Lysée
Eunji Lee airbrushes banana bread pudding inside white chocolate at Lysée until it looks exactly like a small banana, and the corn mousse cake beside it is built on real grilled corn, kernels visible in the mousse.4
Why go
Lee moved from South Korea to France in 2006, studied at the Institut National de la Boulangerie Pâtisserie in Rouen and at Ferrandi, cooked three years at Ze Kitchen Galerie, then spent four years under Ducasse and Cédric Grolet at Le Meurice before running pastry at Jungsik.1 She opened this Flatiron counter in 2022, and the James Beard Foundation made her a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in 2024 and again in 2026.5 The shop does not call itself a bakery. Carina Finn describes walking up concrete stairs into a minimalist gallery that wouldn't be out of place in the Chelsea art world—only instead of paintings, the folks milling about the space are analyzing resin replicas of what they're about to order.
4
Order this / avoid
- Order: the mille-feuille. Dominique Roy:
This is the best version I've had. It's so delicious, so flaky.
2 - Order: the Corn, the dessert that made Lee's name. Finn:
It has similar notes of cornflakes and sweet milk, but has a little more depth because it uses real corn (you can see the kernels inside the mousse) that's been grilled to bring out the savory notes.
4 - Order: the toasted rice milk latte, cold or hot. What makes it is the milk, which carries French sea salt, brown rice and Madagascar vanilla.4
- Avoid: the Teddy Bear Duo. Finn calls it the only thing she has eaten here she did not love:
The madeleine itself was dry, and the chocolate is too thick and too sweet to be enjoyable.
4 - Avoid: the early-morning pickup window if you want to sit. That slot is for collecting an order; dine-in runs the rest of the day.
What locals & experts say
- Dominique Roy (Eleven Madison Park), 2026-08:
I have so many favorite things there, but the dessert I love the most is their mille-feuille.
He buys from here as a gift and goes on a weekend afternoon or after dinner.2 - Jihan Lee (Nami Nori), 2025-12:
there's this small banana—it's actually banana bread pudding inside white chocolate, but it's airbrushed to look exactly like a tiny banana.
He calls it a bit pricey and worth it, and brings the gift boxes to housewarmings.3 - Carina Finn, The Infatuation, 8 July 2022: eat in rather than take away.
Even though sweets are the only thing on the menu, this is a real, serious restaurant, and we highly recommend you get your food to stay.
4 - What the shop says about its own chef: 50 Best named Eunji Lee North America's Best Pastry Chef in 2026, and Food & Wine made her a Best New Chef in 2023.1
Good to know
- Booking: none. Finn warns the queue can run an hour, and the counter hands out iced chamomile while you wait.4
- Timing: early-morning pickup, then dine-in and take-out through the day.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "NY times bakery list"
Verdict
should-visit — Eunji Lee spent four years under Ducasse and Grolet at Le Meurice and then went to Jungsik, and the Flatiron counter is where that training meets Korean ingredients: a mille-feuille Dominique Roy calls the best version he has had, and a banana bread pudding airbrushed inside white chocolate to look like a banana. It is a counter and not a table, so there is nothing to book, but Jihan Lee calls the prices steep and the queue can run an hour.