Three Kings Day, celebrating when the three kings visited the newborn Jesus Christ, is Saturday. The sale of roscas, or Three Kings Day bread, has already begun in bakeries and supermarkets in Tijuana and San Diego.
“This is our Three King celebration,” exclaimed Gia Muñoz, while holding one of the King Cakes at Sweet Bakery Mexico Lindo in Chula Vista.
“We’ve been making for over 40 years with us the same recipe,” Muñoz smiled inside the bakery. “A lot of people follow the tradition.”
That tradition includes the large oval cakes with a plastic baby Jesus baked inside. Whoever gets a piece with baby Jesus gets to host a party on Feb. 2.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“We’re making everything with love. Every single item here is made with love,” Muñoz said before going back to help bake one of the roughly 2,000 King Cakes the bakery expects to sell this season.
Whether it's traditional, with cream, stuffed with chocolate and hazelnut, or even the so-called "nevadas," roscas are already selling like "hot cakes," so we've compiled a list of where you can get your rosca on both sides of the border:
TIJUANA
This Tijuana bakery is more than 21 years old, according to its website, and is located in the Otay area. Here you'll be able to find the traditional rosca and roscas filled with cheese, cajeta, and cheese with raspberry jam. They also have different sizes that can feed six to 25 people.
Prices:
- Small: traditional $11.76 (200 pesos) or filled for $17.65 (300 pesos)
- Medium: traditional $23.5 (400 pesos) or filled for $35.29 (600 pesos)
- Large: $32.35 (550 pesos) or filled for $47.05 (800 pesos)
location:
- Local 19 y 20, Calzada del Tecnológico 13701, Tijuana, México.
This famous bakery in Tijuana offers three different sizes, small, medium and large.
Prices:
- Small: $26.5 (450 pesos)
- Medium: $46.47 (790 pesos)
- Large: $62 (1,050 pesos)
Location contact information:
- La Cacho: +526646341632
- Hipódromo: +526646767650
This bakery has two locations in Tijuana and has the traditional Rosca de Reyes. According to the bakery, their roscas are unfilled and feed up to 6-8 people.
Location: Calle Avenida Manuel Doblado 109 Colonia Gabilondo, Tijuana, Mexico.
This bakery has been in Tijuana since 1959. The roscas de reyes are sold in different sizes and with versions of fruit, cheese, and cheese with fruit in this bakery.
Prices:
- Small filled with fruit: $22 (380 pesos)
- Medium filled with fruit: $32.35 (550 pesos)
- Large filled with fruit: $48.85 (830 pesos)
location:
- Blvd. Cuauhtemoc Sur 112, Davila, 22400 Tijuana, B.C.
These bakeries have multiple branches throughout Tijuana, where this January they offer two types of roscas, a small and a large.
Prices:
- Small: $11.76 (200 pesos)
- Large: $32.95 (560 pesos)
Locations:
- Av de los Insurgentes 18145, Río Tijuana 3a. Etapa, Rio Tijuana 3ra Etapa, 22226 Tijuana, B.C.
- Blvd. Baja California 910 B, Chapultepec California, 22117 Tijuana, B.C.
- Santa Fe I, 22667 Portico de San Antonio, Baja California
At this supermarket, you can find different sizes of traditional Rosca de Reyes, as well as even promotions that include a rosca with milk or a chocolate bar.
Prices:
- Medium: $14.65 (249 pesos)
- Large: $15.85 (269 pesos)
- Family size: $23.50 (399 pesos)
In this supermarket chain you can find everything from the traditional Rosca, to some stuffed ones such as chocoavellana and even others called "nevadas" with only sugar on top without decoration of ate fruit.
Prices:
- Large: $14.65 (249 pesos)
- Filled with "Chocoavellana": $21.70 (369 pesos)
- Jumbo: $20.5 (349 pesos)
And for those who are looking for a non-traditional rosca de Reyes, Alma Dulce Panadería has roscas de reyes with different themes that include:
- Rosca 100 years of Disney
- Rosca Ajolote
- Rosca Sailor Moon
- Rosca de Reyes Merlina
- Rosca The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Rosca Star Wars
- Rosca Hello Kitty
- Rosca Harry Potter
- Rosca Wonka
- Rosca Bob Esponja
Most of the themed roscas were sold out as of Jan. 3, but there are still some available and can be reserved by calling 664355159.
San Diego
You don't have to go to Tijuana to find a rosca, there are plenty of bakeries and grocery stores that offer them in San Diego.
Yelp has a list of 10 of the best places in San Diego to find the rosca de reyes.
Please note, before you visit any of these bakeries, we recommend that you call the branch you are most interested in, to confirm that they have Roscas de Reyes available.
- Location: 2582 Imperial Ave San Diego, CA 92102
- Phone: (619)696-0611
- Location: 319 N Highland Ave National City, CA 91950
- Phone: (619)674-5112
- Location: 2519 C St San Diego, CA 92102
- Phone: (619) 232-6662
- Webiste: panchitasbakery.com
- Two locations: 5006 El Cajon Blvd San Diego, CA 92115 & 13158 Poway Rd Poway, CA 9206
- Sitio web: supanbakery.com
- location: 6959 Linda Vista Rd Ste G San Diego, CA 92111
- location: 5080 Bonita Rd Ste B2 Bonita, CA 91902
- Phone: (619) 475-2253
- Sitio web: hans-harry.com
- Multiple locations across San Diego.
- Phone: (619) 265-9701
- Website: northgatemarket.com
- Location: 334 E St Chula Vista, CA 91910
- Phone: (619) 427-7147
- Website: laconchabakery.com
- Location: 31 31st St San Diego, CA 92102
- Phone: (619) 239-9633