Our last time in Paris 3 years ago, my husband looked up a list Best croissants in town and determined to try them all.
It was 2018, the pre-pandemic period, and we had plenty of places to go in the city—restaurants to dine, museums to hang out. Needless to say, hiking through several boroughs in the name of picking up a pastry I can’t eat (if you’re new, this is a gluten-free site!) doesn’t rank high on our collective priorities.
But this trip is in the age of COVID, and who wouldn’t want us on a city-wide scavenger hunt? Thus, the 2021 #croissantcrawl was born.
When we started posting Charlie’s first few discoveries on Instagram, the name became controversial among French-speakers, as he often criticized the pain of chocolate, not just plain croissants. This might give you an idea of how well thought out crawling was when it was born.
But as we started, standards began to form: texture, taste of pastry, chocolate (distribution and quantity).and Rated 1-5 abdominal massages with 5 being the best.
To create his list, Charlie cross-referenced articles on some of the best croissants in Paris, such as This, This and This. Many of them mix different kinds of pastries. After starting our forays, we decided to compare only pain chocolates. You can see these in the first half of the list, and then we’ve also included some of his other favorite croissants eaten elsewhere.
There are also a few bakeries we didn’t go to, so if we missed one of your favorites, please weigh in in the comments section! We try to go back to Paris every 3 years or so (I spent some of my childhood there) and would happily take the assignment.
Also, obviously I haven’t tried these chocolate flavors myself and sometimes disagree with Charlie’s findings only in terms of look, feel and taste memory. Do not photograph photographers!
Finally, if you’re also gluten-free and this article has you drooling with envy, Paris has some great places to buy gluten-free bread and pastries.look at mine The ongoing Paris guide is here. I update it after every trip! Croissants are the hardest gluten-free pastries to find and are usually just the crust (or mini version) of the real thing. See picture above – the little one is the GF croissant!
Without further ado, serve the best chocolate croissants in Paris.
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
The Best Chocolate Chocolate in Paris
We’ll start in descending order, so read our favorites at the end! Also note that while some bakeries don’t have our favorite chocolate bar, they sometimes make average croissants, which we state at the end.
I also have to point out that the competition among the top 4 pain chocolates is very intense. Either of these is a wonderful treat.
Jules Paris
Abdominal massage: 2
This croissant was recommended by a reader. It wasn’t on our original list, but we happened to pass by and wanted to give it a try. Charlie was unimpressed by the taste and said it was on par with the mediocre hotel chocolate pain he condescended to eat at another point on the trip. He’s a big fan of chocolate distribution, and as you can see, they’re not two separate tubes, they’re stacked on top of each other. Monday!
isabelle’s house
Abdominal friction: 2.5
Charlie isn’t one to judge a book by its cover, but if the nearly burnt casing is any indication, maybe we’ve stumbled across a bad batch of books at the end of the day. The interior wasn’t much better either: dry and overbaked. While he did add a generous note, it gave the pastry an interesting peat flavor. It’s a real shame because the regular croissants (though also from the end of the day) are very special. You can see them side by side below.
Arnold Del Monte
Abdominal Massage: 3
This is another bakery we stumbled across after a stroll from Montmartre to nearby Pigalle. There was a long queue outside, so we tried PaC (pain in chocolate). It’s a bit small in shape, and it’s not crispy enough on the outside or tasty enough to rank in the top half of the charts. He tried it side-by-side with La Maison d’Isabelle, and even though the abdominal friction rating was only 0.5, it was still above the head and shoulders.
seed
Abdominal friction: 3.5
This PaC from the trendy Oberkampf neighborhood is one of the main elements that makes a belly rub bakery (it’s my husband’s scoring system, after all). But he said the pastries were super tasty and almost made up for it. He also wanted to point out that the bakery is famous for baguettes and other breads. Charlie has a ham and cheese sandwich that he says is the best of his life.
cake and bread
Abdominal Massage: 4
This was the first stop on our very long croissant crawl, the regular croissant was a little brighter than the PaC (pictured above with my sad GF croissant from Noglu). Charlie said the pastry tasted great, but he didn’t like how airy it was. It has a perfect, crispy feel on the outside, but is too soft on the inside. Editor’s Note: This is my PaC! But I obey the judge.
bread and ideas
Abdominal rub: 4.25
OK, now let’s start talking about cannons. From here, the ratings are pretty close, and all get a lot of belly rubs. This PaC has some of the prettiest laminates, second only to Mamiche below. It also has some of the tastiest chocolate. The distribution is not as even as some others, but it is thick and does make a statement. Ultimately, while very pleasant in terms of chocolate and texture, Charlie didn’t find the pastry to taste as strong as the other contenders.
I see
Abdominal friction: 4.5
Personally, I was not impressed by the look of this croissant. But instead of one or two barrels, there are three barrels of chocolate. I’m surprised it didn’t win outright for this feat, as we know how our judges like the amount and spending of chocolate. Where this PaC gets smudged is on the outer layer, it’s slightly overbaked and dry (maybe my eyes are paying attention).
Stoller
Abdominal friction: 4.6
Many PaC connoisseurs consider this to be the best in the city. After all, bakeries have been around since 1730. This was where we stopped when we last started a very limited search for the best chocolaty in Paris. The croissants were warm, fresh out of the oven, even at noon. So, for full context: this is an emotional favorite. In fact, when we retried the croissant, it wasn’t warm, at least with the other misery the chocolate tasted, and it even held on to the playing field. For the most part, it remains the same. The Storer PaC is the largest, tallest and most airy of them all. There wasn’t a ton of chocolate and it wasn’t evenly distributed, but the flavor and texture of the pastry made up for it.
Mamice
Abdominal rub: 4.75
OK, we made it. Drums please…Mamiche pain au chocolat is the best chocolate in Paris as my husband (and some others who have eaten it) have declared. Lamination is what baking textbooks think of. Chocolate distribution is stable. The pastry has a strong flavor, if not the best. Overall, it’s a sexy sight to see and sink into.
The best croissants in Paris
isabelle’s house
Abdominal massage: 5
While the pain chocolate was dark and arguably a little burnt, a regular croissant was absolutely perfect. The only treat in the entire matrix to score a perfect belly massage and declare “this is the best croissant I’ve ever had”.
Landman House
Abdominal friction: 4.5
This particular shoutout is for Maison Landemaine’s almond croissant. We don’t know if it’s the best, as it’s the only one Charlie has ever tried, but he was immediately blown away. It’s flat but very buttery and delicious. Unfortunately, the pain au chocolat sold out that day, so we ended up judging the almond way. A happy accident!
So there you have it, after 100,000 calories, these croissants and chocolate chips are the best.
We started trying 16 bakeries on Google Maps and we managed to cross 10 of them off our list. Here are some other places we didn’t get to but rated highly: Ble Sucre, Farine&O, Gontran Cherrier, Laurent Duchene, The French Bastards and Pastry Colbert.
If we skipped any of your favorites, or you have questions about any of these ratings, please let us know! We welcome controversy.
