Dominique Ansel Bakery
When The Infatuation ranked ten viral croissant hybrids in October 2024, Willa Moore put the Cronut third, and the one she ate was butter pecan and mascarpone.2 Her note on it:
just sweet enough, despite the mess of ganache that will get on your shirt as soon as you bite through the impressively layered dough.2
Why go
Moore reviewed the Soho shop in February 2024 and the sentence that matters is about the plain one: they do simple things like a butter-forward plain croissant just as well.
1 The Cronut is trademarked and its flavor changes every month.1 The DKA is Dominique's kouign-amann, and there is a backyard to eat it in.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the DKA.1
- Order: the plain butter croissant, on Moore's reasoning above.
- Order: the Perfect Little Egg Sandwich, $13, and carry it out to the back.1
- Avoid: a weekend. Moore's advice is that
if you swing by on a weekday morning, there probably won't be a wait.
1
What locals & experts say
- Willa Moore, The Infatuation (14 October 2024), ranking the Cronut third of ten:
The Cronut started the whole viral croissant boom back in 2013, when Soho bakery Dominique Ansel unveiled their croissant-donut hybrid. Ten years later, the trend is still going strong, although the long lines are no longer an issue.
2 - Moore again, reviewing the shop in February 2024:
gimmicky desserts and people waiting for them aside, this Soho shop is a great place to pick up some pastries and a coffee.
1
Good to know
- Booking: walk-in at 189 Spring Street, between Sullivan and Thompson.3
Verdict
should-visit — Ansel does the plain butter croissant as well as he does the famous one, which is the harder half of the job and the reason to walk in. There is one door, in Soho, with a backyard behind it.