Eating croissants? Easy. Making them? Not so much. If anyone’s up for the task, it’s aerospace engineer-turned-baker Kate Reid. She was a successful Formula 1 engineer who designed race cars before changing lanes to take on the challenge of crafting Viennoiserie — and reverse-engineering the ideal croissant.
"I imagined what my perfect end-product would look like,” Reid tells Good Food. “Every day, I just changed one variable at a time, and over the course of about three months, I ended up on a process that gave me what I dreamed about."
Although her methodology was, by her own account, "very different to the classic French way of making" croissants, it worked. Lune Croissanterie, Reid's Melbourne, Australia bakery, is world famous. But she's not the only one doing drool-worthy things with laminated dough.
Bakers in greater Los Angeles are making stellar croissants, from classic versions and pain au chocolat to vegan variations and pistachio-filled marvels. And there's room to innovate: We still haven't hit Peak Croissant, according to the New York Times. (Let's hope that's true!) Where do you find these flaky marvels? Here are 17 of the best croissant spots in LA.
More: Braking to bake, Kate Reid designed race cars before perfecting the croissant
1. Artelice Pâtisserie — Burbank, West LA
11301 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste 123., West LA
117 N. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank
Artelice Pâtisserie, which has a store in Burbank and another in West L.A., makes gorgeous (and delicious) classic croissants. Photo courtesy of Artelice Pâtisserie
Not too buttery, not too dry. Not too light, not too dark. Not too chewy, not too crisp. Truly, madly, deeply perfect. Artelice is an under-the-radar spot that might make the best classic French croissant in Los Angeles. Their basic croissants are anything but, displaying lamination to make the gods weep. Then there are the filled and flavored varieties.
On the savory side, there's the Spanish Princess (filled with leeks and cheese), the perfectly salted kalamata olive and rosemary croissant or the generous ham and cheese. On the sweet side, Artelice's gianduja croissant isn't just a plain croissant with a couple batons of chocolate tucked inside. It's made with chocolate croissant dough and filled with gooey milk chocolate hazelnut cream. Then there's the matcha croissant, the apple croissant, the Persian Princess (rose and orange blossom dough with pistachio filling) and the mango passionfruit cruffin (croissant + muffin).
Like everyone else, we've been getting pistachio vibes ever since New York's Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery went viral with their Pistachio Suprême in April. Artelice's version of the suprême, which is really just a vertical or sideways croissant, changes flavors every week, depending on the whims of the kitchen. Most recently, it was filled with matcha custard and strawberry jam. If you haven't had a croissant at Artelice, you are not living your life to the fullest. That is all.
2. Bakers Bench — Chinatown
727 North Broadway, Chinatown
Bakers Bench offers plant-based pastry including croissants, that aside from a butter substitute, use traditional techniques. Photo by Jennifer Yee
After working in the kitchens of Jean-George Vongerichten and Thomas Keller, Jennifer Yee challenged herself to make a plant-based croissant. It took her a few tries but she mastered the method. After a stint at Konbi, Yee opened Bakers Bench in Chinatown's Far East Plaza, where she sells plant-based croissants and other baked goods alongside buttery counterparts. Listen to her explain how she does it.
3. CAR Artisan Chocolate — Pasadena
1009 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
Haris Car is a bean-to-bar chocolatier whose bars include milk and white chocolates, a rarity among indie chocolate producers. No wonder Eater crowned him the producer of "LA's Ultimate Chocolate Croissant." After selling croissants made at nearby Seed Bakery using his chocolate batons, Car decided he was ready to make his own. He went deep into the process, the flour and the butter (finally settling on Isigny Sainte-Mère from Normandy). The result is CAR Artisan's stellar pain au chocolat.
4&5. Chaumont Bakery & Café/Chaumont Vegan — Beverly Hills, Santa Monica
143 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills
2930 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica
If you don't believe a vegan croissant can live up to a classic one, visit Chaumont and Chaumont Vegan. Located next door to each other, their proximity allows you to do an easy taste-test and compare the two croissants, side by side. Both are great. Chaumont also offers all sorts of breakfast pastries such as pear tarts, raspberry twists, almond chocolate banana croissants and an exquisite pain suisse, a long, narrow slice of flaky dough filled with almond paste and chocolate. Expect a line on weekends.
6. Colossus Bread — Long Beach, San Pedro
4716 2nd St., Long Beach
2311 S. Alma St., San Pedro
In addition to its titular product, Colossus Bread in Long Beach offers some tasty croissants. Photo courtesy of Colossus Bread
Colossus makes its croissants with Camas Country Mill whole grain, Central Milling flour and Isigny Sainte-Mère butter, which is shorthand for "they're delicious." This is a spot where you should definitely try the ham and cheese croissant, which is made with top-notch Gruyere.
7. Des Croissants Paris — Culver City
8539 Washington Blvd., Culver City
Croissants from L.A newcomer Des Croissant Paris. Photo by Elina Shatkin/KCRW
A newcomer to LA's bakery scene, Des Croissants Paris opened in January 2023, billing itself as "a traditional French Boulangerie Patisserie." Flaky, buttery and light, their plain croissants deliver. So do the ham and cheese croissants. Des Croissants also makes a couple of delicious savory danishes, using the same laminated dough. We're particularly fond of the mushroom one but there's also a spinach-filled version.
8. Friends & Family — East Hollywood
5150 Hollywood Blvd., East Hollywood
Croissants that are about to go in the oven at Friends & Family. Photo courtesy of Friends & Family
The baked goods at Friends & Family feature unexpected touches, like chocolate chip cookies made with rye flour and cornmeal muffins sassed up with citrus. Thank Roxana Jullapat and her passion for ancient grains such as barley, buckwheat, corn, oats, rye, rice, sorghum and wheat. Baked with three heirloom wheats (Sonora, Joaquin Oro and Starr), the croissants are unmissable, especially the halva one, which adds just the right amount of crumbly, creamy sweetness to the over-the-top flakiness. Get here early, especially on weekends, when the most popular pastries sell out fast.
9. Gjusta Bakery — Venice
320 Sunset Ave., Venice
An array of croissants at Gjusta in Venice. Photo courtesy of Gjusta Bakery
Airy, seasonally-driven and great for celeb-spotting, Gjusta might be the most Venicey of all Venice bakery/cafes. Amid all the flatbread pizzas and house-smoked meats, don't sleep on the croissants. We don't know if they're what Beyoncé or Leonardo DiCaprio order but we do know that they are superb.
10. Gusto Bread — Long Beach
2710 E 4th St., Long Beach
Plain croissants at Gusto Bread in Long Beach. Photo courtesy of Gusto Bread
Arturo Enciso specializes in combining Mexican and European techniques. Nowhere is that better represented than in his Nixtamal Queen, a kouign amann made with heirloom blue corn masa and caramelized sugar. Gusto's croissants are just as noteworthy.
11. La Chouquette — Fairfax
7350 Melrose Ave., Fairfax
You might hear more French than English spoken in La Chouquette, where the croissants are among the lightest and airiest around.
12. Lou, the French on the Block — Burbank
4007 W. Riverside Dr., Burbank
Working from a small space in Toluca Lake, chef Laurent "Lou" Correa, a native of France, churns out fantastic croissants. Open since 2016, the bakery has won over locals with its breakfast pastries, quiches and tarts. Terry Crews is a fan.
13. Proof Bakery — Atwater Village
3156 Glendale Blvd., Atwater Village
Now run as a worker-owned co-op, Proof still makes exquisite croissants that are light and flaky yet perfectly crisp on top. Chef Na Young Ma and her crew also make tasty sandwiches, tarts and other desserts.
14. Renaud's Bakery & Bistro — La Cañada Flintridge, Long Beach
635 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge
6255 East 2nd Street, Long Beach
Renaud's is another local favorite, known for its pastries and bistro fare. The regular croissants are terrific buttery. The almond croissants are loaded with slivered nuts.
15. Sugarbloom Bakery — Glassell Park
4122 Verdugo Rd., Glassell Park
The vegan sesame pretzel croissant at Sugarbloom Bakery. Photo courtesy of Sugarbloom Bakery
Chef Sharon Wang is doing all sorts of fabulous things with croissants at Sugarbloom. There's a vegan sesame pretzel croissant, a kimchi SPAM musubi croissant, a strawberry almond croissant and a white miso kouign amman. Yes, the standard croissants are also fantastic.
16. Tartine Bakery — various locations
911 N. Sycamore Ave., Hollywood
277 W. Green St., Pasadena
1925 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica
3921 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake
5335 W. Adams Blvd., West Adams
A classic croissant from Tartine Bakery. Photo by Gentl & Hyers
With five LA locations, the juggernaut that is Tartine keeps rolling on. Once you taste their croissants, you'll understand why. They're the butteriest croissants in the biz and perfectly baked. For lovers of ham and cheese croissants, this is the version to get. Finally! A bakery that doesn't skimp on the meat and cheese. And do not miss their tahini croissant, which amps up the creaminess and sesame flavor with a hit of white chocolate.
17. BONUS: The Gourmandise School — Santa Monica
395 Santa Monica Place #323, Santa Monica
Clémence de Lutz (center), founder of The Gourmandise School, and two of her colleagues sample croissants made at the cooking school. Photo by Erica Allen
At The Gourmandise School, you can learn how to make your own cheese, pasta, pies, bao, bagels, Korean BBQ and cream puffs, among other foodstuffs. Gourmandise occasionally offers a two-day croissant-making class and no less than Evan Kleiman swears by the croissants that students produce. Yes, you'll have to put in time and effort but does anything taste better than the fruits of your labor?