Yusuf Bakery: 86 Years of Old Dhaka Flavor That Still Draws Crowds.
Walk down the narrow lanes of Old Dhaka and a sudden thirst might hit. One sip of lemon water, and your eyes land on a small shop buzzing with people. It looks like any street snack stall, yet it’s anything but. This is Yusuf Confectionery—better known as Yusuf Bakery—and it’s been serving Old Dhaka for 86 years.
A Legacy That Started in the 1930s
Back in 1939, Mohammad Yusuf from Gawalgate began learning bakery goods from his uncle, Abdul Bapari. Soon, he opened his own shop beside Islamia Restaurant in Roy Sahib Bazar, Puran Dhaka. Over the years, more customers came—those visiting courts, government offices, or markets nearby. The bakery’s reputation grew.
That small shop moved to its current spot at 19/A Johnson Road in 1958. With growing demand, Yusuf introduced fast food—rolls, patties, burgers—alongside his bakery items. To signal the shift, he renamed it Yusuf Confectionery. Yusuf passed away in 1990, leaving behind 11 sons and 2 daughters. His sons took over the business and now the sixth generation—his grandchildren Ishrat Jahan and Mohammad Yamin—run the flagship shop.
One Central Factory, Twelve Branches:
All bakery items are made in a central factory behind the Dhaka Judge Court. From there, everything is distributed to the Johnson Road branch and eleven others—from Dhanmondi to Gulshan, Ramna, Ramupara, and Dholaikhal.
Ishrat and Yamin say controlling the entire process—from baking to sale—helps keep taste and quality consistent across all branches. They won’t add any product just because a certain outlet requests it. Except for packaged items, every menu item is factory-made and identical everywhere.
What’s on the Menu?
Yusuf Bakery offers traditional bakery goods and fast food staples—all priced affordably:
Biscuits, loaves, nimki, chips, cakes (each priced reasonably)
Fast food items: patties (cup, meat, chicken), burgers, rolls, cream buns, parathas, singaras
Ready-made beverages, packaged foods, and fresh chanachur (a crunchy snack mix)—chanachur sells at BDT300/kg
Their cup patties cost BDT50, meat patties BDT60, plain patties BDT40. Cakes range from BDT190–300 per pound. Famous parathas (Old Dhaka style) are BDT35 each. Chips range from BDT20–30. Their “horse-egg” candy packs sell at BDT30 each.
Prices may vary slightly for wholesale or special orders.
Custom Orders for Ramadan and Special Occasions:
During Ramadan and Shab-e-Barat, Yusuf Bakery adds items like fish-shaped loaves, semolina halua, butter kabab, jali kabab, halim, cutlets, jalebi, naan, and grilled chicken. Customers sometimes order loaves weighing 2–5 kg. These items aren’t available year-round, but can be made by request.
Why Do People Still Keep Coming Back?
Customer Jisan Alam from Armanitola says he still buys all his bakery items from Yusuf’s. Sabina Nowrin says her kids love the fast food items so much she always buys from there. The crowd builds as the day goes on. I spent half an hour there and saw people simply grab their favorites, skip asking prices, and leave as if they’d known the shop forever—a sign of deep trust.
The pantry-like selection on display kept me there too. Traditional bakery goods, fast food, chanachur. I’m not even a fast-food lover, but with four items in hand—chanachur, paratha, cream bun, and horse-egg candy—I left full and happy.
What They Get Right: Consistency, Variety, and Prices:
They’ve kept the menu stable for decades. That predictability is comforting. People come from all over Dhaka to get their favorite snack or bun. The experience feels reliable. That’s rare these days.
All 12 outlets serve the same quality because everything is factory-made and centrally supplied. They keep prices affordable, mostly under BDT 400/kg or BDT 300 per pound for cakes, BDT 50 for patties. In a city full of changing tastes and rising costs, this is unusual.
For Visitors in Old Dhaka
If you’re exploring the old lanes, plan for a stop at Yusuf’s. It’s a chance to taste decades-old recipes that still sell out daily. Even on a whim, it’s worth spending half an hour there. You might try a few items and go home with a satisfying feeling—and a bag of chanachur or horse-egg candy.
