Breadbelly
Clem Hsu, Katherine Campecino-Wong and James Wong were fine-dining pastry chefs before they opened this counter on Clement Street in 2018. Eater says they came out of Atelier Crenn and Mourad. In March 2026 the Chronicle's critics put the shop seventh in the whole Bay Area.
Why go
They bake every bread the sandwiches sit on. That means the biscuits, the milk bread and the pan de sal buns.5 Cesar Hernandez tasted more than fifty Bay Area croissants over two years. He ranked the plain one here third, partly for the sourdough in the recipe.3
The kitchen changes the card constantly, so read it before you decide. Julia Chen found a milk bun that bursts with coconut pandan cream. On a weekend she found a macadamia nut croissant tart with caramelized edges.7
In June 2025 they opened a second counter at Pier 70. It sits inside Building 12, a hall put up in 1941 to build ships. All the bread and pastry production went with it. That kitchen is four times this one. Elena Kadvany reported what that buys: Clement Street can reopen the dining room it shut in the pandemic.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the kaya toast, milk bread under green squiggles of coconut pandan jam and flaky salt, $10 in February 2025.4
- Order: the char siu sando. Chen says it fills a whole takeout box.7
- Order: the gyeranbbang, a savory corn bread baked around an egg and cheese, $8.50 in February 2025.
- Avoid: counting on the same menu twice.
What locals & experts say
- MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, March 2026:
Since 2018, Breadbelly has quietly slung superlative sandwiches and cult-status pastries out of a minuscule storefront in the Richmond District.
1 - Hernandez, on the plain croissant, March 2024:
Salty, sweet, a little tangy and scabrous, Breadbelly's version of the French pastry is yet another spectacle.
3 - Julia Chen, The Infatuation, July 2025, rating it 8.6.7
- The trio were semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Baker Award in 2022.2
Good to know
- Getting in: a counter, no bookings.
- Where: 1408 Clement Street, in the Richmond, with a parklet out front.
- Doors: two. This page is Clement Street; the other is 1070 Maryland Street at Pier 70.
Verdict
must-visit — Go on a weekday.