We visit Bristol's only Argentine bakery for lunch and struggle to pick a dessert

Tucked away on Gloucester Road, Lunita Pasteleria is a homely Argentine bakery that only opened last October but has gained consistently positive reviews ever since.

The bakery, which was founded by Fabiana in 2019, started off supplying bakes to an Argentine café in Bath before before doing pop-up stalls at markets and finally securing a venue in 2023.

Fabiana comes from a Latin background with her parents being from Argentina and Paraguay. During her childhood, she would help her mum and Nona in the kitchen and she now incorporates some of her childhood favourite dish recipes passed down by her Nona and Abuela onto the bakery’s menu.

On their website, they say: “Our goal with Lunita Pasteleria is to make authentic Argentine facturas and cakes to take to your own family gatherings to make your own beautiful memories.”

We decided to visit the bakery for lunch and were blown away by the stunning selection of delicious-looking cakes and pastries.

They also had a selection of main dishes to order, including Beef Empanadas for £4.50 (a traditional Argentine empanada filled with cumin and paprika spiced mince beef, boiled egg and olive with chimmichurri sauce), Sopa Paraguaya for £4.50 (a traditional Paraguayan corn based bread made with corn, polenta and cheese, served warm and with chimmichurri sauce) and Nut butter Toast for £7.50 (nut butter, seasonal fruit, maple syrup and toasted seeds on thick cut toast).

The venue was bustling at lunch and most of the tables were taken by people from a wide range of ages, but it seemed especially popular with families with young children, and is dog-friendly. Light ambient instrumental music played on the speakers and intertwined with English and Spanish conversations.

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A board with special meals and drinks of the day was displayed near the till in the blue, white and gold-themed venue. A selection of mouth-watering cakes was also displayed by the till, many of which contained dulce de leche, a type of sweet caramel-like sauce I hadn’t often encountered in Bristol.

We decided to order a ChoriPan (£6.50; Argentine sausage, pickled onions and chimichurri on a homemade roll), with a side of chips (£3) and a dulce de leche iced latte (£3.85) with oat milk (at no extra cost!). After a hard time picking just one cake as a dessert, I also ordered a Dulce de Leche Cañoncito (£3.50) and a Alfajor de Maicena (£3.80).

The food was ready within 15 minutes and was brought to the bar table by the sunny window were I was seated.

The sausages from the ChoriPan were soft and slightly chewy with a spicy hint, whilst the homemade bread was really soft with a crunchy lower half and the pickled onions provided a crunchy texture to the dish. The sauce also provided a herby element.

The main was very filling and paired well with the chips which offered an alternative flavour to the dish. They looked hand-cut and were fluffy with a soft middle and a thin crunchy exterior.

The iced latte was sweet and refreshing with a strong taste of coffee if, like me, you’re not used to drinking coffee (I was swayed by the mention of dulce de leche) but paired well with the sweetness of the desserts.

The pastry of the Cañoncito was soft and slightly crunchy, moist and flavourful with the creamy dulce de leche middle. As for the Alfajor, it was beautifully adorned with dried petals and coconut flakes on the outer edge. The biscuits were soft, dense and crumbly with a lemony taste and had a generous dulce de leche middle. Being full from the main meal, I decided to take most of the two cakes for takeaway.

Overall, the food was very flavourful and filling and the service was fast and friendly. Lunita Pasteleria offers a unique range of dishes and is a must visit, especially if you a fan of dulce de leche.

Lunita Pasteleria, 332 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8TJ. Opens Wednesday to Friday from 9am to 3pm, Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm and Sunday from 10am to 3pm.