New York City (NYC)’s bakery scene is a wonderland, offering treats that range from ube-pandan ice cream sandwiches to laminated baguettes flaky enough to make a Parisian go cross-eyed. Narrowing the city’s pastry and cake shops down to a few favorites is a frightfully difficult task; so think of this list of seven highlights not as exhaustive, but as scaffolding—the unmissable spots around which to build an unabashedly bakery-focused trip to the city.
7 Can’t-Miss NYC Bakeries
Librae Bakery
35 Cooper Sq (Manhattan)
Named one of the most exciting bakeries in America by Bon Appétit, Librae blends Gulf and Middle Eastern flavors with ultra-buttery Danish technique. Picture the sticky rose-pistachio croissant—the pastry for which Librae is most famous—or the loomi babka, a barely-sweet triumph with the citrusy flavor of black lime suffusing each bite. There are also sourdough loaves in flavors like olive and nigella, a mean tahini-chocolate chip cookie and, on precious occasions, a salty-sweet halva croissant that you shouldn’t skip.
L’Appartement 4F
115 Montague St (Brooklyn)
L’Appartement 4F is a French countryside dream inside a Brooklyn Heights loft, complete with a pastry and bread menu starring subtly changed French and American classics. There’s a crisply laminated cinnamon roll draped with tangy cream cheese frosting, a twice-baked, raspberry almond croissant that nearly buckles under the weight of berry frangipane, and—for the first few people in line each morning—a limited number of boxes of the mini croissant cereal that also earned the bakery its TikTok fame.
Supermoon Bakehouse
120 Rivington St (Manhattan)
You come to Supermoon Bakehouse for the thrill of the constantly changing flavors (there’s an entirely new menu every month), but you stay for the irreproachable pastry technique. Highlights include the cruffin, which comes in flavors like lemongrass coconut with guava lime, a peanut butter and jelly donut that’s as fluffy as a cloud, and a cornflake cookie that was recently voted one of the city’s best cookies. The ube-pandan ice cream sandwich is also a royal-purple must.
Win Son Bakery
164 Graham Ave (Brooklyn)
This beloved Williamsburg bakery, which sits catty-corner from its sister restaurant of the same name, serves up twists on Taiwanese classics. Brave the inevitable line, then reward yourself with one of their egg sandwiches served on a crispy scallion pancake. Then, tuck into their pastries, the most unmissable of which are the mochi millet donut and the pine nut sun cookie, which tastes like a shortbread that’s been laminated, rolled up pain-aux-raisins style, and filled with nutty caramel.
From Lucie
263 E 10th St (Manhattan)
From Lucie is the place for cakes. Here, American layer cakes get the southwestern France treatment. For instance, you’ll see a carrot cake with tangy fromage frais buttercream, rose buds, and dahlia petals. Slices of lemon-olive oil cake sit underneath whorls of lavender frosting—Swiss meringue buttercream, to be exact, because it’s less sweet than American buttercream. Also a must-try is the salted dark chocolate espresso mini-cake, because it takes the French devotion to bold textures to heart, with freeze-dried raspberries and chocolate chips for surprising crunch.
Radio Bakery
135 India St (Brooklyn)
Brooklynites line up early for Radio Bakery’s sweet and savory fare, which channels the flavors of New York. The Earl Grey morning bun, dusted with lemon and Earl Grey sugar, is one such treat; the smoked salmon sandwich—recently named one of the city’s defining sandwiches by The New York Times—is another. Radio has a tasty selection of breads made with locally milled flour; but the real coup de grace is their savory croissants, which come in seasonal flavors like heirloom tomato.
Alf Bakery
Chelsea Market Lower Level, 435 W 15th St (Manhattan)
Alf is the pastry jewel of Chelsea and a consistent nominee for the city’s best bakery. Its claim to fame is its laminated baguette. It comes in salted and seeded varieties and tastes like a loaf that spent time abroad at croissant school. But the rest of the menu is just as extraordinary. The chausson aux pommes (a puff pastry turnover) is filled with vanilla-flecked apples and brushed with simple syrup. The mushroom danish is so flavorful that it can elicit occasional swearing. And the classic, buttery croissant is the perfect snack to grab for a walk along the High Line.
Story by Caroline Saunders
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