Most pastry guides tell you to go somewhere and then leave you to figure out what to order. This one skips that part. Palm Springs has a small but genuinely good pastry scene, and the items worth finding are specific enough to name.
The timing matters too. Most of the best pastries are gone by mid-morning. If you wander in at 11am on a Saturday and the case looks thin, that's not a failure of the bakery. Plan for 8 or 8:30am and you'll have the full selection.
Koffi: The Almond Croissant and Coconut Pineapple Muffin
Koffi has four locations in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. The flagship is at 515 N Palm Canyon Drive. The bakery kitchen supplies all four cafes daily, which means the pastries are made in-house and arrive fresh rather than sourced from a wholesale supplier.
The almond croissant here is the one to get. It's flaky where it should be, dense with almond filling in the center, and sized properly, not a tiny airport version of itself. The coconut pineapple muffin is the other standout: distinct flavor, not too sweet, and the kind of thing that pairs well with a black coffee on a warm morning.
Koffi's coffee is the main reason most people go, but the pastry case earns the stop on its own. Get there before 9am on weekends if you want the full selection.
Peninsula Pastries: Pain au Chocolat and the Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish
Peninsula Pastries at 611 S Palm Canyon Drive is the most French of the options in Palm Springs. They use imported French flour and Isigny Ste Mere butter, which sounds like marketing until you taste the lamination on the croissants. The difference from a general bakery is clear.
The pain au chocolat is the flagship item. Proper layers, quality chocolate, not overly sweet. The blueberry cream cheese danish is close behind, with enough cream cheese to register but not enough to feel like dessert at 8am. The chocolate tongue (a chocolate-glazed twisted pastry) is a local favorite worth trying if it's in the case.
One important detail: Peninsula Pastries is closed Monday through Wednesday. Hours are Thursday through Saturday 8:30am to 5pm, Sunday 8:30am to 4pm. If your trip runs Sunday through Tuesday, plan accordingly.
Townie Bagels: The Olive and Fennel Bagel
Townie Bagels at 650 E Sunny Dunes Road is technically a bagel shop, not a pastry spot, but the olive and fennel bagel (a weekend special) is worth mentioning as a savory morning pastry alternative. It's water-boiled in the New York style, chewy and dense in a way that most bagels outside of New York fail to achieve. The black and white cookie is also available and better than it has any right to be: buttery, properly balanced between the chocolate and vanilla glaze sides.
Townie fills up on weekend mornings. The wait is part of it.
Sherman's Deli and Bakery: Pie by the Slice
Sherman's is more deli than bakery, but the pie case is serious. They make over 25 varieties including lemon dome, Dutch apple, and key lime. If you're looking for a dessert-style pastry stop later in the day rather than first thing in the morning, Sherman's fits better than the croissant spots. Two locations: one on N Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs and one in Palm Desert.
What Requires a Detour
Peninsula Pastries is technically a slight detour from the main tourist drag on Palm Canyon since it sits in the southern part of the street, but it's still a five-minute drive from downtown. The inconvenience is the limited hours, not the location.
Townie Bagels is east of downtown on Sunny Dunes Road. Worth it if bagels are what you want. Less worth it if you're specifically hunting croissants.
Koffi North on N Indian Canyon Drive is the most convenient of the Koffi locations if you're staying on the north end of Palm Springs.
The Morning Timing Case
All of this points to the same conclusion: the best pastry window in Palm Springs is 7:30am to 9:30am. It's before the heat arrives, before the selection thins out, and before the weekend crowds make every parking spot a contest.
If you're staying at The Sundune in Palm Springs, Peninsula Pastries and Koffi are both an easy drive from the property. Pair an early pastry run with a walk on Palm Canyon before the shops open and you've structured a good desert morning.
For the full coffee and café picture beyond just pastries, the Palm Springs coffee guide covers the broader café scene.
