The Top 9 Morning Carbs Near Charter Oak
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Rank 1. Quail & Condor
Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
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Rank 2. Winston's Cafe & Bakery
Filipino Cocktail Bar
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Rank 3. The Bagel Mill
NY-Style Bakery
These are not the bagels you grab out of a plastic bag. The Bagel Mill is a proper bagel shop where the team mills whole wheat flour fresh and leavens everything with sourdough starter, which is a lot of effort for a breakfast sandwich but absolutely worth it. The San Francisco Chronicle named them the best bagels in the Bay Area. Expect a loyal local crowd who take their order very seriously and probably have opinions about cream cheese.
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Rank 4. Psychic Pie
Pizza
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A bakery and casual lunch spot right on Highway One that earns its reputation as more than a pit stop. The rectangular pizzas, served by the generous slice, are genuinely worth pulling over for, and the sourdough loaves are the kind of thing you'll eat half of before you get back in the car. Road-trippers, cyclists in spandex, and locals who know better all crowd the same small space.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best sandwich spots in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael
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This San Rafael bakery runs on a newsletter, a pre-order window, and the kind of whole-grain technique that wins world bread competitions. The baker is a one-person show, so things sell out fast and the menu changes week to week, which somehow makes regulars more obsessive, not less. Walk-ins can still score extras at the storefront, but signing up for the newsletter is how you actually play the game.
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- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael
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Rank 8. Hella Bagels
NY-Style Bakery
The San Francisco Chronicle called these the best bagels in the Bay Area, and honestly the chewy, pillowy rounds make a pretty convincing case. Hella Bagels is a laid-back bagel shop with a sunny patio in Albany where the weekend crowd looks like they rolled out of bed on purpose. Sandwiches run from smoked fish to eggs to veggie, and the seasonal specials get genuinely creative in ways that'll make you second-guess your usual order.
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Rank 9. Boichik Bagels
NY-Style
The SF Chronicle called these the best bagels in the Bay Area, which tracks, because the line outside this Berkeley bagel shop hasn't moved since the day it opened. They do NY-style right, with proper chew and malty crust, and the cream cheese options run from plain whipped to Hatch chile if you're feeling bold. The crowd is mostly locals who've made this a weekend ritual and visitors who've been warned to get there early.