{"id":356226,"date":"2026-06-11T13:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/356226\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T13:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:47:10","slug":"why-pastry-cat-may-be-sacramentos-best-new-bakery-in-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/356226\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Pastry Cat may be Sacramento’s best new bakery in years"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

Pastry Cat, which opened May 1 in East Sacramento\u2019s Sutter Park development, infuses classic French pastries with East and Southeast Asian ingredients such as matcha, miso and yuzu.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s owned by Nariya Charoensupaya and Scott Doiguchi, who previously worked at high-end Bay Area restaurants.<\/p>\n

Pastry Cat first charmed customers with a series of pop-ups starting in 2020.<\/p>\n

Pastry Cat<\/a> was greeted with constant lines and sold-out display cases in the weekends after its soft opening began May 1. Whether customers were snared by past pop-ups or a chic social media presence, word had gotten out: This was Sacramento\u2019s most exciting, and perhaps best, new bakery in years.<\/p>\n

Many hotly anticipated restaurants struggle to immediately live up to the hype. Nariya Charoensupaya and Scott Doiguchi\u2019s bakery in East Sacramento\u2019s Sutter Park development is an exception. A fluid combination of classic French techniques and East and Southeast Asian flavors, it\u2019s only open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday-Sunday for now, but it has no shortage of customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response has been very positive, and we feel incredibly fortunate,\u201d Charoensupaya wrote in an email. \u201cBoth (longtime) customers and newcomers have been very welcoming, and we are pleased to finally have a space open to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant\"Pastry Cat\u2019s sign outside 533 53rd St., Suite 140, in Sacramento. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

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Born in the U.S. but raised in Thailand, Charoensupaya began baking in junior high and moved to California to attend the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. She worked in Napa and San Francisco restaurants, including the popular Le Marais Bakery<\/a>, before landing at Vina Enoteca<\/a> in Palo Alto as the pastry chef.<\/p>\n

Doiguchi was the Italian restaurant\u2019s chef de cuisine, too, until the couple moved to the Sacramento area to be closer to his family. After Charoensupaya spent a year as Hawks\u2019<\/a> pastry chef in Granite Bay, the couple launched the Pastry Cat brand in 2020, then spent the next six years popping up at local hot spots such as Scorpio Coffee<\/a>, Majka Pizzeria & Bakery<\/a> and Offbeat Coffee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new brick-and-mortar space leads from a partially open kitchen to a minimalist dining room full of natural light, with pastel green tables and chairs dotting a back patio. Ceramic dishware from Alma Design Studio<\/a> north of Downtown Sacramento holds pastries and kitchen dishes accompanied by Olympia Coffee<\/a> and Rocky\u2019s Matcha<\/a> drinks.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant\"Pastry Cat is located at 533 53rd St., Suite 140, in Sacramento. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Charoensupaya stocks Pastry Cat with a few well-loved classics (pain au chocolat, ham-and-cheese pain Suisse) but mostly lets her creativity shine. There are Earl Grey brownies and sticky vanilla rum canel\u00e9s, za\u2019atar-Gruy\u00e8re croissant buns and scones flavored with bits of strawberry, banana and passion fruit. Airy almond croissants loaded with Cara Cara orange jam (candied peels included) gave way to cherry-pistachio filling as May turned to June.<\/p>\n

Contemporary Asian flavors, too, show up in her hazelnut hojicha financiers and miso brown butter cookies, the latter of which has been workshopped since the early days of Pastry Cat\u2019s pop-ups. Her matcha yuzu almond cookies are must-orders for any lover of the powdered green tea, with deeply verdant centers and comforting squishiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is my love language, and it always makes me happy when I can make food that brings a smile to people\u2019s faces,\u201d she wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant\"A seasonal Cara Cara almond croissant at Pastry Cat. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Doiguchi helms Pastry Cat\u2019s limited kitchen program. Breakfast sandwich ($14) connoisseurs will want to try Pastry Cat\u2019s, which features a beef-and-pork patty, tangy chimichurri, cheddar cheese and a fried egg on a heavily tested biscuit that stays together remarkably well. There\u2019s also a housemade granola bowl ($11) with seasonal jam for something lighter, or shokupan French toast ($16) with vanilla rum custard and caramelized apple for a sweeter option.<\/p>\n

Lunch is limited to three items for now: Caesar salad ($12) flecked with nori, housemade furikake and croutons made from toasted croissant ends, Koda Farms<\/a> rice bowls with Delta asparagus and mushrooms ($14) or braised pork and sunomono pickles ($17). Look for Doiguchi to adapt those menus seasonally, with emphases on\u00a0French, Italian and Japanese techniques and flavors.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant\"Pastry Cat\u2019s nori Caesar salad. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

The 2020s have been a relatively quiet decade for Sacramento bakeries, with a couple exceptions. Pastry Cat\u2019s similarly houred neighbor Moonbelly Bakery<\/a> charmed East Sacramento residents upon opening in 2022, and Forgotten Bakery<\/a> added some much-needed bagels and empanadas to the scene in 2024. But few other new brick-and-mortar concepts have gained significant traction since the COVID-19 pandemic, making Pastry Cat all the more welcome.<\/p>\n

More dessert items from the pop-up days will eventually hit the menu, Charoensupaya said. There\u2019s no grand opening date yet, but hours may expand as Pastry Cat gets its paws under itself.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant\"Pastry Cat\u2019s breakfast sandwich. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Pastry Cat<\/p>\n

Address:\u00a0533 53rd St., Suite 140, Sacramento<\/p>\n

Phone:\u00a0916-520-9510<\/p>\n

Hours:\u00a08 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday-Sunday, closed Monday-Thursday<\/p>\n

Instagram: @thepastrycat916<\/a><\/p>\n

Vegetarian\/vegan options:\u00a0Most of the menu is vegetarian; vegans may have a harder time.<\/p>\n

Drinks:\u00a0Olympia Coffee drinks, plus matcha and hojicha.<\/p>\n

Reservations:\u00a0None<\/p>\n

Benjy Egel\u00a0is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged\u2019s weekly\u00a0food and drink newsletter,\u00a0City of Treats.<\/a><\/p>\n