and perch on benches on the patio. Honestly, stopping at Wayfarer was like being warmly invited into a good friend's house for a special breakfast baked with love. Just go already! But please save me some!

Oh if you're not into waiting in line for good food, then place an online pre-order for pickup but the pickup window doesn't open until 9am.

Coffee is available and many were enjoying a cup, but I didn't partake of any this time around....