La Estrella Bakery

wow what a nice place you walk in and you feel the best of the best in character wise, smells delicious and it’s like a family kitchen not just a business. Maria the owner cannot be nicer she knows peoples names and i love love the quality of the espresso as well as the pastries. The prices are reasonable and the place is clean, this is a hidden gem in Hartford’s west end. I recommend this as a must stop in and grab a bite their Portuguese rolls tastes much better than others. I would have a latte with a buttered roll pressed like the panini wow now i am starving. You really can’t go wrong stop in and be surprised at the natural treatment you the customer will receive. The quality of the frest items can’t be beat, trust me

I love this little Portuguese bakery and have been going there for years. The service is very friendly and the bake goods couldn’t be fresher. I ordered a macaroon with an espresso totaling $ 3, I doubt you’d find a better value with the same quality. The macaroon was loaded and I mean loaded with coconut and was the perfect late afternoon snack on my «food crawl» through Hartford.

Best Portuguese rolls in town. True Portuguese crusty with a light airy inside, melt in your mouth and awesome espresso.

Alright my first time in Park Street little Portugal and i’m Portuguese living in Hartford I don’t know what took me so long to explore this part of the city! There’s an abundance of Portuguese bakeries but La Estrella was the first one I walked into on a Sunday morning. The line of people was right at the door and I could see and smell why. The bread, sandwiches, and pastries were so delicious. The bakery owner and daughter run it and they were balls full of energy. The bakery has tables and chairs set up alongside the windows that is nice to sit eat and do some people watching. I enjoyed my time there and will be going back soon!

Portuguese and Latin owned Bakery. There is a lot of that bread I always would get from an Italian bakery. It’s white, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and one person called it cotton bread, because it resembled and had the taste of that. Like cotton candy, minus the sweetness. I got a huge loaf, which basically came with two 12 inch in diameter connected loaves for only $ 2.50. I sat at their bar and got a coconut type pastry, and a prosciutto with cheese sandwich. Cheap food. The sandwiches and pastries did not tasty very quality. Cheap cuts of meat, and the pastry itself tasted a little stale. The staff were very, very, very sweet, however.

The ONLY place around that sells pastel de natas (portuguese egg tarts). Friendly service, great pastries – a must try!

I love a good Portuguese Bakery, and this one definitely fits the bill!
I am very fussy about a true and authentic Portuguese white bread (my fave) and altho they were out at the time, I did buy some of their rolls which were made from the same dough. It was yummy, altho not the REAL taste and texture i have sought since moving away from Southeastern MA as a kid (we used to get bread and pastries almost every weekend from the numerous Port. bakeries in the area)…
Back in the last 80’s while on business i discovered a place in Ludlow, MA which is truly, TRULY a real full service Portuguese bakery, they make the best White bread (which is crusty/​chewy on the outside, with a texture that will melt in your mouth inside).
This bread was close, but also had a bit of Italian texture to it. I do love Italian Bread as well, but, it just was not «it’ for me. As you know, local grocery stores around Hartford sell Portuguese bread there, and i was hoping to gte something better than what i can get at Shaw’s, but as good as it was, it didn’t bowl me over.
However, the pastries were amazing, and cupcakes too! The service was wonderful, the woman recognized me as the woman who had called to inquire yesterday. We will definitely be going back to this bakery as well as the other one i reviewed (they are within 2 blocks of each other!).
One sad note was they also do no make the traditional Malasadas, which are a wonderful Portuguese pastry that if you ever find it, you should try it!