In France, there isn’t really an equivalent for what here in America is called a bakery. Rather, shops have their specialties. The boulangerie is where you go for bread and sometimes Viennoiserie. The pâtisserie makes cakes and entremets. Then, there are chocolate shops where you get things like caramels and chocolate-coated candied fruits.
Of course, you might still find some kind of pastry at any one of these specialty shops. Jacques Genin is a brilliant chocolate shop in Paris, but they also make an excellent chocolate tart. And, I should note, I haven’t been to France in a minute, so I’m sure things have changed, influenced as much by what’s happening with bakeries here in America as we are influenced by French tradition.
Because here in New York, most French bakeries are some combination of a boulangerie and pâtisserie. It’s not uncommon to find baguettes, croissants, citrus tarts, opera cakes, and macarons all in the same pastry case. And, since French pastry seems to be the backbone of the entire genre of dessert, you can find French-style creations from Thai dessert cafés in Midtown to artisanal bread shops in Williamsburg.
This list focuses on the bakeries that are decidedly French either because the baker is French, studied in France, or their bakery is perceptibly French-y. Even with these parameters, I had my work cut out for me. As it turns out, New York has a thing for French bakeries. There are big, corporate names like Dominique Ansel, Ladurée, and Boulud Épicerie. Then, there are trendy destination bakeries like L’Appartement 4F and La Bicyclette. And then, there are the low-key neighborhood places, many of which are clustered around areas of French cultural interest, like Le Moulin à Café near the Lycée Français on the Upper East Side, or Le French Tart Deli in what some call “Little Paris” in Carroll Gardens.
So, while the collection of bakeries below is a personally vetted, definitive list, it is nowhere near exhaustive. On y va!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Sweet City to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.