Beyond Basic at Patisserie Chanson – NYC

Located on 23rd Street, I’ve passed by Patisserie Chanson several times and never stopped in. On the same block as Home Depot, Outback and Best Buy, I wrote it off as a touristy French bakery in Flatiron, but after a rec from Michi over at Lunch Studio, I decided to pop on by, and I was wrong. This place is legit.

The raspberry croissant ($6) was filled with LOTS of raspberry jam and a thin log of dark chocolate similar to a chocolate croissant. To be honest, I don’t think the chocolate was necessary. It was hard and added additional sweetness which wasn’t needed with all the jam. As for the croissant itself, it was flaky, but could have been a little more crisp.

The best thing I ate was the seasonal pumpkin kouign amann ($6.50). Normally, I don’t get into the pumpkin spice craze when fall rolls around. That’s for basic bishes. However, the pumpkin filling here was magically light with the tiniest bit of tang.

And the crust on this kouign amann was crazy. It was almost candy-coated. I’m a big fan of the kouign amann at Dominque Ansel (aka DKA), and I would say this is on par. The shell is harder and the pastry layers are a bit more tender, but I also love the heavy butteriness of the DKA.

The lemon meringue macaron ($2.95) was pretty nice too. It needed more lemon tartness, but the texture of the macaron was on point.

I hear Patisserie Chanson has a good brunch as well, which might be worth checking out if only for the pastries. Yes, I know brunch is basic too, but in that case, I’m basic as they come. Especially if there’s a boozy beverage involved.

Everyone, keep the tasty recs coming!

Patisserie Chanson
20 W 23rd St
New York, NY 10010 (map)

Visit Rating: 4/5 stars
Pro Tip: Try at least one of the kouign amanns. Currently, they have the regular and 2 seasonal: pumpkin or caramel.