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Melissa Loar

@melissaloar

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📍San Francisco.
Chef Owner @lorella_sf Pastries @sf_octavia @sf_frances

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our little family 💛 @axcase92 by @melissaloar

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a year ago

If you’ve stopped by Octavia’s Saturbake pastry pop-ups, you’ve seen a glimpse of what we’ve been building behind-the-scenes- and today, the secret’s officially out!

In an ongoing partnership @melissaloar and @m_perello are proud to announce Lorella, a new bakery opening this fall on Polk Street in Russian Hill . ✨

Lorella is our shared vision for a space that feels like a sanctuary. It’s an evolution of our Saturbake pop-ups at Octavia, grown into a permanent home that will be open 7 days a week. We wanted to build a space that fellow moms and neighbors would love to make part of their daily ritual—where high-quality pastries meet warm neighborhood hospitality.

As we work on remodeling our new space, our Saturbake pop-ups will continue at Octavia through the summer- follow @sf_octavia for more dates and details.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Lorella this Fall. In the meantime, follow our progress at @lorella_sf. 🤍🥐

Many thanks to @sfstandard and @beckyduffett for sharing the news and telling our story. 🔗

photo 2: @krescentcarasso A news clipping from SF Standard featuring a photo of Melissa Loar and Melissa Perello. Headline: “One of SF’s best pastry chefs is opening a bakery in Russian Hill.” taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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3 months ago

Testing, testing….

@melissaloar has been hard at work perfecting our breakfast #biały with pancetta from @sweetwater_farm_and_ranch_co .

We can’t wait to share them with you in a matter of WEEKS! The countdown is on. #comingsoon taken in Polk Street by @melissaloar

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4 days ago

Join us for this Sunday’s Bake Sale for Humanity. We’ll be joining forces with @18reasons and a number of our favorite chefs and bakers across the city to raise funds for Hospitality for Humanity, a delegation of chefs and farmers heading to the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian farmers to help ensure they have a safe olive harvest.

As Palestinians fight to defend their livelihoods and ancestral land from settler and military violence, standing with them on the land is solidarity in action. It’s an effective way for us to help preserve an important part of Palestinian culture and economic sovereignty, which along with their dignity, continues to be stripped from them. It’s a way to help in a horrific situation that often leaves one feeling helpless and hopeless.

While in the West Bank, the delegation will:

-Join the olive harvest on three farms
-Build partnerships with Palestinian agroecology, food sovereignty, and cooperative economy projects
-Learn Palestinian ancestral foodways and practices of collective care
-Share concrete tools and strategies for resisting displacement and colonization
-This is more than a trip; it’s a movement-building exchange meant to help preserve an important economic and cultural Palestinian tradition.

Your support will help fund:

-Travel and training for dedicated food workers
-Nourishing meals and safe lodging
-Stipends for Palestinian guides, drivers, interpreters, and facilitators
-Direct support to Palestinian farmers and supporting organizations

If you can you can’t make it to the bake sale but want to support this cause, you can DONATE via the QR code or on the event webpage (link in bio.)

We hope to see you there 💗

•SUNDAY, OCT 18
•10am-2pm
•18 Reasons, 3674 18th St. SF, CA taken in 18 Reasons by @melissaloar

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4 days ago

Gift cards are now available which means you can send someone a little piece of Lorella before we even open our doors!

We’ve got physical cards available, as well as digital options if you prefer inbox delivery.

Visit our website or link in bio for details, and we’ll see you soon! 💝🥐 taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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6 days ago

🎃 🍁 by @melissaloar

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9 days ago

What’s this?! 🤩

We’re thrilled to be featured on @sfchronfood’s list of most anticipated openings this fall and winter!

One thing’s for sure- We’re feeling so much love and excitement around this opening, so THANK YOU to everyone supporting us on this journey as we take the final steps toward opening our doors this fall.

We’re counting down the days and can’t wait to share everything we’ve been building with you. Stay tuned!

Full article > link in bio.
#comingsoon #bakery #polkstreetsf #sfchroniclefood taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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11 days ago

Wow! We are floored! Thank you so much for including us @bonappetitmag @kateakassin !

As we continue through the “head-down” phase of bringing Lorella to life, we’re humbled and overwhelmed with all the love and excitement coming our way. We can’t wait to open our doors and share all we’ve been working on.

Today, we’re just brimming with gratitude for all of you, and for the opportunity to do what we love right here in our favorite city on the planet. 💗#comingsoon

#bonappetit #bakery #sffoodie #fallopening taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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21 days ago

Meet Melissa…and Melissa 👯👯

Our leadership has a lot in common…starting with their name. But the deeper connection lies in a shared vision for neighborhood hospitality, a passion for seasonal ingredients, and their determination to go the extra mile for a damn good pastry.

Drop a 🥐 in the comments if you’re as ready for opening day as we are!

🎥: @kindasortastudio taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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25 days ago

ciabatta babies @sf_octavia @lorella_sf by @melissaloar

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a month ago

Ten (or more) components on a single plate used to be the norm for Pastry Chef Melissa Loar (@melissaloar) until the team at Octavia (@sf_octavia) pushed her toward restraint. Her signature vanilla mousse is what came out the other side of that shift: a vanilla fromage blanc base she pairs with hibiscus-poached rhubarb, gelée made from that same syrup, macerated strawberries, and candied pistachio. Loar's inspiration was a refined take on strawberries and cream, her go-to flavor combination, using local strawberries and rhubarb she'd just started getting in for the summer season. Her original plan leaned toward an Eton mess, cream and fruit under a wilted meringue, but San Francisco's heat kept collapsing the meringue before service, so she swapped in candied pistachio instead, planning to bring the meringue back once humidity drops. "I try not to do too much to the fruit," she says, a philosophy she credits directly to her move to California, where produce this good doesn't need much help. by @melissaloar

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a month ago

The countdown is on! We’re looking for pastry-passionate, hospitality-driven people to join the opening team at Lorella.

If that sounds like you, send your resume and details to info@lorellasf.com to apply. We’d love to meet you!

photo: @krescentcarasso taken in San Francisco, California by @melissaloar

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a month ago