When it comes to the best bakeries, NYC has quite a few. Never has there been a better time to eat pastry: We’re living in a world-wide bakery boom, all the way from the streets of Accra to Edinburgh to Manhattan. And one of the cities where this is most intensely felt is the Big Apple—if you’re visiting, it might seem that New Yorker’s new favorite hobby is standing in line to get their hands on a signature croissant, cinnamon roll, or the newest hybrid pastry that’s been rampant on social media. Of course, not all of those are worth the hype, but after tasting our way around town we can confidently say that the below are highly delicious and—dare we say?—worth the wait. Whether you’re looking for a celebration cake, classic cannoli, or simply excellent chocolate chip cookies, you’ll find no shortage of options. There’s officially no need to head to Paris for your new favorite pain au chocolat: These are the best bakeries NYC has to offer.
Read our complete New York City travel guide here, which includes:
As this bakery comes from the formidable (married) couple consisting of Gramercy Tavern alum Miro Uskokovic and Bon Appetit‘s Shilpa Uskokovic (editor’s note: Bon Appetit is also a Condé Nast title), we knew this would be a bakery to watch. Housed in a former Dunkin’ Donuts near Astor Place in the East Village, it’s American in style with an ever-rotating selection. On any given day you’ll find cakes—Uskokovic’s specialty—but also nostalgic classics like cinnamon rolls, donuts, and even a cosmic brownie. There’s no going wrong with any of those, but make sure to try a cake: PB&J is a favorite variation, and the artfully square-cut carrot is also a standout. For gluten-free and vegan friends, there are always a few options at your disposal that are far from afterthoughts.
This is a bakery that knows its history: It’s from the brains of pastry wizard Zoë Kanan and the team behind two other beloved New York spots, S&P Lunch and Court Street Grocers. Kanan is bringing a new school slant to classic Ashkenazi Jewish baked goods that were, not too long ago, more widely available on the Lower East Side. She’s known for her iconic sweet-potato soft pretzel, but don’t overlook the rest of the pastry case. Her bread skills shine best when she’s making glossy challah (available every Friday). Pullman loaves (sandwich bread) and other varieties are made daily, and be sure to try a bialy, the rugelach, and the perfect Charlotte Russe. There are many savory options and sandwiches, too, for those who are in more of a lunch state of mind—plus the benches out front are some of the best places to perch and people watch the Dimes Square scene.
This could be the hottest bakery in the city at the moment. Lines can last for over an hour on weekends, and they often sell out of their popular items—so get there early. Radio recently opened a second location in Prospect Heights, expanding from the original Greenpoint storefront. The menu might look like your run of the mill pastry shop, but Radio’s versions of croissants, breakfast sandwiches, and focaccia are anything but with flavors like coffee and caramelized banana, key lime pie and pandan cheesecake that can satisfy both the indulgent breakfast and dessert categories. They are also known for their sandwiches, drawing fans from other boroughs to get their hands on a cult-favorite roast turkey on pesto-topped focaccia, or spicy tofu with chili crisp.
If you’re looking for a bespoke cake, From Lucie is one of the best options in the city, coming from French baker Lucie Franc de Ferriere, who burst onto the scene in 2020 with her layer cakes topped with fresh flowers. She’s baked many a famous cake, counting the likes of Lorde, Harry Styles, and AnnaSophia Robb as customers. She’s always experimenting, but on a recent visit, there were flavors like pistachio with vanilla bean and raspberry rose, as well as chocolate with salted dark chocolate Espresso buttercream. Let it be known you can get three to four by-the-slice cake options on any given day, and there are always additional non-cake offerings—one of the city’s best chocolate chip cookies, for example, and a rich hot chocolate.
Perhaps the most fragrant spot on the list, you can smell the butter and za’atar wafting from this East Village bakery from blocks away. The flavors here may lean Middle Eastern, but the techniques are more Danish, using concepts like fermentation, lamination, and seasonal flavors. The all-female team is led by baker Rebecca Newman Gargiulo who creates innovative spins on classics: The pastry case is filled with rose pistachio croissants, tahini chocolate chip cookies, and labne rhubarb danishes. They also have a host of savory and lunch options, like sandwiches and breads. Since it’s been open a few years now, it also doesn’t typically have a line out the door—but that doesn’t make it any less delicious.
Every list needs a classic institution and Vienero’s is our pick. It’s been owned and operated by the namesake family since 1894 for canonical Italian hits like cannoli, rainbow cookies, and tiramisu exactly as nonna makes them. The experience leans classic: Walk in, take a number, and place your order at the counter only when you’re called. Some offerings are by the piece, others by the pound, plus some large format pre-made cheesecakes and black forest cakes that make great birthday treats. A little known fact is that there’s table seating at the back, so pull up a chair and linger over a morning cappuccino and lobster tail, just like the ancestors did.
Yet another East Village gem, this bakery is different from many other neighborhood spots in its Malaysian flavors, but still uses French techniques. Coming from pastry chefs who were trained in Michelin-starred kitchens, the treats here might be some of the city’s most eye-catching thanks to colorful flavors including pandan, black sesame, ube, and calamansi. The cakes that can be ordered in advance are show-stopping, but if you’re just popping in there’s always a selection of smaller tarts, slices, and single-serve items a la carte, too. The shop has now expanded to locations in midtown and in Greenwich, Connecticut. We can’t get enough of their black sesame passionfruit cake, or the rotating selection of rainbow colored kuih—tiny treats popular in Southeast Asian cuisine that are often made with glutinous rice flour.
If maximalism is the name of your game, this is the bakery for you. If it’s the latest Frankenpastry mash-up you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. (Don’t go in here looking for a muffin, scone, or bagel, as you’ll come up empty handed.) The menu changes monthly and we’ve seen everything from a matcha cruffin with lychee and raspberry to bright-purple ube eclairs and scallion-pancake focaccia pizza. The inventions are bright, fun, and made with serious pastry skill, and the team doesn’t taking themselves too seriously. It’s one of the few places on this list open late—until 10:00 p.m.—for a perfect post-dinner dessert stop. Supermoon also happens to make some of the wildest gelato in the five boroughs, with pints of white sesame, honeycomb, and sweet soy beside rotating flavors like Twizzler, lychee, and rose.
It’s more than worth the trek out to Sunnyside, Queens to sample the conchas at this Latin American bakery. Restaurateur Jose Luis Flores opened Masa Madre in 2024 to bring quality baking to the neighborhood in the form of danishes, donuts, and loaves, but also regional Mexican, Colombian, and Guatemalan specialties. You’ll find items that are rarely seen stateside, like piedras, an icing-topped shortbread cookie; pandebono, a Colombian cheese bread; and Pan de Cristal, a soft sourdough loaf. The cream filled conchas are a must, as are the tamales and cornbread, but don’t overlook the French classics either. The almond croissant and cinnamon roll stand up to those you’ll find at many other places on this list.
This Danish import has two Manhattan locations, the first in the East Village and the other in Soho—but it’s only at the original location that you’ll find their iconic pastries (Soho’s is labeled a “coffee concept”). There’s nothing over the top here, but some of the best iterations of classics: cardamom buns, seasonal choux pastries filled with flavors like lemon, pineapple, and miso, and what may be the city’s best loaf of sourdough. La Cabra also has a strong coffee program with many single-origin pour overs and an expertly made cortado. The best strategy at La Cabra is to get something for now and something to take away for later, like an almond croissant for immediate satisfaction and one of those crusty loaves for the next morning.
It’s always nice to include an option that caters to those with restrictive diets, and this Gowanus bakery is for more than just for our vegan and gluten free friends. It comes from the mind of self-taught baker, Natalia “Talia” Tutak. After some health issues made her switch up her eating habits, she adapted her baking to be 100% free from gluten and animal products. It’s also highly delicious. She’s known for having an exceptionally deft hand with breads like sourdough, buckwheat, and rosemary focaccia. While most gluten-free options elsewhere are crumbly, dense, and dry, hers are spongy and flavor-packed. For those with a sweet tooth she always has donuts, cookies, brownies, and loaf cakes. Be sure to grab a chocolate babka muffin and slice of whatever the cake of the week is, on top of anything else that catches your eye.
This new Queens bakery comes from two restaurant-industry veterans and proud Filipinos who started a pop-up back in 2020 and quickly developed a cult following that demanded a brick-and-mortar. Known for donuts that incorporate Southeast Asian flavors like ube, pandan, and coconut, their bright colors and artful toppings make them as visually alluring as they are delicious. Of course go for the purple halo-halo brioche or matcha-raspberry cruller if they’re available, but don’t forget about the cookies or pies either, which can also be ordered ahead for special holidays like Thanksgiving and are a showstopping addition to any table.
If it’s a classic French viennoiserie and boulangerie you’re in the mood for, look no further than this Chelsea Market spot from the mind of Amadou Ly, who honed his skills at the much beloved (but now shuttered) Arcade Bakery. Ly had the opportunity to open his own place where the focus is on the classics, done to perfection; crusty baguettes, flaky croissants, and fluffy brioches. He takes some creative license with his signature laminated baguette, where the bread is wrapped in buttery croissant dough for an extra layer of decadence. And there are also always a few hearty sandwiches available for an impromptu High Line picnic.
Where many on this list lean over-the-top, this Park Slope spot is the exact opposite. It’s simple, tasteful, and classic—but certainly not boring. It comes from the husband and wife team of Claudio Miolin and Pamela Chew, the former a baker who, in 2020, brought his skills to his home kitchen and began to bake sourdough to sell to the community through his apartment window. In 2024, the pair opened a brick-and-mortar that immediately drew lines. The bread, in every form is pitch perfect: Baguettes and sourdough are available daily, and other rotating specials change depending on the day. On the sweet side of things, it’s the French classics—croissants, pain au chocolat, and kouign-amanns perhaps (dare we say) better than what you’ll find in Paris. There’s also a whole roster of lunch sandwiches to round things out if you’re looking for more than a snack.
Sitting on an unassuming corner just south of Brooklyn Heights, on the border of Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill, Laurel Bakery comes from the team behind acclaimed restaurants like Oxalis, Place des Fêtes, and Cafe Mado. In terms of style, you’ll find influences from American, French, and even Japanese baking traditions. (See their expert lamination in their pain de suisse and croissants.) Expect more than just the standard-issue flavors, with appearances from ingredients like miso, mochi, and curry. There are plenty of savory options, like whole loaves of rye bread, sea-salt-and-thyme-topped focaccia, and the platonic ideal of the French jamon-beurre sandwich. It’s a neighborhood staple, but one worth traveling to.
