The Best Croissant’s in Paris?

OMG you're killing me, Janis

Hmm, Best Croissants in Paris… from a boulangerie they’ve all been excellent, but i especially like the ones that are warm out of the oven. There’s a boulangerie/pattisserie right by our apartment in the Marais, not famous, just a neighborhood boulangerie, and they are as good as any famous name ones i’ve had.

Was not impressed with Blé Sucré and really disliked l’Eclair de Génie, in fact we left our half-eaten, dried out eclairs on the table and left. They were awful.

Love Ladurée macarons!

Yum!

Susan,

There’s a boulangerie/pattisserie right by our apartment in the Marais, not famous, just a neighborhood boulangerie, and they are as good as any famous name ones i’ve had.

What’s the name of this boulangerie/ pattisserie?

I have had croissants on the brain after my husband was out & about yesterday & stopped at a favorite bakery for a double baked almond croissant in Seattle. Not Paris, but it does have some of the qualities of crisp and crunchy when you bite into it. When we were in Paris we stayed in a Marais Hotel. Their croissants were wonderful!

@Susan- thanks for the recommendation in the Marais! Loved staying there.

@periscope- I enjoyed Alex’s video. His last description got me. It looked and sounded delicious.

@Bets- It’s killing me too! ;)

@Mindfulness- thanks for sharing. The Macaron’s sound wonderful.

The best croissant in Paris...

Assuming they ate 2 croissants at all 1100+ boulangeries in Paris and their taste is the same as yours, they are still probably wrong. In fact I would say they are definitely wrong. Just more clickbait.

The best croissant in Paris is the nearest one.

Totally agree with you Simon.

My point in mentioning the neighborhood boulangerie/pâtisserie (any) is that theirs are as good, or better, than any famous name croissants in my experience. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be in business for long.

Btw, if you’re ever in SF there’s an amazing boulangerie/pâtisserie owned by a French baker that makes excellent croissants… called Arsicault.

Ble Sucre was sold several years ago and quality really dropped off. Their croissants used to be great, but not so much anymore. Our go to now is Des Gateaux et du Pain and it never disappoints

I literally have a google map for Paris bakeries.... adding some pins now...

I don't have any recommendations today, but starting on Friday I will be taking notes on croissant quality for 2 weeks!
My Delta app says: 2 days 21 hours and 57 min until departure.

don't fall for the frozen pastries....said to be 70% of the market

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/paris-bakeries-homemade-pastries/

If it's a boulangerie it's made fresh in the boulangerie. That's the law. If it's Paul it comes from a factory.

My favorite. What ever croissant I am eating at the time in Paris. Currently I am not in Paris, sadness has now flooded over me ;)

I believe the baker is defined as artisan boulanger, Simon. But, does that include the friandise (croissants, pain au chocolat, etc)? I've been in bakeries where the bread is baked on site, but the small tarts come out of a freezer box. The same pastries show up in too many bakeries. All of which means that we need to read articles and reviews to keep up with who's baking the real stuff vs who's opening a freezer box

Other than Paris have to say a memorable croissant experience was on a sailing trip in St Vincent & the Grenadines. We moored on Clifton Union Island. Much to our surprise there was a colorful shack place called JP Boulangerie. We enjoyed wonderful Croissants and Pain au Chocolat. And they were freshly baked!

some months ago I watched a Youtube video from a very stylish French woman who went around and sampled the croissants at 5 or 6 boulangeries, she was able to discern differences. They all looked delish to me.

Et voila, I found it. It's a miracle she doesn't weigh 300 pounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG1zkvwrn3E

@phred- fun Video. Thanks “It’s a miracle she doesn’t weigh 300 lbs!” It’s all about portion control. ;). One bite at each Boulangerie?

Editorial: perhaps the taste of a croissant is “in the mouth of the beholder?” I thought it was interesting that her favorite was from the Boulangerie in the Marais?! Wonder if this was the one mentioned up thread?

As noted, you're not going to have trouble finding very good baked goods in Paris. This post is a bit like Where's the best sushi in Tokyo? Is it really worth the time and expense to pass 30 shops to travel across town to a specific location? Perhaps for some.

If you avoid industrial bakeries like Paul or La Brioche Dorée (and even then, it's not that bad...), I rarely stumble upon bad croissants / pain au chocolat in Paris. Only stale ones sometimes when it's early in the morning and unscrupulous staff sell yesterday's stuff.
I certainly can't think of a specific bakery that would be worth travelling to. What I suggest is that you look at reviews for boulangeries in your area, in Google Maps for instance, and decide accordingly.

The biggest disappointment of one of my trips was when my friend told me her monoprix pain au chocolat (baked god knows where or when) was the best one she'd had on her trip. I knew then, as suspected, that something was wrong with her tastes.

If you are longing for a croissant and not in Paris you can get them in Costco. They bake them there and thus fulfill the French in house requirements. Then if you put your croissant in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes it will be superb and I doubt you will be able to tell from a Parisian one.

It's true, some bakeries are better than others. When I am in Paris, I live in the 16eme and the best one there is hands down Desgranges. There's several in the city. Plus their already prepared plates are delightful. Oeufs en gelée anyone?

balso, agree completely, i avoid chain, industrial bakeries like the plague. I think Paul and Brioche Dorée are awful. But like you, i grew up in France and i think that makes me much more picky.
Like AMann, i can look at a bakery’s selection and know if it’s good or not. Another good sign is a line of neighborhood locals waiting to buy their morning baguette.

We were in Bayeux many years ago, walking in a residential area, decided we wanted a pastry but didn’t know where a nearby good one was when i saw a woman come out of her house with a little change purse in her hand… i knew she must be going to get a baguette so we followed her, and sure enough, she led us right to her bakery which turned out to be really good.

I am enjoying everyone’s story on this subject. I recall one morning in the Marais we left our hotel to get coffee & breakfast. My dear husband was interested in checking out the Starbucks (we are Seattle natives, need I say more?) I played along as he asked someone coming out of a hotel- Bonjour “where is Starbucks?” If looks could kill, they directed us to a wonderful restaurant. The coffee and basket of assorted croissants, etc. made him very happy!

One summer in Paris, we went every couple of days to all of the then-recent winners of the best baguette competition. In 2014, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the best croissants in Paris and wrote down the names. Per the article they are Gontran Cherrier, Sébastien Gaudard Pâtisserie des Martyrs, Blé Sucré, Du Pain et des Idées, and La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac. I have been to all of them except Gaudard. My favorites are Blé Sucré and Gontran Cherrier. On a side note the kouign amann at Blé Sucré is out of this world but they do not have it every day.