Whether you’re celebrating with a partner, your best friends or a solo date with a great croissant, The Bread Room (thebreadroomphl.com) from James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Ellen Yin and the team at High Street Hospitality Group is exactly the kind of place February was made for. Located at 834 Chestnut St., the new bakery, workshop and event space is intimate, inviting and built for lingering—preferably over something flaky.
A decadent fig cake.
Under the leadership of sibling restaurant High Street’s executive chef Christina McKeough and head baker Kyle Wood, The Bread Room delivers a daily drop of more than 20 handmade viennoiseries and baked goods that blend classic technique with playful, modern twists. Standouts include an S-shaped matcha croissant filled with earthy matcha pastry cream, a smoked vanilla and rosemary cream tartlet and nostalgic poptart riffs like last summer’s blueberry basil. Rotating crullers appear in flavors such as tahini-honeycomb and candied fennel, while savory options range from flaky biscuits with herb and parmesan or bacon and cheese to shakshuka danish and fromage blanc danish finished with everything spice.
The sandwich lineup is equally swoonworthy. Think black lime chicken salad with chili crunch on ciabatta, muffalettas on sesame focaccia, ham and pickle butter on a demi baguette, tuna niçoise hoagies and pastrami on rye croissants—the kind of menu that turns a quick stop into a deliciously lingering lunch.
Freshly baked strawberry scones
Bread lovers can also take home High Street’s signature whole-grain sourdough loaves, along with a fresh-milled local grain miche. The large, rustic country-style loaf is sold by the pound and made for tearing, sharing, dipping into wintry soup.
After hours, The Bread Room transforms into a community-driven workshop space offering weekly hands-on baking classes, from sourdough, baguettes and babka to pizza making and pastry. There are kids’ classes, holiday programming and private events, making it just as suited for date nights as it is for group gatherings.
“Bakeries are historically a gathering place for communities,” says Yin. “We’re all craving a little connection these days.” That sentiment is reflected in the design—inside you’ll find an intimate 19-seat space designed by Meg Rodgers of Marguerite Rodgers Interior Design, anchored by a bold Kevin O’Brien Studios painting and a communal table once owned by the one and only Dr. Albert Barnes.
