From Eater · Eater Staff · · 2m
2026 Best New Bakeries in America
Chicago’s Bad Butter, LA’s Chainsaw, Brooklyn’s Diljān and SF’s Parachute Bakery lead Eater’s 2026 awards.
In brief
Chicago’s Bad Butter, LA’s Chainsaw, Brooklyn’s Diljān and SF’s Parachute Bakery lead Eater’s 2026 awards. Eater’s 2026 awards spotlight four innovative bakeries: Bad Butter in Chicago, Chainsaw in Los Angeles, Diljān in Brooklyn, and Parachute Bakery in San Francisco. Originally reported by Eater.
The Rise of Bakeries
Bakeries have stepped up their game with personal expressions of identity and innovative flavor combinations.
“If there’s one thing we’ve noticed over the past several years, it’s how much bakeries have stepped up their game.”
Bad Butter in Chicago
Bad Butter’s line cascades out of its Chicago storefront, with former Soho House head baker Dan Koester launching his online bakery in 2020.
“Formerly a head baker at Soho House Chicago, Dan Koester was stuck at home like the rest of us in 2020, handing off excess home-baked sourdough loaves to friends and family and making some available for free pickup.”
Chainsaw in Los Angeles
Chainsaw, a Venezuelan-inspired bakery in Los Angeles, opened in November 2025 with a menu featuring arepas, guasacaca, and passionfruit-lime icebox pie.
“Born as an underground dinner party operated out of Karla Subero Pittol’s Echo Park garage, Chainsaw finally got its own digs in November 2025 in the form of a lively cafe in Melrose Hill.”
Diljān in Brooklyn
Diljān blends Afghan and Latin American flavors in Brooklyn with items like halwa sticky buns and saffron cream-filled crescents.
“With both Afghan and Latin American influences, Diljān gives New Yorkers a bakery with a point of view and innumerable reasons to become a regular.”
Parachute Bakery in San Francisco
Parachute Bakery in San Francisco combines fine dining training with seasonal pastries like lychee-laden bowtie croissants and cube croissants.
“At his Ferry Building bakery, pastry chef Nasir Armar marries his fine dining training, honed at Michelin-starred Sorrel and Saison, with flavors that make everyone sit up and take notice.”
The Pastry Project in Seattle
Seattle’s The Pastry Project offers free pastry education and career training for individuals with barriers to employment, serving 41 students across nine cohorts.
“So far, 41 students across nine cohorts have participated in the program.”
Eater Awards 2026
Eater’s 2026 awards highlight bakeries that excel in innovation, community impact, and seasonal menu offerings.
“The 2026 Best New Bakeries in America”
Bad Butter’s Menu
Bad Butter serves scallion furikake focaccia, twice-baked almond croissants, and spicy harissa monkey bread with labneh.
“Still warm, charred, and dimpled flats of focaccia showered with scallion furikake rest on its shelves. Impossibly crisp and exquisitely laminated twice-baked almond croissants burst with subtle, aromatic almond paste.”
Chainsaw’s Impact
Chainsaw’s icebox pie and Venezuelan dishes have become cult favorites in Los Angeles’s Melrose Hill neighborhood.
“The cafe’s impact on Los Angeles feels clear in the near-constant crowds that hover outside, reading their newspapers over an espresso or tucking into the latest of Subero Pittol’s ideas.”
Diljān’s Specialties
Diljān features saffron cream-filled crescents, halwa sticky buns, and Afghan flatbread with halal beef bacon.
“For the Saffron Shah, laminated pastry holds delicate saffron cream in the shape of a crescent, an important Islamic symbol.”
Parachute’s Seasonal Creations
Parachute Bakery creates seasonal pastries like mango on vanilla tapioca pudding and fennel jam with sheep’s milk ricotta.
“A summertime mango is sliced into a bulging mound atop a bed of vanilla tapioca pudding, with a croissant pastry shell as its base.”
The Pastry Project’s Mission
The Pastry Project in Seattle provides free pastry education and career training for 41 students across nine cohorts.
“So far, 41 students across nine cohorts have participated in the program.”
The bottom line
Eater’s 2026 awards spotlight four innovative bakeries: Bad Butter in Chicago, Chainsaw in Los Angeles, Diljān in Brooklyn, and Parachute Bakery in San Francisco.
