A Baltimore bakery with two locations has been named the second-best bakery in the world and the highest-ranked bakery in the United States, according to Beli’s 2026 Top 12 Bakeries ranking.
Café Dear Leon, which operates locations in Baltimore’s Canton and Remington neighborhoods, earned the No. 2 position worldwide, finishing behind only JUNO the bakery in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Baltimore bakery ranked ahead of several internationally recognized establishments, including Arsicault Bakery in San Francisco, Lillebrors bageri in Stockholm, Sweden, and Radio Bakery in New York City.
Unlike traditional rankings determined by food critics, editorial teams, or judging panels, Beli’s rankings are based on user-generated ratings. The platform allows users to rank restaurants and bakeries they have personally visited against one another. According to the company, its rankings draw from a database of more than 140 million ratings worldwide, although that figure includes ratings across the platform and is not specific to bakeries…