Backhaus

I had my heart set on the speck and egg breakfast bowl, but darn it! They did not have it!

We settled on the mushroom galette, both types of kouign amann: regular and strawberry, and a chocolate croissant. We gobbled up the mushroom galette and strawberry kouign amann right away because those looked the most perishable. Wow, just wow! Their pastry crust is so light, flaky, and crispy. The strawberry kouign amann was shatteringly crisp as well and was filled with a sweet strawberry jam and cream surprise in the middle.

Don't be discouraged if there's a line out the door. It moves fairly quickly. Once you're at the front of the line, be prepared to rattle off your order because they put you on the spot like you're on Jeopardy!

After you get your bag of goodness, you can enjoy it in their cute back patio. They also have two small tables inside and a couple in the front of the establishment.

I will definitely be back for more and hope they have the speck and egg breakfast bowl next time.

Came here 2 years ago when they were still new. I remember ordering pastries that came with a tray and my latte served in a real cup.

Today came back the second time and sadly the coffee wasnt as robust as I want it to taste and there was enough strawberry filling on the amann. In addition, latte was served in a non stylish paper cup and pastry was placed in a brown bag. $13.50 for both. No thanks, no next time.

Came here around 1:30pm on a Saturday. They were sold out of all pastries except for a tropical crostock.

I decided to go with an Olive Fougasse -- it's kind like a pretzel meets a foccacia. Amazing, salty crust. Amazing olive pockets inside. Love that it's chewy and crusty and salty. Really enjoy this.

Would love to come back and try other items.

Love coming here before work to grab a coffee and snack! When I get to work early, I always come here. All their pastries look delicious too. I've had their croissants and I loved them. They have some fun flavors as well. I am not a coffee expert but I thought it was very good. They seem to put a lot of care into making their coffee drinks.

PSA: coffee will probably take 10+ minutes. I've come to work late cause I assumed my latter would come out in 2 minutes.

No wait at lunchtime on a Friday in March.

I already thought I'd found the perfect Portuguese egg tart at my local Chinese bakery, but I was proven wrong after having this.

Pastel de Nata ($7 total with tax/tips) - 5 stars.
This was mindblowingly good! Perfect buttery flaky crust, silky filing. And I had eaten it a day old - I can't imagine how much better it would have been fresh!

Their everything bagel croissant was quite tasty - a croissant cup the size of a handful absolutely covered with everything seasoning with a cream cheese filling. Great to sit in the sunny back patio to enjoy.

Despite having been to downtown San Mateo a handful of times, this is the first time that I've stopped by Backhaus. I finally had a chance to drop by and couldn't be happier with the pastries my wife and I were able to try out. My wife ordered the "Speck & Egg Breakfast Bowl" while I got their "Raspberry with Cardamom Streusel Seasonal Coffee Cake".

If you've ever been to Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco, they are famous for a savory cheddar scallion muffin with a soft-cooked egg inside they call "The Rebel Within". The "Speck & Egg Breakfast Bowl" from Backhaus is better in every way imaginable. The egg on the inside is cooked better and the flavors are much more balanced. If you can only stop by to try one item, this is the item to try.

Though I really enjoyed my seasonal coffee cake as well, its hard to rain praise on it after having tried the speck and egg pastry. If you're in downtown San Mateo, you should definitely check out Backhaus and grab one of their pastries.

I went around 1pm om Friday & all the pastries were pretty much done except for these everything croissants w/ cream cheese & boy am I glad I snagged one because they were delicious!! After having it I wished I would've bought the rest.

The croissants paired perfectly with my vanilla latte & I enjoyed it all as I walked around the park a few blocks away.

They do have a small patio in the back that is dog friendly so extra stars for that, I'll be back again, earlier this time as I can't imagine what other goodies they have.

Best pastries in the Peninsula!! The line out front and the high demand is very telling. I came here on a rainy Saturday morning and there was still a line for pastries! They sellout items pretty quickly in the morning. There's usually a line but it goes by pretty quickly.

The store is quite small so I would suggest buying the items to go rather than dining in.

All the employees are incredibly friendly and always have a smile on their face despite how busy they're working.

Great stop and treat for your morning coffee.

The team was helpful and informative, and they were very patient as we hemmed and hawed on our selection choices.

It's a cozy spot, and I really appreciated that they provide diapers in the restroom to parents who may have ran out.

I really loved the olive loaf we got. The pretzel epi baguettes were fine, but they didn't have the malt or bite you'd generally expect given the lye bath.

We got a couple of croissants: the everything and chocolate. Both were tasty, however, the croissant dough itself wasn't as buttery as I would have liked, so it didn't really satisfy the croissant craving.