Staying Del Mar with a friend wanted a special treat, got the chocolate melts and the pear almond tort.... neither one was particularly tasty, but being a chocolate person that was so disappointing... and nothing is inexpensive, but it is in Del Mar so that I expected. read more

For fans of the freshly baked, perfectly flaky, not-too-sweet almond croissants of Darshan Bakery in Encinitas, we understand this to be the new baking site for both shops. Really top rate pastries and sweets such as eclairs, fruit tarts, and small cakes. We shared with friends who had just returned from France, and they were transported right back. Hopefully the Patisserie expands its hours soon so that folks aren't disappointed showing up on a Monday or Tuesday AM seeking a perfect croissant. read more

We just returned from Paris, and honestly, as great as the patisseries were in Paris, this stands head & shoulders above all of them!!! Please try this new little gem in Del Mar -- be sure to stop by before word gets out and the lines are out the door!! This is true French baking; going so far as importing their butter from Normandy, France!! read more

SO GOOD. And I'm very picky! Got 5 types of desserts and none were overly sweet or made my teeth hurt. They were also light and perfectly prepared. I usually get sick eating out with such a sensitive stomach but I had no problem! They were absolutely delicious and I downloaded this app just to share how nice it was! The staff was also so friendly and everyone was wearing masks and gloves. I felt safe and welcome. Really beautiful location in Del Mar too. read more

During the holiday season, Darshan Bakery in Del Mar sold "Stollen", a German Christmas cake that is similar to a fruitcake with nuts, spices and dried fruit. I was very excited when I saw it at their shop and bought it despite the extremely steep price tag of $32. But it was a big disappointment. When I took the Stollen out of its cardboard container, I noticed that it looked very dark underneath the powdered sugar. After cutting a slice and taking a bite, there was no doubt that it had been in the oven too long: it was completely dry! And it had a slightly rancid taste to it. Had spoilt butter been used? Since I am from Germany and have experienced many a family Christmas with home-baked Stollen, I know what an authentic Stollen should taste like. The one from Darshan Bakery was nothing like it. In fact, no one in my family wanted to finish eating it. For $32, it was a complete waste of money. As a side note, there is an excellent French Bakery (La Farine) in Oakland, CA, which also sells Stollen during the holiday season. Theirs tastes like my grandmother's recipe. And they charge only $19 per loaf, not $32... Perhaps Darshan Bakery should research their recipe and think about adjusting the price next Christmas season? read more

The food here is delicious. I love the egg sandwich, it's simple but everything on it is such a good balance with the flavor combinations. The chai is really great as well. read more

Ding a great job at following cdc guidelines for covid sanitary protocols. Love the bake goods and service!

Great spot on the Del Mar strip with authentic european, melt in your mouth pastries and strong coffee. Had the almond croissant hot out of the oven, and in my short visit, found myself back a second and then a third time. Very friendly staff too. read more

Since we lost Champagne French Bakery at Del Mar Heights, Darshan has become my new favorite! It's very small, but they are careful with social distancing protocol + masks are required. They're the best place in many miles for genuine French pastries and desserts, and also sell sandwiches and coffee. Very kind and friendly staff! Don't count on sitting outside there - seating is limited - but you can take your breakfast or lunch across the street to the beautiful Del Mar City Hall terrace and enjoy the ocean view. read more

They are open for take out. With thr same amazing offerings. Get there early as they sell out. So excited I found this little Gem. The best bakery in all of San Diego. read more

We had sandwiches and pastries which were all perfect, flakey, buttery, & light. Even my espresso had a crema on it and it was not bitter. I would highly recommend this bakery to anyone who wants to be delighted. read more

I've been extremely impressed with everything I have purchased here. It is usually a spontaneous trip to Del Mar that brings me in, but it has turned out to make things more of an adventure. If I visit early in the day, the selection is abundant and it's hard to decide what belly wants. Later afternoon visits I often pick something new and it's always fun to realize what I might not have considered turns out to be a new fave. Today it was that scrumptious little tuna sandwich on focaccia and a box of assorted pastry instead of the baguette I was seeking. Some of the reviewers have commented on how things are cheaper elsewhere, but I haven't found that prices here are high or surprising (especially since the ingredients are of obvious high quality). I had no idea two pieces of focaccia with tuna, greens and simple condiments could be so ridiculously delicious. The bread is fabulous (all of it) and the laminated pastry and precious little desserts really are something special. You can drive all over the county looking for something less expensive, but you certainly won't find anything as good as what is on offer here. read more

Authentic and delicious! I spend significant time in France and this cafe bakery captures the exceptional tastes of French pastries

I just dropped in for a latte and a fresh chocolate almond croissant. The latte was on the small side when you compare it to other chain coffees but you get organic milk and intelligentsia coffee so it's a high quality drink. The sizing is closer to what you may get in Europe or other boutique coffee shops. The drink was good, no sugar necessary to make it palatable and decorated with a traditional leaf pattern. The croissant was fresh out of the oven and the chocolate inside was still gooey. It was perfectly flaky and not overly sugary. I'll definitely be going back for more. Also the butter used to make them is organic so you can feel a little less guilt about scarfing one down. The tarts and other desserts looked amazing and I can wait to go back to try the other offerings. The outdoor patio is cozy, has nice umbrellas and is dog friendly. Added bonus is free parking in the lot. read more

We love this bakery! We come once a week and enjoy a fresh pastry and coffee. The employees are friendly and the food is always fresh. Live supporting local businesses like Darahan. read more

What an AMAZING gem in Del Mar! The croissants are the BEST you will ever taste and all the pastries are as delicious as they are beautiful. We are so lucky to have a local authentic French Bakery. It's a great place to have a coffee or lunch and relax outside. If you haven't tried it... you are missing out!!!!!! read more

Perfect spot for a midday get together! The parking lot made arriving easy, and the staff was very helpful describing all their yummy looking items! I had the artichoke quiche which was delicious! I anticipate a return visit soon! read more

This place is soo over rated. Eight dollars for a crossaint? Very little choices as in maybe a dozen offerings and really no baked goods. Terrible vibe and no baguettes? Terrible. read more

Saturday, May 16, this business does not require customers inside the shop to wear face masks as required by San Diego County Public Health orders during C-19. Will not return, not safe, no distancing management. read more

This place is a gem! Delicious authentic pastry, wonderful atmosphere, fantastic coffee! My family loved to watch Chef baking all delicious croissants. Will be coming back for sure. read more

I just stopped by Patisserie Del Mar, was tempted by the great variety of spectacular pastries on display. A very nice lady wearing a mask (I was wearing one too) took my order, 2 croissants, choc orange cake, apple delight, peach delight, opera, etc. I paid $46 plus $4 tip. While she was placing the pastries in a box, she asked a coworker to help with the next customer order. The coworker approached the counter and started talking to the next customer (who was also wearing a mask) while standing right in front of my cakes. The coworker was not wearing a mask, so his aerosol droplets were likely falling right on my cakes. I told the lady to cancel my order, explained why and asked why the coworker was not wearing a mask. She explained he is the owner. I asked him why he wasn't wearing a mask, he answered he has a "medical condition". Very regretfully I will skip this place for a very long time. read more

Excellent coffee. Incredible pastry. A bit expensive but quality is worth it. A welcome addition to the morning scene. Start with the almond croissant. Hold back on the powdered sugar which is unnecessary. read more

Lovely bakery. The pastries are yummy, the service was top notch, and the view is second to none.

Great place! Fast and friendly service delicious food and great coffee! Love this place very nice people and the desserts are delicious. So great to have them in Del Mar! This is my go to place! The coffee is really good here! I will be back for sure! read more

We used to be huge fans of this bakery but not after our experience there this past Christmas! I will explain: Our family tradition is to find (or if we can't find, we make!) an authentic French chocolate buche de noel for Christmas dessert. My elderly mother, who travels here from the east coast for Christmas, buys it (at $65 for a small cake that feeds 6-8) as her gift to the family and contribution to our Christmas dinner. We have had many special, authentic ones in past Christmases and realize those made with high-quality chocolate are pricey, but we gladly pay for quality. In return, we expect an authentic, high quality buche de noel, with which we are now very familiar. In 2018, we were delighted to find that Darshan offered a wonderful buche de noel, made by the French chocolatier-patissier who was working there, and we gladly paid the high price for it and purchased some of his special truffles, plus stollen and croissants. This year, we called Darshan a few weeks prior to Christmas to order it again and remarked that the buche de noel was a highlight of our 2018 Christmas dinner and we wanted to confirm that the same man, their highly skilled chocolatier-patissier, was making it again in 2019. They told us that sadly he was back in France, and they weren't sure if they were going to offer buche de noel this year, but if he returned soon enough, they would, and suggested I call back in a week. When I called back, I was told that although he was not returning this year, they would be making his exact same recipe with the exact same ingredients. I asked the employee to please confirm this, and he put me on hold and came back to the phone to confirm. Ok, great news! When my mom arrived from the east coast, we went to Darshan and she ordered/paid for the $65 buche de noel. I also purchase two Christmas stollen (each $35) and multiple croissants for our crowd - all together we spent at least $150 there during the holiday. When we picked it up, the buche de noel looked the same from the outside, but when we sliced into it after Christmas dinner, on the inside, it was simply 3 layers of white, dark and milk chocolate mousse/ganache with a very thin layer of sponge cake at the base, not a rolled up sponge cake with chocolate ganache inside the layers. Very odd and not at all traditional. It was simply like eating chocolate mousse. We felt like we could have easily made chocolate mousse ourselves as this was NOT a traditional buche de noel and for what it was, we all agreed it was extremely overpriced. After the holiday season, I started to feel bad that my mom spent $65 on what was just mousse, so I called the shop and spoke to the owner, Heidi. She was sweet but defensive and actually asked me, "What would you like me to do about it?" I said that I would like her to consider that they had told me before we ordered that they were making last year's exact same recipe with exact same ingredients and consider giving my mom at least a partial refund. I gave her the name of the employee I had spoken with who told me this information and told her that he had (hopefully unintentionally) misrepresented what my mom was purchasing. Not only was it clearly not the same recipe, it was not an authentic buche de noel recipe. We would have sought or made an authentic buche de noel if we had known we were getting this mousse. Plus we paid $65 for it! Heidi did not seem fazed but said maybe we'd like to come in and have a pastry on them, but I told her again that it was my mom who paid for it and she lives on the east coast and is no longer in town so can't come have pastry. I told her politely I also didn't think that was appropriate compensation for misrepresentation. Heidi said she'd talk with her husband (I think he is the baker). Later she left me a voicemail saying he declined to offer any credit/refund to my mom but would offer us a piece of Napolean cake! What?! I had specifically told her that my mom does not live here so even if a piece of pastry was appropriate compensation, she isn't here to receive it, but that is not the issue. They misrepresented what we were purchasing and charged us $65 for it. They never responded to the issue about the inaccurate information we received about it being the same recipe/ingredients as last year, nor did they address the fact that what they sold was not even an authentic buche de noel. I feel betrayed by a local shop that I used to really love and go out of my way to support and recommend. It is so disappointing to find a business owner doing something like this. It also seems unprofessional and cowardly that the baker/owner did not call me himself to hear my concern, instead digging in his heels and using his sweet wife as the messenger. I will definitely not be returning and will relay this experience to local friends. A business owner's refusal to provide a refund (even partial) when necessary is pennywise and pound foolish, as the saying goes. What a shame. read more

So here the deal. As a man of world travel and leisure, I've had my share of the best baked goods from around the world. I have to say, Patisserie Del Mar brings me to the streets of Paris when I bite into a fresh, warm chocolate croissant. I typically find American croissants to be small loaves of stale bread. Very happy to have a local producer of such fine treats. Additionally, their coffee is top notch. Finally, I love that they serve both food and drink with ceramic plates and mugs. Anyway, if you see a giddy AF Asian dude speaking broken French to himself while double fisting chocolate croissants, holla at your boy Fred. read more

Authentic French bakery. Delicious. Great customer service. A must visit for coffee, their famous "Morning Buns" or any other delish meal.

Absolutely fabulous pastries and sandwiches!! Everything we have tried is exceptional, almond and chocolate croissants, lemon almond tart, gingerbread men, palmiers, and more. Sandwiches are served on delicious focaccia. Staff is so friendly. The perfect French bakery...and a large window allows you to see them baking the goodies. read more

As a longtime super-fan of this place's older sibling, Darshan, in Encinitas, I was hesitant to stop in for fear that this new one might not measure up in terms of the "vibe". I was so happily surprised to see that it has the same great feel, food, drink of the original, and the owners were on hand, thoughtfully making sure all was going smoothly. It's nicely laid out, with both inside and outside spaces. The ocean view is great from the patio, and there's a lot more parking than is the norm for Del Mar. It's hopefully going to bring a good bit of refreshing to this end of town. Interestingly, the old gas station lot next door has story poles in place and construction underway, and Tim & Heidi (Patisserie owners) mentioned that it will be a "boutique motel" (only Del Mar could pull of such an oxymoron). My last comment: Just having read all of the other reviews... HOW HAS NOBODY MENTIONED THE CHAI??!! They have the most legit. chai around, made with organic milk and an actual Indian mix of spices that makes it a treat any time of day. It's NOT the the normal powder/syrup/concentrate weird stuff one finds at other places. This is seemingly made in the authentic Indian style - excellent! read more