MoMo & Coco

NYC’s Best New Bakeries 2023: Radio, Raf’s, Greywind, ALF, JM Bakery, Pastry Box

Introduction

During the pandemic’s second-wave in 2021, the biggest dessert opening of that summer was Dominique Ansel’s Bakery. In 2022, as the pandemic slowly disappeared from our minds, we chronicled the rise of even more viral bakeries in New York (and Melbourne).  Yet another year and summer later, the city’s love affair with all things French, flaky, and fifty shades of brown has not abated. The city can be rather basic at times, eh?  In this year’s chapter of NYC’s best new bakeries, the focus has become less about the croissants of yesteryear and more about other baked goodies.  We can’t help but compare though, how parallel to this proliferation of French-style bakeries that tend to blur into each other, greater creativity may arguably be found at Asian bakeries.

Radio Bakery

  • ☑  Dessert destination: Radio Bakery, Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Earl Grey Morning Bun.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  We can barely remember the last time we ventured to Greenpoint (?!).  It might have been for Peter Pan’s $1 Doughnuts, but otherwise, it’s a little bit of a dessert desert out there. Well…no longer. Radio Bakery offers an assortment of excellent foccacia and other savoury pastries, and while you may be drawn to its giant “Triple Chocolate Croissant” ($7) as we were, we instead loved more the tightly wound “Early Grey Morning Bun” ($5.50). Bonus points to the bakery staff for very efficiently managing the lines.

Raf’s 

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Raf’s, Nolita/Soho, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Candied Orange Almond Croissant.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Raf’s reminds us very much of Milan. Maybe it’s the bar countertop right at the entrance, the varying tanned colour tones of the room (and the patrons), it altogether exudes a very classy atmosphere. Behind a glass case, there’s a small selection of baked goods. We considered a few different croissants, and recommend the Candied Orange Almond for a little twist. You also can’t go wrong with an amaretti cookie from an Italian bakery, of course. 

Greywind Bakery

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Greywind Bakery, Chelsea, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Chocolate Babka Bun.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  A twist and turn away from Hudson Yards, Greywind is a sleek new restaurant at this once desolate western frontier of Manhattan.  Nestled within the restaurant itself is a bakery decked out with a striking granite marble-like countertop.  The flower-shaped “Strawberry Yuzu Tart” lured us in for its looks, but it was the small “Chocolate Babka Bun” with its ultra crunch and caramel tones that we loved better. Note that Greywind’s baked goods err on the sweeter side, so we think that Greywind would be more ideal as an afternoon tea snack stop, rather than for breakfast pastry.

JM Bakery

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  JM Bakery, Chelsea, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Cookie bread, brown butter chocolate chip cookie.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Similar to Greywind, JM Bakery is located in an oddly barren place at the western side of the city. On our visit, there was no viennoiserie on offer, but rather, a selection of sweet baked treats with a slight Asian inflection. The most unique dessert to get here is the “Cookie Bread” ($6), a Korean cream bun married with a Cantonese pineapple bun, and with an interior texture of an English scone. Short story, it’s soft and pillowy, with a crispy surface. We also loved the “Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie” ($4.50) with its salt crystals. We have added both to our list of the NYC’s best cream buns and best NYC cookie diaries. 

ALF Bakery

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  ALF Bakery, Chelsea, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Lemon Sugar Brioche.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Of all the new spots on this list of NYC’s best new bakeries, ALF Bakery has been the most heavily featured across countless mainstream and social media channels. So it was rather curious that on our visit, ALF Bakery was the one place within the perpetually crowded Chelsea Market not beseiged by the crowds. And for us, we are not sure that we would return.  The baked goods do not really stand out from any other bakery – there’s  plain croissants, almond croissants, danishes (of which we had a sweet rhubarb, $7.50), a larger selection of savoury breads and a babka. Many reviews gush about the “Laminated Brioche,” but it was a little boring for us. More interesting was the “Lemon Sugar Brioche” ($7), a crispy palmier with subtle sweet and tangy inflections. 

The Pastry Box

  • ☑ Dessert destination:  The Pastry Box, East Village, Manhattan.
  • ☑ Budget: $-$$.
  • ☑ Must-eat dessert:  Yuzu Olive Oil Cake.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story: Some of our favourite dessert spots are the type that fly way under the radar, and are the type that you only hear of through word-of-mouth. The Pastry Box is a tiny welcoming space that offers cookies, cake loaf slices and brownies. Less fudge-like, and more cake-y, the “Brown Butter Brownie” ($6) is a nice afternoon treat. Most definitely don’t miss the “Yuzu Olive Oil Cake” ($7), which must be one of the most delicious cake slice that we have had in a long time. 

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