Tucked into a little blue cottage on Cornell Avenue, a half block off the Monon Trail, René's Bakery is small enough that you could drive right past it. The whole operation runs out of roughly 400 square feet, a converted two-car garage where a small crew turns out French pastries and the cinnamon roll that has quietly become a Broad Ripple weekend ritual.
I stopped in this weekend for that cinnamon roll, and it might be the best one I have ever had. Here is what makes this micro-bakery worth the trip.
The Cinnamon Roll Worth Setting an Alarm For
René's is a French bakery at heart, but the cinnamon roll is what has the cult following. It is rolled by hand in small batches every morning with real butter, aromatic cinnamon and scratch-made dough, then finished with a glaze that stays on the right side of sweet.
The texture is the trick: flaky and pillowy at the same time, with caramelized cinnamon sugar layered all the way through. It is huge, it runs about $6, and Indianapolis Reddit threads regularly call it one of the best in the city. After one, I dropped the "might." It is the best cinnamon roll I have ever had.
A Tiny Bakery With a Big Story
René's opened in 2004, started by chef Albert "René" Trevino, who ran it out of that tiny garage space and refused to cut corners. Real Madagascar vanilla, high-end butter, everything made from scratch. That standard is why the place built such a loyal following in the first place.
After Trevino passed away, former employee Isaac Roman and hospitality partner Thomas Hays stepped in to reopen and save the shop, keeping René's original recipes intact. The bakery you walk into today still runs on them.
What Else to Grab While You're There
Do not leave with just a cinnamon roll. A few case favorites worth eyeing:
Chocolate Chewy Cookie. A naturally flourless dark chocolate cookie that USA Today once named one of the top 10 best cookies in America.
Laminated croissants. Flaky, multi-layered and made in flavors like almond, chocolate-almond, ham and Swiss, and a savory jalapeño.
Trilly Bar. René's take on millionaire shortbread, layered with shortbread, chewy caramel and chocolate.
Fruit and lemon meringue tarts. Bright, scratch-made lemon curd and glossy fruit in a crisp pastry shell.
Hours and How to Visit
You will find René's at 6524 Cornell Ave, in the standalone blue cottage behind La Piedad, steps from the Monon Trail. It keeps short, small-batch hours and is closed Monday and Tuesday:
Wednesday: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. to noon
Monday and Tuesday: closed
Go early. Everything is baked in small batches in that tiny kitchen, so the top sellers, especially the cinnamon rolls and croissants, sell out well before closing.
Plan to grab and stroll. There is no seating inside. Order a coffee and a pastry box, then walk a half block to the Monon Trail and find a bench.
Expect a weekend line. Saturday and Sunday mornings draw a line out the door. It moves fast, and showing up right at 8 a.m. means the fullest case.
