French’s Bakery

Excellent bakery with lots of variety. Fresh and baked daily. Ask to have your single pastry warmed up so you can eat it right away. Staff helpful and professional, but not very friendly. You just don't get that warm and welcoming feeling. I'm sure they're all tired from being there before butt crack or dawn to start baking, so it's somewhat understandable.

Not a lot to choose from lots of empty shelves only 2 working counter took awhile came in for Challah,but bought whip cream pastry and also eclairs, update I tried everything and it was not very good The custard is not good at all in the whipped cream didn't taste like good whipped cream very disappointed!

Sadly not as good as they were before covid. They used to be amazing now you can get as good or better at the grocery store and spend less.

They used to offer a uniquely special omelet cheese bread with a jalapeño option as a daily option and it would sell out every day. Now it is just special order but it is worth the trip and the special order. Enough so that when I travel from out of state, I schedule time nearly every trip to get to French's after calling a day in advance for the cheese bread, extra cheesy. It is about $7 a loaf and well worth it. Imagine a firm, pillowy textured bread with strong veins if golden cheddar mixed throughout a moist egg based dough. The mouth feel is excellent and the cheesy, slightly salty taste results in a total loaf being consumed as a meal substitute. Very hard to put down. Almost as if a deliciously cheesy quiche morphed into a loaf of bread. French's was hit hard by covid and had to consolidate some stores. I worry some day it will no longer be around, similar to the classic Claim Jumper of old (bought out and commercialized elsewhere into a shell of its former self). This is a bread that a cheese monger or bread lover should try before you die. Other than that, French's has a large variety of baked treats, bread and they make excellent custom cakes. It might remind you of an actual French bakery you might encounter in Saint Germain. Trust me and treat yourself to this delicacy, a treat I haven't encountered anywhere else.

Great location, amazing pastry, fresh breads. This review was 4 years ago, and a sad change has come to pass. I took a friend and family here again this past Saturday, and CoVid has taken its toll. In the past, you could walk into the bakery in the morning to early afternoon and find the displays full. Saturday looked dismal, only 3 types of fresh bread, 2 plain croissants, a few Danish, and a lot of day old cookies. Not even the smell of fresh coffee or baking I used to get was there. The eclairs looked tempting, and we ended up with 4, because they were always a step above most everywhere else, even specialty bakeries. The quality has gone the way of the dodo, the custard is packaged, which can be ok, not this time. Overcooked/heated, separated, grainy, chemical tasting yuck. The choux was stale before filling, only making the eclair that much worse. What used to be an amazing coating of ganache has degraded to a chocolate flavored frosting that doesn't hold up to temp/humidity fluctuation. Items that used to bring students and staff in from OCC are now strictly special order, so if you're a fan, call ahead, place your order for when you can pick up, and double check that they completed the order before leaving, as some special orders are not being fulfilled properly, and worse, the errors are getting blamed on the customer. I hope the owners take heart to these reviews, and work to earn the reputation they once had.

My go to bakery for all occasions! Tough to beat quality & delectable selections. Never ever disappointed.

My mom and then I have been ordering at French's Bakery since, well I don't know if it was the '60s or '70s, but it's been a LONG time. The last location I frequented was their Mission Viejo shop tucked away in a small strip mall. Parking in that center was always bad and their shop didn't exactly stand out which i suppose led to its closure. I grew up on sandwiches made with their white bread and still won't buy any of the brand name breads at the supermarket. I've been spoiled by French's bread and pastries, especially their chocolate eclairs. What I wouldn't give for one of those right now! I've found if you take the time and approach the staff with a smile and a "Good morning" they will be more friendly than if you're rushed and curt. The only bakery I found that was better was an actual French bakery, with an actual French baker, that was in Costa Mesa Courtyards shopping center back in the '80's but they closed decades ago. French's Bakery has always been dependable, always been great tasting, especially those chocolate eclairs, for as long as I can remember, maybe 50 plus years? That's a track record that's hard to beat. To everyone who has ever worked at any of their location's I've visited, thanks for your hard work. I'm not quite as thankful for the 10 extra pounds I gained.

The prettiest and best cakes and pastries and cookies. I’m so sorry they left Mission Viejo

Best bakery.