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Sweetish Hill Bakery & Cafe has been an Austin institution for more than thirty years. We prepare our goods in the classic French method with only quality ingredients, time-tested recipes and the utmost care. When available, we bake with ingredients from Texas growers.

There is a reason people have been coming to Sweetish Hill Bakery for 30 years. We start with the best ingredients. We have a saying here, "Taste buds remember."

We use fresh Texas butter, organic wheat from Kansas, Amador Farms lettuce, Alexander Family Farms eggs, Goodflow juices, Anderson & Co. coffee, seasonal vegetables from the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market, and East Poultry natural chicken. We believe ingredients that don't travel great distances and aren't preserved for long periods of time retain more of their flavor and nutrition.

Then we add the skills of our trained cooks and bakers. We fold butter into our croissant, Danish, and puff dough. We scoop, shape, and bake cookies and cakes daily. We slice, dice, and chop ingredients for our soups using chicken and vegetable stocks we made ourselves. We make our own buttercream icings, and mayonnaise (maybe that's why our egg, chicken, and tuna salads cannot be duplicated.)

And finally, you are served by the best. So, come back, you're in good hands. We enjoy what we do, and guess that you too will enjoy the results.

Main Location

Sweetish Hill Bakery
1120 West Sixth Street
Austin, Texas 78703

Phone: 512.472.1347
Office: 512.472.7370
Fax orders: 512.472.6041
email orders: eats@sweetishhill.com
Hours: Monday through Saturday 6:30a.m.-7:00p.m., Sunday 6:30a.m.-3:00p.m.

Downtown Location

Sweetish Hill Bakery
98 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: 512.472.2411
Fax: 512.472.2433
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30a.m.-4:00p.m.

History

Sweetish Hill was founded in 1975 by Patricia Bauer-Slate and Tom Neuhaus who met in Vienna after Tom's year in France. They decided to bring the splendor of the Viennese coffee house and the French boulangerie traditions to Austin. One of their first baking school students and subsequent employee, Jim Murphy, came back to Sweetish Hill after baking in New York (where he taught the New Yorkers how to make cheesecake the way they still make it in many of the best restaurants and delis) and Paris, where he tasted every different loaf of baguette and made the baking of 'The Perfect Baguette' his passion. Now co-owners Patricia and Jim are still involved in the day-to-day production of breads, pastries, cookies, cakes, soups, salads and sandwiches where they continue Sweetish Hill's tradition of making the best tasting food anywhere.

And you don't have to take our word for it, just read this:

"You feel (and smell) the quality as soon as you walk in. This place is a prime source for beautiful, hand-crafted European-quality breads, sandwiches, and desserts in a staggering variety...the descriptive word here is WOW!"—Austin's Favorite Places, 1996 Caldera Publishing

"Sweetish Hill's two olive loaf is spectacular; its baguettes are amber-crusted wonders; and its serrano-romano adds Texas heat to any sandwich."—Texas Monthly, July 1996 "Texas Best Bread" by Patricia Sharpe

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Jim Murphy, co-owner of Sweetish Hill Bakery, first began working at the bakery when he was a student of economics at the University of Texas. Upon graduating, Jim became the night baker at Sweetish Hill before moving to Houston for graduate school.

After working briefly as a banker, Jim decided to dedicate his career to his true passion, baking, and in 1979 joined the French Gourmet Bakery. In the early 80's, Jim moved to N.Y.C., working as a Pastry Chef and Bread Baker for such notables as Eli Zabar's famous E.A.T.s in Upper Manhattan. In 1985, he moved to Paris, where he educated himself on the highest French baking standards. Jim re-united with Patricia in 1988 to continue his quest for excellence in baking, becoming a partner in Sweetish Hill in 1990.

Our Bakers, Chefs, and More

Trang Van Hoach has been the head baker at Sweetish Hill Bakery for most of its 32 years. After leaving Saigon (and the family French-Vietnamese bakery), Trang, a gifted baker, found his way to Sweetish Hill in 1978.

Dana Homick's soups have been singled out by Dale Rice as among the best in Austin. She has been the head chef since 1993 when Sweetish Hill moved down the street to its present location.

Jeanne Martin, our well known catering, take out director and sandwich maker, has been a key ingredient of Sweetish Hill sandwiches and service since 1990. Jeanne knows how to give the customers what they want.

Michael Landry, Retail Manager, returns to Sweetish Hill after running his own business for 10 years. Michael will be in charge of marketing and retail training.

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