Best Bakery Restaurants in Avondale & North Center (60618)
6 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: January 2026
Our Top Pick
Au Levain Bakery & Cafe
French-style laminated pastries with serious technique in a casual cafe.
Notable Picks
8.5
Au Levain Bakery & Cafe in North Center focuses on classic French laminated pastries, cakes, and a small cafe menu built around high-quality ingredients. Locals line up for croissants, kouign amann, and coffee in a bright counter-service space that works best for quick visits and small catch-ups.
Must-Try Dishes:
Plain croissant, Kouign amann, Breakfast sandwich on house English muffin
What makes it special: French-style laminated pastries with serious technique in a casual cafe.
8.4
Sweet Rabbit Bakery is a small Roscoe Village shop turning out seeded sourdough, milk bread, and inventive pastries like ube ho hos and buckwheat kouign amann. Regulars treat it as a morning stop for high-level bread and creative sweets built on organic, locally milled flours.
Must-Try Dishes:
Seeded sourdough loaf, Ube ho ho, Buckwheat sesame kouign amann
What makes it special: Grain-forward breads and pastries that balance creativity with everyday comfort.
#3
Loaf Lounge
8.3
Loaf Lounge in Avondale is a bread-centric cafe known for its excellent breakfast sandwiches, country loaves, and the chocolate cake made famous by The Bear. The counter-service space balances serious baking with an easygoing neighborhood feel for breakfast, lunch, or coffee and cake.
Must-Try Dishes:
Breakfast sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich, The Bear chocolate cake slice, Country sourdough loaf
What makes it special: Bakery-cafe where top-tier bread shares the stage with TV-famous cake.
8.2
Lutz Cafe & Pastry Shop is a decades-old European-style bakery and cafe on Montrose known for tortes, marzipan cakes, and a shaded back garden. Generations of Chicagoans use it for celebration cakes, coffee and pastry dates, and relaxed afternoon desserts.
Must-Try Dishes:
Black Forest cannoli, Marzipan cake, Fruit tart
What makes it special: Long-running European pastry shop with a rare garden patio in back.
8.0
Rudy's Bakery is a long-running Roscoe Village storefront specializing in paczki, cheesecakes, and classic pastries. It feels like an everyday neighborhood stop where regulars grab boxes of sweets for family, holidays, and casual weekend treats.
Must-Try Dishes:
Paczki, Cheese danish, Augusta cheesecake
What makes it special: Old-school neighborhood bakery turning out paczki and classic pastries daily.
Worthy Picks
#6
Cookie Spin
7.7
Vibes:
Cheap Eats Budget Brilliance
Sweet Treats Escapes
Birthday & Celebration Central
Family Friendly Favorites
Cookie Spin in North Center focuses on deep-dish cookies, sundaes, and ice cream built for serious dessert cravings. Guests customize loaded cookie sundaes or grab boxes of warm cookies for birthdays, late-night sweets, and catered events.
Must-Try Dishes:
Deep-dish chocolate chip cookie, Warm cookie sundae, Birthday cake cookie
What makes it special: Dessert-focused shop built around oversized deep-dish cookies and sundaes.