“Autumn hues of leaves in flow,
Changing day by day, we go.
When a bite I want to eat,
Croissants sound like the perfect treat.” – Bobby Panza
Hello, traveler. I see you’ve embarked on The Upper West Side Croissant Quest. Come warm your bones by the fire before we make haste, slowly — Festina lente.
Larks’ tongues in lamination. Puff, shape, flake, butter. In the court of the Croissant Quest, these are the qualities we wrap in crimson and clover.
Hark! Kick your heels in these neighborhood deals — croissants that keep up and make the cut.
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Orwashers440 Amsterdam at West 81st Street
This quest embarks where another one left off. On February 26, 2025, Upper West Sider Tony Shalhoub and Lin-Manuel Miranda stopped by Orwashers for the premiere episode of Breaking Bread (aired October 2025). Hosted by Shalhoub on Sunday nights on CNN, the show follows his journey using bread as a conduit to explore global cuisines and cultures. Peace be the journey, Tony.
Their original Upper East Side location, opened in 1916 by a Hungarian immigrant family, is still in operation today. A full century later, in 2016, they opened their second artisanal shop right here. With its striped wraparound awning and seating both inside and out, Orwashers remains one of the true culinary blessings in NYC.
Baked daily in-house, Orwashers’ croissants set the stage with a quality offering — moist and buttery, with nice flake action when you bite in, where you can taste the layers one by one. A little mess is a good thing for a croissant, and a little easier when it’s not in your domicile. Sage move: put a napkin on the counter or table to wrap up the flakes when you toss it.
Délice Macarons
321 Amsterdam Avenue between 74th and 75th streets
What is this sorcery? Don’t let the name steer you in the wrong direction. Led by Chef Pierre Chahine, the French bakery that opened its second location on the Upper West Side in 2021 can craft a buttery croissant with spellbinding finesse — airy inside with a delicate flake exterior. Chahine, who trained in the art of French pastry in Paris, even shaped the atmosphere of their cozy shop with Parisian inspiration. You can post up at one of the three small marble tables and take in the aromas and colors of their craftwork, including the raspberry-chocolate croissant, which takes a page from the vibrant macarons with a sharp red exterior swirl. Like Orwashers, their almond croissant is an excellent option too.
While our quest focuses on the classic plain butter croissant — respecting the craft when you keep it simple, because if you can get that right, anything else is possible — this butter croissant also serves as the vessel for their sandwiches.
Currently obstructed by scaffolding, making it easy to pass by, let the light shine on Délice’s croissants.
ALSO READ: The Upper West Side Cookie Crawl
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Breads Bakery1890 Broadway between 61st and 62nd streets
Paying tribute to the rule of threes, Breads Bakery is another stop that opened its second location on the Upper West Side. Owner Gadi Peleg brought in the mastery of Uri Scheft in 2012, a Jewish baker with roots in Tel Aviv, where he opened Lehamim — meaning “breads” in Hebrew — after studying pastry in Denmark, where his parents originally hailed.
(Scheft has not been part of Breads Bakery for almost a decade.)
Sitting down at Breads’ Lincoln Center locale, with sturdy wooden tables and chairs supporting fragile croissants and weary legs, you experience the aesthetic where the hews of their foods all flourish.
Crafted Parisian-style, with a straighter shape than other crescent moon varieties, the croissant is aptly named: “croissant” comes from the word for “crescent,” as in a “crescent moon,” though the Parisian style favors a straighter arc. This buttery treasure is one of our top picks on this journey, with a shatter-flake dome and an interior boasting a honeycomb texture worthy of a bard’s song. The lamination reveals the croissant’s distinct layers, a nod to the meticulous folding of butter into the dough, as if each pleat were a step in a knightly rite.
ALSO READ: The Best Restaurants on the Upper West Side
Michaeli Bakery + Café
Inside the JCC @ 334 Amsterdam Avenue by 76th Street
By Rachel Dickson of Best of the Upper West Side
“One of the Upper West Side’s best-kept secrets is Michaeli Bakery, tucked away inside the JCC. They serve incredible burekas, croissants, and sweet pastries—hands down my favorite in the neighborhood! Even better, Michaeli just opened a walk-up window, so there’s no need to head inside. Super convenient, and absolutely worth a visit! If you go, don’t miss their plain croissant. It’s a masterclass in simplicity. Buttery, golden, and impossibly flaky, with a crisp outer shell that gives way to tender, airy layers inside. Each bite melts in your mouth, with just the right balance of richness and lightness.”
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Barachou449 Amsterdam Aveune between 81st and 82nd streets
An Upper West Side original founded in 2019 by Rebecca Tison, a Paris native who previously worked in marketing and events for BNP Paribas before venturing out on her own with this fun play on the phrase “bar à choux,” French for “cream puff bar.” Tison moved to the city in 2017 with a vision to expand, and they opened their second location in the West Village in 2022.
Tison is one tough cream puff (pun intended). Six months after opening here, the pandemic struck and she had to rethink her business on the fly — making her own deliveries to different neighborhoods in the city, a new one every day, as people weren’t as enthusiastic to brave COVID-19. The strategy was a masterclass in quality, resiliency, and marketing, and she told the French Consulate that people now come to her locations from all five boroughs, making it a destination spot.
It wasn’t until Tison’s West Village outpost, which has a larger kitchen, that croissants made it onto their Upper West Side menu. This unique offering doesn’t come with as much crackle as others on this quest, but Barachou’s bite is soft with a denser interior. Less mess, rich, and with a little squish — similar to Zabar’s but far superior — joining the ranks of the croissant knights of the round table in the neighborhood.
Love the people watching from the small window counter.
ALSO READ: Best Bagels on the Upper West Side
Mille-Feuille Bakery Café
2175 Broadway between 76th and 77th streets
Speaking with locals about their favorite croissant, Mille-Feuille (est. France, 1996) came up again and again. Maybe it’s the location along a central corridor of the Upper West Side, though their croissants are made daily at their Brooklyn location. Executive chef Dimitri Viaud cut his teeth at Maison Kayser (2018–2020), arguably a top-tier dessert spot on the Upper West Side during its run. Before COVID-19, a struggling national expansion led this location to close in 2020, though many loyal patrons still remain.
Amid neon lights, tourists staying at Hotel Belleclaire, and locals tapping away on laptops, Mille-Feuille offers croissants that just eked into the final quest ensemble. The unique pillows on the seats and benches are a nice indicator that you’re welcome to stay a little while, made especially inviting by the super friendly staff. The refillable water station is a good touch, and they’ll even add more ice to your cup if you’re trying to beat the heat.
Our suggestion: early bird Mille-Feuille. Croissants can run out as the day progresses, and while not especially flaky, the butter is fragrant, with the finished product leaving no oily residue on our fingers. Mille-Feuille has a bit of that New York City melting-pot atmosphere where different walks all gather ’round.
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Épices Bakery104 West 70th Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway
You made it, weary traveler — and we saved the best for last.
Epices is the closest we’ve come on the Upper West Side to my days backpacking through the countryside of Southern France on foot, wandering lavender fields and vineyards before climbing the Alps into Northern Italy. Along the way, it wasn’t unusual to go days without encountering a small town or any civilians at all. Cue Epices: tucked off the beaten path of an avenue, this tiny hole-in-the-wall French/American bakery has a small front area and a sizable kitchen in the back where the good stuff comes out fresh all day long. We’ve been big fans since day one, when Epices opened in 2021, mid-pandemic. From the baguettes in wooden baskets to the sharp tarts to Bibi — who has worked the front of house since the beginning and also speaks French — magnifique.
Epices’ croissant shape is whimsically unique, elevated at its center and tapering gently at both ends, with audible, crisp bites and layers flaking away effortlessly. There’s no seating inside, so we relish taking this one on the road to make a respectable mess somewhere. Pull this beautifully laminated croissant apart and you’ll find feathery pastry that will put wind in your sails to get you home — and back again. Their ham and cheese croissant is also in a league of its own around here. After a New York Jets loss, it’s my go-to comfort food.
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