If you haven’t noticed yet, we are big bakery people. Heck, we flew all the way to Iceland just to try two bakeries Paul Hollywood recommended. We love baked goods and buttery, yummy treats. After we tried the croissants from Sandholt in Reykjavik, we decided we had to find the equivalent (or as close to it as we could get) in San Diego. Luckily, our phones were listening to us constantly talking about croissants, so we started to get a lot of ads for different bakeries in the SoCal area. One bakery we saw over and over again was a place called Izola. Their Instagram was full of close ups of gorgeous 96 layer croissants, sourdough loaves, and more. So a few months back we decided to check it out!

Izola is a funky little bakery in a… weird spot. There is really no other way to say it. It is on the second floor of a very industrial-looking building on the edge of downtown San Diego. You have to enter a code to get up and everything! Ian’s mom got to experience the confusion firsthand! However, once you make your way into the space, you will not be disappointed! It’s a cute spot with very minimalistic and modern decor. The first thing you notice is the heat from the ovens and the overwhelming, delicious smell of buttery goodness. 

The first time we went, we decided to get the croissants (duh) and try some of the sourdough bread. The croissants are otherworldly. We wanted to find some comparable to the ones at Sandholt, and boy did we. The outer layers have that perfect crunch and shatter you want in a croissant. The inside is soft, pillowy, and melt-in-your-mouth. They use butter imported from Normandy to make these beauties. They are a perfectly balanced symphony of flavor. I could eat one every single day and not get sick of it. Though my waistline would disagree. They also make other variants such as chocolate, almond, and berry! 

The sourdough bread is also top-tier. The crust is chewy and strong. There is a nice sour tang with each bite. The crumb structure is perfect. We have never gotten to try the sourdough sampler, but it’s on our list!

Back in April, we were lucky enough to act as a beta tester for Izola for their new morning bun (we won the chance through an instagram contest!). This bun was fantastic! I believe they ended up keeping it on the menu! The bun itself was perfect- flavorful but not too sweet with a nice citrusy flavor. It was topped with some big, crunchy sugar crystals to add an extra layer of goodness. 

Some of you might be thinking, wow, she is leaving something really big out of this story. And you’d be right! Except, I was doing it on purpose! For those of you who don’t know, Izola was recently voted the best bakery in the US by Yelp! This is great news for them! They totally deserve it! Granted, we haven’t tried every bakery in the US (we would if we could), but it is our favorite one we have ever tried! While this is great news for them, it has been bad news for us! Now that the word is out, Izola sells out every day! We are so happy for them, but we would be lying if we said we weren’t a little sad to see another of our secret spots become too popular and crowded. That being said, these croissants are worth the wait and we will be back!