Cafeography
Boston

Bakery cafés in Boston

Japanese buns near Union Square, from-scratch brioche on Massachusetts Avenue, a Portuguese pastelaria on Mystic Avenue and pastry counters on Broadway in South Boston.

Photo: Natalia Olivera, Pexels License

Boston’s own contribution to the pastry case is the Boston cream pie, credited to the Parker House hotel and usually dated to its opening in 1856.1 Massachusetts named it the official state dessert on December 12, 1996, and in 2003 gave the Boston cream doughnut the matching title of state doughnut.1

Bakery cafés are thickest on the Cambridge side of the river, along Massachusetts Avenue between MIT and Central Square and up toward Union Square in Somerville. South Boston and the South End come next. The rest are scattered across Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Back Bay, the North End and Kendall Square.

Local tip: Komugi near Union Square bakes only from Thursday to Saturday, 08:00–14:00; on other days, Mariposa on Massachusetts Avenue opens from Tuesday to Sunday.4

Where these cafés are: Central & Inman Squares, Cambridge (3), South Boston (2), Somerville: Union & Davis Squares (2), South End (2), North End (1), Jamaica Plain (1), Charlestown (1), Roxbury & Dorchester (1), Back Bay (1), Kendall Square & East Cambridge (1).

At a glance

15Cafés listed
5With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
19:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Broadway's Pastry & Coffee Shop, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–19:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (27%), wi-fi (13%), wheelchair access (13%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Boston.

Massachusetts Avenue, MIT to Central Square

Verveine Cafe & Bakery opened in spring 2024 at 298 Massachusetts Avenue, between MIT and Central Square. Its owners are the chef Ken Oringer, of Toro and Coppa, and the pastry chef Monica Glass, who worked at Clio and Le Bernardin.2

A few blocks closer to Central Square, Mariposa Bakery at number 424 makes everything from scratch, from chocolate brioche to sandwiches on its own bread, and has a stall at the Somerville farmers markets.3 It opens 08:00–16:00 from Tuesday to Saturday and 09:00–16:00 on Sundays, and closes on Mondays. Barismo, at 364 Broadway in Cambridge, pairs its coffee with a bakery counter.

Japanese bread near Union Square

Komugi Japanese Bakery & Cafe opened in November 2025 at 68 Prospect Street, a short walk south of Union Square in Somerville. It bakes with Hokkaido flour imported from Japan: sweet and savory buns, loaves, doughnuts, croissants and cinnamon rolls.4 It opened on three days a week, and it still bakes only from Thursday to Saturday, 08:00–14:00.

Portuguese pastry in Somerville

By the 1960s Somerville had hundreds of Portuguese families and homeowners, the largest Portuguese American community in metro Boston, and Cambridge Street in East Cambridge had become a strip of Portuguese-owned shops.5 Many Portuguese immigrants to Massachusetts came from the Azores, where unrest and a volcanic eruption pushed people to leave.6

That history survives in Somerville Cafe e Pastelaria at 376 Mystic Avenue, whose name keeps the Portuguese word pastelaria, a pastry shop.

South Boston, the South End and elsewhere

In South Boston, Broadway’s Pastry & Coffee Shop at 258 West Broadway opens at 07:00 on weekdays and 08:00 at weekends, and closes at 19:00 every day. Annie’s Bakery and Cafe is farther east at 753 East Broadway. In the South End, Colette Bakery at 517 Columbus Avenue has outdoor tables, and Sip of Joy Cafe and Bakery is at 661 Tremont Street.

Fiore’s Bakery at 55 South Street in Jamaica Plain opens 08:00–15:00 on weekdays and has Wi-Fi. Homestead bakery & cafe is at 1448 Dorchester Avenue, Emmi Bakery and Cafe faces City Square in Charlestown, Jonquils Cafe And Bakery is at 125 Newbury Street, PRB Boulangerie is at 295 Third Street near Kendall Square, and Café Amalfi bakes at 379 Commercial Street in the North End.

Sources

  1. Boston cream pie, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Verveine Cafe & Bakery Opens in Cambridge, Boston Restaurant Talk (May 8, 2024), accessed October 2026
  3. Mariposa Bakery, Mariposa Bakery, accessed October 2026
  4. Komugi Japanese Bakery & Cafe to Open in Somerville, Boston Restaurant Talk (August 29, 2025, updated November 2025), accessed October 2026
  5. Portuguese, Global Boston, Boston College, accessed October 2026
  6. Portuguese and Brazilian history lives in Somerville, The Somerville Times (Matthew McLaughlin, August 3, 2008), accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Boston

Wi-Fi

30 cafés

Outdoor seating

35 cafés

Open late

11 cafés

Early morning

9 cafés

By area: North End Back Bay South End Kendall Square & East Cambridge Central & Inman Squares, Cambridge Somerville: Union & Davis Squares

FAQ

Bakery cafés in Boston: questions

Where does the Boston cream pie sold in Boston bakery cafés come from?

The Boston cream pie is credited to the Parker House hotel in Boston and usually dated to its opening in 1856. Massachusetts named it the official state dessert on December 12, 1996, and made the Boston cream doughnut the state doughnut in 2003.

Is there a Japanese bakery café near Union Square in Somerville?

Yes. Komugi Japanese Bakery & Cafe opened in November 2025 at 68 Prospect Street, a short walk south of Union Square. It bakes with Hokkaido flour from Japan, making buns, bread, doughnuts, croissants and cinnamon rolls, and opens from Thursday to Saturday, 08:00–14:00.

Where can you find a Portuguese bakery café in Somerville near Boston?

Somerville Cafe e Pastelaria is at 376 Mystic Avenue; pastelaria is Portuguese for pastry shop. By the 1960s Somerville had the largest Portuguese American community in metro Boston, and many Portuguese immigrants to Massachusetts came from the Azores.

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