The best pastry in Paris.
Today we went on a self-guided pastry tour of Paris.
We were loaded up with recommendations and suggestions, a map, and some good appetites. 🙂 Many of these pastry shops are close together, so you can walk the route and see the neighborhood at the same time. This was a really fun thing to do, and I highly recommend it.
We started at Paul, because it is literally directly across the street from our hotel.
The pastries were beautifully branded – we hoped they tasted delicious as well.
We decided on the millefeuille, which was 3.8 euros.
It was very nicely boxed.
As for taste, I would give it a 7 out of 10. It was good, but not great.
On to the next: La Patisserie des Reves (The Pastry Shop of Dreams)
The pastries were all arranged just so under glass cloches.
This time we chose the Paris-Brest. It cost 5.8 euros.
Again, the packaging was almost too beautiful to open.
But of course we did anyway.
I’m not sure how I would rate this one, because it turned out to be filled with a thick hazelnut cream…and I detest hazelnut. My family seemed to love it, though.
Luckily for me, there is another amazing pastry shop across the street – literally steps away. This one is called Angelina.
Angelina is famous for its chocolat Africain, extremely rich hot chocolate that is presented on a silver platter with a gorgeous dollop of French whipped cream.
Since we were strictly pastries this time around, we ordered the closest thing on the menu: Le Choc Africain, which is a rich, dense “cake” made of dark chocolate mousse.
Gorgeous box as usual. (Angelina, I should have asked for an empty one for you – I didn’t think of it until later. Guess you’ll have to make a trip to Paris! 😉 )
The pastry inside looked just as beautiful.
And it tasted even better. I would give it a 9 out of 10. SO GOOD.
Next we walked over to La Tarte Tropezienne.
We got their specialty, La Tarte Tropezienne, which is a little like the Beehives we have in the States.
While the box was beautiful,
And the tarte looked divine…
the actual taste wasn’t amazing. In fact, I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.
At this point, we were a little burnt out on wandering the streets in search of pastries, so we decided to sample one more pastry before closing up shop. I’m so glad we did, because the last one we tasted was absolutely the BEST.
We went to Georges Larnicol. The first thing we noticed is the heavenly smell inside the shop. It smells the way you would imagine Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory would smell.
We decided to get a kouignette.
We got a salted butter one, and it was insanely good. Heavy, and a little crunchy on the outside, it just melted in your mouth once you took a bite.
It was so good that we immediately ran back inside to get more…and we’re already planning our return trip(s) while we are in town. We’re going every day. These things are that good. Needless to say, I would give them a perfect 10 out of 10. In my opinion, they are the best pastry in Paris…at least the best pastry I’ve ever had here!
What is your favorite pastry in Paris? And if you haven’t been to Paris, what is your favorite pastry in the States? I’m always on the lookout for a delicious dessert. 🙂
YUMMY!! What a fun adventure (and idea), I love it!! I haven’t been to Paris (bummer) but my favorite pastry in the US is from Fat Apples in Berkeley – they have the BEST cheese puffs! When I was a kid, I used to have a paper route. Back in those days, we had to collect pymt & often got tips. I used my tip money for cheese puffs! Mom would wonder why I wasn’t hungry for breakfast, little did she know I was snacking on the puffs. Oh man, memories. Anyway, your treats look delightful, though I did notice the La Tarte Tropezienne looks a bit like a hamburger bun! ha. Glad you guys are enjoying France. ta ta for now
Rebecca – Great story! Ha ha.
A kouignette is a baby version of the famous Breton kouign amann. Yummy!
Susan – SO yummy!
Hi Pixie – loving your travel stories, keep ’em coming! I just got back from Paris and have a few recommendations:
Pastries – near Hyatt Vendome (plus other locations) Eric Kayser – get the almond croissant or the chocolate almond croissant – my new fave after a multi-visit addiction to pain-aux-raisins.
Steak-frites – the best, and they only serve one item – rare or well done – Le relais de l’entrecotes; just off Champs d’elysees, no reservations, always a line, but so worth it! And nice for a change to not make any decisions!
Classic French bistro – tried to find something casual, reasonably priced, and walking distance from Grand Intercontinental; this one was incredible. No reservation needed, not “discovered ” on trip advisor, magnifique. Called Le Mesturet, 77 rue de Richelieu. Don’t let their modern logo fool you, it’s super charming and classic with unusually friendly welcoming staff.
Have fun!
Maria – Thanks so much for the great recommendations! They all sound great. We’ll try to go! 🙂
I heartily second the recommendation for Le Relais de L’entrecotes above. I often stay at the Hyat Etoile or Le Meridien Etoile and there is an outpost just around the corner (behind the LM across the street from the train stop.
There is almost always a line… and it’s usually locals queuing, sometimes for over an hour, for their steak frites – the only thing on the menu. The portions are large… and just when you think you can’t possibly eat more, they come around with seconds (included in the prix fixe). It’s a very fun way to have lunch or dinner with the locals and very hustle bustle so kids will enjoy it too as they don’t have to sit too quietly!
Sounds good! You should try out this place as well. http://www.bertiescupcakery.com/
It has great reviews and the owner is a runner and the wife of big running blogger, DC Rainmaker.
Thanks for the timely post! We’re heading to Paris in the coming weeks and this will give me a list to work from.
Of course, you only have another hundred or so pastry shops to visit before having broad sample…better get going.
K – it’s great to read all about this trip. I’ve a mind to dig out the letters you wrote me from Strasbourg all those decades ago!
I’ve been to France once, and our first night was spent in a small hotel in Blois. I wasn’t feeling great, jet lag and cramps, and I wasn’t especially looking forward to the continental breakfast that came with the room. Ugh, yogurt and unripe cantaloupe. My dad returned from the pharmacy with the much-needed codeine (woohoo!) just as this amazing breakfast arrived on a cart to our room. Oh, right, it’s the Americans that gave the continental breakfast a bad name, but I am on THE continent where they wrote the book on how to do it perfectly! Croissants, tartines, jam, butter, coffee from heaven. They are all common French items, but for me it was the situation in which I had them that made them so memorable. Codeine, caffeine, butter, sugar – mmm…so healthy.
Pretty much everything I consumed there was amazing, pastries, meats, cheeses, breads, wine.
Here’s to living vicariously through your family’s appetites!
Bon apetit!
Make that “bon appetit!” rather than the mammary gland of a primate…
Blois!!!!!!!!!! How I remember lovely Blois. 🙂
*sigh* France me manque!
You must have been following me and my wife. After Japan, we stopped through Paris to visit for a couple of days on the way back home (two weeks ago). Anyway, Eric Kayser was a favorite for sandwiches when we stayed in the 6th.
Julien Boulangerie in the 1st on Rue St Honore, a block off Rivoli, was another favorite when we previously stayed in the 1st. My favorite pastry ever was had there, and on this past trip I went well out of the way to visit twice! It was called NEGRESCO, and had dark chocolate and raspberry on the outside. The inside was layers of lighter and darker chocolate mousse surrounding a layer of raspberry, with a surprise raspberry or two in the center.
หาเงินหยอด kapook ต้องเล่น slot pg ในยุดที่ต้องประหยัดเเละเก็บเงิน เศรษฐกิจเเบบนี้ต้องรู้จักหยอด kapook ไว้ใช้ ขอเเนะนำเข้ามาเล่น slot pg เกมเล่นง่ายได้ลุ้นจริงไม่มีโกง
เล่น เกมส์ ได้ เงิน บนมือถือที่เล่น ได้เงินจริง ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ ในการฝากกับเว็บไซต์ สล็อต ลุ้นเงินรางวัลใหญ่เป็นเศรษฐีได้เลย เล่นสล็อตออนไลน์ ได้เงินดีแบบนี้จากที่อื่น ไม่มีอีกแล้ว