Why go
Six pastries a day, and they change
The case here is small on purpose: about half a dozen pastries a day, changing daily, with something savoury, something vegan and something gluten free almost always among them. That makes ordering specific rather than casual. You choose from what is out, not from a list you memorised last time.
The vocabulary stays consistent even when the selection does not: chocolate-cardamom muffins, pumpkin danish made with cinnamon rather than the usual pumpkin-pie spice, pepita crunch bars, black sesame buns, robbies, mole chocolate sourdough croissants, fruit danish with violet sugar, caramel-cherry monkey bread and the pineapple sourdough muffin.
A Lincoln Avenue shop with a wolf's name
Loba opened in 2016 in Lakeview as the successor to the coffee shop that had occupied the space, taken on by one of its former employees and renamed for a female wolf. Chef-owner Valeria Socorro Velazquez Lindsten grew up in Guadalajara in a family shaped by women-led cooking, moved to Chicago in 2010 and built her professional experience in the city, including a spell at Blackbird.
The result is neighbourhood-scale rather than ambitious in the usual sense: baristas and bakers behind one counter, specialty coffee, single-estate teas and a pastry programme that turns over faster than most kitchens would attempt. The shop is extremely casual and calls itself a funky little coffee shop, with Valeria often working the counter herself.
Start with the pineapple sourdough muffin
The pineapple sourdough muffin is the one to start with, a staple that sits exactly on the overlap between the bakery's sourdough work and its pastry work. After that, the mole chocolate sourdough croissant is the pastry that earned Loba a place among the best croissants in the city.
The pepita crunch bar is the other defining order, a base of oats and flour under candied pumpkin seeds and almonds, with honey-caramelised nuts in some versions. For a look at the technique, watch for the black sesame bun: the dough is rolled and folded three times around laminated butter, spread with house-made sesame paste and finished with black sesame seeds.
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Frequently asked questions
What should I order at Loba Pastry + Coffee?
The pineapple sourdough muffin first, a staple that shows how the bakery bridges sourdough and pastry. The mole chocolate sourdough croissant is the next order, and the pepita crunch bar, built on oats and flour under candied pumpkin seeds and almonds, is the third. The black sesame bun shows the lamination work.
Does the pastry selection change?
Yes. About half a dozen pastries are baked each day and the selection changes daily, so it is worth choosing from what is in the case rather than arriving set on one thing. There is almost always something savoury, something vegan and something gluten free among the day's bakes.
Compare nearby places
| Venue | Type | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Jennivee's Bakery & Cafe | Bakery | Lakeview |
| Osmium Coffee Bar | Café | Lakeview |
| Intelligentsia Coffee | Café | Lakeview |
| Intelligentsia Coffee Broadway Coffeebar | Café | Lakeview |
| Daeji Dough Company | Bakery | Lake View |
