The Best Pastry Shops in Latin America

Imported recipes

The Latin American shops on the list work with recipes that came from Europe and Japan. French technique is the base at Daniel Bakery in Buenos Aires and at Tartelier Patisserie in São Paulo. Panadería Italiana La Pompeya in Buenos Aires bakes Italian pastries, and Vivianne Wakuda Confeitaria in São Paulo makes Japanese-style Western sweets. Local ingredients show up in the fillings, such as the dulce de leche cream that Tartelier offers in its mille-feuille.

Buenos Aires

The two Argentine shops are both small. Daniel Bakery has a counter and an open kitchen where the croissants are made in view. They are generously filled, with pistachio, raspberry or chocolate and hazelnut, and come with speciality coffee. There is no indoor seating, only a few metal tables on the pavement that are often full. La Pompeya, in the San Cristóbal district, was founded in 1920 and is run by a family of southern Italian origin. Cannoli are filled to order in several flavours, and the counter also has sfogliatelle and tiramisu. The shop keeps short hours and closes early, and at weekends the queue often reaches the pavement.

Orders by message

Ordering by message is normal in the region. La Pompeya takes orders on WhatsApp for pickup, and Doceria Mãos de Fada in Sorocaba, Brazil, takes cake orders by phone or WhatsApp. Several of the Brazilian shops sell whole cakes to order as well as slices.