Mara Bakery

Best bakery around. Freshest and best tasting selection of everything! Must try.

Mara Bakery
What can I say, I have been going for yearsssss… It was a lot better long time ago. Still good but not what is was once. Years ago we had a lot more Cubans in the area, where if the store did not live up to the CUBAN standard they would have been run out of town. I go mostly for the Café con leche, Spanish for «coffee with milk». For those in the know they know! For those that don’t, sorryooo. It is my favorite all day and night. I have had it in a lot of places and I find it the most consistent here. More similar to the Italian caffe latte than to the French café au lait, café con leche is a coffee beverage consisting of strong or bold coffee (espresso) mixed with scalded milk and lots of sugar. Okay so maybe not lots but it is best that way. The best-​ist way it to buy a bag of the Cuban crackers, crunch them up into a tall glass and pour the Café Con Leche all over it. It is heaven in a glass and brings me back to sitting in front of the TV on a Saturday morning watching Mighty Mouse as my mommy would bring me this glass from paradise. And isn’t that what it’s all about? The Cuban bread is good and most of the pastries. I would say they rank in the 75% to 80% and I think I am being kind only because it is part of my past. Reality it’s in 70% to 75%. It does get busy and they work the crowd okay. The show is mostly the folks walking in and out. Everything from dress for church to those who should have never left the house. I mostly pick up my order and leave. Now and again I do sit in the few stools they have and watch for a bit as I have my coffee. My (none Cuban) friends love the meat pies and their Cuban pastries (known in Spanish as pasteles or pastelitos). They can be filled with all kinds of fruits. Most Cubans fill them with guayava or guayava and cheese. The flavor is on point but I have had better. I don’t have the meat pies not because they are not good but because I can make them better and I will always find the wrong in them. All aside they are good. I would say to pop in if you are in the area but don’t travel out of your way…
Remember to always drink reasonably
Crazy Cubano Out.

While the baked goods and coffee are good, the service is absolutely HORRENDOUS! Staff is VERY unprofessional, and has a very poor attitude. I’d rather go spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

Let me tell you folks that Since my family arrived from Cuba in 1971 and we moved to Elizabeth I remember going to Mara Bakery, it was a different world then Elizabeth was comprised of alot of :), CUBANS especially the avenue. Mara was in its hay day then the owners were… CUBAN and the pastries like some have commented had no rivalry with anything made in Miami. Unfortunately that was 40 years ago and if you know what I’m talking about, all the old Cubans that had come to Elizabeth then, and opened businesses have left or died off. Mara bakery is no longer owned and operated by Cubans and as good as it still is because i still stop and get my dozen pasteles de carne and pan cubano etc, etc it changes when the recipes are the only thing to follow when making the product, there are things that just don’t pass down when that happens. GOOD MEMORIES but not the same.

There are a lot of bakeries in this area of Elizabeth, but Mara is the best. We usually get all our dessert needs from Mara for church functions, and their Cuban Bread (especially if it is right out of the oven), is so good.
I usually treat myself to a pastel with guayaba when I come here :)

Cuban bakery on Elizabeth Ave… not really a rarity or anything, but Mara is pretty good nonetheless.
I’ve had their pastelitos (guayava, guayava con queso) and they are good, but flat. If you’ve ever been to Miami, you’ll know a good pastelito when the dough is flaky and airy, and the guava oozes out regardless of the temperature… the ones at Mara have the right flavor, but are kind of flat and lack the flaky airiness that constitutes a true pastelito. I’ve also had their Cuban bread, which was delicious except for the fact that it didn’t come with butter… I had to ask the lady and she initially said no but then came out with a little scoop of butter on a napkin. I thought that was really odd, and very abnormal for a Cuban bakery.
Either way, this place is always pretty popular in the mornings, mostly with locals. I come here because it’s literally walking distance from my house and I enjoy feeling like I’m home (in Miami) even though I’m not. :)

An updated review for Mara Bakery. I’ve had the pleasure of tasting their succulent empanada (meat pastry) a couple of times. I’ve never been to their place but a coworker always brings one every so often. I’ll be planning a trip here real soon on my own!

You may as well know now, I’m halfish Cuban. From the Spanish side of the family. We halfish Cubans know a thing or two about sugar. Treats from Mara Bakery have been a Cuban staple of every birthday party, sacrament celebration, Christmas gathering, Hallmark holiday, gotta bring something to that dinner party, and just ’cause it’s today events since I was two years old. I’ve done some math and I think I’ve eaten thousands upon thousands of their pastries over the past [mumble] years. Mara Bakery is like family.
So, with love and in gratitude for their contribution to my smile and tooth decay, I will share them with you, dear Unilocaler buddies.
The guava and cheese pastries at Mara are all kinds of mmmhmm. On trips to New York from SF, I make the pilgrimage all the way out to the ghetto-​ass end of Elizabeth Avenue in Elizabeth, NJ to bring home two dozen of these hellyeahs as my carry-​on. Then I get a separate two to eat in the cab on the way to the airport, and I make sure the nice lady pulls them from the back, fresh and warm and gooey out of the oven. I wash the ohbabys down with a cortadito, extra sugar.
When I was an amateur — a rookie — I tried their other offerings. While they were delicious, I went guava and cheese all the way as a pro. Center display, bottom shelf. I don’t mess around.
I remember when the pastries cost 15 cents apiece — today, they’re something like 75 cents. They’re worth ten times that, ’cause, really, what price happiness?