Papa d'Amour
The Scallion Basil Blossom pulls apart like monkey bread under a light laminated shell, and inside it is a denser brioche stuffed with herbs.1 Will Hartman's headline for The Infatuation says it is way better than a Cronut, which lands harder because Dominique Ansel made the Cronut and this is his bakery.1
Why go
Ansel named the place for what his two young children call him. It's what my kids call me,
he says. Especially when they want something.
2 They are Taiwanese and French, and so is the case: shokupan and egg tarts sit beside the lamination he is known for.2 The croissant here is a croissant-shaped steamed bao full of jammy tomato and eggs. Will Hartman: Gimmicky, sure, but a great breakfast bite or afternoon snack.
1 There is also a case of filled cakes shaped like jam jars, holding cremeux, jellies, confits and ganaches.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Scallion Basil Blossom, which is Hartman's favorite thing here.1
- Order: the fried shrimp loaf, crusted with phyllo and sandwiched between two slices of the house shokupan. Hartman:
a particularly satisfying thing to eat at 8am.
1 - Order: a shokupan loaf to take home, full or half.2
- Avoid: the mochi taro guava donut. The casing looks like a stalactite and Hartman says the donut under it is too gluey.1
What locals & experts say
- Will Hartman, The Infatuation (22 May 2025):
Asian ingredients and techniques meld with French ones, for pastries that are more exciting than all the lamination innovation his original bakery is famous for.
1 - Hartman on where the kitchen is strongest:
The savory items at Papa d'Amour shine especially bright.
1
Good to know
- Booking: none taken. Walk in and order at the counter, at 64 University Place.2
Verdict
should-visit — The savory side is where this bakery is strongest and the Scallion Basil Blossom is the thing to get. Ansel built the place around his children's two food cultures, and the bread is where that shows: shokupan, egg tarts, laminated dough treated as a Japanese loaf. Walk in; they take nobody's name.