Jane the Bakery
Dominique Crenn goes to Amanda Michael's Jane for her croissant, and a jury with Claude Le Tohic on it named it the best in San Francisco in 2018.
Why go
Amanda Michael opened a cafe on Fillmore Street in February 2011 and named it after her daughter. The bakery on Geary Boulevard came in late 2016. It bakes the bread for every Jane in the city. Michael's brother grows the grain on his farm in Los Baños, two hours east. Her San Rafael mill grinds it. The Geary ovens turn it into several dozen breads a day and the whole laminated line.
The Chronicle put twelve San Francisco sourdoughs in front of a blind panel in March 2026. Jane's loaf came second. Michael told them the starter reacts to the weather and her team adjusts the proof every day. Baking bread is one of the greatest things you can do. It nourishes people and has such a great history in the city,
she said.3
Jorgen Carlsen built the sourdough and croissant program as head baker and has since moved on. The croissant won Best Croissant and Best Pain au Chocolat at the first Best Croissant San Francisco in April 2018. The jury tasted blind and included Claude Le Tohic. Michael's answer on why was short: we import our butter from France, and we execute carefully every step necessary for its creation.
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Order this / avoid
- Order: the plain croissant and the pain au chocolat.
- Order: the classic sourdough, or the furikake and sea lettuce loaf when it is on.
- Order: the coffee cake.
- Avoid: planning to sit. Geary has counter stools and benches outside. Jane on Fillmore and Jane on Larkin have the tables.
What locals & experts say
- Dominique Crenn, chef and owner of Atelier Crenn, to Jeremy Repanich of Robb Report, April 2019:
Of course, I'm French, so I like my bread and my chocolate croissant. Amanda Michael has Jane, which is where I go to get my croissant or patisserie. She has a few locations. It's delicious, all of it. I love what she does.
1 - Julia Chen, The Infatuation, September 2023:
Out of all the Jane bakeries, this one on Geary is carb central,
withfantastic croissants, morning buns, and the moistest coffee cake in SF.
5 - The Chronicle's blind panel, Mario Cortez, March 2026, on the sourdough:
The saw through the Jane the Bakery loaf was loud, a sign of an expertly toasted crust.
Second of twelve loaves, scored 7.3.3 - Lauren Saria, Eater SF, August 2021:
the good bread continues, with crusty loaves made from 100-percent California whole wheat, ancient grains, and spelt.
4 - Sara Deseran, The San Francisco Standard, June 2025:
since 2011, when it opened on Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, it has been steadily producing some of the city's highest-quality breads and pastries.
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Good to know
- Hours: every day, from early morning to late afternoon.
- Parking: the bakery has its own lot off Geary.
- Sites: seven doors, and this page is the Geary Boulevard bakery. Jane on Fillmore (2011) and Jane on Larkin (2013) are the cafes, with salads, toasts and the salted white-chocolate oatmeal cookie. Jane on Third opened inside SFMOMA in August 2025 and needs no museum ticket. Toy Boat by Jane on Clement Street is the ice cream shop. Sweet Things in Tiburon and the Cal-Mart counter in Laurel Village round out the seven.
- A hard year: Michael told SFGATE that 2024 was the business's worst year, and she opened the seventh door the next summer.
Verdict
should-visit — Buy the croissant and a classic sourdough at the Geary door, where the bread for every Jane comes out of the oven. The cafes on Fillmore and Larkin are for sitting down.