El Pavo Bakery & Restaurant — Restaurant in San Gabriel

I am a regular customer at this bakery and have visited multiple times. During my first visit, I asked the cashier where to find the parchment paper, and she informed me. Since then, I always grab a sheet to use underneath the pan dulce for sanitation reasons. All bakeries have this, even Paris Baguette.

On this day, I followed my usual routine: I got my tray, proceeded to grab my parchment paper, and placed my pan dulce on it. When I approached the cashier, I noticed she seemed to struggle with the tongs because of her long nails. She proceeded to remove my parchment paper and dumped my pan dulce directly onto the tray. This irritated me because the parchment paper serves as a protective barrier. I asked her why she did that, and she replied, "Oh, I thought the parchment paper was used." How could it be used when she saw me grab a new sheet upon my arrival? She only threw my bread onto the tray because she was unable to handle it properly with her long nails. In food service, it is necessary to wear gloves if you have fake nails.

This situation is clearly unsanitary, and I found the cashier's...

3rd time here. First time was for the empanadas. They're small so you can eat a bigger variety, that's what I prefer. Second time was for the bakery. Their bread is so good, and whatever you call their round buns with the sugar on it, is the best I've had. It's similar to Asian pineapple buns, and this is not as soft or as sweet, and I prefer this. I can eat more of them this way. This time I'm here for the food. I got a combo plate. They have 7-8 different kinds of prepared meats. Asada, Chile Verde, buche, tripa, beef and potato, carnitas, chicken, etc. I got 2 kinds with beef and rice. It comes with some lettuce and tomato onion on it. I asked for sour cream on top which made it awesome. It came with 3 tortillas which were steaming hot. I got a few baked goods again and a soda. Definitely worth coming here for the food and bakery. Well worth the prices. My plate was around $10. A burrito is less, tacos are around $2 and you can order their meats in containers...

UPDATE I decided to update my review after today’s visit.

I got to the bakery minutes after it opened. Two pieces we ate were dry and chewy. While at the bakery, I noticed a truck driver delivering what looked like freshly made bread. A woman removed trays from tall metal carts containing newly delivered bread and merely added it to bread already awaiting in the shelves. When I got home I discovered all the bread I purchased was day old bread.

Also the two pork tamales I bought were not fresh or fully thawed which meant they were not taken out of the refrigerator and properly heated before being sold.

These are bad business practices. This may be my last visit to this sub par bakery.

ORIGINAL REVIEW

This bakery is not nearly as good as it once was, however, my two favorite pieces of Mexican bread are the croissants aka cuernos and the slices of pound cake. Their chorizo sold by the pound is also good as are the tamales. The remainder of their Mexican bread...