When your hotel sits above one of San Francisco’s most talked-about bakeries, you do what any pastry-obsessed traveler would do: set an alarm for early, join the line, and discover whether the hype is real. That bakery is Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, famed for its cruffin—a hybrid of croissant and muffin—and on the day we visited they were serving a s’mores cruffin. Read on for our experience and whether the wait justified the payoff.
Long lines and heavy hype often lead to disappointment, but this visit was a rare exception: it was absolutely worth the wait. The cruffin was delightfully messy to eat and memorably delicious. Beyond the signature cruffin, Mr. Holmes offers a wide assortment of pastries—donuts, mille-feuille-style treats, and other inventive confections. On the day we went, they maintained two separate queues: one exclusively for cruffins and another for the rest of the pastry selection.
Timing matters. The cruffins typically appear about an hour after the bakery opens. We arrived around 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday and found roughly thirty people already waiting for cruffins; by the time they were released near 9 a.m., the line had wrapped around the block. If you want to avoid an all-morning wait, plan ahead.
Here’s a practical tip: go with a friend and split duties—one person holds a spot in the cruffin line while the other grabs a few pastries from the general line so you have something to snack on while you wait. Trust me: if you’re going for a splurge, go big and enjoy the full experience.
Photos by Jeff Mindell
Presentation is part of the charm here—gold-foil boxes and playful packaging add to the indulgence. If you find yourself in San Francisco and are willing to rise early for exceptional baked goods, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse is worth a stop.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse | 1042 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94109