Pacitas Salvadorean Bakery

Im Scottish and Irish — but that makes no difference to these loving people (actually a half dozen or more beautiful Centeral American women) as I stumble through an order for a trully delighrful meal. The pupusas, a thick cornmeal tortilla stuffed with cheese and beans and pork or… you choose… simply wonderful covered with a cabage slaw and Salvadoran hot sauce. And plantains mudoros (like a banana but cooked) served with blackbeans and creama. Ooh! And the bakery… what delights. I live 130 miles away (see FB the McDonell Ranch). I often take home a meal for my wife and friends on the weekend. …Delicious!!!

If there’s one thing I find annoying is trying a pastry liking it returning the next day to buy more only to be told they’re not making it that day. Inconsistency doesn’t sit well with me. I found another pastry shop that makes it every single day and I’m extremely happy because I love it so much that I buy about 12+ of them for family and friends.

Personally don’t trust these reviews from people who aren’t Salvadoran and don’t get our pan dulce.
That being said, the pan dulce probably won’t be the same if you’re a salvi native, however if you need to quench your diaspora thirst this will do the trick. They have marquezote, peperechas, mil hojas, quesadilla, espumillas and more. The people are very friendly too!
It loses a star for being such a small space. You can’t really enjoy the bread there in any large group, so it’s best to plan to take it to go.

So so so good! Love the quesadillas and the cheap prices.

Amazing pineapple upside-​down cake! $ 15 for entire cake and she had it ready within 24 hours! Thank you

Order a sampler and share with friends! We enjoyed a selection of sweets, after a lengthy hike through John McLaren Park. It was definitely a couple dollars very well spent! (Thanks again, Jason B!) The guava cookie filling itself was quite sweet, but the cookie balanced well as a whole. The parmesan/​rice/​cornbread item teetered towards the savory side, which I like. The sweet roll was just that. Sweet.

So sweet.
Sweet roll with hints of cinnamon and sugar.
Sweet traditional Salvadoran cookies with unique and delicious fillings like guava.
Sweet combination of rice and Parmesan inside a cornbread like exterior.
Sweet staff answering all my questions while more baked goods arrive from upstairs.
Five star sweet.

On my way back from Hilda’s, I passed by Pacitas and did a double take. Salvadorean? Perhaps they have quesadilla salvadoreña? A quick glance of their Unilocal rating later, and I decided to pop in and pick up one of the smaller wheels they had, ignoring all the other pastries they had to offer.
So, why this in particular? I spent my summers in El Salvador as a child, and quesadilla salvadoreña was, by far, my favorite pastry from my time there. The ones that Pacitas make aren’t bad by any means, with a good mix of savory and sweet, but a little on the dry side. Tossing them onto a non-​stick skillet for a few minutes does wonders, giving it a slightly nicer toast, but also moistening up the slice a bit with the steam from the cheese.
***Accessibility Info***
Venue — A smaller, but not tiny, U-​shaped bakery, with the width to fit about two wheelchairs, if that. Counters are of the slightly lower variety, so seeing all their offerings shouldn’t pose a problem, though coming here when it’s crowded might be a minor nuisance.
Bathroom — Didn’t try them, but I didn’t see any.

Every now & then when I crave something sweet, I find myself thinking about Pacitas Salvadorian Bakery! :) It’s a small shop with a good variety of pastries. There’s usually a line but it moves quickly as most people are return customers & know exactly what they want to order. The limited seating doesn’t seem to be an issue since most stock up on a full box of pastries to go. Friendly staff & good prices.
Of the pastries I’ve tried, ranked by favorites:
+ Tres Leche: my favorite item so far! It’s very moist, not too sweet, & simply delicious. When I make a trip out to this bakery it’s because I’m craving their tres leche cake :)
+ Quesadilla: my 2^nd favorite. The texture is like cornbread with a slight hint of cheese. Intriguing
+ Guava: crumbly exterior with guava filling. Sweeter than what I prefer but still good. Just need to eat it with a glass of milk, problem solved!
+ Pineapple: thick & pretty dense; good flavor.
+ Custard-​filled: okay, not one of my top picks.

Although these aren’t the kinds of pastries I usually go for, I have to say… I’m a sucker for bakeries. I must stop in every decent looking bakery that I pass by.
At first, I didn’t know what this was about. Dry cakes and cookies? Where’s the rich Italian-​style goodness? But slowly, if you sample each and every one of the baked goods, you’ll find that there is so much more goodness than appears to the eye.
‘Lo and behold! That tres leches! At that price! And service has always been warm and neighbor-​like, despite the crowds and long lines.

Driving back into the city, I forgot that the 280 was closed. So as I’m driving along the 101 I have no choice but to get diverted on to the 280 going south. By the time I can actually make it over to an exit and get off I have no clue where I am. So I look up the area and realize I am in the heart of excelsior. Sigh. Ok well, let’s make the best of this. So I pull up my list of places I intended to go and find a few bakeries in the area, Pacitas bakery (El Salvadorian) being one of them.
I will start by saying this area seemed extremely sketchy, so if you are venturing out here to try this, attempt to go during the daytime.
On to the food. What seemed to get the most hype in the reviews were the guava cookies and the tres leches. There were only two guava cookies left so I got those, along with a few mango cookies and one tres leches as well.
The cookies — I was ok with these cookies, although I think they would have been a lot better if they had simply contained more of the fruit jelly on the inside. It had a nice taste to it, but it simply got overpowered by the sheer amount of pastry surrounding it. It has potential though.
Tres Leches — This was disappointing. I have had much better Tres Leches at many other places. After a few bites I tossed it. Skip this.

They ran out of guava cookies but this was probably 1 – 2 hours before they closed on a weekend. I guess they really do go fast. Got a tres leches cake instead. It was very moist and flavorful. One of the best I’ve had in a long time. Come try it.

We were in the neighborhood and I was super excited to try this place after seeing the reviews.
Unfortunately, they were out of the tres leches.. . at noon on a Saturday. Then there was a customer who sneezed on the one of the trays they use to compile your order. But we figure if we had walked in two minutes later, we wouldn’t have even known…
Anyway, we ordered some of the infamous guava cookies and a couple of the other offerings in the cases.
Verdict? Dry pastries. I mean, maybe they’re like the Mexican pastries where my girlfriends say they grew up dunking them in atole so you don’t notice the dryness. The guava flavor was nice but the filling to dry pastry ratio was off. The only thing that wasn’t dry was a custard layered cake, but even that wasn’t anything to rave about.
I might go back to snag a piece of the tres leches but if this smattering is representative of the types of pastries, it’s not looking like a likely return.

If you have a sweet tooth like me, this place is heavenly! I was on route to a friend’s house for dinner, and was looking to bring something over. Thanks to Unilocal,I found this small time bakery tucked away in a corner. If it wasn’t for Unilocal,I would have missed it.
I went in and they had tons of variety, and one of the employees was nice enough to explain what few of them were. Few of them looked really appetizing, so I ended up picking up everything that looked like I would like it. 5 different pastries, 6 guava cookies (AMAZING!!), 2 cakes, and few other cookies. I went to the register, and was STUNNED! All that set me back $ 14. I really thought they made some mistake, because the amount of things I had, it was surreal for it to be only $ 14. This is by far the CHEAPEST and one amazing bakery shop I have yet to come by.
It’s that good that it’s worth a trip no matter where in the Bay area you are. And, DO NOT forget to add Guava cookies.

El pan más delicioso que eh probado en este país… Aún mejor que algunas panderias en El Salvador! Sooooo delcious! I love love love their bread, easily beats any other panaderia in san francisco!

Two words: GUAVA COOKIES
If I died, bury me with guava cookies cause I swear these things can breathe life into anyone. They’re not too sweet and not too guava-​y.
I want one now. These reviews make me want to go back to try the Tres Leches next time. They were out the time I went.

If I cried, my tears would probably be sweet due to my excess indulgence in sugary goods. Oh this place is the guilty pleasure of baked goods. If you’re counting calories, stay away from here because you’re going to break all of your diet rules.
The baked goods are delish, I didn’t expect such a terrific, balanced tres leches cake here. And of course I had to get more, it’s not overly sweet like how other places make it, which for some reason makes me think it’s okay to have more.
The cookies (guava and shortbread) are very good as well. Their treats are flavorful and not packed with sugar.
The prices are also super cheap as well, so feel free to grab all your favorite treats here.
I will be updating my review soon, because I don’t think I can stay away from this place if my life depended on it.

The clear glass display cases are filled with Salvadorean cookies, cakes, pies, and rolls. They also have random things like dried beans. I’m not sure what the names of the cookies are (they aren’t labeled) but many looked crunchy. Some had jam or icing. You order at the counter (no trays and tongs here). Prices are low.
* Galleta cookie: Big, flat oblong shaped cookie was dry, firm, and crunchy; like a butter cookie but not as flavorful, corn based? Lightly sweetened, but so dry you feel like it would be better with tea
* Crescent cookie: Not as dry, softer, lightly sweetened, slight crunchy, mild/​basic butter flavor
* Salvadorean chicken tamale: really good, very tender and moist, with chicken chunks
Cash only.

I drove to this bakery after reading reviews about their guava cookies and can tell you that they were certainly not a disappointment.
I bought two different custard-​filled pastries and four guava cookies for dirt cheap.
The custard-​filled filled pastries were $ 1.35 each, both being a good size. The guava cookies were $.50 each, with a gooey guava filling. They were on the sweeter end of the spectrum but very good. Considering how cheap these cookies were, how tasty they were, and how filling they were, I understand why there are raves.
I would certainly come back again to try other stuff. Parking is a hassle though (near Mission St.). I mean, I made several loops in suburbia close by to this bakery and people were popping out of the corners to cross the street.

DELICIOUS SWEETS :) !!!
My bf & I ordered a guava cookie and a tres leche, and only for $ 1.75! WHAT A STEAL! Definitely great and affordable prices.
The guava cookie is absolutely charming. The outer layer is a delicious semi-​crunchy shell of goodness, and the inside is bursting with guava filling that really does taste like guava!
The tres leches is so moist, and it really tastes like there’s milk within the cake. Absolutely amazing.
The worker seemed kinda snotty at the time, but maybe cuz she was preparing something at the time, so i won’t penalize her. I definitely recommend coming here if you’re ever in the excelsior district and in the mood for some small treats :).

WOW… thank you Unilocalers for leading me to this place! Their guava cookies are no joke, oh so delicious!
Got here with S around 3 in the afternoon, I waited in the car while she went in to grab some goodies. $ 3 later, she came back with 2 cinnamon muffins and 4 piping hot guava cookies. The minute I opened the bag to peek inside, the aromatic smell of the sweet guava was filling up the car. I immediately took a bite and it was all over… the flaky buttery crust + the warm guava filling just made my day. The muffins became an after thought since I was so overwhelmed with the cookies.
I’ve had my share of Salvadorean cookies from other bakeries and they just don’t compare. Prices are very reasonable too, that’s always an extra bonus! :) I soooo cannot wait to come back and try all their other goodies, especially their tres leches cake.
Parking can be a little difficult since they’re located on a pretty busy side street near Mission.