Lubellas Patisserie in East Dallas: One of Dallas' Great New Bakeries

Life was good. Up-and-coming pastry chef Maria Becerra was working in one of Dallas’ premier fine dining establishments, Bullion, under chef Bruno Davaillon. Then came COVID-19. Like so many, Becerra’s world changed dramatically.

As the pandemic spread, Bullion closed its doors, and Becerra found herself at a crossroads. Her husband, Ismael Gonzalez, urged her to continue her passion in the face of adversity. Needing the income to get by, they could sell baked goods to family and friends. Becerra would bake and Gonzalez would deliver. Gonzalez also worked in the restaurant industry and was jobless because of the pandemic.

Requests began to pick up steam for Becerra’s cakes. Custom cakes were the next step in the evolution. And just like that, with the stars aligned, Lubellas Patisserie, located in East Dallas’ Casa View Center, was born.

“I can say that it’s a miracle how everything is coming together for us,” says Becerra. “We always had the dream, but that was it. Honestly, my husband is the one with the vision for Lubellas to make it grow. But even after we began, we never imagined it would become what it is now.”
And what their bakery has become is nothing short of amazing. Lubellas is receiving regular orders from big players on the Dallas culinary scene, like award-winning Park Cities restaurant José, along with individual custom-design cake requests on the weekends and orders for everything else in between.

Speaking of those custom cakes — they’re spectacular. You can find pictures of them on the Lubellas Instagram account.

Becerra honed her craft at Stephan Pyles, Flora Street Café and the aforementioned Bullion while crediting pastry chefs Keith Cedotal (Stephan Pyles) and Ricchi Sanchez (Bullion) for taking her under their wings.
“They’re great pastry chefs. I learned so much from them, and they taught me different techniques. Then I gained experience doing all the prep for the service of bread and pastries, setting up the line, running the line, and sometimes everything,” Becerra said, smiling.

Eager to try, we visited Lubellas Patisserie. Upon entering, you’re immediately greeted by display cases full of muffins, cookies, scones, macarons, cupcakes, cheesecakes and much more. Lubellas also serves sandwiches: a portabello mushroom sandwich with Manchego cheese, and a smoked ham and pepper jack croissant.

We started with a pear and almond Danish ($9) followed by a cream cheese blueberry Danish ($9). The former was excellent, and the latter was so delectable it was almost sinful. Flaky, buttery and centered with still-melting cream cheese — everything here is fresh out of the oven and primed to melt in your mouth on the first bite.
Next, we tried the savory meat lover's quiche ($8.99), an eggy slice of stout stature topped with bacon and spicy sausage from Jimmy’s Food Store. We’ve had some good quiche before, but this was on a different level. All that came before now pales in comparison.

We closed our trip to Lubellas with a firm-crusted but pillowy soft in-the-middle concha roll (Mexican sweet bread, $2.99) and decadent chocolate-filled croissant ($4.50). We also recommend the homemade café de olla: Mexican coffee with cinnamon, cane sugar and spices.

When choosing the location, Becerra and Gonzalez considered several parts of the city but ultimately landed here because they felt the area needed a strong bakery. And with business thriving, they already have one eye on the future.

“If we can grow and get a commissary or larger kitchen where we can create and supply more, we’ll take that chance and make it happen. As I say, if you have the opportunity, you have to take it,” she says.

As for the inspiration that drives them through the long days, well, it’s all in the name. “We named Lubellas after our children, Lu and Bella," Becerra says. "They are the motor that keeps us going. We just love what we do and who we are doing it for."

Lubellas Patisserie, 10323 Ferguson Road. Tuesday – Saturday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.