Manhattan may be best known as a center for restaurants and celebrity chefs, but its bakeries can rival any world. From delicacies that look too beautiful to consume to cakes with an incredible following online – here are the best bakeries in NYC.
Supermoon Bakehouse of Lower East Side has delighted New York City residents since late 2017 with delicious baked goods such as cruffins – croissant-muffin hybrids – and savory options like ham and cheese or spinach pie croissants.
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1. La Bicyclette
If you want to experience what Brooklyn star Action Bronson praised in his eponymous movie, then this bakery is for you. Their classics include perfectly flaky croissants, black-and-white cookies, rugelach, and rugelach; other standouts are jelly doughnuts, cherry cheese strudels, and babkas.
There is always a line at this Stuyvesant Town bakery, but it moves swiftly. Pastry Maven Jennifer Yee adds her unique flare to traditional French offerings like birthday cake macarons and butterscotch coffee eclairs for fast turnaround and happy guests.
Breads Bakery in NYC has long been known for producing outstanding babka since 1916. Customers love its chocolate and Nutella-filled varieties, created using Middle Eastern and European baking traditions. Their challah and rye also receive rave reviews – this bakery should be on everyone’s foodie bucket list! Breads is open 24/7, offering delivery as well! This place is truly worth experiencing!
2. Radio Bakery
Bakeries in NYC specialize in more than morning croissants and dinner party desserts; they also bring joy in the form of freshly baked pastries that waft through the air, enticing us to try them with delicious aromas like rhubarb-custard Danishes or flavorful fougasse with olives and capers.
Kelly Mencin and her partners created Radio Bakery this year on India Street in Greenpoint to great acclaim, with lines stretching down India Street to reach it. While Rolo’s employees, such as Rafiq Salim slathering green tahini on cauliflower sandwiches, Stephen Maharam cutting crusty slabs of focaccia, and Ben Howell refilling croissant trays all contribute, Radio is ultimately Kelly Mencin’s show.
She employs years of travel to craft each pastry, from thin puff-pastry frangipane tarts and fruit-and-cheese-filled danishes to tall layer cakes and stacks of cookies.
3. Supermoon Bakehouse
At this Manhattan bakery, Aron Tzimas’ spaceship-like shop boasts beautiful rainbow jelly croissants, soft serve-filled cruffins, and other Instagram-famous pastries that have become Instagram staples. Smooth grey walls contrast against an eye-catching pink terrazzo slab, which serves as a pastry pedestal. Each perfectly puffed pastry is an artistic work stuffed with rich fillings and embellished with eye-catching toppings – indeed a work of art in its own right!
Ry Stephen of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse fame in LA and San Francisco takes it a step further here with innovative sweets such as the NYC Croissant: an everything bagel brioche filled with cream cheese, capers, torched meringue and chocolate shards topped off with torched meringue and chocolate shards. There’s also an ever-rotating menu of cronuts, eclairs, and doughnuts such as Ube Brown Butter Macadamia and Ferrero Rocher varieties, plus savory croissants and sausage rolls that all come packaged up inside glittery boxes bearing their motto of “Bite me NYC!”
4. Sullivan Street Bakery
Jim Lahey, an ex-sculptor who had studied sculpture in Italy before returning to NYC, realized that its bread wasn’t as delicious as it could be. This inspired him to open Sullivan Street Bakery.
Soon enough, Sullivan Street Bakery opened in Hell’s Kitchen. Over time, its business offered delicious Roman-style pizza, rustic Italian pastries, and mouthwatering sandwiches. Over 340 restaurants and markets use this service Sullivan Street Bakery provides today!
His revolutionary bread-baking technique, commonly called no-knead baking, has inspired home bakers everywhere to achieve professional-quality results from their ovens. At his bakery’s signature, breads are deep and complex with balanced flavors that shine alone or added into sandwiches or wraps – perfect on their own, but also make great meals when added as sandwiches or wraps! He owns multiple locations across New York City and one wholesale location in Chelsea.
5. Bakeri
Bakeri is the bakery you imagine hiding in Brooklyn; women wearing utilitarian jumpsuits whip out delicious baked items while serving them up on vintage service ware at marble tables. Plus! Their charming storefront also provides custom wedding and birthday cakes!
Dominique Ansel may be best known for their brilliant Cronut pastry (half croissant and half donut). But don’t overlook their other treats; we suggest trying their DKA (Dominique’s Kouign Amann, a caramelized buttery brioche cake) and their bite-size Argentinian alfajores filled with dulce de leche!
Librae Bakery in Cooper Square offers inventive pastries that blur the line between sweet and savory, such as its delicious Marmite cheddar morning bun and Jerusalem bagel – two must-try treats in NYC! For more adorable options, be sure to visit Dover Street Market instead – their selections of treats include macaroons that taste lemony tart.
6. Empire Cake
Empire Cake, located near Life Underground, offers delicious homemade biscuits, snack cakes, and red velvet cupcakes at reasonable prices. Reviews often praise its friendly service – be sure to finish your meal with either espresso, tea, or chai lattes for the whole experience.
Empire Bakery is an exceptional bakery at the junction of the West Village, Chelsea, and Meatpacking districts. Offering more than the usual Twinkies, snowballs, and cookies – such as Twinkies from Twinkies or cookies from O-Cup – Empire offers unique cakes, cupcakes, pastries, and savory treats made fresh daily and served along with coffee from Stumptown as well as whole leaf tea from Two Leaves and A Bud.
7. Levain
Levain Bakery stands alone in cookie craftsmanship, boasting award-winning chocolate chip walnut cookies that have earned them an almost cult-like status. Though their bakery may be small and cramped, you will likely encounter long lines. But wait with patience as this treat awaits.
Melissa Weller, former baker at Per Se, offers fresh and chewy bagel rounds at this modern, appetizing store with a Brooklyn flair. Although bagels may be its specialty, other great breakfast offerings such as BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) or smoked salmon, everything croissant is available too.
Hell’s Kitchen’s local bakery creates artisanal bread using flour that’s not bleached and bromated – baguettes, boules, and Pullman loaves made with wheat rye sourdough are just some of their offerings! Plus, lunchtime brings sandwiches and salads for further dining pleasure!
8. Magnolia Bakery
Magnolia Bakery opened in 1996 in New York and is often credited with starting the cupcake craze. It was founded by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey, who published a cookbook under their names in 1999. Now, multiple locations, both domestically and abroad, offer Magnolia goodies!
Visit this NYC landmark bakery for delicious vanilla and chocolate cupcakes topped with its signature frosting that adds just enough sweetness. plus try their mouthwatering banana pudding as well!
Lines may be long, but they move quickly. Visitors can order at the counter before moving to a separate line for payment since this bakery has no tables. PATH trains from Times Square provide quick and affordable travel time – each journey takes roughly 12 minutes, with tickets ranging between $1 and $3.
9. Laduree
Laduree has long been revered as an authentic Parisian tea salon and pastry shop, and today, they’re famous worldwide for their macarons – known for being crisp on the outside and soft and creamy inside – as well as being pricey ($2.75/macaron), but worth every cent spent!
Parisian staple Laduree is also renowned for offering high tea at its Hudson Yards outpost and Upper East Side location. Enjoy a quick bite or cozy afternoon tea – either way, this place transports you back to France!
Laduree offers an assortment of expensive thematic merchandise, from t-shirts and candles to stationery. Everything at Laduree is designed for Instagrammability, so don’t forget your camera! Laduree also provides delivery through Postmates; enter your address online to see if their service covers your location.
10. Billy’s Bakery
Billy’s Bakery is an esteemed local favorite in Chelsea, Tribeca, and the Plaza Hotel Food Hall. At these neighborhood bakeries, you can find delicious cakes, cake slices, cookies, and dessert bars made fresh every day on-site; also popular is their traditional pie selection and warm 1940s decor with corner banquette seating to sit back and enjoy your treats in comfort.
Brooklyn Blackout cake may be their hallmark, but breadmaker Jim Lahney draws huge crowds with his natural starters and old-school classics – plus pillowy Italian bomboloni filled with jam or chocolate!
