1310 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
It was our last day in Washington, DC. We had a full day ahead, so I decided to let Katie sleep in a bit while I went to get us some breakfast. I had done a search for the best bakeries in DC, and one kept coming up continuously, Nino's Bakery. The only problem was that at the time of our visit, they were only open three days a week, Wednesday through Friday. We had arrived in our nation's capital on Friday afternoon, so this particular Wednesday would be the only chance I'd get to try what some people say is the best bakery in all of the DMV.
Nino's Bakery is the brainchild of Miranda Rinaldi. She had a post working for the US State Department in Italy back in 2012. When she first got to Milan, she adopted a dog, Nino, and they would traverse the city, and his strong sense of smell would often lead them to numerous bakeries. Rinaldi, who was ready for a career change, started taking pastry classes in Italy, and when she returned to the US three years later, she enrolled in a French baking class in Chicago. Yes, Nino was still with her.
In 2018, after a few bakery internships, Rinaldi opened her own place. Croissants, scones, cream puffs, Sicilian pistachio cookies, and other baked goods were a big hit with people, and she often had a line out the door of hungry Washingtonians waiting to get their morning carbs. The pandemic curtailed the hours and days at Nino's, and then in early 2023, motherhood forced a six-month closure. A quick check of their Yelp page reveals that they are now open Tuesday through Saturday from 8am - 12:30pm, which is excellent news for the croissant lovers of DC.
I braved the frigid low 20-degree temps of early January and walked the six blocks from my hotel to Nino's Bakery at 8am. When I arrived at Nino's storefront, I was met with a line of about three people ahead of me. Not bad considering that later in the day the line stretches out alongside the sidewalk. The bakery could be described as cozy at best, with not much seating inside or out. As my turn in line came up, I made my selections from what was in the bakery case, and was headed back to our hotel with my box of baked goods being held protectively like a running back heading towards the goal line.
Yes, I can never get enough chocolate in the morning. This Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant ($5.25) was fantastic. For this one, they formed the croissant into a roll form and topped it with hazelnut spread. Not only was this very photogenic, but it tasted great. The hazelnut spread was balanced nicely with the croissant underneath. Again, I wish I had something to warm this up with, as I think that would have made this even better to eat. It almost pained me to share a bite of this with Katie. Yes, I am that selfish.
If we had another day in DC, I would have returned to Nino's to try their pistachio or black sesame croissants, cream puffs, or any of their other daily rotating specials. Even though we only had three items here, that was enough to know that they are serving some of the best croissants we've had. It's no wonder that they have been mentioned as one of the best bakeries in the city, and after just this visit, we'd have to concur.
One of the highlights of our fifth and last day in Washington was visiting The white House. It's well worth setting this up before you leave for your trip. It's pretty awe-inspiring, and something to cross off your bucket list.
Out of five plungers (because not only does the White House feature 132 rooms, it also has 35 bathrooms, which I would imagine would require quite a few plungers), five being best to zero being worst, Nino's Bakery gets 4 plungers.
For more information about Nino's Bakery, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.ninosbakerydc.com/