8 bakeries with globally inspired croissants that are uniquely L.A.
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Angelenos love croissants. In recent years the obsession has reached a fever pitch, thanks to new bakeries that have followed in the footsteps of lauded croissant-makers like Proof Bakery and the erstwhile Konbi.
Trendy croissant hybrids have also helped fuel the pastry’s resurgence, including the Cronut, Cruffin and Crookie, as well as viral shapes like cubes and spirals. And while the classic French version has frequently been at the center of L.A.’s croissant craze, in 2025 local bakers are turning to global flavors — reinterpreting the flaky, buttery icon through the lens of their own heritage and childhood memories.
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Pastry chef Sharon Wang, owner of Sugarbloom Bakery in Glassell Park, purposely sought to challenge her classic European training when creating her signature kimchi Spam musubi croissant. “The idea came from the diversity of L.A. and also a rebellion against working for an organization that favors only European ingredients,” she says.
In Victor Heights, Bakers Bench chef-owner Jennifer Yee uses the croissant to reinterpret a beloved generational recipe. “The egg roll croissant is something I’m really proud of,” she says. “My paternal parents owned a Chinese restaurant in Columbus, Ohio and they were known for their egg rolls,” says Yee. “It tastes very nostalgic if you grew up in the Midwest eating Chinese American food.”
And that’s just the beginning. In Silver Lake, you’ll find a Cuban bakery with Cubano sandwich-inspired croissants that pay homage to neighborhood history. In Pasadena, one baker is infusing her Persian heritage into a viral croissant shape. From Korean to Argentine-inspired creations, the croissant has become a new creative canvas among local pastry chefs. Here are eight bakeries with globally inspired croissants to try in L.A.
Bakers Bench
Flash forward to 2025, Yee is serving up creative vegan pastries at her year-old brick-and-mortar in Victor Heights, including a furikake croissant. “This is a croissant I’ve always wanted to do but I’ve never had the creative agency to do it,” she tells us. It’s a classic croissant that’s crusted and baked with a house-made furikake mix that combines white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, sugar, salt, mirin, seaweed and MSG. “Texturally, it’s very fun to eat,” Yee says. The result is intensely savory, crunchy, salty and delicious, almost like a French-Japanese “everything” pastry.
Café Tropical
Delight Pastry
Fondry
Gusto Bread
Black sesame cube croissant at Le Kream
Santa Canela
Sugarbloom Bakery
Filled with kimchi purée, roasted Spam, sriracha hot sauce, and topped with nori strips and toasted white sesame seeds, you can order the croissants directly (with three days notice) any day of the week or find it around town at spots like Little Ripper, Doto, Good Friend and the brand-new Cha Cha Matcha in Beverly Hills.
Eat your way across L.A.
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