Friendly disclaimer! We want to be as accurate as possible, but given these challenging times, we urge you to recheck that the venues are open when you decide to visit.
The French are known for beautifully blending art and romance into most things they do. Bread, pastries, macaroons, and other delicate sweets are an essential part of food and life here; and it is no wonder that French imagination knows no bounds in their creation. It would be a loss to not experience this on your next visit to Paris. Here, we’ve attempted the next-to-impossible task of shortlisting some heavenly Parisian patisseries that make wonders every day.
Pierre Hermé
One cannot talk about French patisseries without mentioning Pierre Hermé, ‘the Picasso of pastry’. The man who was voted the world’s best pastry chef in 2016 is most famous for his macarons. He is known for mixing tradition and innovation with his unusual ingredients. Don’t miss his signature flavor, Ispahan (rose, lychee, and raspberry), or the atypical olive oil and lemon fusion. Mogador (chocolate and passion fruit) and Mosaic (pistachio, Ceylon cinnamon, and morello cherries) will also blow your mind, as with every other creation at the store.
Address: Pierre Hermé, 72 rue Bonaparte
Telephone: +33 1 43 54 47 77
Timings: 11 am to 7 pm
Website: pierreherme.com
La Pâtisserie Du Meurice Par Cédric Grolet
Cédric Grolet, voted the world’s best pastry chef in 2018, is now better known for his Instagram presence. At about 2M followers, he wows the world with his ‘trompe-l’oeil’, or optical-illusion pastries sculpted to look just like fruits. For e.g, there are lemons, hazelnuts, pears, apricots, oranges, strawberries designed as near-perfect imitations. With a delicate rind made of chocolate, the filling is of a light mousse and the jelly is made with the fruit itself. He has minimised the use of added sugar and focuses on the natural taste of the main ingredient, but not overwhelmingly so. There is no seating at the store, and be prepared to wait in a queue.
Address: La Pâtisserie du Meurice par Cédric Grolet, 6 rue de Castiglione
Telephone: +33 1 44 58 69 19
Timings: Everyday 11 am to 6 pm
Website: dorchestercollection.com
Angelina
This 120-year-old, Belle Époque-themed tea room has been popular with the Paris aristocracy and with famous names like Proust and Coco Chanel. Nobody leaves without a taste of their famous hot chocolate, ‘L’Africain’ or the ‘Mont Blanc’, a traditional Italian dessert created with French meringue, chestnut vermicelli, and whipped cream. Their recipes haven’t changed since 1903.
Address: Angelina, 226 rue de Rivoli
Telephone: +33 1 42 60 82 00
Timings: Everyday 11:00 am to 5:30 pm
Website: angelina-paris.fr
La pâtisserie de Cyril Lignac
Chef Cyril Lignac is a household name in France due to his TV show appearances and multiple cookbooks. He is also sought after for his bread and pastry creations, having croissants that stand apart even in croissant country! As for pastries, he has created signature gourmet pieces in collaboration with Benoît Couvrand. Try the vanilla bourbon, caramel butter, and praline, ash-coloured cake, ‘Equinox’, or the exquisite hazelnut shortbread layered lemon tart.
Address: 2, rue de Chaillot, Paris
Phone: +33 1 55 87 21 40
Timings: 8 am to 7 pm
Website: www.cyrillignac.com
Philippe Conticini
After decades of heading the renowned La Pâtisserie des Rêves in Paris, the iconic chef Philip Conticini opened a chain in his own name in 2018. The move hoped to, in his own words, ‘transmit emotions through his creations’. He is famed for inventing verrines (desserts-in-a-glass) and its principle, which is to transpose vertically, dishes that are traditionally served flat. At the three-storey outlet in rue de Varenne, Paris 7ème, try out the lemon tartlet, ‘Emotions Ginza’ with black sesame cream and homemade praline, puff pastries, or just about anything to captivate your heart and senses with a range of emotion-inducing flavours.
Address: Via dei Cimatori, 24r, 50122 Firenze FI
Phone number: +39055283469
Timings: Tue – Sun 12 pm to 3:31 pm
Sadaharu Aoki
After moving to Paris from Tokyo in the 90s, Chef Sadaharu has taken the patisserie world by storm. His fusion of traditional Japanese ingredients like matcha, black sesame, yuzu, wasabi, and hojicha, with French pastries, macaroons, and chocolate was explosive. He is now sought after by various French fashion houses for desserts during fashion week. To know what it’s all about, try pastries such as the Zen, composed of matcha, sesame, and cognac; the matcha millefeuilles, the caramel-matcha tart, or the Paris-Brest. It wouldn’t hurt to pick up a box of his mixed tablettes or chocolate bars that comprise a surprising variety!
Address: 35 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris (and four other locations)
Phone Number: +33 01 4544 4890
Timings: Tue – Sun 11 am to 6 pm
Website: http://www.sadaharuaoki.com
Yann Couvreur
Yann Couvreur’s simple motto is to work with freshly made, natural, and fresh ingredients of the season. It was so well received that he expanded from a small pastry shop to four outlets in two years. His signature dish, the Vanilla mille-feuille, is what got Parisians talking. Composed of buckwheat flour, cream, Madagascar vanilla, each layer looks as delicate as glass and is made by a labour-intensive process. Which is why he makes only 50 pieces each morning. Other strong recommendations include the Kouign-Amann, raspberry pavlova, or the Paris-Brest noisette.
Address: Yann Couvreur, 23 bis rue des Rosiers
Telephone: +33 6 05 97 63 01
Website: yanncouvreur.com
Bon Temps
This quaint tea room and pastry shop stand apart from its sleek Parisian peers. For one, it’s the decor – patterned wallpapers, marble tables with fresh cut flowers, glass cabinets, bell jars, vintage china cake trays, and crockery. You’ll also probably get to meet the founding sisters, Fiona and Fatina. They are known for their buttery sablés (shortbread biscuits), and tarts made of seasonal fruits, especially the tarte au citron (lemon tart).
Address: 57 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Phone: +33 1 42 74 10 68
Timings: Sun – Tue 10 am to 2 pm
Ble Sucré
The Madeleine is a small french sponge cake shaped like a shell and made with minimal ingredients like eggs, flour, and sugar. Blé Sucré, rose to fame thanks to these very madeleines, which are soft, moist, and buttery with a citrus glaze. It is also very reasonably priced, especially since they’re considered the best in Paris.
Address: Blé Sucré, 7 rue Antoine Vollon
Telephone: +33 1 43 40 77 73
Timings: Sun – Tue 10 am to 2 pm
Website: facebook.com/blesucrepatisserie
In Paris, food is romance, as these patisseries demonstrate. But it does not stop in the delectable food only and extends to art and museums and architecture and many more. Our detailed itinerary will tell you what and why – check it out here!
Nikita Joseph
ShuPri