It’s comfort in food form, perfuming the air with an intoxicating, yeasty aroma we love. Perfect for topping, tearing, slathering with butter or dunking into a dip, here are 20 breads, bagels and toasts from restaurants around the country that are great for sharing with friends or mopping up your entree’s leftover sauce:
1. Sadelle’s (New York)
Both a bakery and a restaurant, Sadelle’s offers various home-made breads and delectable pastries at every meal to pair with its traditional Jewish appetizing fare.
Photo provided by Major Food Group.
2. Goldie’s (Los Angeles)
A California-inspired restaurant with a sustainably driven menu, Goldie’s serves a popular Avocado Toast on grilled bread with smoked chili flakes, lemon and chives, as well as multiple tartines (French open-faced sandwiches) for brunch and lunch.
Photo provided by Goldie’s.
3. Vernick (Philadelphia)
A tour of the toasts is a must at Vernick, a New American eatery serving Chef Greg Vernick’s lightly grilled sourdough slices with seven inventive ingredient combinations, plus large and small plates.
Photo provided by Vernick. Photo by Jason Varney.
4. Nebo (Boston)
In addition to its pastas and pizza doughs that are made in-house daily, Nebo also bakes it own bread, dishing out mouthwatering bruschetta with toppings like garlic and olive oil or ricotta, walnuts, arugula, saba (grape reduction) and honey.
Photo provided by Nebo.
5. Lafayette Grand Café and Bakery (New York)
Lafayette Grand Café and Bakery serves up classic French fare as delicious as its Boulangerie Basket which features fresh pastries and bread from their bakery, including treats like the Pain de Campagne made from a blend of white, rye and whole wheat flour with salt.
Photo provided by Lafayette. Photo by Noah Fecks.
6. Monteverde (Chicago)
Top Chef alum Sarah Grueneberg’s new restaurant, Monteverde delivers fantastic Italian small plates, including various crostini like the Artichoke and Sunchoke with fontina, ricotta and Savini black truffle and Mozzarella e Ham on tigelle (Italian bread) with Broadbent country ham and Mighty Vine cherry tomatoes.
Photo provided by Monteverde.
7. Flores + Sons (Los Angeles)
A market-driven restaurant dishing out Southern-inspired cuisine, Flores + Sons’ signature starter is its fluffy potato dinner rolls topped with a pinch of sea salt and served with maple butter.
Photo provided by Flores + Sons.
8. Hearth (New York)
One of the heartier sections of Hearth’s healthful Tuscan-American menu, split into sections which highlight vegetables, offal and fish, includes dishes made from its own hand-milled, non-GMO flour and polenta varieties, as well as incredible breads from Sullivan Street Bakery.
Photo provided by Hearth.
9. Noord (Philadelphia)
At Noord, Chef/Owner Joncarl Lachman offers inventive takes on Dutch and Scandinavian cuisine including a variety of grilled home-made breads, showcased in open-faced sandwiches and served alongside hashes and omelettes.
Photo provided by Noord.
10. Russ & Daughters Cafe (New York)
An outpost of the world-famous, 100-year-old Russ & Daughters store, Russ & Daughters Cafe delivers authentic Jewish comfort food focused on in-house bread-baking, including thick slices of Shissel Rye bread stuffed with seeds, dark pumpernickel, challah, bagels and bialys, plus fresh seafood.
Photo provided by Russ and Daughters.
11. Casa B (Boston)
Casa B specializes in Spanish-Caribbean small plates, emphasizing its pinchos — including sauteed Spanish sausage and onions, plus other combinations — served over two pieces of grilled bread from Iggy’s, a Cambridge bakeshop.
Photo provided by Casa B.
12. Town Hall (San Francisco)
Bread lovers rejoice at Town Hall, a bustling Southern-inspired New American restaurant that offers a variety of toasts, including a warm ham and cheese toast with soft poached egg and jalapeño cream, plus sandwiches and burgers with house-made sourdough buns.
Photo provided by Town Hall.
13. Little Sister Manhattan Beach (Los Angeles)
While Little Sister’s claim to fame is its delicious Southeast Asian dishes, the restaurant also uses Dutch and British colonial influences and French techniques to make standout bread, like a sesame sourdough baguette with premium Echire AOC Butter, as well as delicious pastries.
Photo provided by Little Sister. Photo by Dan Collopy.
14. High Street on Hudson (New York)
High Street on Hudson is a spinoff of the award-winning Philadelphia hot spot and maintains the core focus of the original eatery, translating their love of grains into assorted breads made daily in on-site ovens by baker Alex Bois.
Photo provided by High Street on Hudson.
15. The Bristol (Chicago)
The Bristol serves fresh, beautiful breads at dinner, including its focaccia with sea salt, whipped ricotta and honey, and a country toast topped with chicken liver mousse or duck rillettes, as well as a ciabatta toast to pair with brunch.
Photo provided by The Bristol. Photo by Anjali Pinto.
16. Sbraga (Philadelphia)
From popovers to gluten-free loaves, Sbraga offers an extensive bread program, featuring warm home-made loaves from Pastry Chef Marqessa Gesualdi.
Photo provided by Sbraga. Photo by Michael Persico.
17. RN74 (San Francisco)
RN74 offers a selection of bread-focused bites, including cheese, charcuterie and bread boards, escargot croissants and croque monsieur panini to pair with its wine program and French menu.
Photo provided by RN74.
18. Hinterland (Los Angeles)
Hinterland’s diverse bread selection features an Avocado Toast with ricotta, Sicilian olives and lime oil, charcuterie with charred Italian bread and toasted fruit bread with a daily selection of cheese.
Photo provided by Hinterland.
19. Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria (New York)
Committed to artisan baking, Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria’s baker, Kamel Saci, crafts breads — lentil, ciabatta, filone, country and foccacia — made with organic flour and long fermented doughs from an on-site bakery to go with its house-cured meats, hand-picked cheeses and Italian plates.
Photo provided by Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria.
20. Homestead on the Roof (Chicago)
A basket of house-baked breads and accoutrements is an elegant start to a farm-fresh meal at this seasonally driven neighborhood favorite.
Photo provided by Homestead on the Roof.
