Jyan Isaac Bread
A 19-year-old off the Gjusta bread team started baking sourdough at home in 2020 and was making 5,000 loaves a week by 2022. Come at lunch, for the sandwiches.
Why go
The story is short and it is all in the numbers. Jyan Isaac lost his bakery job in 2020, started selling sourdough to neighbors out of his family's kitchen, moved up to 250 loaves a week out of a shuttered Santa Monica pizza place, and hand-delivered them to the people who followed him on Instagram. By early 2022 he was baking 5,000 loaves and bagels a week.1
The bakery sits attached to the pizzeria Ghisallo, and at lunch the two share a menu. Sylvio Martins says to prioritize the sandwiches on the crisp schiacciata.2
Weekend brunch is where the kitchen shows off. Duck confit hash with fat-roasted potatoes, and a french toast made from milk bread soaked in cereal milk.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: a lunch sandwich on the schiacciata.2
- Order: the weekend brunch if you can get there, for the duck confit hash.2
- Avoid: making a special trip for the bagels. Martins prefers Layla across the alley and only rates the shorter line here.2
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation LA, Sylvio Martins, 27 March 2026:
though those are worth a visit, our favorite things about Jyan Isaac are the lunchtime sandwiches and fantastic weekend brunch.
2 The Infatuation is owned by JPMorgan Chase. - Listings: Food & Wine named the bakery among the top five bread bakeries in California in its January 2022 feature
The Best Bread in Every State
, as the bakery reports on its own page.1
Good to know
- Timing: a walk-up counter on weekday mornings, a shared menu with Ghisallo at lunch, and a bigger brunch at the weekend.2
- Getting there: Ocean Park Boulevard at 16th, in Santa Monica.1
Verdict
could-visit — Jyan Isaac was 19 and on the Gjusta bread team when he lost the job, and he went from his family's kitchen to 250 loaves a week out of a closed pizza place to 5,000 loaves and bagels a week inside two years. That is a baker who learned in public. Sylvio Martins went in March 2026 and put the lunchtime sandwiches and the weekend brunch above the loaves, which is a useful correction for anyone coming for bread alone. He also prefers the bagels at Layla across the alley. The rung follows his verdict: worth the trip for a sandwich, not yet a destination on the baking.