A Lucky Visit to One of San Francisco’s Most Popular Bakeries

When I told my friend I was going to San Francisco for a work conference, she immediately had a smile on her face. A foodie at heart, she encouraged—perhaps even demanded—that I check out Golden Gate Bakery in Chinatown. They have the best Dan Tat pastries, she said, and the bakery is infamous. Its reputation and unpredictable hours create long lines that wrap around the corner.

Looking up the place online, I grew more curious. Online reviews warned about the long lines, and I found out there was even a third-party website devoted to letting the public know whether the bakery was open or not. The URL? Is-the-golden-gate-bakery-open-today.com

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Okay, I told her. I’ll check it out.

Starting from the palatial Fairmont Hotel—which was the first Fairmont in the United States—I walked straight downhill to Chinatown. If the Fairmont’s location in Nob Hill is not the highest point of the city, you could certainly fool me. Wherever you go is dramatically downhill, so steep that if you fell, you would roll down the rest of the hill.

San Francisco’s Chinatown claims to be the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. I’ve never measured each one, so I can’t confirm if that’s true. It’s very dense, crammed with stores of all kinds. It’s a big tourist destination, so there are lots of stores that sell cheap trinkets. More authentic are the restaurants, alleys, churches and medicinal shops.

Then there’s Golden Gate Bakery. I was so caught up looking for a long line that I almost missed the overhead sign above the storefront. The shop was small and unassuming, barely noticeable if you weren’t looking for it. No line? It must be closed. Oh, but wait, it is open, and there is a line—a mere three people.

The space is more of a cluttered storefront than a bakery. You walk in and there is barely enough room for six people to stand comfortably in front of the counter. The pastries are laid out on the counter and in front of the window. It does not smell like anything is baking.

On the back wall is a rack full of pink boxes and wrapping paper. In the back of the store, I could see racks with a lot of boxes. Most looked full of paperwork. There is a sign hung on one of the racks: Please do not take a picture or video tape inside Golden Gate Bakery. I guess it must be a pretty famous place after all, for them to have the sign.

Dan Tat is a Chinese pastry similar to the Portuguese Pastel de Nata, an egg-custard tart with an outer crust. I bought one for $1.75 and stepped outside the shop to eat it. The yellow, egg filling had a hint of vanilla, served warm. It was like hot pudding in my mouth, creamy with a thick texture.

I thought it was a good pastry, worth a bite if you’re in the neighborhood. I’m not sure what the fuss is all about, though—I think sometimes allure is stronger than reality. I sent a picture of it to my friend and she flipped out, jealous about how lucky I was to have avoided a long wait. I wondered if it would have tasted even better if I had waited in a long line for it. But it was an experience not without merit.

The tasty treat powered me back up the hill to the Fairmont and my conference meetings, where a sugar lift is always appreciated.