Pfaff's Bakery - A Route 66 Sugar Rush Worth Every Mile Walking into Pfaff's feels like opening the door to a time capsule... one that smells like maple, chocolate, and everything good about being alive. There's something comforting about a place that's been doing its thing since 1954, and clearly doing it right. The display case? Dangerous. In the best way. Everything looked so inviting it turned into a full internal debate between my eyes, my taste buds, and my very real pastry weakness. Spoiler: the pastries won. The donuts were some of the best I've had in a long time. Soft, light, just the right amount of sweet without tipping into sugar overload. My favorite was the one that reminded me of a palmier... flaky, delicate, and honestly a little heavenly. Service could use a bit of an upgrade on the friendly department. We're in the middle of a six-week road trip, and this stop, a small detour between Chicago and St. Louis, ended up being one of those unexpectedly perfect moments. Good coffee, great donuts, and a bonus hit of Route 66 nostalgia (yes, I'm fully that person). If you're anywhere nearby, don't overthink it. Just go. And maybe order one extra... you'll understand why. read more

Pfaff's Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Pontiac, Illinois

See all

Old school baker in downtown Pontiac. My tip is to arrive early because they sell out quickly! read more

Pfaff's Bakery - Welcome - Bakeries Near Me - Pontiac, Illinois

The service was amazing, friendly and fast, will be back if I'm in the area:), The doughnuts were fresh, tasty

Pfaff's doughnuts are fabulous. Great variety and the taste never disappoints. The chocolate long John's are a must-try.

KINGPIN REVIEW Road Tripping 2022 Parked in front of the bakery and it looked so good I had to get on and then headed to the Pontiac Museum Thanks for the memories read more

Pfaff's Bakery - Kingpin review 2022 Road Tripping Good coffee good pastry - Bakeries Near Me - Pontiac, Illinois

We stopped by just because we were driving through town. It was such a treat! Everything was wonderful! I would recommend this place to anyone! It was very cute too! read more

This place has been in business a long time. I come to Illinois twice a year & stay a month. We visit it a few times each visit. I always get the angel food and chiffon cupcakes. I don't care for all the frosting, however they are delicious. Bread selection is great, lots of other baked good to get. There is always a long line, you need to grab a ticket to get helped. read more

See all

Wonderful bakery right in downtown Pontiac. Use them for all your baking needs. Always fresh. Always delicious. They start baking early, and they open early. The paczki on Fat Tuesday are to die for. read more

Pfaff's Bakery - a variety of baked goods - Bakeries Near Me - Pontiac, Illinois

See all

DONUTS ARE AMAZING HERE! I always get a jelly donut and a chocolate long John, but there is so many other things I'd like to try! read more

My baby brother is graduating college from Quincy University in May of 2014. My sister and I decided to take a road trip down to visit him at school before we run out of time and he's no longer a student there. I have never been to his college, so I was anxious to get down there to pay him a visit, see the house he's living in, check out the historic campus, visit his favorite places and maybe meet some of his friends. I had some vacation time to burn up as did my sister, so we planned a trip down. I didn't really realize that driving down to Quincy, IL was such a boring drive....why didn't anyone warn me about that!? Jen and I decided that the way to make this trip extra fun was for her to be my navigator and find 'nearby places' on the Yelp app while on our drive down to see our brother. All I could think of that we could probably find would be a cutesy restaurant and maybe we would be lucky enough to find a bakery in some adorable little town. AND WE DID! I'm constantly on the hunt for a good baked good. As we make our way down I-55, we are randomly pulling up nearby places on the Yelp app. Finally, Pfaff Bakery popped up!!!! "Quick Jen, which exit? I don't want to miss it!" We made our way through the adorable town of Pontiac, IL and found this cutesy-woot little bakery right on the Main Street directly off the square that makes up downtown Pontiac. We snapped a few pics for Yelp and made our way through the front door of what I can only describe as an old school bakery. You can smell the decades of baked goodness when you walk through the door. They have a little bit of everything! -Cookies that can only be homemade. ($6 per doz.) -Hungarian Nut Bread which I was tempted to buy but didn't and now regret. (About $8, I believe) -donuts that I can only describe as the softest and freshest donuts I have encountered in my entire life. They seemed to be made with more of a wheat flour or something because they were not the standard white dough you find in someone's donuts like dunkin. -my sister and I immediately found the brownies and ordered two (because they were quite small) -she spotted what looked like a carrot cake bar and after asking what it was, she found out it was a pumpkin bar. I was not interested. That was, until she shoved it in my face while I was driving and insisted I taste it. I'm quite angry I did not order my own. Luckily, my sister was kind enough to share a few bites with me. Thanks, sis! Out the door, our total war just over $11. I really felt like that must have been a problem but we asked and it was $11. Woah! I felt like I was stealing from them. We ate almost all our treats within about 20 hours and shared a treat or two with our baby bro who thoroughly enjoyed their baked goods as well. Next time I get lost in Illinois, I'm gonna make sure I get lost on 55! Otherwise, I'll have to wait until May of 2014 when we roll on down to Quincy and well have to be sure make a stop in Pontiac for some baked goods I have been dreaming about for the past two weeks! Any of my pals make their way down to Pontiac, please don't hesitate to stop and grab some treats for yourself and me, if its not too much trouble! read more

See all

Best donuts around without a doubt. The honeymoons are my new favorite but everything is always great

Best pastries ever!!! We have tried other bakeries in our travels None compare to Pfaff's!

I really enjoyed the feel of the small town bakery. Its right in the middle of the downtown area. The chocolate long johns are my favorite, they are light and air-y while being sweet but not too sweet. They have plenty of options ranging from donuts, to cookies, to breads and other various pastry options. It really is a cute small town place. With that though, sometimes I do not feel welcomed by workers. I completely understand when it is busy, but going to the small town bakery for me is about the experience as well as the food. So, the donuts are great! But experience wise is kind of - meh. read more

Best donuts in town Right by Route 66 also Friendly owners Clean They also have a little sit down area if you want to have coffee/chocolate milk and donut in morning read more

If you want to find the world's best donuts, look no further than this hometown bakery!! The options and variety make it hard to choose which one so a dozen it will be for me! read more

Review #500!!! My 2013 Yelp Goal has been met! Loved it!! While road tripping with one of my sisters, we decided to stop at this old school bakery. In this old school town. While listening to old school tunes. Just kidding...I don't know what was on the radio as she was blabbing the whole time (ha ha ha!!!). We love places like this. Places with history. Where everyone knows everyone and they don't need signs with descriptions and prices because you've been coming here forever and all the same favorites are in all the same spots. That's this place! Wanna know what we tried? I am here to tell you. I went GAGA for the pumpkin bars. They were a refrigerated item and absolutely delightful! The owner came out front and told us about the cookies, but I was so overwhelmed that I only remember a few. I enjoyed the old fashioned ice box cookies, the peanut butter and resses pieces cookies were the best. Don't bother with the chocolate flavored cookies. It was the only item not worth eating. The chocolate flavor was severely lacking. The donuts were melt-in-the-mouth-good! Do it. Just do it. And the brownies. Now those had a chocolate kick with great frosting! Overall, it was an amazing stop on our trip and it was super reasonable! If I'm ever within about thirty miles of here again, you can bet your bippie that I'll be back! read more

See all

Best donuts around! Been going there for 45 years and Richard makes them the same way his dad did. Love Pfaffs!

No better place in town for great, homemade doughnuts and pastries.

One of the best fresh donuts you'll ever eat. Try the chocolate long john and a smiley face cookie. You won't regret it.

As long as I lived there they've always had constantly great pastries! There is nothing bad to say about Pfaff's!! Personally, I think they should stay away from the 21st Century. If it isn't broke, don't fix it! The prices are right, the quality is right and I look forward to Pfaff's bakery whenever I return to Pontiac. Gourmet cupcakes? Those are in the past. Mini Cheesecakes? Maybe. New York has the Cronut. Chicago has pie. Pfaff's has the Ewok and zit, and it's comforting to know that when I come back to visit. read more

Be warned these people don't wear masks, and when I asked the checkout man, he didn't respond at all.

I think I'm missing something. I've been there a lot after a friend raved about them. I've tried quite a few things and nothing has been knock your socks off good. In fact somethings have been quite bad. One time I tried the $4 teeny square of baklava. I about died when I found out the price but the girl had already boxed it. I figured that better be the best dang baklava of my life. Boy was I mistaken. It was spit out bad. This last time I went in I had a real hankering for some good fruitcake. They were a bit pale looking but I figured from a real bakery for $20 it had to be good! Again horribly, sorely mistaken. I don't know how you mess up fruitcake but it tastes like someone dumped all the fruits and nuts of a fruitcake into a yellow cake mix box. That's not quite fair. Boxed cakes are not as dry as this $20 tragedy. No one has extra money laying around on the holidays so I'm taking this quite personal. I will never step foot in that place again. If you're a senior and you want to shoot the spit with some fellow old-timers while eating decent donuts and overpaying for EACH cup of Folgers coffee this place is for you. Oh and if you want a fantastic fruitcake County Market is the place to go. read more

This is the best thing between the Chicago suburbs and Bloomington. MY OH MY! Melt-in-your-mouth goodness. There is one donut in particular--shame on me for forgetting the name--that is a yeast donut, filled with fluffy vanilla creme, and covered in powdered sugar. Taking a bite out of it is what my taste buds live for. Pfaff's is an absolute must for locals and roadtrippers alike! read more

Pfaffs Bakery is easily one of the best bakeries in the area! I prefer the double-chocolate cake doughnut, but they have many other types and cookies too! This is an excellent bakery! read more

I've been going to this place since I was a little boy and it's as good as ever. I've traveled widely and I still don't believe there is a better place ANYWHERE for donuts. Pfaff's is very unassuming, so I wouldn't blame you for not having high expectations. If you like raised donuts, this place is the best. That isn't to shortchange the other offerings, which many folks around here also love dearly. It is certainly my go-to when it's time to buy a birthday cake or something like that. While they've gotten pretty good at this, you may occasionally find low stock later in the day. I haven't noticed that in quite some time, though. Also, as a family-run business, you might occasionally come by in the summer or around the holidays to find out that they have gone on vacation. read more

I have loved this place since I was a wee little tike! Always fresh always delicious! read more

Pfaff's Bakery - Smiley cookies! - Bakeries Near Me - Pontiac, Illinois

Best donuts and cakes in town! Always get birthday cake here !! Can't recommend just one thing because everything is great !

For the life of me I cannot understand why the locals rave about this place. This is an utterly average bakery. Completely outdated for what is supposed to be a "tourist" town. Do not expect anything exciting when you go in. The biggest disappointment for me continues to be the lack of gourmet cupcakes, especially the minis. And yes, the attitude. The rudeness is shocking. And quite honestly the cakes from County Market are better. read more

Simply the best. Forget the mass-produced, corporate-owned, preservative-ladened garbage and treat yourself to an authentic family-owned bakery that encapsulates the best of Old World baking with the best of American customer service. From cakes that melts in your mouth to pastries that will put you in a shamanistic trance, there is no going wrong when you go with Pfaff's Bakery. Rich Pfaff, like his father before him, is the Gandalf of baking wizards, and overseas all operations. This is where the locals go and so should you. Whenever I have friends who have moved away from Pontiac, Illinois and come back to visit, I always say "How about some Pfaff's?" and their eyes predictably light up with the recognition of a long-denied pleasure unavailable whereever they now live. There's a reason for that. Find out for yourself and be able to say you've truly lived. read more

Only went in once, but so far the best cake donuts I've ever had. Try the blueberry! It's amazing!

Absolutely the best! Pfaff's is always a must when we stop in Pontiac. Donuts and danish - you bet! Birthday cakes are heavenly. Oh, and the rum balls! I have never been disappointed by the baked goods here. read more

The best donuts ever!!! Do yourself a favor and try the sour cream donuts. They are delicious. A little higher prices, but worth it for a special treay read more

Cozy little bakery near the courthouse; 2 cases full of wonderful items. I had a large cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee for $1.95...I was in shock! After finishing my breakfast, I bought a loaf of cinnamon bread for the road. Only negative of this visit; walnuts in the cinnamon bread. That is just wrong. There is another bakery in Dwight; 6 decent sized cookies there cost $1.20. Good thing I don't live closer :) read more

This bakery is in a nice little town just off the Interstate. The lady working was very friendly and really helpful. I came from out of state on August 17th, 2014 and was just driving through the area back to Arizona. The donuts I got tasted great and they even made a fresh individual maple donut for me which took seconds. Nice little place that I recommend! read more

People in Pontiac told me I had to get a zit from Pfaff's Bakery and I thought sounds weird but why not? It was surprisingly good! Went back to get another one for my daughter but they were all gone... Got her a beehive instead - also good.... not the prettiest donughts in the world but all tasted really good. 61 years in business and still going strong... read more

I've only had one bad experience with this place. I went to get a muppet cake for my niece, and they ended up giving me an Elmo cake. They gave me a discount for this mistake. The cake was still fabulous minus the mix up on what was supposed to be on the cake. I've been going there for years, and I've always had good experiences usually. I had one bad experience, but they made up for it! read more

Yes, very tasty stuff, but is there a bakery in business that you can't say that about ? I can echo the comments about the friendliness, or lack thereof. thought it was just me, only been around town five years or so, but my wife has been here 30+ and says the same thing. read more

Grew up eating these donuts and they taste just as they did 20 years ago. Always fresh. Always delicious. We visit every time we're in town. Chocolate Long Johns are my favorite but you really can't go wrong here! read more

We bought some peanut and oatmeal cookies for the road but tossed them after one bite. Completely dry and tasteless. Worse than the cookies was the attitude of the clerk. In a town full of pleasant, welcoming people, she made us feel as if we were a nuisance to endure. read more

They make the BEST cake--ordered for graduation and it was terrific. Ordered again for an anniversary party--fantastic. My family is now willing to drive hours to get cakes from Pfaff's! Highly recommend! Also, ask them to precut the cake--it doesn't get any easier to serve than this!! read more