Layla's Bakery Cafe

Sometimes a shop tells you what it is right in the name. Layla's Bakery Cafe puts the bakery first. And after one visit, that order makes a lot of sense. This is a family owned whole grain bakery and they specialize in incredible European style pastries and sourdough breads made from scratch.

The space is a real charmer. Towering ceilings, soft natural light, corrugated metal panels up high and clean white walls down low. The floors are stained concrete tiles. There is Indigenous art on the walls, traditional pottery on the shelves, desert landscape paintings and green plants spilling off ledges. Cozy booths with light cushions hug the perimeter and dark high-top counters anchor the middle of the room for the in and out crowd. It is industrial meets Southwestern and it works.

The front patio deserves its own paragraph though. It sits slightly below ground level, so you are not getting any sweeping views but it might be one of the nicer patios I have parked at in a while. Birds, trees, plenty of umbrellas for shade and tables to spare. The staff is warm and welcoming on top of it all. A great spot to camp out for an hour.

Now to the coffee. Layla's runs Metador beans across the board. The espresso is Metador's Traditional Espresso, a light roast with promised notes of cinnamon and citrus. I am a light roast guy so I was pumped to see it on the bar. I ordered a small latte and it was just ok. The cinnamon and citrus that pulled me in did not show, or maybe got overpowered by the milk. It was not bitter and the balance was decent though. Just a polite and quiet cup. The drip is a different story. They run Metador's Sedona Blend, a medium roast of Mexican Altura and Papua New Guinea (PNG) beans, and the two origins fill in each other's gaps in a really pleasant way. The Mexican side keeps things bright and clean. The PNG side adds some weight and a little rustic depth. It holds up to milk or cream and or just straight black. It was a solid approachable cup and honestly the better move if you are stopping in for caffeine. Oh, and most syrups here are house made which is a nice touch.

But here is the thing. You are not coming to Layla's for the espresso. You are coming for the bakery. The Kouign Amann (pronounced queen ah-mahn) is the headliner. It is a French pastry that lives somewhere between a croissant and a caramelized sugar cake. Crunchy shell, dozens of flaky layers inside and a sweetness that knows when to stop. I would drive back just for this!

I also grabbed a Caprese sandwich on a whim. It was one of the few sandwiches they had without meat and I went in with low expectations just by the looks of it behind the glass. I left amazed. A thin layer of pesto, top quality mozzarella and the kind of bread that makes you stop mid bite to look at it. A really great sandwich that completely caught me off guard!

So here is the deal. If you are picky about your espresso shots, grab the drip or skip the coffee altogether. If you are here for the pastries and the food, you are in for a treat. Layla's is a bakery first and a really good one at that.

Checkout other cool cafes in beautiful Sedona.