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South Pasadena, CA

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La Monarca Bakery & Cafe

4.0 (711 reviews)
Open • 6:00 am - 8:00 pm

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Business Info

LA MONARCA BAKERY & CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Classy
Moderate noise
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - La Monarca Bakery & Cafe

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Elocin T.

Wow check out La Monarca Bakery in South Pasadena Mexican bakery with lot of selection baked goods. Matcha is now infused flavor in Mexican baked goods now! Gotta try everything here I love tres leche. Love horchata . Support small business! la monarca bakery & cafe south pasadena menu https://share.google/I0HBLtZgAkeSPIOdb

Un cafe de olla y un quiche de chorizo.  How's that for my Spanish.  Next year I'll be better. :) I think.
Will S.

South Pasadena, California. Ive been coming here since forever and living closeby makes LMB easily accessed by me and frequently. Im addicted to their coffees as well as the delicious Mexican pastries, conchas and savories (like the molletes and breakfasts burritos). I love how I can come in, get my goods, sit at a table and plug my laptop and work for a couple of minutes. Only a couple of coffee houses in South Pas are like LMB : with enough power plugs for me to work in, TODAY. Most coffee houses in town are either packed or do not have power plugs next to their tables. LMB thought of this nice detail. The baristas who work here are the kindest, helpful and attentive. A client came in today using a walker, sat at a table. Later spilled her drink. Erica and Sonia responded right away to clean up her area and offer her a replacement drink. The lady apologized for what seemed a repeat mishap. With boundless care and respect both ladies took care of her and helped her to another table that was clean with a replacement drink. Super appreciated the attention Erica and Sonia gave to this client who appears to be a regular She was Catered to without hesitation and assisted to a clean location. Love this place. End of Yelp.

Pan de Muerto - pumpkin spice & Cafe De Olla - blended
Adriana K.

Came in for the Cafe de Olla, and they hooked me with their free sample of their pumpkin spice pan de muerto. Pastry is delicious and I've never had a blended cafe de olla and it's really good. Stop by!

Inside Decor
Yvette W.

This was my first time, I came here with my Grandmother after visiting Sugarmynt Gallery and I'm so glad we did. I had the Lavender Matchata horchata drink and and she had the horchata latte. My drink was super delicious and creamy, the matcha was not bitter and it had a perfect amount of cinnamon. She also loved her drinks. I had the Mexican Wedding Cookie flavored concha and it was delicious! The workers were really sweet and one gave us butter cookies for free, which was so kind. It melted in my mouth and was so good, I wish I bought more cookies to take home now! The place is small but there is seating and it's decorated cutely, I added a picture of the Loteria inspired concha art. I love the monarch butterfly theme as well; it made the bags, napkins, and cups so pretty.

Benedict P.

Highly recommend this place if you are looking and trying something new to eat! First time in this place and my mouth was already watering when I was scrolling through their online website. Just looking at the food already made me hungry for some delicious baked goods. I tried their Horchata Lavender Concha, it had some sweet and tasty sugary glaze on top and it gave me tears of JOY just eating it. I also tried their Chocolate Croissant and that's usually my Go To at any bakery place. It was delicious and soft and smooth like butter when you take that first bite into it. The service was great! I came in the morning by like 10:00am and the girl behind the counter was very sweet and welcoming to all customers as they first enter through the Bakery and once they leave. Ambiance was cute on the inside and the bakery sits right by the train station which made the ambiance and environment quite welcoming and beautiful. This place is definitely worth the place to try. And I will definitely come back here when I get the chance.

Jesus keeping you honest near the tip jar.
Craig W.

This is a cute Mexican bakery and coffee shop. We really enjoyed the conchas. The coffee drinks were a little hit and miss. We tried a selection of five of the smaller conchas, which aren't that small at all. You serve yourself like at a normal Mexican bakery and bring your selections to the counter. There are many different flavors to choose from, like churro, wedding cake, champurrado, etc. My favorite was the champurrado, by far. But they were all very fresh and delicious. We also tried a few of the coffee drinks. I went with the iced cafe de olla, something I have only had hot before. It was good but not as flavorful as I had hoped. The other drinks we tried were good but not amazing. The counter fellow was as friendly as could be. There is seating inside and out. They only have street parking which can get a little tight in this area but I have never had a problem. By the way, if you are a movie buff, the Michael Myers house from Halloween is almost literally across the street. Come here for excellent Mexican pan dulces.

Rajat G.

While in South Pasadena visiting family for my wife's birthday, we were advised to visit La Monorca . It was a great suggestion and were pleasantly impressed with the quality and taste of the cake. It was one of the best cakes we have had !!!! The staff are amazing, friendly and helpful in picking out options.

Dulce de leche cake
Andrea E.

This review is based solely on their whole cakes, as I have yet to try any of their drinks or other pastries. I stopped in during my lunch break to purchase a cake for my boyfriend's birthday and was happy to see they had several ready-to-go options available. There were a few different flavor selections, all inspired by Mexican flavors like dulce de leche and horchata, and every cake looked beautiful. Based on the staff recommendation, I chose the dulce de leche cake. It turned out to be the perfect choice and was thoroughly enjoyed by the birthday boy. The cake was moist, flavorful, and not overly sweet, which I really appreciated since some cakes can be too heavy on sugar. I can't wait to bring my mom here - I know she will enjoy a good coffee and a concha. This will definitely be my go-to spot for cakes. The interior was also really super cute. Loved the way everything was merchandised. Thank you, La Monarca!

Rosabell M.

Walked here from the Sugar Mynt gallery and wanted some coffee to go for the drive home. Customer service was super nice! We ordered: mango lemonade, a hibiscus drink with tajin rim and an iced horchata de olla latte. All our drinks were super delicious! I enjoyed the horchata de olla latte so much that I would totally come back for this drink. The refresher drinks were very tasty! They also had some pan dulce that looked fresh, next time I'll have to try that out! I love the decor and it was a very clean looking shop! Definitely worth coming back!

Roni V.

Stopped by for some pastries and a 3leches bday cake. The pastries were good the cake was just ok and a bit dry. Friendly and quick customer service and cute Dia de Muertos decorations. Street parking available, clean restrooms, and a small simple indoor seating area.

Horchata coffee.
Shirley S.

Cute place with good coffee and friendly service. Didn't try the pastries. I will have to do a return visit for that. I will note that you need to COUNT YOUR CHANGE! The poor cashier couldn't do the math without the assistance of the register. She kept giving me $1.25 change from a $10 bill. My total was $5.75. She finally realized that she was entering something wrong and the register finally gave her the correct amount to give me back.

Lavender concha, Oaxaca concha
Francisco M.

There's limited parking and the street parking down narrow roads. The interior is nice looking and cleans. You enter to immediately seeing the bread and pastries. The staff are really nice and friendly. They have loads of prepackaged concha selections. I'm quite tempted to buy the large selection! I got a few concha a la carte. The Oaxaca concha and lavender. They were tasty and sweet. Not too sweet considering the extra toppings. They were enough for a quick breakfast snack. I also got the Oaxaca cafe. It was very hot so let it sit for a bit. It was quite tasty though. It was rich with chocolate and has the right amount of sweetness. I really want to return to try out more!

Conchas Monarca - 12pc Tray to go
Lourella M.

Got a 12 pack of conchas and iced coffee to go. Ordering online was so easy. I wanted to get more items honestly. It was all soo good! Everything was very fresh. The iced coffee I got was a great addition for my breakfast concha. I can't wait to go back again and try other items!

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Reviews are generally positive. People appreciate the friendly, welcoming staff, cozy, inviting atmosphere, and fresh and flavorful pastries. Unique coffee and drinks are also popular.

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27 days ago

Excellent coffee. Excellent service. Try the Cafe Oaxaca -- it's amazing. Nice little seating area in a charming atmosphere.

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8 months ago

Such an underrated spot to study/do work! Great wifi, kind staff. Soy chorizo burrito is fire, and very inexpensive

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La Monarca Bakery & Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - La Monarca Bakery & Cafe

Does the horchata cake and all the other ones have any nut allergens such as coconut,almond, peanut?

Hello there, the only cake that has walnuts is the Dulce de Leche cake. However, all our products are made in an open space facility.

Hello, where are the wedding conchas?

Hello Angela, At the moment we don't have wedding cookies or conchas since we have our seasonal items for fall & Halloween.

Whats the wifi password?

Hi Nathan! Our staff in our store should be able to provide the password :)

Hello, do you guys have Tres leches cake?

Yes they do .. cakes and slices

Do you have a cake menu? Want to order a 8 inches cake !

Hello! Yes we do :) You can place your order and check out our cakes at ordermonarca.com

Are churros available year round? If so, what is the price? Are they plain or stuffed?

Hello Cynthia, Sorry we dont sell churros.

Is this a good spot for work meeting?

Hello Cindy! It is! We wanted retail spaces are perfect for work or studying meeting while enjoy our products.… 

Is there Wi-fi available?

Yes there is free wifi to our guest :)

Can one order online (app)?

As far as I know no, at least for drinks. You can call ahead an place an order for coffee traveler, cakes, big orders for pastries, etc.

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Artisanal Goods by CAR - Chocolate croissant.. Looks like E.T. when upside down.

Artisanal Goods by CAR

4.5(858 reviews)
2.6 mi•West Central
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Wildly popular bakery/patisserie located in Pasadena. This place got on my radar cause I saw that…read morethey were one of the best croissants/chocolate croissants in the Los Angeles area. I was in the area and wanted something light for breakfast and remembered that I've been wanting to come here. Parking was pretty easy to find on the street since it was early in the day. The line was almost out the door when I got there, but relatively short from what I've heard. Plus it moved pretty quickly. The people here were friendly and the space had an artsy vibe to it. Of course, I had to get the chocolate croissant and I also ordered a coffee to go with it. It was buttery, flaky, and had a good amount of chocolate. Definitely a gem of a place located in Pasadena. Would love to come back and try some more of their goods.

I normally take pictures of the food and the place, but I don't think I did this place justice so I…read moredidn't include them. This place is known for their artisanal chocolates as well as their chocolate and even regular croissants. I thought I was a croissant person, but today I found out that I am not a dessert croissant person. I ironically find the chocolate bars decent and was underwhelmed by the chocolate croissant. I am also realizing that I may not be a huge chocolate person recently. I don't like to waste food so I found myself just trying to stuff it into my mouth to get it over with. I will come back again for a regular croissant. My friends and family all rave about the croissants from this place having one of the best croissants in town. I wish I could tell you that I lived that experience to tell the tale. I got an iced honey latte with oat milk that was delicious though. Service was okay. They were nice enough. I didn't have much interaction besides the transaction, so I cannot speak too much on this? The place looks ideal for people to sit and do some work or study. Some customers kind of block the only pathways around though to no fault of the franchise. It's just young people not really having spatial awareness when out in public. In summary, I had just an okay experience. Gave this place 4 stars for the iced honey latte with oat milk.

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Blueberry fig.. Very good

Artisanal Goods by CAR - Blueberry fig

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Sweet Red Peach - Delicious Red Velvet

Sweet Red Peach

4.6(85 reviews)
1.8 mi•Downtown
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Sweet Red Peach is cake heaven! A southern style bakery, they serve up a variety of delectable…read moredesserts, including the best red velvet cake in SGV. I originally stopped by to pick up their famous cinnamon roll, which made the lists for top 10 cinnamon rolls in LA County. Unfortunately, they didn't have any cinnamon rolls the two times I stopped by. (I think it had something to do with how their AC is currently out and awaiting repairs). Not wanting to leave empty handed, I decided to get a few slices of cake instead. And boy am I glad I did! So far I've tried their red velvet cake, vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, and a seasonal strawberry cake. The cakes were all rich and on the denser side, and were a cross between moist and crumbly. Each cake also paired exceptionally well with the velvety thick frosting. So the backup plan was a rousing success, as all three cake slices were fabulously indulgent and the perfect treat. ****************** My Ratings: 1 Star: Terrible; just thinking about it makes me angry. 2 Stars: Wasn't a fan so Not likely to return. 3 Stars: Meh. Average. Might return if others drag me. 4 Stars: Yum! Likely to return. 5 Stars: Amazing! Would plan my day around it.

Sweet Red Peach is a bakery / sweet shop selling sliced cake and soft serve in a small strip mall…read moreon Arroyo and Del Mar. We swung by on a Sunday afternoon for some quick soft serve. We ordered two soft serve cones ($5 each), a lemon and strawberry. These are made by a machine with syrup / gel to add flavor automatically. The ice cream was serviceable but unremarkable, with a very synthetic flavor to it. Service was friendly, standard, and the inside clean but fairly bare. No seating yet there was some space for it. A couple tables inside and out would go a long way. Prices reasonable for the middling quality. I won't down vote Red Peach too much since their specialty is cakes but the ice cream option here struck me as tacked on and very generic. Nothing homemade here sadly. I defer to other reviewers for the cake but simply can't recommend the soft serve. Food: 3/5 Ambiance: 3.5/5 Service: 4/5 Value: 4.5/5

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Sweet Red Peach - Watermelon flavored soft serve on a cone

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La Monarca Bakery & Cafe - bakeries - Updated October 2026

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