Freshly baked cookies, picture-perfect pastries, generous gelatos, decadent donuts, cakes & cupcakes, crackly croissants, even treats for those on vegan, paleo, and gluten free diets, there’s no shortage of talented bakers in town. Below are our favorite sweet spots in Old Town, wine country, and around town. Or if you’re mainly in need of a candy-fix, stop in at the Old Town Sweet Shop for candies from just about every era.
(Hours below are accurate as of the time of writing, but local businesses regularly adjust their hours. Please confirm before you go.)
In HISTORIC Old Town
E.A.T. Marketplace
Best for those with special dietary needs (and also those who don’t).
The in-house baking team at E.A.T. Marketplace creates fresh baked goods daily from high-quality ingredients — these are people who care about good food. E.A.T prides themselves on having more than a little something for guests on any diet. Their gorgeous pastry country features vegan donuts and cookies, paleo breads, cookies and brownies, gluten free cookies, scones, muffins, and donuts, and Keto donuts, biscuits, and muffins. And for those without any special requirements, all of the above taste absolutely incredible. You won’t even notice what’s missing.
Open Monday through Saturday until 3 pm. Sundays until 2 pm. Closed Tuesdays.
Oak Grove Culinary Creations
Best for indulging while supporting a great cause.
This charming bakery near the Civic Center in Old Town, is a culinary training program for at-risk and special needs youth. Helmed by a chef trained in French pastry, the bakery is a good choice for cookies, cakes, cupcakes, lemon bars, and brownies. They also have a Cookie Club that features a rotating Cookie-of-the-Month created by culinary students.
Open Tuesday through Thursday until 3:30 pm, Friday and Saturday until 7:30 pm.
Bottega Italia
Best for Italian pastries and gelato.
Bottega Italia is a family-owned Italian restaurant in Old Town Temecula, with a take out counter for house-made gelato counter and pastries like cannoli, lemon bars, Napoleons, and eclairs. In the sit-down part of the restaurant, the dessert menu includes slices of tiramisu, pistachio ricotta cake, cheesecake, and more.
Open Tuesday through Saturday until 3 pm, Sunday until 2 pm.
Havana Kitchen
Best for homemade and locally sourced Cuban-style desserts.
Havana Kitchen is a casual Cuban cafe in Old Town Temecula. In their pastry case, they offer a rotating selection of Cuban-style sweets, like flan, tres leches cake, and pastelitos. For something sweet to sip with dessert, the coffee menu leans indulgent too, with their Mocha-dito espresso, The Naughty Blend, a rich blend of Hershey’s, vanilla, and caramel, Cuco Chai Latte, and Hot Chocolate Love.
Open Monday through Thursday until 6 pm, Friday and Saturday until 8 pm, Sunday until 7 pm.
The Crafted Scone
Best for those craving a sweet, crumbly scone and a well-made cup of coffee.
The Crafted Scone is a bright and cheerful shop, right on Front Street in Old Town Temecula. They offer a broad selection of freshly baked frosted scones, including vanilla bean, salted brown butter, maple pecan, and cinnamon crumb to name a few. For a more dessert-like treat, they serve sweet “sconewiches” that are sliced and filled with lemon curd and cream, or maple syrup, pecans, and vanilla cream.
Open Monday through Thursday until 4 pm, Friday through Sunday until 6 pm.
Le Coffee Shop
Best for a sweet morning breakfast in Old Town
Le Coffee Shop in Old Town was started by two French ex-pats, and serves French-inspired breakfast and brunch, with more than a few sweet options. As you might imagine, there are wonderful, buttery croissants, pain au chocolat, almond croissants, and cinnamon rolls. Or, for a more dessert-like breakfast, you can choose from French toast, crepes, Belgian waffles with berries or Nutella, pancakes, and fresh fruit tarts.
Open daily until 2 pm.
Corbeaux Wine & Tea House
Best for an elegant, seated dessert experience.
When you want to linger over dessert, and crave something unique, wander into Corbeaux Wine & Tea House in Old Town Temecula. The dessert menu is ever-changing and seasonal, and each one is a work of art. If it’s available, try the butter cake, a local favorite. Or, book the afternoon tea and you’ll indulge in three tiered pastry and tea sandwich tower honey tea cake, mango yuzu cream puff, shortbread, savory herb scone, cheese tart, assorted seasonal fruit. Corbeaux also has regular themed afternoon tea’s, that sell out almost as soon as they’re announced.
Open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday until 9 pm, Friday and Saturday until 10 pm.
In WINE COUNTRY
Mercato di Vienza at Europa Village
Best for foodies spending the day in wine country.
Mercato di Vienza is a marketplace and cafe in the Italian section of Europa Village. Inside, there’s a beautiful Italian pastry case, shelves of packaged Italian cookies, and a gelato counter. Inside the Italian deli, there’s a dessert menu with house made tiramisu, cannoli, and an affogato with vanilla gelato and caramelized honey.
Open daily until 6 pm.
AROUND TOWN
The Little Goat
Best for a mix of sweet and savory delights to take on the go.
Opened by the same partners that helm one of Temecula’s most popular restaurants, The Goat & Vine, Little Goat builds on the bakery side of the business. The pastry chef, who’s pedigree includes the renowned Republique in Los Angeles, puts out a daily display of huge, buttery chocolate chip cookies, salted butterscotch monkey bread, scones, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls of seasonal flavors, crisp and flavorful fruit Danish.
Open daily until 3 pm.
Lemon Bar Bakery
Best for nostalgic treats like the ones (you wish) your mom made or a gorgeous celebration cake designed to impress.
Lemon Bar is run by a baking and pastry arts graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. It’s a celebration cake and dessert bakery disguised as a retro-cool coffee shop. Step inside, and you’ll find stunning cakes, cinnamon rolls, perfectly pretty cupcakes, stacks of scones, plates cookies, and of course, lemon bars.
Open Monday through Sunday until 6 pm.
Abode Bakehouse & Kitchen
Best for a treat close to wine country.
The newest bakery-cafe on the list, Abode is a coffee and handmade bagel shop that serves just a few, but really delicious, pastries and cookies. The individual size olive oil cake is topped with cream and lemon curd, the beautiful chocolate eclair is a shareable size, as is their chocolate chip cookie, and the fresh fruit tart tempts with its perfectly thin pastry shell. (The bagels are pretty darn great, too. The best in town.) The shop is still new, and even simple orders require patience on busy weekends, but so far it’s been worth the wait.
Open daily until 3 pm or until sold out.
Paris Baguette
Best if you’re near Temecula’s Promenade Mall.
The only cafe on this list that isn’t a local brand (more of a local franchise), Paris Baguette is a pastry-lover’s heaven. Inside this brightly lit, self-serve cafe, you’ll discover rows of crackly, sweet & savory croissants, donuts, cronuts, cream-filled pastries, decadent coffee drinks, colorful cakes, cookies, macarons, and of course, freshly baked baguettes.
Open daily until 9 pm.
