Butter croissant on a white ceramic plate (Paris)

🇫🇷Paris, France

The Croissant Pilgrimage

Breakfast in London is fine. Breakfast in Paris is an event.

Photo by montatip lilitsanong on Unsplash

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Why this dish?

A croissant is a test. Every bakery claims to make one. Very few pass. The lamination must be precise - 27 layers of butter folded into dough, chilled, folded again, rested, shaped, proofed overnight, and baked until the outside is deeply golden. Eaten warm, within an hour of coming out of the oven, with a café crème and no further agenda, it is one of the great sensory experiences in food. The crunch. The shatter of pastry. The slight resistance before it gives. The butter, which seems to have multiplied somehow in the oven.

In Paris, this is just Tuesday. You can make it your Tuesday too.

Our Picks

Du Pain et des Idées

Address: 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010 Paris
What to order: A plain croissant and a café crème from the café next door. The escargot pastry with pistachio and dark chocolate is also mandatory.
Book ahead: Open Tuesday to Friday only. Get there by 8am. Check opening days before booking flights.
Pro tip: They are closed weekends and Mondays - this is the single most important thing to check before you book your flight.

Boulangerie Utopie

20 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Paris 11th

In the 11th arrondissement, away from the tourist croissant circuit, Utopie makes what many Paris food writers consider the finest croissant in the city - deeper lamination, more pronounced butteriness, a slightly darker bake.

What to order: Croissant nature. The kouign-amann if it's available - it changes daily.

Good to know

Paris has thousands of boulangeries and most make a decent croissant. The annual Grand Prix de la Baguette competition also awards a best croissant - the winner's address is worth looking up before your visit. A croissant that holds its shape, feels heavy for its size, and has visible distinct layers when torn is a good croissant. Soft, pale, or pre-wrapped means avoid.

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