The Model Bakery

Napa, United States

4.2

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 707-259-1128
Website:
www.themodelbakery.com
Address:
Oxbow Public Market 644 1st St, Bldg B, Napa, CA, 94559
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
610 ftNapa
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Good For
Breakfast
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Napa) 6:00 AM Thursday, June 26, 2025

Business hours

Monday 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Friday 6:30 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday 7:00 am – 6:30 pm

Description

Specialties

Model Bakery specializes in freshly baked artisan breads, pastries and desserts. We offer breakfast and lunch — try our breakfast sandwich on our world famous English muffins! Or for lunch, freshly made soup, panini, pizza and sandwiches.

History

Established in 1908.

The Model Bakery has been part of the Napa Valley for over 80 years. Our original location is in downtown St. Helena, where our artisan bakers still use original brick ovens built by Italian masons in the early 1920’s.

Our new bakery and storefront is located at the Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa.

We specialize in artisan breads made with organic stone ground flour and the highest quality ingredients. Twice daily our bakes include sourdough, pain levain, sweet french baguettes, toasted walnut bread, or harvest fruit levain.

The Model Bakery is a family owned business, run by mother/​daughter team Karen and Sarah Mitchell

«Our levain starter, used to start the fermentation in our bread dough, is made from wine grapes from our family’s sustainably farmed vineyard. «

In addition to a full breakfast and lunch menu, we offer a full line of baked pastries; scones and muffins, filled croissants, morning buns, pain au chocolate. We also have plenty of cakes, pies and desserts!

Meet the Business Owner

Sarah M.

Business Owner

Sarah Mitchell has been an owner of The Model Bakery since 2001. She moved back to the Napa Valley to help run the business with her mother, Karen, who started the business in 1984. Sarah has a degree in politics and Spanish from UC Santa Cruz, and spent several years working in corporate sales — Xerox, Canon and Oracle in the Bay Area. Sarah was tiring of the corporate culture and saw an opportunity to return to the Napa Valley and take over the family business. Sarah has helped grow the wholesale bread business to over 50 accounts in the Napa Valley we deliver to daily!

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Vicinity

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20 reviews of The Model Bakery

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Antonio, TX
We’re from out of town and passed through the other day. Place was not recommended, we just happened upon it on our walk. The bakery was inviting enough and looked promising. The pizza was pre cut on display in an basket and looked delicious. I had to have a slice plus an iced latte. Haven’t had pizza this wonderful in a long time. Reminded me of eating at the Cheese Board in Berkeley many years ago. The pizza dough is done right, great texture and flavor. Had a wonderful lunch, too bad I couldn’t enjoy it today. Will have to stop by on our next trip through. :)
Place rating: 4
Swansea, MA
I must have lucked out both times I was here because the line was very short and it moved fast. After reading the reviews I knew I had to try the english muffin, so I ordered a breakfast sandwich and a delicious Stumptown coffee and sat outside in the sun on a beautiful California morning. I really liked the breakfast sandwich, and thought the english muffin was good but wasn’t all wowed by the english muffin.
The next day I came back and got six english muffins to go and tucked them away in my suitcase. They are not cheap at $ 14 a half dozen. OK, now I get it. I may have shed a tear yesterday when I finished off the last one. They really are as good as everyone says and I may be ordering some online at some point.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’m a cook and don’t bake much. I do have some passion for pizza doughs and have been trying several Naples/​Enzo style/Grandma’s Saturday Pizza dough, basically doughs of different times of proofing. Can’t imagine how many combination you can have with just 4 ingredients plus the time. I also bake french bread here and there. And the occasional apple pie/​cookie with my daughter.
But wow, Model Bakery may be my favorite bakery. First time for me and I bought several different breads. Cranberry&Walnut batard, sourdough levain, french baguette and of course the english muffins. I’ve never had english muffins so light, airy and soft with a beautiful aroma. I went next door to my favorite charcuterie spot, fatted calf and got some spicy coppa which was super fatty, foie torchon, duck pâté and house proscuitto that they make every two years. YES, I put a little of all these inside the english muffin and added a fried egg, torchon on the heavy side plus a dab of homemade strawberry jam, OMG it was the best brunch sando I made for my family. Probably would of been $ 30 if offered at a restaurant.
All the other breads held up very well through 2 full days. Usually and especially french bread is good for the day only. Crust, chewy, flavorful of good flour.
Definitely will be back for more bread and other foods.
Place rating: 4
Manhattan, NY
Stumbled upon this bakery while walking through the downtown area. My friend and I were immediately captivated by what looked like the best english muffin we had ever seen, and decided we had to get it (even though we weren’t hungry at all).
We ended up splitting one (toasted and with jam) and finished it off with a Stumptown cold brew milk carton (with added coconut cream). It was the best snack, to say the least. The english muffin was extremely tasty, crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Paired with the jam, the english muffin was elevated in taste as well.
The Stumptown cold brew also blew me away. Definitely on the sweeter side (I’m used to no added sugar in my cold brew — usually just stick with a splash of soy milk) but it was SO delicious and paired perfectly with the english muffin.
10⁄10 would recommend. The shop doesn’t look like anything special but the treats sure are!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Breakfast review.
English muffin — 5⁄5 — Best I’ve ever had.
Breakfast sandwich — 3⁄5
Overall, «as good as it gets.»
Place rating: 3
Napa, CA
You know when people make it obvious that they don’t want to be at work today? Well that’s how the woman who took my order seemed. It made me feel like just cancelling my order and leave. But I had already payed and it was a very short wait.
I ordered the breakfast sandwich (small but filling). Im so picky with my breakfast sandwiches because nothing compares to the New York ones, but i was satisfied with this one.
No indoor seating, but they have outdoor picnic tables. A lot of tourists.
It was my first time here and I would have given it more stars had the staff been more friendly. A smile would have been nice, sheesh.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Super bummed! This place is usually incredibly amazing but unfortunately, we had a not so pleasant experience today!
We came in and bought a half dozen English muffins and an additional 3 to be roasted. The girl that helped us placed them in the toaster and then she disappeared. After about 5 – 6 minutes (toasting bread does not take that long), she came out from the back. I asked her where the muffins were and she gave me the «Ooops» look. She took them out of the toaster and packaged them. As she handed them to me, I asked her if they were burnt. She said «no.» NO APOLOGIES!
I have a few issues with her customer service. No apology was given for forgetting my order. Second, the muffins were hard! My wife and I went back inside and she was no where to be found. We stood in line as one clerk was helping the customers. After a few minutes, she showed back up and began helping people. Just as it was our turn, she went to the back so the other clerk helped us.
The other clerk (blonde), apologized for the muffins being hard. Two star for POOR customer service!
Place rating: 3
Mountain View, CA
I took my two friends here on a weekday morning to start off our wine tasting trip, but was a bit disappointed. I had never been to this location, but loved the one in downtown St. Helena.
The selection at this Napa location seemed to be much smaller than St. Helena, and the service was a lot less friendly. All of the staff seemed like they didn’t want to really be helping us. Maybe it’s a result of having to deal with annoying tourists all day, but it was strange.
I got the famed English muffin with avocado. Yes, the English muffin is really good. Better than any other English muffin I’ve had, but they still just aren’t my thing. Also they just gave me my avocado wrapped in a separate piece of foil. Uh, ok.
I do want to go back to The Model Bakery in St. Helena on my next trip up to Napa Valley, but I’m not too inclined to visit this location.
Place rating: 5
Houston, TX
Oh and did I mention they have been baking since 1908?! They have got to be doing something right! Lol!
Place rating: 2
Napa, CA
Great baked goods and breakfast/​lunch items, but man is the staff rude here! For a place in a tourist-​attracting area of Napa, I think they need more patience. A friend and I were going to get breakfast and then sandwiches (hopefully) for lunch on our day of tasting on the mountain. The employee acted like I was supposed to know lunch wasn’t prepared before a certain time and responded in a condescending way, with pure rudeness. If we weren’t in a hurry, this would have put me off enough to go elsewhere. I have heard this from others too upon sharing my experience. Treat your guests well and your locals better Model. No pastry is good enough to feel like you’re at Ed Debevic’s when you don’t want to be.
Place rating: 5
Boston, MA
Fell in love with this place on my very recent trip to Napa Valley. We stayed in a not so nice little hotel in Helena and our only saving grace was getting up in the morning, taking a nice stroll down to the Model Bakery.
Best cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted. First day purchased a soy latte and next day we had cappuccino’s.
The French rolls and croissants were great also.
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
A trendy bakery offering delicious and fresh baked goods right around the corner from the Oxbow public market.
We tried one of their breakfast sandwiches and one of their famous English muffins toasted. The food was good but the process was excruciatingly slow. Prepare to be extra patient.
I wish I could give them a higher rating but the service at this little place was pretty slow. There seemed to be more than enough people staffing this place yet we waited behind a short line of about 10 people for 15 minutes just to place an order for an English muffin and breakfast sandwich and another 10 minutes for them to get the food ready. They ran out of coffee at 9 am so there were lots of people standing around waiting for a new batch to brew.
In my opinion it looks like they need some help getting organized.
Food: 3−½ stars
Service: 2 stars
Place rating: 5
Concord, CA
I love model bakery. If you get one item, you get the english muffins. Nothing else. It is absolutely the best english muffins ever! They are worth every penny, and trust me they are probably one of the most expensive english muffins. They also sell out by the early afternoon. If you buy in bulk (no deal) but it is a limit of a dozen per person. I generally like to get one dozen, and freeze half for future consumption. Everyone likes getting the english muffin breakfast sandwich, but my favorite is to eat them at home. One half with butter and preserves, the second half with butter and a soft boiled egg, or avocado with salt. So delicious.
Other items that i love are the raisin snail and the blueberry danish.
Place rating: 5
Concord, CA
This place does an amazing business! Some friends and I stopped by this cozy little bakery for coffee and breakfast sammies before a day of wine tasting, and there was a line way out the door even on a cold Saturday morning! But once we finished up, it was clear why — talk about food made with absolute love!
Even with lines out the door, this place moves with great efficiency, and I’d say our group of 4 still managed to get our breakfast and coffee with a wait of about 10 minutes. I’m a sucka for croissants so I had to sample their Breakfast Croissant’wich — they had me at basil. And this was seriously the best croissant breakfast sandwich of all time — softly scrambled eggs, gooey gouda, perfectly crispy bacon, and fresh basil leaves woven into the eggs. Who knew basil could bring such tremendous flavor to eggs, certainly not me! Breakfast will never be the same. I also sipped a small TCHO mocha, topped with a heart in the milky foam by our barista. Most mochas are either intensely bitter or overly sugary, but this drink was totally balanced and needed absolutely no help from me, just a perfect drink. $ 12.45 for a breakfast sandwich and small coffee may sound steep, but it was WELL worth the quality.
During our wait, we also killed time by snooping their droolworthy bakery cases — my friend scored two EPIC carrot cake cupcakes from their day-​old bin (which were soft and succulent and incredible, of course), and I was visually dazzled by a gorgeous nonpareil covered cake — I don’t even like sprinkles like that, but I know the skill and patience involved to make a cake look that seamless and perfect! SUPER duper impressed.
I loved everything about this bakery and they made an utterly perfect stop on our wine country day! I know I used the word ‘perfect’ like 50 times in this review, but they deserve it!
Place rating: 5
Napa, CA
Fantastic bakery with only outside seating. For breakfast they have pastries and muffins, and a great to order menu of sandwiches and wraps. The homemade english muffins are the best ! Lunch of fresh salads, sandwiches and cookies and brownies are great for a casual lunch or picnic. The cakes are also really great for special occasions
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
There’s a reason why everyone comes here and gets the breakfast sandwich OR buys english muffins… ITS BECAUSE THEY’RE THE BEST.
I ordered the veggie breakfast sandwich and bf got the regular breakfast sandwich. What do they put in these. crack!!! The english muffin is ridiculous. So much that I bough half a dozen to take back home with us. And I wasn’t the only one, almost every person that came in while we were there took a pack with them as well!
We didn’t get to try anything else from the bakery, but the english muffins are enough for 5 stars.
Service was friendly!
Place rating: 5
Reno, NV
Whoa, so weird how I’ve worked in Napa all these years and just never gotten around to trying out their famous English Muffins until recently.
BEST FRIGGIN ENGLISH MUFFINS you’ll ever try! I’m not even an english muffin fan, but I will say the model bakery sure gave me a different appreciation for them. Maybe because they bake these things with a sh*t ton of BUTTA (Paula Deen status), or maybe it could be the technique that gives the top part that nice crisp and crackle crunch. Whatever it may be, they are doing it right!
Model bakery sure lives up to its reviews. You will not be disappointed! I also really like the lemon bars, YUM!
Place rating: 3
Napa, CA
It sometimes does take one experience to ruin it.
My girlfriend and I frequent this place for their tasty, fresh-​out of the oven, baked goods.
Their breakfast menu of assorted sandwiches, from simple egg and ham to the wonderfully satisfying Californian avocado and chorizo.
Although slightly on the pricey side, being one of the best well-​known local bakery in both Napa and St. Helena Location, I enjoy bringing friends visiting from out of town.
Last Tuesday the 20th on a casual Tuesday morning before a day of winetasting, everything went wrong for whatever reason. They didn’t know how to make the honey latte that my girlfriend typically orders and that they have added lots of cheese to her sandwich even tho she specifically requested not to as indicated on our receipt.
It’s probably just sheer bad luck, but this is the reason why I am writing this review because I know down the road my experience will be better.
Best.
Place rating: 4
Fremont, CA
Do you love freshly baked bread? If so, I highly recommend stopping here while you’re in Napa. Located at the Oxbow Marketplace, Model Bakery offers freshly baked breads, pre-​made sammies, fresh pastries and their amazing English muffins.
I’ve enjoyed their pastries, lemon bars and cookies. However, if you’re hungry for an awesome breakfast sammie, you have to try theirs. As I said the English muffin is light, fluffy and just amazing.
I also recommend an espresso and let the barista’s show-​off their latte art for you. This is one of my go-​to bakeries in Napa.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
I probably should’ve read some reviews as to where The Model Bakery was because «Oxbow Public Market» had two buildings! The bakery is located behind Gott’s Roadside.
When we turned the corner, I immediately noticed the line nearly out the door. At 9:30AM on Memorial Day? Dang! I quickly got in line & noticed they serve Blue Bottle Coffee, score! Not only that but they also had soy milk! This was a huge plus for me because a lot of places still don’t offer non-​dairy options.
Before even looking at the varieties of pastries, my bf had already decided we were going to share a bear claw & almond croissant. Fine by me because those are two of my favorites as well :) Apparently their English muffins are the star here but I didn’t know that until now! I will keep that in mind for next time. The almond croissant outshone the bear claw. The almond paste was smoother and sweeter but I’m not complaining ;)
Great coffee, delicious baked goods & friendly staff, what more could we ask for? I would highly recommend this little bakery for a quick bite before a day of wine tasting!