Sunset Park Japanese Bakery With $9 Sandos: Panya

Panya Japanese Cafe and Bakery sits in the courtyard of Japan Village at 934 3rd Ave in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the Japanese food hall and market inside Industry City. It is the kind of pan-ya you would find near a train station in Tokyo, with soft shokupan loaves, curry pan, filled buns and cakes on the shelves, plus a short brunch menu and a full matcha bar. The bakery keeps its doors open Wednesday and Thursday 9 am to 5 pm, Friday 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday 11 am to 7 pm and Sunday 11 am to 6 pm, and it is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Industry City is a campus of former warehouses along the Sunset Park waterfront, and its Building 4 has turned into the center of Japan Village, a cluster of Japanese restaurants, food stalls and shops. In July 2025, Commercial Observer reported that Panya had signed a 10-year lease for 2,600 square feet in Building 4, joining tenants such as Sushi Uesugi, Waku Waku and Gyuya.

Industry City's managing director, Jim Somoza, told the paper that the bakery reflected the campus's push to celebrate food that shows off the community's cultural fabric. In practice, that means Panya fills a gap the food hall did not have before: a place to buy bread in the morning, rather than a bowl of ramen at lunch.

Everything on the bread shelves is made on site, a point the bakery prints in bold on its own menu. Japan Village's listing describes the room as a cafe and bakery with both indoor and outdoor seating, serving fresh Japanese breads like curry pan and shokupan alongside matcha, coffee, teas, cakes and grab-and-go meals. It also sells its baked goods wholesale to other businesses, which is a good sign of how much dough comes out of the kitchen each day.

The bread side works like a bakery in Japan. You collect a tray and tongs, walk past the shelves, and pick whatever looks good before paying at the counter. Curry pan is the one to watch for, since the deep-fried, curry-filled buns tend to go first, and the square shokupan loaves are the thing to take home if you want proper Japanese toast for the rest of the week.

Brunch is served Wednesday through Sunday, and the printed lunch menu is short and reasonably priced. French toast made with Danish bread, strawberries and powdered sugar is $11, and a croque madame with ham, mozzarella and a fried egg on toasted bread is also $11. The charshu or bacon egg croissant, filled with scrambled egg and melted cheese, is $8, the cheapest hot plate on the board.

The sandwiches lean on the bakery's own bread. A chicken parm sandwich, made with garlic herb buttered bread, marinara and crispy chicken katsu, is $11. The chicken teriyaki burger is $9 and the American wagyu burger with demi-glace sauce is $12, and fries can be added to either burger for $3.50. A side of French fries on its own is $4.50.

If you only order one thing, make it the sando. Panya's Japanese sandwich comes with your choice of chicken cutlet, pork cutlet or ebi shrimp, pressed between slices of soft white bread in the style of a Tokyo convenience store, only fresher. At $9 it is one of the best-value lunches in the building, and it travels well if you would rather eat on the waterfront.

The drinks list is longer than the food menu. A medium matcha latte is $5 hot, while a large iced one is $6. The earl grey matcha runs from $5.50 to $7.50 depending on size and temperature. Iced strawberry matcha is $6 or $6.50, and the matcha yuzu lemonade is $5.75 or $6.25. Purists can order usucha, matcha whisked with hot water, for $3.50, or add a matcha shot to anything for $2.50.

Coffee drinkers are covered too. House drip coffee is $3 for a medium, a cortado is $4 and a medium latte is $5.50. Hojicha latte is the drink to pair with anything sweet, since the roasted tea is gentler than matcha, and it costs $5 for a medium hot cup. Yuzu black tea and a decaf yuzu citrus tea round out the list, with sparkling yuzu at $4.50 or $5 over ice. Oat or almond milk adds $1.

Weekday mornings are the easiest time to shop the shelves, because Industry City's offices are still filling up and the courtyard is quiet. Weekends are busier, since families come for the food hall, and the bakery does not start serving until 11 am on Saturday and Sunday. If you want curry pan or a specific filled bun, aim for the start of the day rather than late afternoon.

Whole cakes can be ordered through the custom cake link on Japan Village's Panya page, which is the safer route for a birthday than hoping something suitable is in the case. Remember that the shop is dark on Monday and Tuesday, so collect anything for an early-week celebration on Sunday.

Once you have your bag, the rest of Japan Village is worth a slow lap. The market sells Japanese groceries, snacks and kitchenware, and the stalls around the courtyard cover ramen, sushi and grilled meat, so it is easy to turn a bread run into lunch. The other Industry City buildings hold design shops, studios and more places to eat, all linked by open courtyards with tables.

Walk west toward the water and you reach Bush Terminal Piers Park, a waterfront park with views across the harbor toward the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. Heading uphill instead, Sunset Park itself, the green space that gives the neighborhood its name, has one of the best skyline views in Brooklyn from its upper lawn, and it is a fine place to eat a curry pan on a clear afternoon. Fifth Avenue, between the park and Industry City, is lined with Mexican and Central American bakeries and taquerias, a reminder that this is one of the city's most varied food neighborhoods.

Address: 934 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232, in the Japan Village courtyard at Industry City, Sunset Park. Phone: (917) 679-5983. Bakery hours: Wednesday and Thursday 9 am to 5 pm, Friday 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday 11 am to 7 pm, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday.

The closest train is the D, N or R to the 36th Street station on Fourth Avenue, about a ten-minute walk west to the courtyard. There is indoor and outdoor seating, so you can eat on site, though the outdoor tables fill quickly on sunny weekends. Prices in this guide come from Panya's printed brunch and drinks menu, and the Karpo APP can suggest your next stop around Sunset Park once you have finished your tray.