Duke Bakery

If any concept seemed destined to succeed in Orange County – especially any OC city with a substantial Asian population – Duke Bakery would be it: In 2013, this chain launched in Singapore before opening an Irvine outpost in late 2015, initially spawning comparisons to Taiwanese bakery 85 Degrees C before largely falling off the local radar. More recently, a lone influencer hyped the chain up as “a Chinese version of Porto’s,” questionably evoking the sprawling, locally beloved LA and OC Cuban-American bakeries.

Narrator: “Duke Bakery is not a Chinese version of Porto’s.” At least, that’s true about the Irvine location – the only Duke shop left in Orange County, which changed ownership in late 2025. (A Costa Mesa version closed years ago, and after four subsequent SoCal closures, the chain has 16 bakeries worldwide – three across OC and LA, seven in Singapore, and six in China and Taiwan.) Small even by normal bakery standards, Duke is neither big nor crowd-pleasing enough to attract Porto’s-class crowds, and for those seeking novelty, there is nothing obviously Singaporean here. Focusing on the use of natural yeasts (including fermented grapes), the baking and menu instead lean Taiwanese by way of Europe and Japan, vaguely approximating 85 Degrees or Sunmerry at a smaller scale. Without any seating, drinks, or service beyond a friendly front counter, the Duke experience is focused on dispensing bread loaves, rolls, cookies, and cakes; that’s it.

Duke’s baking has historically been polarizing, and after we visited, we immediately understood why: Its dessert-like items are low-sugar and low-fat by design, so chocolate treats such as a Dirty Cake ($5) made with cocoa and chocolate syrup, or oversized chocolate muffins ($3), wind up more spongy and light than sweet or filling; the muffin we bought was very dry. There are multiple sweet and seemingly enticing alternatives on the shelves at similar prices, such as log- and crescent-ish rolls named Hugh Graham, Choco & Blue Mt. Coffee, and Coconut Delight, as well as a small fridge with cream puffs, Swiss rolls, and other cakes, if you want to explore them; more Asian recipes such as pork floss cakes, Taro milk puffs, red bean buns, and Chinese wolfberry bread are also available.