The list, in my order
9 I’d go back to and 1 only if it suits you. My verdict on every one, and the ones nearby from my other lists.
Balthazar Bakery

- Address80 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
Famous for offering a wide array of classic French pastries, bread, and desserts, this cute NYC bakery is the go-to spots for delicious baked goods. They sell thousands of croissants a day, which tells you everything you need to know about the quality.
And it’s true, the croissants are perfect, but so is everything else on the menu. There’s no seating inside, so you’ll. But fair warning, the chocolate donuts can turn into a weekly routine if you’re not careful.
Supermoon Bakehouse

- Address120 Rivington St, New York, NY 10002
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
Supermoon Bakehouse is the brainchild of Ry Stephen, the mastermind behind San Francisco’s viral sensation, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. Renowned for its creativity and innovation, the baked goods have folks waiting in line for 1+ hours. Everything is handmade every morning with locally sourced ingredients from Upstate New York.
Better still, the butter is imported from a farm in France, a testament to the bakery’s commitment to making the best baked goods in NYC. Everything on the menu is made to impress, but the filled croissant (which takes 3-4 days to make) is. What put them on the map. Known to sell out by noon, both sweet and savory options are available.
You might be interested in. 10 Delicious East Village Bakeries
Breads Bakery

A few years ago the chocolate babka at Breads Bakery was named the best in New York City, and the rest (as they say) was history. Dark chocolate ribbons of Nutella delicately folded into layers of airy dough, this dessert isn’t for the faint of heart (it makes a great souvenir, by the way).
But the chocolate babka alone isn’t what makes this one of the best Jewish bakeries in NYC. Rather, it’s the fact that everything on the menu is top-notch. From classics like chocolate croissants to traditional Jewish baked goods like rugelach, there’s a reason Breads Bakery has spread to 8 locations in the city since opening in 2013.
My adviceBreads Bakery recently opened a new bakery on the Upper East Side. They chose to create a baked good exclusive to the location and landed on a delicious twist on the iconic black-and-white cookie. I would drive an hour out of the way for this thing, it’s one of my favorite deserts in the entire city, I can’t recommend it enough.
You might be interested in. 10 Upper West Side Bakeries You Need in Your Life
La Cabra

- Address152 2nd Ave. & 284 Lafayette St.
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
La Cabra makes the best cardamom buns in New York City. These airy, delicate spiced knots have earned a reputation an international stage (La Cabra hails from Denmark). Between the quality baked goods and top-notch coffee, the bakery swells with locals and tourists every day of the week. Excellence is the name of the game, and La Cabra delivers.
Behind every great NYC neighborhood is a bakery that makes the whole block smell like heaven.
L’Appartement 4F
- Address115 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
L’Appartement 4F began as a hobby for French expat Gautier Coiffard, who started experimenting with sourdough and croissant lamination during the pandemic. Encouraged by his wife, Ashley, they began selling their baked goods to friends, colleagues, and soon enough, to strangers.
The baked goods quickly gained popularity, leading them to open a storefront in Brooklyn Heights. Their success is evident by long lines every morning, everyone eager to get their hands on these authentic French pastries. Within a year, locals began billing this as the best bakery in Brooklyn, largely thanks to the exceptional croissants, especially ‘Le Framboise,’ a raspberry-chocolate-almond croissant.
Another big deal is the viral petite croissant cereal (each tiny croissant is hand-rolled in small batches). They only make a few boxes each day are notorious for selling out at opening.
The Best Bakeries in Brooklyn. 10 Great Brooklyn Bakeries Worth the Hype
Dominique Ansel Bakery

- Address189 Spring St, New York, NY
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
Often considered the most innovative bakery in New York City, Dominique Ansel Bakery offers Michelin-star quality pastries at a fraction of the price. The bakery gained national fame in 2013 with the invention of the Cronut (half-croissant, half-doughnut). To this day (10 years later), folks line up to score the world-famous Cronut.
It sells out daily, but fret not, this NYC bakery’s innovative approach to pastries, combining traditional French techniques with imaginative concepts, ensures that every baked good is bound to impress. The Kouign-Amann (pronounced “Queen Amon”) is especially good!
Mah-Ze-Dahr

Mah-Ze-Dahr was opened in 2014 by Umber Ahmad, a banker-turned-baker who left the lofty confines of the financial world to purse her dream of baking. Turns out it was the right move, because she went on to open one of the best bakeries in NYC. And became a semi-finalist for the prestigious James Beard Award (a huge deal in the food world).
Inspired by her world travels, the bakery’s name comes from the Urdu word that describes the “taste and essence of food, the flavor and magic that make it delicious.”
Mille Feuille

If you can’t go to France on a whim for fresh pastries, what’s a viable Plan B? Pay a visit to one of the most authentic French bakeries in New York City, Mille Feuille.
Celebrated for their mastery of French pastries, especially the bakery’s namesake mille-feuille (delicate layers and the best flavor), this popular NYC bakery prides itself on using traditional French baking techniques and high-quality ingredients exclusively.
Unpopular opinion. Unpopular opinion. Daily Provisions deserves a Michelin mention for their baked goods alone.
Alf Bakery

The brainchild of Amadou Ly, veteran pastry chef of several prominent NYC restaurants (including Tribeca’s defunct Arcade Bakery), Alf Bakery had a reputation to live up to long before opening day. Breads, pastries and savory pies, Chef Ly is engrossed with fermentation, exceeding expectations. The laminated brioche is a show. Honestly, this place doesn’t get the credit it deserves. It flies under the radar and I kind of love that about it. There’s a reason locals keep this spot in their back pocket. It’s not the flashiest place on the block, but the quality speaks for itself every single time.
Daily Provisions

Daily Provisions was opened by Danny Meyer, the mastermind behind Shake Shack, and now proudly has four locations (Union Square, Upper West Side, West Village and Manhattan West). Most folks come to this cute New York City bakery for crullers and return to try everything else on the menu.
This bakery is famous for crullers, no doubt, but the true star of the show is the great breakfast sandwich menu (the best in NYC in my opinion). Two clear standouts are the BEC (bacon, egg and cheese) and the smoked salmon everything croissant (pictured above).
My adviceDaily Provisions serves Joe Coffee and has some of the best Americanos I’ve had in the city. Highly recommend.
