Greenlee’s Bakery

You can literally smell the cinnamon bread from across the street!
I came here for Greenlee’s famous cinnamon bread, but I walked out with a red velvet cupcake lol. I walked in the little bakery /​café because of the scent from the cinnamon and butter. I immediately heard the lady if I wanted help. I said, «one second.» She then waited a few seconds and then proceeded to ask me again If I wanted help. Once again, I said «one second,» she said ok and told me to let her know when I was ready…
I let her know I was ready and asked for some cinnamon bread. She grabs an entire loaf of the bread. I told her I didn’t want the whole loaf, I just wanted a slice lol. Unfortunately, she told me they don’t sell by the slice. Okay, not a problem. I then looked at their cupcake selection and the Red Velvet one caught my eye. It was 2.95… The lady helped me with the cupcake and I noticed she was kind of mad because I pulled out my credit card.
I got my cupcake and decided to eat it inside. The lady then started saying that they are closing, blah, blah. Yeah, I came in ~15 min before closing but she didn’t have to say that. I was disappointed by the service and walked out.
The cupcake itself was tasty! It had cream cheese frosting I think and little bits of chocolate on top. The cake was moist and flavorful. I enjoyed it in a few bites, however, I don’t think it was worth the 2.95 I payed. I felt a little robbed to be honest. If it was a little less expensive, it would be a five star material.
Summing up, my trip to Greenlee’s bakery was not a good experience. The lady was rude and I felt like I was rushed to purchase something. Their cupcakes are good but expensive. I will try their cinnamon bread in the future, but not from the source. I’ll just buy the loaf @Costco; they have better service there.
Will I ever come back? I don’t think so…

Greenlee’s bakery is really cute and I appreciate that there are places you can actually sit down to enjoy your purchase, unlike other bakeries. They have a lot of different goodies to choose from and their prices are super reasonable. I also kind of dig that you can get their bread from the Whole Foods down the street, but why would you if you can go straight to the source?
I came in most recently just to look at what they had because often times I am next door at Café Rosalena when Greenlee’s is closed and I was curious, but I almost felt pressured to purchase something. Nothing really caught my eye until my husband pointed out the muffins along the bottom of the pastry case and I asked the gal helping us how long we should expect them to keep after buying them (a fair question, I thought, given that they were fresh and not pre-​packaged). She kind of looked at me like I was dull for asking and then gave a little bit of a non-​answer, to the point that I can’t actually recall what she said about how long they would last.
I’m not going to let this experience stop me from visiting in the future if I am passing by when they are open, I guess I just need to learn to not ask so many questions, shut up, and eat my muffin.

Pretty sure the best breakfast burrito of my life just happened. I got the sausage burrito with eggs, potatoes, and cheese and all were plentiful. The tortilla was delicious and it was reasonably priced. Others got a sausage burrito and a ham burrito and everyone loved them!

Every time I come here I’m disappointed. The cinnamon bread I got was a little one. It was super dry. And cost five bucks. I got a mediocre pecan pie that cost almost 20 bucks. Last few times I got cookies and various items and all I can say is that everything seems mediocre and over priced.

The best breakfast burritos ever.
We try the chorizo, potatoes and cheese, delicious burritos with red and green salsa

I needed a place for breakfast while house hunting and was pleasantly surprised to find this place! I just wanted something quick so I got the apple coffee cake and a mini load of their cinnamon bread to keep at my hotel. The apple coffee cake was so moist and delicious. I can’t wait to try the bread because I know it’ll be tasty too!
If I end up living in the area I will definitely stop here a lot to try all they have to offer. The desserts looked so tempting!

We ordered a cake for our sons 3^rd birthday and it went way beyond my expectations! This was the third cake we have ordered from Greenlee’s.
We wanted a Dinosaur themed cake and we got such a great cake! It looked amazing and tasted delicious too! The cake was a basic white cake with a yummy banana filling, super soft and moist! we will definitely come back for our cakes! Very reasonable price too!

Two words —Cinnamon Bread!!! Great to use for French toast, keep it for a couple days before use or it’s too soft.

Fresh, affordable and the taste gets this bakery a ⁶⁄₅.

This place is an iconic establishment in San Jose. The consistency of the best bakery remains! I have been going here for over 30 years! OMG! Still delicious cakes, cookies, and yes even the breakfast burritos are tasty — never ever greasy! 5-​star yummyyum

Everything in their bakery is delicious!!! I love there cinnamon bread! Made fresh everyday, goes great with coffee, and toasted is even better! Their cupcakes and cakes are amazing. Always so moist and fluffy. A hit with everyone, a great crowd pleaser. I can never go wrong with ordering cake here! I’m a regular, I order cake once a month. I can’t go anywhere else. And they are close by my work, makes it even better!!!

I was looking for a cake for my nephews second birthday and have been to Greenlees before to purchase cinnamon bread and a few other pastries in the past. When I went in to order he cake I had ideas and details of what I needed in the cake ready for the lady who was helping me. I have not experienced rude service as some people In other reviews have expressed. I am the type of person that knows what I need and just want to get in and out the lady who helped me was very direct as well. I for one don’t want to hear your life story when I am trying to get details about something you need. She told me if I needed to change anything to let her know which I called a week before and shared I would like to change to a full sheet cake no problem.
The cake was ready when I picked it up before the party and the cake came out great and was a big hit at the party. People were commenting on how great the frosting and cake were as well as the filing. I would for sure use them again for l future cake orders.

Anytime I find myself heading to downtown SJ for the morning, I will try to stop in and get a loaf of cinnamon bread. And while I know that I can get them now at various stores closer to my home, I will still make a stop. Fantastic bread and I would give 5 stars. But the service was terrible. I walked in and there’s no other customers. No smile from the two folks working behind the counter — no «how can I help you». Maybe it was a tough morning — I didn’t dwell. I got the last loaf they had and was very happy! I gave a $ 20, and I got change back from a $ 10. I told the woman helping me that I gave a $ 20 and she argued that I gave her a $ 10. She ended up giving me the correct change as she insisted I give her my name and number in case she was short (which I did — since I know I was correct).
I’ve gone in twice since and while I haven’t been accused of money shorting, it’s still a consistent grumpy service counter. I guess I will be going to my local grocery store from now on.

The smell is what brings you in. From outside you can almost always smell the cinnamon and butter coming from their cinnamon bread loaves baking in the oven. While they have a bunch of other baked goods, the highlight here is their cinnamon bread which is pretty easy to find in local markets. I’ve seen them at Safeways, Costcos, and Whole Foods. They seem to have a pretty large presence in the Bay Area. All in all, the cinnamon bread here is good, but the texture of the bread is usually pretty firm and tends to get hard quickly. Another non-​local bakery that sells this same bread would be Larry’s Bakery in Honolulu, Hawaii (sorry Bay folks, you’ll have to settle like I have). Their recipe produces a more fluffier loaf of bread with the same great taste. I do enjoy Greenlee’s though and you can definitely taste the buttery, sugary goodness in every loaf.

Sitting here with 6 volleyball guys hungry for crepes. We walked all the way from Bellarmine just for crepes, and they’re all out… It’s 10:00 am on a Saturday. Really?! ²⁄₃ of your menu advertised crepes, and you’re all out?
Additionally, their drinks and pastries are overpriced. Not worth it.

The smell of fresh, delicious cinnamon bread entices you to talk walk in! Bread is great! Service was not as friendly as I anticipate a bakery to be. I can’t vouch for anything else, as all I tried was their famous bread. Makes a delicious toast!

***This review is for the cinnamon bread only.
If you want delicious & scrumptious in cinnamon bread, Greenlee’s is your answer. Let’s say that I can crush a load by myself within a few days. It’s the best I’ve had in my 23 years of life!
$ 6.50 for a fresh loaf and $ 3.50 for a day old loaf (placed separately). I’ve seen the loaves being sold at a Whole Foods too!
Other treats include scones, brownies, cakes, cookies, etc.

I came here looking for a cake and although this bakery doesn’t have much appeal from the exterior or the interior, they were very helpful in telling me what cakes that they had in their case. This doesn’t seem like the kind of place where I would stay in here to eat their products but I will come back to get their fresh loaves of bread.
Probably will be back again to buy bread but with the somewhat blah lifeless décor in there, it won’t be likely for a while.

There is something to be said about the quality of a bakery that’s been in business for 90 years. There is a je né sais quoi that newer bakeries can’t compete with and Greenlee’s has it in spades.
Purchased– one loaf of cinnamon bread, one brownie and two eclairs.
The cinnamon bread was to die for. Seriously, it doesn’t look like all that but it sure tasted like it. I used it for french toast, oh boy. I’ll never want french toast with any other bread. So Good.
The éclair was decent. Better than any chain store éclair, but exactly what you might expect from a bakery.
Now the brownie was over the top crazy. I have searched my whole life for the likes of that brownie. Dense, fudge like chocolatey goodness, topped with a milk chocolate frosting and filled with just the right amount of nuts for crunchy texture.
Next time your in the mood for something sweet, skip the grocery store and head over to Greenlee’s to experience what real baked goods made with real ingredients should taste like.

That cinnamon bread!!!
This bakery is great. They have such a fantastic selection and the prices are totally reasonable. I love coming here to get a sweet treat. The cinnamon bread is always a favorite when we bring a loaf into the office… it is gone before lunch!
If you have a sweet tooth this is the place for you!