Du Pain et des Idées
Christophe Vasseur rolls croissant dough into an escargot the size of a fist and fills it with pistachio and chocolate chips, and bakes a rectangular country loaf called the pain des amis that comes out smoky.23 He has run the shop on rue Yves Toudic since 2002, in a room whose painted glass ceilings and bevelled mirrors are a listed historic monument.3
Why go
Vasseur was born in Haute-Savoie in 1967 to two doctors, worked in fashion, spent three years in Hong Kong and then went mad for bread, which is Gilles Pudlowski's account of how a boulangerie ends up with this one behind the counter.1 The bread's credo is painted on the shop's own blinds: "fabrication traditionnelle à la farine de meule." Traditional method, stone-milled flour.1 The flour, eggs, milk, dried fruit and chocolate are organic and often bought straight from the producer; the milk comes from the Ferme du Domaine de Beaulieu in Seine-et-Marne.3 The house's own reason for a short list: "Our intentionally limited range allows us to maintain consistent, uncompromising quality."3
Order this / avoid
- The escargot, pistachio and chocolate chips, or berries and cream cheese.2
- The pain des amis, by the chunk. The Infatuation: "one whiff, and it'll be impossible to come away without a chunk of it."2
- The sacristain, which The Infatuation calls the unsung hero of the case: croissant dough lined with pastry cream and scattered with raw cane sugar.2
- The chausson aux pommes, made with fresh apple rather than purée.3
- Avoid the weekend. They are shut, and The Infatuation warns that an empty street on a Saturday is not a short queue.2
What locals & experts say
- Gilles Pudlowski, who writes the Pudlo guides, on what the street smells like: "les abords du Canal St Martin, lorsqu'on arrive par la rue de Marseille, embaument de belles odeurs de fumée à l'ancienne, de crème pâtissière onctueuse, de brioche chaude, de vanille et de miel." Old smoke, custard, warm brioche, vanilla and honey, before you reach the door.1
- The Infatuation's Emily Monaco, on the price:
Du Pain et Des Idées along the Canal Saint-Martin is an institution, and while it has one of the most expensive croissants in the city, they're worth it.
2 - Pudlowski on the loaf itself: "issu d'une fermentation lente et peu pétrie avec son brin de levure lentement fermentée, sa farine sombre et odorante, se croque comme du gâteau." Slow-fermented, barely kneaded, dark aromatic flour, and it eats like cake.1
- The shop on itself:
First opened in 1875, the bakery at 34 rue Yves Toudic has withstood the test of time without ever really changing. It features painted glass ceilings, beveled mirrors, and antique paneling.
3
Good to know
- Weekdays only.2
- The coffee is Coutume's, a Paris roaster the shop names on its own page, and it is served alongside the viennoiserie.3
- Time Out's 2026 bakery list does not name this shop.
- Hygiene: I have not read a French inspection record for this shop, so I have nothing to report either way.
Verdict
should-visit — Go on a weekday morning for the escargot and a hunk of the pain des amis. Christophe Vasseur ferments the bread slowly and barely kneads it, and Gilles Pudlowski says the result eats like cake. The croissant is one of the dearest in Paris and The Infatuation says it earns the money.