Bree’osh is owned and operated by Nelly and Pierre, the husband and wife team behind the French artisan bakery. With a retail location in Montecito on Coast Village Road, and a new bakery space on De La Vina (at the former Our Daily Bread location, for locals), the couple also welcomed their daughter Jade into the world in April!
Pierre and Nelly first visited Santa Barbara in 2015, and moved here soon after to open their bakery. We serve Bree’osh pastries and breads in our stores at Dune, and we also proudly roast coffee for Bree’osh. Chach and I found some time to visit both their Coast Village location as well as their production bakery.
One of the busiest cafes (if not the busiest) in Montecito, Bree’osh is the place to be, especially on foggy mornings like the one on the day of our visit. We had hoped to pop in before it got too busy, but when we arrived, the team behind the bar was already turning out coffees, pastries, and breakfast dishes for a line of folks queued up six feet apart outside.
With a wonderful outdoor seating arrangement with umbrellas and spaced out seating, it’s not uncommon to see Pierre wiping and sanitizing tables, or to see Nelly and Jade greeting all their guests. We roast a special blend for Bree’osh (a smiling coffee cup and croissant adorns the label), composed of Colombian and Brazilian coffees for a rich and sweet cup that pairs well with Bree’osh’s pastries.
Just up the way at Bree’osh’s location on De La Vina, the baking team starts their day incredibly early, baking, mixing, shaping, and proofing sourdough (made with a delightful in-house starter). Guests can find country loaves, brioche, and baguettes here, as well as picking up pastries and quiches to go.
Pierre met Chach and I here, giving us a tour of the space, before inviting us into their temperature controlled room, where laminated dough is pressed and rolled out into croissants.
The attention to detail in this space is incredible, as Pierre explains how all baking recipes are conducted in Celsius (“Fahrenheit baking just doesn’t work”), and he weighs portions of laminated dough for consistency before expertly rolling out into perfect little croissants. He apologizes that the dough is a little sticky, due to the higher humidity we’ve been experiencing, but to my untrained eye, I have no way of telling.
On a separate morning, Pierre demonstrated shaping sourdough loaves for Chach and I. The only other person I’ve seen be this naturally energetic and happy this early is our store manager Jeremy when Aretha Franklin is playing. Pierre worked through a half dozen containers of sourdough finishing bulk fermentation, portioning and shaping with a controlled ferocity.
We asked Pierre and Nelly a couple of questions and they were kind enough to share their responses with us.
Describe your perfect morning coffee ritual.
Setting up the espresso machine in the morning and pulling a double espresso (us, too!)
What is something that motivates you?
Making our customers happy and sharing our passion for great sourdough bread and pastries. There is nothing more rewarding than getting positive feedback from your customers - it means you’re doing your job right!
Who is someone you look up to?
Francois Brunet, Tartine, Eun-chul Jang, Emanuele Brancati
What are some of your memorable coffee experiences?
Terres de Café (Paris) for the espresso, Cafe Coutume for the espresso, Auction Rooms (Melbourne) for the flat white, El Pan de la Chola (Lima) for the bread and drip.
Do you have a favorite coffee and pastry pairing?
Sugar brioche or a plain croissant, paired with an espresso. Sometimes the simplest things are the best!
Bree’osh is open in Montecito for coffee and a full menu including takeout from 7 AM to 2 PM, and at De La Vina for pastry and bread pickup from 7 AM to 12 PM.