San Juan Bakery

Someone needs to call the proper authorities on these people. Not only is their customer service exceptionally bad, but there are reports that the Ecuadorian guy buys meat out of the back of a trunk. That’s right, someone’s trunk, the trunk of their car!!!

I was super excited to find a puerto rican spot in Chicago! Being a Florida girl in a Chicago world I was ecstatic to find Puerto Rican bread… it was delish! I also got macaroons, spanish sugar cookies, and a quesito. It was ALL fabulous!!! I will be back!

Best pastellos de gustaba. Omg! I could stay and eat there all day! Everything is so good and their homemade pan de bollo! Da bomb!

I had one so-​so and one meh experience here.
The first time I had a Cuban sandwich and café con leche which were pretty good. I took some pastries to go. Those were either not good or just okay. The mom and daughter who were working that day were friendly and very nice.
This time, I got a pastelillo to go. I noticed a fly trapped inside one of the enclosed glass display counters. It was on one of the donuts. Definitely not appetizing! The ladies from last time were not working and service was somewhat disorganized.
I bit into what was supposed to be a flaky, powdered sugar encrusted guava treat when I got home… and immediately spit it out. Despite being bought on a Saturday afternoon, it was stale and tasted like it had somehow absorbed all the funky smells going on in the bakery.
Maybe I’ve been watching too many episodes of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares lately, but I’ll be sticking to Roeser’s or Café Colao from now on.

My friend and I when there this morning minimum order w/​debit card is $ 10 DLLs
So she pay and order 2 bread w/​cheese was big roll and cheese inside huge
Was good & fresh
All look really good
Croissant, conchas etc etc
I will go back for shure
Next time I will took some pictures

Wow, I went here to pick up a ‘special’ order and they did a fantastic job. I still cannot get over how inexpensive their goodies are — just amazing prices. The bakery is located on North Avenue about one block east of Kimball Ave (on the south side of North Ave). I had a sweet tooth on 6÷2÷2014, so I drove all the way here for my ‘sweet’ fix. It was well worth the drive, my time and gas, despite the ugly, rainy morning. It was the sunshine in my day!

Love it here, always eat chicken sandwich, they are big and delicious. Love the quesitos!

Wonderful pastries and wonderful Cuban sandwiches. Please note their correct address is 3335 W. North Avenue.

My 3 year old love there sweets, so we will alway goo back until she can so I’ve had better ‚.LOl .They are very cheap too!

So disappointed. {super sad face} I went here looking for pan sobao (if you’re Puerto Rican, you know what I’m talking about) and didn’t find it. But, I figured I’d try something else. My mom and I decided to order a sandwich and café con leche. At first, the girl was about to brew regular coffee when I said it was espresso that I wanted… she seemed bothered… in fact, she seemed bothered the entire time we were there. She then proceeded to tell me that we would have to wait for someone else to make it because she didn’t know how to work that machine… didn’t really matter… it was still terrible. Then she tells us that there will be a wait for the sandwich because they were preparing four other sandwiches ahead of ours. Apparently, they only have one sandwich press and counter and, therefore, can only make two sandwiches at a time. I’ll give you this… the steak sandwich was good… but not good enough to go back for.
As a last resort, I decided to try some of the pastries. Nope… they didn’t do anything for me. In fact, I thought they really lacked in flavor. I can get way better pastries at other bakeries. I’ve actually had pastries in San Juan, Puerto Rico that were absolutely delicious… these weren’t even close.
After anxiously wanting to try this place, I felt totally let down. I definitely won’t be returning.

El amor de Puerto Rico is clearly demonstrated at the San Juan Bakery where amor (translation = love) goes hand in hand with the fresh ingredients used to bake their delectable, quality, oh-​so-​good and tasty sweets.
I was introduced to this place by a friend who lives in the area. Although my friend only weighs about 120 lbs I am amazed she doesn’t weigh more since she eats here about once a week! I took her word for it – she always raves about their Cuban sandwich as well as the penil asado (pork) and bisteq (steak). All of their meat sandwiches are very tender, succulent, flavorful and fab-​u-​licious. They have the best Cuban sandwich I have ever tasted (I grew up in Florida so I know an authentic Cuban sandwich when I eat one). I committed the ultimate sin by eating things I never really eat. The temptation was huge, and I caved — what can I say — it was worth every freakin’ calorie and fat gram!
Try their light and flaky pastry filled with guava (also know as pastelillos de guayaba) with a light flaky crust that is not too sweet. Wow, this brought me back to my childhood when I lived in Coral Gables, Florida. I highly recommend you try their other sweet treats too. I recommend anything filled with guava and cheese (combination of both) or any pastry filled with cheese. If you eat here, you will not have to eat for the rest of the day! The San Juan Bakery has perfected the art of the Cuban Sandwich. The show «Diner, Drive-​Ins and Dives» should come to the San Juan Bakery for the sandwiches alone! Guy Fieri, put this down on your «Bucket List» of «must try it» the next time you visit Chicago!

I was heading to a party and wanted to bring something different. Not the big cakey things one usually finds at Dominicks’ or the like. So I fired up Unilocal and was directed to San Juan.
It’s a little tough to find — I think I broke one law getting to this place — but when I got in it was quick service. Someone in line was even telling me how amazing everything was. And it was. You can tell they’re freshly made and delivered to order. I quickly snatched up about 30 or so pieces to bring and it was under $ 15.
I noticed they also serve sandwiches here. I want to check that out sometime, too. But in terms of dessert, I’ll be returning.

great place to eat with good food and a very nice staff. I frequent here when I can, they have great prices and a nice selection of sweets but you can also stop by for lunch. I’m a fan of the steak sandwiches and will be picking one up today as well. They have cute little tables to eat your sandwiches and then you can pick out some desert. Is nice for a quite simple date as I go with my boyfriend often.

Great place for awesome puerto rican sweets. I always like to get the quesitos de guayaba. Its cram cheese and guava filled pastries. the sandwiches are great. Not too pricey and awesome friendly service. The best puerto rican bakery in town.

Bfast sandwich & coffee… Yummm

I have never wanted to Unilocal anything before and so this is my first post… OMG! I got the chicken sandwich which they flatten and it is SOOOO good. I also tried one of those cheese filled pastry and almost died. I will be returning very soon.

I went awhile ago, but San Juan Bakery deserves my Unilocal.The Puerto Rican group at my school had an event a long time ago and I remember eating these pastries and thinking happy Puerto Rican thoughts. I asked where they got it from and they said «San Juan Bakery.» It’s a long trek from my school, but damnit, I will travel for some pastries. I got a whole box of the guava filled ones with powdered sugar over it. Got another box of the guava-​cheese sweets… I lived off these boxes in June.
If only these places were closer…

The phrase «diamond in the rough» is so often abused and so often used incorrectly… but in the case of San Juan Bakery it is not so.
After strolling around Humbold Park on North ave., my wife and I walked into this small bakery curious to see what they had. We have walked and driven by this location many times and never thought much about it due to the many other bakeries in the area. Upon entering and scrolling through their litany of fresh pastries we noticed that they also served fresh made sandwiches. This peaked our interest, so we decided to have lunch.
HOLY CRAP!!! THE BEST Cubano sandwich we have ever had! The pork was sooo good that it was almost unfair… and the balance of ingredients was almost artistic and in a way original… as if this Puerto Rican bakery had perfected the Cuban classic. Almost everything on the sandwich was made in-​house from the bread to the roasted pork! And not only was it an outstanding sandwich, it was huge and $ 4.99!
As full as we were, we couldn’t resist the urge to find out if the pastries were at the same level as the sandwiches. Big surprise… yes they were.
I almost didn’t want to write this review, because I want it to be a secret… but some secrets have no sanctity when it comes to food this good.

Best doughnuts I’ve ever had, hands down. 2 for $ 1.

From the jump I have to say, San Juan would easily get 5 stars if they didn’t close by three in the afternoon.
Second, I should confess that this is a bakery yet I’ve never had their pastries, which look delicious. No sir, I am here to tell you of the best Cubano sandwich in the city. Scratch that, best sandwich in the city. Yes, their pasteles are great and flaky/​crispy on the outside. The Jibarito Sandwich is good, but not the finest in the neighborhood (tostones had been frozen). The Cubano makes me weep though. Granted, everyone seems to make this sandwich differently and this would be of the Puerto Rican style… French bread pressed flat, ham and pork, cheese and pickles (hot peppers by well made request). Somehow it takes 20 minutes + to get a sandwich, but you know what? I dont care. Its that good.