Walking the streets of Santiago you will be struck by the number of nice-looking bakeries. Unfortunately, for some reason, hardly any of them are any good. Here are some some of the bakeries that have left us disappointed in the last year:
Daniel's Bakery
There is also a Daniel's Cafe, a popular brunch spot, notable for serving its eggs benedict on sweet cinnamon-chocolate swirl bread. It's not a bad combination, but I would say it's not an improvement on a classic eggs benedict either. I don't know if the cafe and the bakery are owned by the same Daniel, but Daniel's Bakery has definitely nailed down the visual aspect of crafting baked goods.
Even after an initial disappointing experience (a dry scone that wasn't much more than thick bread), I decided to give them another chance and got a cookie. It wasn't a bad cookie, per se- it was meant to be salted chocolate, but whoever had added the salt to the sweet had been a little too enthusiastic. Additionally it had a baking powder taste. Finally, I tried the "Rocky", a s'mores-like concoction that I think is the most visually arresting of their creations. I figured the s'more is a classic and any combination of chocolate, cookie, and marshmallow should be delicious. Unfortunately, the marshmallow tasted synthetic. In fact, somehow the brownie also tasted synthetic. All around it was really not very good.
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| They look good- don't be fooled! |
Brique
I was drawn to Brique because they offer iced coffee, and once inside I saw some very impressive looking almond croissants and bear claws- generous amounts of almond filling, slivered almonds on top, and covered in powdered sugar. Unfortunately I can recommend neither the pastries (I wish I could say it was stale, but I think it was fresh- that it is just naturally tasteless and tough) nor the iced coffee. I don't have photos of the pastries because I can't walk in and take a picture without buying something... and they have nothing I want to buy. Next door is Original Green Roasters, where they do have pretty good coffee, but to my knowledge no freshly-baked pastries.
Donut Corp and #FreeTheDonut
Donut Corp is a small, artisanal donut shop in Providencia. Almost every store that sells donuts in Santiago seems to carry the same mass-produced "artisanal" donuts, which are not bad, but are nowhere near remarkable. Donut Corp stands out for actually seeming to have their own small-batch donuts, with interesting flavors like strawberry cheesecake and creme brulée. However, while their donuts look pretty promising, they are ultimately a disappointment. The best I can say is that they are not overly sweet... but really, they are not overly anything. All the flavors are muted. Ultimately, while the names and appearances of the donuts are flashy, they are all basically the same- a plain donut with a colorful icing and a single themed accent piece on top.
#FreeTheDonut has appeared on the scene recently, with no brick-and-mortar locations but accepting orders through Instagram and delivering right to your door. My coworkers and I split an order of 9 donuts- and they're pretty good! There were good, solid flavors (chocolate), and fun exuberant donuts (one with jam, a cookie, and merengue). Overall, they were a little dry and some could benefit from an additional moistening element (like the ones that had jam), but they were tasty.
The Best Donuts in Santiago
However, the best donuts in Santiago come from Donerd's Donuts, and I'm not just saying that because the woman who developed their donut recipe is a friend of mine. The flavors were natural and understated, and the texture was nice and soft. They also aged well- a day later they were denser and the flavors came through better. So far I've had a snickers donut (fine), a PB&J donut (good), and an orange pistachio donut (the unexpected best). And definitely not too dry.
My Favorite Bakery
My favorite Bakery is a middle eastern bakery near our apartment. I don't think the sweets stand out especially, but they are what they are- well made baklava and other tasty classics.
