Hot Breads’s claim to fame is not so much straight-ahead Indian sweets as it is French-style baking with a South Asian twist. The “hot” refers to the spice level of the breads. Spicy bread? Believe it. The regular breads aren’t all that remarkable, but Hot Breads shouldn’t be used for normal bakery purposes...except for the cheap little cakes that are far superior to the much more expensive, boutique-y versions around town.

Mango cake is fruity and delicious; nougat cake layers caramelized crunch with capable buttercream; black forest cake is light on chocolate and cherries, not quite the classical interpretation of this dessert, but a white forest cake (using white chocolate, of course) is better than your average cream cake. Chocolate éclairs are a surprise—although whimsically decorated with superfluous candy sprinkles, the crunchy choux shell is filled with generous amounts of barely sweetened whipped cream and coated with a good dark-chocolate ganache. We can’t think of a better way to soothe a mouth burning from spicy bread.

For savories, we like the croissants stuffed with chicken tikka, paneer, and spinach and potatoes, as well as laminated puff pastries topped with various cheeses. The staff offers to warm up pastries in the microwave, but go home at heat them in the oven, lest they go all soggy on you. You can wait with some cake.