With so many top notch bakeries in San Francisco, I rarely venture out of the city to explore new spots.
Backhaus has been on my list for several years and I finally made the trek down the peninsula to San Mateo. They have two locations but we visited their flagship store which was busy on a Sunday morning.
They have a nice selection of sweet and savory pastries and we got an array to try.
Asiago Pretzel Épi (7/10).
I was intrigued to get the pain d’épi as I never see them at bakeries, only at fine dining restaurants. It’s an impressive twist on the classic French baguette and they had a version made out of pretzel dough topped with Asiago cheese. The texture was slightly tough but that’s typical of pretzel dough.
Everything Croissant Bowl (8/10).
This is one of their signature pastries, a savory croissant reminiscent of an everything bagel with cream cheese. It was pretty delicious with the flaky layers and a creamy interior.
Tomato and Fontina Cheese Danish (7.5-8/10).
The seasonal pastry was the tomato, garlic confit, and Fontina cheese danish. Tommaso liked it more than I did as the tomatoes made the pastry slightly soggy.
Chocolate Chip Cookie (7.5/10).
A classic chocolate chip cookie always hits the spot but it lacked a little salt which would help enhance the flavors.
Earl Grey Blackberry Scone (7.5/10).
This was a pretty good scone as it wasn’t dry which I typically find is the issue with scones in general. However, I barely got any blackberry flavor which would have paired so nicely with the earl grey tea.
Morning Bun (5.5-6/10).
By far this was the weakest pastry we tried. I absolutely adore morning buns as they are one of my favorite pastries and this was a letdown. It was dry, not flaky, and didn’t have that sticky gooey middle which is the best part of a morning bun!
Banana Walnut Chocolate Croissant (6.5-7/10).
The banana walnut chocolate croissant was just okay. It was clunky and the banana flavor almost had an alcohol taste to it.
Seeded Sourdough Bread (8.5-9/10).
The strongest baked good we tried was their seeded sourdough bread with a beautiful crackly crust and that tangy soft interior. I would definitely try their other loaves as they had a nice selection of breads.
I have mixed feelings about Backhaus as I enjoyed their savory baked goods over their sweets. If I was in the area, I would get another loaf of bread and maybe a pastry but I don’t think I would go out of my way again as we have plenty of amazing bakeries closer to home. Therefore my rating is a 7/10.