Introduction
One part of these Dessert Correspondents l-o-v-e cream, the other not so much. For the latter gal, eclairs were never a dessert that we craved. That is, until we came across eclairs from Petit Chou. And boom! It was the beginning of a cream-focused love affair. Bypassing franchise bakeries and focusing on home-grown patisseries, we have rounded up the best eclairs in NYC. Let us know if we missed your favourite!
Petit Chou
Dessert destination: Petit Chou, East Village, Manhattan.- Must-try flavour: EVERY flavour.
- Short and sweet story: Run, don’t walk, to this tiny patisserie before the hoards start to discover it. It’s one of our favourite dessert spots in the city. Every flavour of eclair on offer is a must-try. They are well-priced, freshly baked, delightfully flavoured with full pipes of cream. Read our previous in-depth review here.
Patisserie Chanson
- Dessert destination: Patisserie Chanson, Flatiron, Manhattan.
- Must-try flavour: Lemon Yuzu Meringue; Strawberry Rose.
- Short and sweet story: Ah, life before pre-Covid meant dessert bar hopping. Multi courses of dessert, instead of a “proper” dinner. 😛 Tragically, not many of these dessert bars have survived the pandemic here in NYC, and that includes one of our all-time favourite, Patisserie Chanson. 😦 Its upstairs bakery has survived, though! Visit early in the day and snag the city’s prettiest eclairs. It’s a promise of better days to come.
Dominique Ansel
- Dessert destination: Dominique Ansel, Soho, Manhattan.
- Must-try flavour: Salted Caramel.
- Short and sweet story: We are close to losing count of how many times we have featured Dominique Ansel on this blog, ooops. It’s because e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that comes out from this patisserie is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. 😛 There’s the incomparable cronut creation, frozen s’mores, flowering hot chocolate, watermelon sorbet, creative modern cakes, and also more traditional French-style viennoiseries. Well, here we go, add one more to the long list of must-eat desserts from this store. The “Salted Caramel Eclair” features pronounced tones, is entirely filled with cream and never soggy. It’s perfection.
Supermoon Bakehouse
- Dessert destination: Supermoon Bakehouse, East Village, Manhattan.
- Must-try flavour: All the creative flavours on rotation.
- Short and sweet story: Along with the above-mentioned Petit Chou, Dominique Ansel, and Patisserie Chanson, Supermoon Bakehouse rounds up our most favourite contemporary patisseries in the city. You may recall our gushing over their weekly dessert deliveries during the early days of the pandemic lockdown, veritable lifesaver there. Those dessert self-care packages are still available for delivery, but now, you can venture instore to savour an ever-changing menu of wonderful baked beauties. Look out for the eclairs — they are chunky cylinders, exquisitely piped with flavours not seen anywhere else, such as hazelnut, tiramisu, oreo, lamington, horchata, Thai iced tea cream etc.
Pomme Palais
- Dessert destination: Pomme Palais, Midtown East, Manhattan.
- Must-try flavour: Chocolate.
- Short and sweet story: Nestled in the Lotte Hotel, Pomme Palais reminds us of fancy Parisien patisseries like Fauchon or Pouchkine. Pre-Covid, it offered quite the selection of dainty pastries and cakes. On our most recent visit however, savouries sadly dominate and the sweet counter has almost disappeared. We hope it returns in full force soon.
Almondine
- Dessert destination: Almondine, Dumbo, Brooklyn.
- Must-try flavour: Chocolate; Berry Cream.
- Short and sweet story: Most weekend mornings during the spring and fall, you will find us running up and down Brooklyn Bridge Park, in preparation for weekend dessert adventures, of course 😛 It takes a lot of self-discipline to not stop by Almondine enroute and eat up all the delicious breads and cakes on offer. On the occasion that we lose our self-control, Almondine’s chocolate eclair is our reliable favourite (plus its silver crucible of creme brulee). It’s the longest eclair you will find in the city.
Eclair Bakery
- Dessert destination: Eclair Bakery, Midtown East, Manhattan.
- Must-try flavour: Hazelnut; Crunchy Almond.
- Short and sweet story: If you were to Google “Best Eclairs in NYC,” Eclair Bakery is bound to pop up near the top of your search results. Would we recommend it? We vacillate. Sometimes, the service is rather rude. Sometimes, the eclairs seem rather dry, partly filled with cream, or more or less taste the same. This store may be “famous,” but it is a little inconsistent…at least based on our visits. Get the sampler box at least once though.
Dessert Correspondents 