The scent from Lucero’s Bakery wafts around you like a hug you before you ever reach the front door. Whether you’ve parked in their lot or down the block, the aroma of fresh churros seems to drift through the air confirming that whatever plans you had can wait another few minutes. To my benefit, this was the only plan I had for the day and nothing was pulling me away from it.
I first learned about Lucero’s after returning home from a trip to Puerto Vallarta with my boyfriend. During our vacation, I couldn’t stop thinking about and eating churros. Somehow, even after we got back to Los Angeles, the craving hadn’t gone away. To help calm the need down, my boyfriend told me he knew exactly where to take me. A short drive later and we were at Lucero’s, the scent of the churros hugged me from the parking lot, and I stepped into the bakery that I would love for longer than I imagined.
Fast forward to today, and Lucero’s has become my favorite place for churros. Funny enough, despite visiting several times, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I finally stopped to photograph and write about the little bakery that’s kept me coming back.
The shop itself is modest in size, but the steady line of customers says everything you need to know. While my boyfriend and I waited a few minutes to order, people continued walking in, all after the same thing: fresh churros, slices of cake, creamy flan, and other baked treats.
Lucero’s offers a handful of filled churros from Regular ($1.50) to Filled ($3.50) churros with flavors including vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, guava, and my personal favorite, cajeta, a rich caramel made from sweetened goat’s milk. The smooth, rich, and decadent cajeta taste is the flavor I order every time. What keeps me coming back, though, isn’t just the variety. It’s the churros themselves.
They’re everything I hope for when I bite into one: long and generously sized, perfectly crisp on the outside, soft and fully cooked on the inside, and coated with just the right amount of cinnamon sugar. Every bite delivers that satisfying crunch before giving way to a warm, pillowy center or a flavor filled center.
The prices are another pleasant surprise. At a time when churros at many shops continue to climb in cost, Lucero’s keeps theirs refreshingly affordable, making it easy to order an extra one… or four. And that’s the case with the cakes and flan. Their Vanilla Flan ($) is a thick block that is silky and smooth from the first scoop to the last with a luxurious and indulgent taste. It was a flan that I liked from the start and loved when it was fully gone.
As I look back on the times I’ve visited Lucero’s it’s easy to feel that this is a place I enjoy visiting regardless of other similar trending locations. Reason being: Lucero’s consistently gets it right with their desserts and the price is incredibly reasonable.
For me, Lucero’s Bakery has the best churros near Los Angeles and whenever another churro craving hits, I already know exactly where I’ll be headed.
Follow Them.
Address: 6200 E. Gage Avenue, Bell Gardens, CA 90201
Phone: (323) 560-8957
Hours: Daily – 5:00 am to 9:00 pm
Social: Instagram
