Went to Ponce's bakery yesterday. We ordered the chicken and green sauce tamales, plus 2 watermelon cookies, 2 breakfast sweets which have raspberry and I think cream cheese or maybe custard in them, and a small loaf of fresh bread. Everything was delicious, and fresh, the tamales were better than we had expected and will be visiting again to get some more! read more

Well first off shame on the Yelper's who'reviews we read and decided to try this place! Let me review this place correctly. For one do not come here thinking they have all kinds of breakfest items, THEY DON'T! The only thing you can buy is sweet breads, menudo, tamales and that is it!!!! The older woman told me we could not but a burrito or anything else until after 12 pm? Okay, now that this trip was a waste of our time...we came to buy breakfest for the whole family. We got 4 tamales, they were the most horrible tamales I have ever tasted. The masa was ruff and grainy not smooth as tamales should be. The meat was so dry and tasteless hardly no sauce, they were very dry. The pan duce was hard and left out on trays, that is a health violation right there! That bread was not fresh it was from the night before, we got there 8 am....only one guy in the back. Now the young girl who was there was very nasty must of had a hard night last night.....she should of stayed home. The older woman was very nice and very helpful 5 stars for her only. Now you know the truth, don't go thinking you can buy what you want until after 12 pm. Tamales if you had good tamales, you will know these are not good. The bread is old and hard left out on trays so flies and dust gets on them. We will never go back! read more

Ponce's Bakery - A health code great! - Bakeries Near Me - Downey, California

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Some of the best pan dulce in Southeast LA. Great Tamales too! Small family owned operation. I'm looking forward to trying the menudo soon too. read more

Omg where do I start some of the best sweet bread I've ever had so delicious and soft. Also there tamales the best if u go sat or Sunday they have some of the best menudo and with. Bolio omg to die for. The best. The people are so sweet who work there. Absolutely the best read more

If you want Mexican Bread come here, bread coming out fresh out of the oven after noontime. Delicious bread, also serving tamales, menudo.

Favorite conchas in all of Downey! They have other yummy breads but the conchas are the best.

I absolutely loved it! The bread was soft and fresh when I walked in and the champarado was fire. Not watered down! It had a great thick texture and an awesome flavor. I will certainly be back here. Also, amazing customer service!!! read more

Downey now has a superior Mexican Bakery!!!! I knew you had it in you Downey!!!! Now I do not have to travel all the way to Commerce, Bell Gardens or East Los Angeles to get fine Mexican bread! There is a great selection of bread unlike many many Mexican bakeries! They pay attention to detail. They have for example a Mexican polvoron "crumble" bread that is baked to look like a slice of watermelon. The bread is simply beautiful to look at and really, really ridiculously good too!!!! I also ate an empanada de guayaba "guava turnover" and it was heavenly!!!! The filling is superior to that of Porto's and Tropicana's guava pastries and that is saying a lot - I kid you not!!!! The filling tastes fresh and natural. It's nice and tangy too! Just like homemade. Plus they do not skimp on the filling. The empanada bread is soft and tasty too! The conchitas de chocolate "chocolate shells" are also very soft and tasty. They have cinnamon cookies which are excellent too! The bread display cases are not falling apart as at many other bakeries. The place is clean. I got here on a Saturday morning at around 10:30 am and there was tons of fresh out of the oven bread waiting for them to put into the bread display cases! They have one table where you can sit and enjoy your bread if you like. Parking can be an issue for some reason even though they are located in a small strip mall with plenty of free parking. I was lucky to find parking today. Ponce's Bakery also serves menudo on weekends! I will come back to try it! read more

One hot Summer day, I was venting to my friend Miguel R. about various "topics" , and then he, wisely, decided to take me for a pastry expedition in Downey (aka Carbs Galore Tour) Ponce's was our 1st stop. This is a small bakery situated in a strip mall, without any pretentious they make one of the best guava pastries (pan de guayaba, or as we call them in Colombia pasteles gloria) I have ever tried. Real fruit flavor, low sugar and delicious dough. They have other breads and are pretty tasty as well, but their Pan de Guayaba is simply spectacular. The price is awesome and the service is quite honest and attentive. Thank you Miguel for listening to my complains and for taking me to get some comfort food to drown my sorrows. Highly recommended! read more

A diamond in the rough. No frills just simple great tasting treats. This is truly a Mexican style bakery. Simple great tasting pastels, bread and tamales, which are awesome. Items are priced right, good selection. Staff is friendly and helpful. Give this one a try, I know you'll like it. read more

Ponce's Bakery - Hot! Just out of the oven - Bakeries Near Me - Downey, California

Good service good food especially the tamales The bread is always fresh there's no better bakery around prices are good the place is always nice and clean read more

Hella nice people! (Technically it's usually only one guy there at a time... but really nice!) Pastries are always good and taste fresh! Me go-to spot! Highly recommended. read more

unfortunately not only this bakery ,but most of the Mexican bakers and owners do not have a clue for good pan dulce . No eggs only yellow coloring , sugar , flower snd cheap margarine. El Gallo , La Fama . El pavo etc , etc... need to go to Mexico and learn what a good pan dulce is . They care only about money ..bad quality read more

Ponces is my go to for pan dulce during the holidays and year round for me and my family. Supply runs low at end night but only due to the fact that they want to keep their bread fresh which is fine by me. The staff is nice as well, hopefully they stay around for a long time. Make sure to stop by peeps read more

By far the best Pan Dulce ever, always fresh and delicious. Very reasonably priced. Tamales are delicious too.

Tamales are the best! My favorite are the cheese. I also really enjoy their menudo. 2 conchas on the side never fails as well.

I absolutely love this bakery. I discovered it a couple months ago, shortly before stay-at-home orders went into place. I was able to go a few times since it was on my way home from school, but unfortunately it's pretty far from my house so I'm not able to go as often as I'd like ever since schools switched to online format. All the pan dulce I've tried has been good but my favorite bread is the bolillo de jalapeño. The bread that has cream cheese and jalapeño inside. I always buy several of them while I'm there. They STUFF it with the filling and it's so so good every time. It's the best. I've gotten that same bread at other places and the other bakeries tend to be more expensive and still have way less filling and make them mostly just plain bread. Not at Ponce's though. Tons of filling and a well balanced bread for only $1. I wish I had pictures I could include but I always end up eating it in the car before remembering to take a picture for yelp... they also have tamales and champurado but I haven't tried those yet so I can't comment on how good they are. That's definitely an option if you go, though. read more

I went across the street to get bread the lady at the register didn't want to help me. I was the first one in line, there's a lady to the side of me and a guy behind me and one to the left of me the lady comes up and asked the guy what do you want and he's like oh bolillo and tamales but she's (me) was here first she still goes out her way to go get his stuff totals him out and then asked the lady to the side of me what she wanted she's like oh a menudo but she (me) again was here first she's like oh no you were here first and it isn't fair for you to be waiting she's like I actually got here after her (me) but she still goes to get her soup and charges her out. I literally have my bread on the counter ready to pay she tells the guy behind me what do you need he says oh I just need a small cup of milk I don't want a galloon just a small cup she's like ok goes to the back gets his milk charges him out then finally gets my stuff and she had a attitude when she put my stuff in the bag I was like what did I do to you. I literally walked in and said good morning like I don't understand why you are being so rude to me I was really about to walk out and leave the bread on the counter but I didn't. I also watched the same lady handle money and then went to go grab the tamales with her hand no glove on or anything. After witnessing that and after the way I was treated I will not be coming back I will take my business elsewhere. read more

Everytime I come here I get excellent customer service, and have never been disappointed with the food. Tamales are never dry or greasy... Just right. The pan dulce is always a favorite treat from here... Me and my kids enjoy every piece. read more

Good Mexican sweet pastries, tamales, and other delicious foods.

This place has the most delicious empanadas de guayava... a bread with guava filling... yummy but my favorite bread its the banana bread pudding... yummy I highly recommend... read more

Great pan dulce and champarado. I will definitely be back. The restaurant is very clean and they even have menudo.

Good pan dulce. Haven't had much else but they have tamales (sorry, no one can top my Abuelita's! Ever!) and some beverages. Fair pricing but parking not so great. read more

Short of crossing the border, this is about the best Mexican bakery for sweet bread you can find in the area. The service is always friendly and helpful. Other bakeries have their bread delivered (out sourced). This place makes it fresh daily. I'm here once a week to get a variety of bread for the family, specifically the "flowers" for my husband who loves them with his morning coffee. The cheese and guava pastries give Porto's a run for their money! And my son loves the mini conchas. read more

Bought bread that had gone bad from this place. I can't believe they will sell old bread. It was on a Wednesday night around 7pm. They were closed by the time I tried it at home so I couldn't call them to let them know. Disgusting!!!! Will never ever be back. read more

I always go in the morning when their warm freshly baked bread is coming out of the oven. Prices are reasonable and owner is really nice.

This is my go to place for sweet bread. It's always fresh and fluffy. Their tamales are also pretty good. The people who work here are nice and friendly. The location always seems clean. My only question is why do they not have price tags as do all other bakeries. Somehow I always pay different amounts for the same pastries. Not expensive at all but I do wish I knew the price for each item. I feel like they always eyeball how much the customer owes. read more

Never ate here however on 2 different occasions we have tried to get some tamales and called prior to going. Both times we were told they had the tamales we wanted and when we got there the first time they didn't have any more for the day and the second time they said they would be ready in an hour since they were still cooking them. When someone calls asking for tamales maybe you should let the customer know they aren't ready so they don't come in expecting you to have them ready. The worst part is the staff don't even care that they are providing incorrect information and inconveniencing you. There are other businesses that value their customers and unfortunately this isn't one of them. read more

Tamales are super good customer service it's the best they make you feel like you're at home their menudo is delicious this is my spot on Saturday mornings or Sundays read more

Ponce's Bakery was recommended by a friend who considers herself a connoisseur of tamales. She was absolutely right! They have the best tamales. Their tamales have just the right amount of masa, meat, and sauce. They are delicious. I ordered the pork, chicken, and sweet tamales. They were all perfect. When I picked them up, they were hot and steamy and ready to serve. Just be sure to order ahead of time to be sure they have what you need. I will be a loyal customer. read more

Nice and friendly people and great service love it and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I do and let's not forget the bread also outstanding read more