Welcome to Café Dear Leon
Café Dear Leon, located in Baltimore, is a cozy bakery cafe known for its stellar coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. Despite its small size, it offers outdoor seating and is dog-friendly. Customers rave about the Crab Tamago Sando and various pastries like the almond croissant. The menu changes frequently, keeping things fresh and exciting. Expect a wait during peak times, but the quality and taste of the food make it worth it. With prices ranging from $4-$11, the value for money is excellent. Overall, Café Dear Leon promises a delightful culinary experience with friendly service and delicious treats.
- 2929 O'Donnell St Baltimore, MD 21224 Hotline: (667) 335-9160
Welcome to Café Dear Leon, nestled in the vibrant neighborhood of Canton in Baltimore, Maryland. This charming bakery-café is a hidden gem that offers a delightful array of pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. The café exudes a cozy and chic ambiance, making it the perfect spot to indulge in some delectable treats.
One of the standout features of Café Dear Leon is its diverse menu, which includes unique offerings like the Crab Tamago Sando and the Yuzu & Satsuma Danish. Customers have raved about the quality and taste of the pastries, with favorites like the pain au chocolat and the almond croissant stealing the show.
Not only does Café Dear Leon excel in its pastry selection, but it also offers a variety of savory options such as the bacon frittata sandwich and the ham & cheese croissant. The innovative flavors and impeccable execution of these dishes are sure to please even the most discerning palates.
One of the standout aspects of Café Dear Leon is its commitment to sustainability, offering compostable containers and plastic-free packaging. The café also boasts a range of amenities including outdoor seating, free Wi-Fi, and waiter service, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable dining experience for all guests.
Whether you're stopping by for a quick coffee and pastry to-go or looking to savor a leisurely meal, Café Dear Leon is a must-visit destination for food enthusiasts. With its warm ambiance, attentive service, and mouthwatering offerings, this café is sure to leave a lasting impression on your taste buds.

Stellar coffee. A little uncomfortable to order/wait though when it's busy, the lobby is super tiny. Workers were nice. Bathroom available.

Great coffee, pastries and sandwiches! The café is small, so there is no seating, but there is outdoor seating. They are also dog friendly, but only one dog at a time. I recommend the Crab Tamago Sando, which is egg salad, old bay, and crab meat on a spongy Japanese bread. They did forget to make one of my coffees. I noticed because everyone after me was getting their orders before mine so I did have to wait a bit longer to get my coffee.

round 4! I came here with a friend but for the first time for LUNCH! I have been dying to come around for lunch to try their famously loved egg tamago sandwich (releases around 11 am!) Tamago Sando 4.5/5, the ONLY reason this got 4.5 instead of 5 was due to the size, as I did need to eat a little pastry from them that I ordered after to be full and I don't have a big appetite. Considering the price is around $8, I would just recommend ordering 2 of these if you aren't into a side pastry. The bread is lightly toasty w/ a nice crunch and the eggs are nicely soft Crab tamago sando 5/5, my friend got this and loved it. She noted that the crab added not only additional protein but was seasoned to add a little spicy kick which was nice. Yuzu & Satsuma Danish 2/5, this was unfortunately a miss for me :( I like citrus-y Yuzu and after confirming that Satsuma is another type of citrus, I expected this to be still slightly sweet and sour. The bread itself is like the rest of Cafe Dear Leon's pastries, soft and pleasant to eat but unfortunately the combination of Yuzu:Satsuma was way too acidic and sour for me. The citrus meringue on top was really what sent it over the edge and then the Satsuma marmalade and Yuzu curd made it feel like an ultra-lemony sour center.

Overall a fantastic experience at Cafe Dear Leon. Some friends and I went to try several of their pastries. The interior is predominately the kitchen and counter space, so they only let in 6 people (and one dog) at a time. They have an outdoor line and some small cocktail tables for people to eat, but it was cold and we got our pastries to go. We waited maybe 5-10 minutes on line on a Friday morning. Everything we had was fantastic. All of the croissants were puffy and flaky, with great filling in the almond and chocolate croissant. The passion fruit monkey bread was extremely tasty. I personally did not try the sandwich but both members of my group thought it was superb. Really all around no complaints in terms of quality or taste. The price also felt reasonable, with items ranging from $4-$11 dollars. My box of five pastries cost $29 total, which I was very content with. I am personally not a big coffee drinker, but my friend ordered a latte which was the "highlight of her day" Overall a great experience and I will be returning. The when I have driven by in the past I have seen quite a long line so this may be a better place to go on weekdays or early in the morning

Very small, unassuming cafe in canton neighborhood. Parking was easy enough to find on a Sunday afternoon. Yes, you have to wait in line as the shop is THAT small !! But the line moves quickly since all food items are prepared in advance. Around 12:30 there wasn't much pastry items left so I chose the smoked salmon bagel and one of their cookie. Price wise I spent $18 for both. Was it worth it ? The cookie was delish, the sandwich was okay...it was my first time have smoked salmon on a bagel and I wanted more from it (maybe a splash of some of the caper juice? Some hot sauce? Do you put hot sauce on lox? Lol. I digress. There was also an Italian sub option and tomago sandos which kinda felt like a Japanese take on egg salad sandwiches. I think they do pastry well here ! I would recommend grabbing a few of those items to go. The s'mores cookie looked amazing and so did the almond croissant !

Ever since this bakery was recommended to me by a friend who used to live in Bmore, I've been dying to try it. He told me it was 100 times better than the best bakery in our city (which is one I adore) so I was super excited to try it. The extremely long lines at this place should be an indication of how good it is. In the past, I've had a few experiences where a long line wasn't warranted, but for this place it totally is. We visited on a Sunday morning so the line was almost wrapped around the block. I didn't time how long we were waiting, but I was with my best friend and we could talk for hours. I recommend either waiting in line with someone time flies by with or listening to a good audiobook because it was a bit of a wait. The bakery itself is super tiny. It can only carry about four customers inside at a time. There wasn't any indoor seating when I visited, but they had quite a few tables outside. My friend had been before and said it best, it's a good idea to order a bunch of things from here because some things are incredible and others are just fine. On my visit I got the matcha red bean bun, pomme turnover, and pain au chocolat. She got a very delicious fig pistachio tart. I adored my pain au chocolat. It was buttery perfection. The matcha red bean bun was very ok, the bun was drier than I had hoped. I absolutely loved the pomme turnover. It was not only delicious, but beautiful too. I'd be excited to return to try the sandwiches. The friend who originally recommended it likes the almond croissants the most. If you have time in your day, I recommend checking out this delicious bakery.

I've been hearing a lot about this little cafe so I decided to stop in on a Sunday morning. Despite it being 8:30am there was still a line outside to enter the establishment. They allow 6 people and 1 dog inside at a time. The interior decor is so cute, there is not much room inside hence the people limit. We only waited about 4 minutes to get inside. I ordered the bacon frittata sandwich, ham & cheese croissant, and the seasonal black sesame salted caramel latte. My friend got the pistachio croissant and the breakfast sandwich. I loved the sandwiches, the focaccia bread was crispy and chewy and the croissants were buttery and flakey. The season drink was delicious as well! They have a rolling menu, with new food items coming out every hour or so. There are seats outside if you want to dine-in however it was too cold for us. I'd love to come back and try the egg sando! Definitely stop by if you are in the area!

Pros: amazing service, delicious pastries! Cons: not the establishment's fault but the lines are very long and it's hard to get the desserts you want This place is really hyped up and I can see why! I have tried multiple items and they were all delicious, well-presented, and fresh. My favorite has been the smoked salmon bagel. Mmm! The everything bagel has a firm bite and the smoked salmon tastes so fresh. The capers and dill add great texture and flavor. I've also had the crab and tamago sando. The flavor is terrific, but I do find it very small. I think the average person would need to eat two to feel full! For desserts, I loved the Ispahan Danish (this might be a summer only special). The pain au chocolat is also sooo flaky and buttery! Neither dessert is too sweet (perfect for me!) The staff is very friendly. The lines do get long on the weekends; I came on a fall Sunday at 11:40a and got in at 12:30p. Not the establishment's fault, but just be aware. The inside decor is super cute, but know that you can't stay inside. The outdoor seating is basic but fine. Street parking is nearby.

The best baked goods in Baltimore. 10/10 for the food, and their coffee is really good. A must try place. Be warned that if you go on the weekend, be prepared to wait in line outside for close to an hour, especially around late morning mid afternoon. But the wait is SO worth it. They bake their stuff by the hour, and what they make that day is what you get, so sometimes you might miss out on what you want if someone gets it before you. But all the more reason to come back. I got a dirty matcha, SO GOOD, and the crab sandwich made my mouth water. Inside is super cute, and clean, but it can get a little cramped when 6 people are inside. ALSO, they allow one dog inside while ordering, which is a huge plus.

I've heard a lot of great things about this place. Every time I walk my dog down to this area, there's a line around the block. Today I waited for 45 minutes and it looked like I was still going to wait another 45 because they only allow six people in at a time, so I went somewhere else. Talking to the people in line, it's definitely worth thewait, but if you're planning on going here, you need to plan on waiting. Check out the menu on their website. It changes monthly, I think. Everything looks fantastic. There's no doubt these people are doing great and I definitely hope to try something there myself. One day later... the line was a bit shorter today. Possibly because it looks like it might rain... Which really shows you how much people enjoy this place because even the threat of rain still has a line that almost reaches the end of the block. I got a selection of pastries, all of which look absolutely fantastic. Extremely friendly people behind the counter and my items came out with a very minimal wait.