Best Bakery in NYC: 12 Top Spots to Try in 2026
Ask ten New Yorkers to name the best bakery in NYC and you’ll get ten answers — a Cronut from Dominique Ansel in SoHo, a six-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookie from Levain on the Upper West Side, a slab of chocolate babka from Breads Bakery off Union Square. The city has hundreds of bakeries, so we kept this to 12 spots we’d actually wait in line for, spread across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. You’ll find French laminated pastry, Malaysian kuih, an all-vegan layer cake, and a Chinatown pork bun that costs less than your coffee. Prices run from about $2 for a bun to $9 for a filled croissant. Here’s where to eat well, by category and by borough.
The quick version:
• 12 bakeries across Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens
• Prices: ~$2 buns to ~$9 filled croissants
• Most open by 7–9am; weekend mornings are the worst for lines — go early
• Standout: Dominique Ansel’s Cronut (pre-order Mondays) and Levain’s chocolate chip walnut cookie
The Best Bakery in NYC: Our 12 Picks
Dominique Ansel Bakery
French pastry, endless invention · 189 Spring St, SoHo
This is where the Cronut was born in 2013, and the croissant-doughnut hybrid still sells out most mornings — pre-orders open online every Monday at 11am, about $8.44 a piece. Regulars come for the DKA, a caramelized, flaky kouign amann, and the Cookie Shot, a chocolate-chip cookie cup filled with cold milk. The SoHo flagship runs 8am–7pm most days, until 8pm Friday and Saturday, with a line out the door by mid-morning. Chef Dominique Ansel won a James Beard Award, and the case backs it up: the most consistently inventive bakery in the city, and the rare hyped spot that earns it.
Levain Bakery
The cookie that started it · 167 W 74th St, Upper West Side
Levain’s chocolate chip walnut cookie is the benchmark — six ounces, crisp shell, half-molten center, the kind of thing you eat warm on a Central Park bench two blocks away. The original Upper West Side shop opened in 1995, and there are now outposts around the city, open daily from 8am. Beyond the classic, the dark chocolate peanut butter chip is the move, and there’s a vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookie made with cashew butter for anyone who needs it. It’s not a sit-down spot — grab the cookies and go.
Breads Bakery
Babka and bread, done right · 18 E 16th St, Union Square
Breads Bakery’s chocolate babka has been voted the best in New York by New York Magazine, and one bite — dense dough swirled with a Nutella-and-dark-chocolate blend, baked fresh several times a day — explains why. The Union Square flagship off the Greenmarket also turns out an award-winning baguette, flaky rugelach, and a full café menu of sandwiches and coffee. Open 7am–8pm daily, with locations at Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, and the Upper East Side. Come for the babka, leave with a loaf of sourdough.
Librae Bakery
Middle Eastern flavors, French technique · 35 Cooper Sq, East Village
Librae is the most exciting newer bakery in the city, blending Bahraini and Levantine flavors with French and Danish lamination. The pistachio rose croissant — shiny, pointed, plump, around $8.75 — is the social-media star, but the tahini rye chocolate chip cookies (served warm) and the lumee babka with black lime and lemon curd are just as good. There are usually 23 things in the case at once, baked up to eight times a day, so what you grab has likely been out of the oven under an hour. Expect a line; it moves.
L’Appartement 4F
Hand-rolled French pastry · 115 Montague St, Brooklyn Heights
This Brooklyn Heights bakery went viral for its tiny “croissant cereal,” but the real reason to go is the lamination: every croissant is hand-rolled, and Le Framboise — a double-baked almond croissant filled with raspberry Valrhona ganache, about $7.50 — is one of the best pastries in the borough. Open 8am–6pm, steps from the Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park, so grab a bag and walk it off. There’s a West Village outpost too, at 119 W 10th St. They sell out, so go early.
Magnolia Bakery
Banana pudding institution · 401 Bleecker St, West Village
Magnolia put the West Village on the cupcake map back in 1996 — Sex and the City did the rest — but the banana pudding is the actual reason to come: layers of vanilla wafers, fresh banana, and creamy vanilla pudding, in a 12- or 16-ounce cup. The buttercream-swirl cupcakes are the other classic. The original Bleecker Street shop stays open late (until 10–11pm), and there are now locations at Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, the Upper West Side, and Hudson Yards. Touristy, yes. Still good.
Lady Wong
Malaysian patisserie · 332 E 9th St, East Village
Lady Wong is the best Asian bakery in the city for elegant, Southeast Asian–inspired cakes. Run by Malaysian husband-and-wife duo Seleste Tan and Mogan Anthony — both veterans of Michelin kitchens — it turns out pandan cake, kuih, a mango sticky rice tart, and a matcha mille crepe cake that looks like it belongs in a gallery. The East Village shop is the flagship; there’s a second counter at Urban Hawker near Times Square. It’s billed as the largest pandan importer in NYC, and you can taste it.
Cannelle Patisserie
Manhattan-quality French, Queens prices · 75-59 31st Ave, Jackson Heights
Cannelle is the best French bakery most Manhattanites have never been to — a Jackson Heights strip-mall patisserie run by two former Waldorf Astoria pastry chefs. The almond croissants get singled out as the best in the city, and the creole cake, praline crunch, and lemon tarts are worth the 7 train. Everything’s baked on-site and priced well below what you’d pay below 96th Street. Open 7am–8pm, with a second location in Long Island City. The whole neighborhood lines up on weekend mornings.
Radio Bakery
Greenpoint’s croissant line · 135 India St, Greenpoint
Radio has lines down the block on weekends for a reason. The pistachio and triple-chocolate croissants are the headliners, but the sleeper is the cheesy pretzel bearclaw — equal parts laminated pastry and soft pretzel — and the spicy ‘nduja croissant on the savory side. Chef Kelly Mencin (an offshoot of Rolo’s in Ridgewood) bakes everything on-site daily, 7:30am until sold out, which on weekends can be by mid-morning. A second location is open in Prospect Heights at 186 Underhill Ave. Go before 10am or accept the wait.
Clementine Bakery
All-vegan, all day · 395 Classon Ave, Clinton Hill
Clementine is the best vegan bakery in NYC, full stop — everything is plant-based, organic, and gluten-free when you want it. The case runs golden croissants, peanut butter blondies, brownies, cupcakes, and custom layer cakes that don’t taste like compromises. It doubles as a small provisions shop, and there’s a big green patio out front. Open daily from 9am in Clinton Hill, a short walk from the Classon Ave G stop. Bring a non-vegan friend; they won’t clock the difference.
Bánh by Lauren
Vietnamese pastry · 42 Market St, Two Bridges
Bánh by Lauren made The New York Times’ list of the best bakeries in the country its first year open. The Vietnamese-inflected pastries — pandan coffee cake, fried sesame balls, pâté chaud — are the draw, all out of a small Two Bridges storefront on the edge of Chinatown. It started as a pop-up, and the lines suggest it could have stayed one. Go for the pandan, stay for whatever’s new that week.
Mei Lai Wah
Chinatown’s pork bun classic · 41 Mott St, Chinatown
Mei Lai Wah has been baking Hong Kong–style buns since 1968, and the baked char siu bao — burnished outside, stuffed with tender barbecued pork — is one of the best cheap bites in the city, usually under $3. The pineapple pork bun (the “pineapple” is the sweet crackly top, not fruit) went TikTok-viral and now there’s a line out the door. After 50-plus years on Bayard Street, the bakery moved to a bigger space at 41 Mott. Cash or card kiosks keep it moving. This is the antidote to the $9 croissant.
The Best Asian Bakeries in NYC
For the best Asian bakeries in NYC, start in the East Village at Lady Wong, where the Malaysian pandan cake and mango sticky rice tart show off Southeast Asian flavors with patisserie precision. Down in Two Bridges, Bánh by Lauren brings Vietnamese pastry — pandan coffee cake, fried sesame balls — that earned a national New York Times nod. And in Chinatown, Mei Lai Wah is the classic: baked char siu bao under $3, handmade since 1968. Three very different takes, three reasons to ride the train. For more across the category, see our guide to the best Asian restaurants in NYC.
The Best Vegan Bakery in NYC
The best vegan bakery in NYC is Clementine in Clinton Hill — fully plant-based, organic, with croissants, blondies, brownies, and layer cakes that hold up against any butter-based shop. If you’re after a single vegan item rather than a whole bakery, Levain bakes a vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookie made with cashew butter, and most spots on this list carry at least one plant-based option. For plant-based meals beyond dessert, our best vegetarian restaurants in NYC guide has more.
Where to Find the Best Croissants in NYC
If you’re hunting the best croissant in NYC, four spots on this list lead. L’Appartement 4F in Brooklyn Heights does hand-rolled lamination and the raspberry-ganache Le Framboise; Librae in the East Village owns the pistachio rose; Radio in Greenpoint draws weekend lines for its pistachio and triple-chocolate versions; and Cannelle in Jackson Heights makes what locals call the best almond croissant in the city — at Queens prices. For a French sit-down meal to go with the pastry, see the best French restaurants in NYC.
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Best Bakery in NYC: FAQ
What is the best bakery in NYC?
There’s no single answer, but Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo is the most-cited pick for sheer technique and invention — home of the Cronut, the DKA, and the Cookie Shot. For cookies it’s Levain, for babka it’s Breads Bakery, and for vegan it’s Clementine in Clinton Hill. The best bakery in NYC really depends on what you’re craving.
What is the best Asian bakery in NYC?
Lady Wong in the East Village leads for elegant Southeast Asian cakes like pandan and the mango sticky rice tart. For Vietnamese pastry, Bánh by Lauren in Two Bridges made the New York Times’ national best-bakeries list. And for a classic, cheap Chinatown bun, Mei Lai Wah’s baked char siu bao has been the standard since 1968.
Which NYC bakery has the best croissant?
It’s a tight race. L’Appartement 4F in Brooklyn Heights and Librae in the East Village trade on lamination and creative fillings, Radio in Greenpoint draws weekend lines for its pistachio and triple-chocolate croissants, and Cannelle Patisserie in Jackson Heights is widely called the best almond croissant in the city for the price.
What’s the cheapest bakery on this list?
Mei Lai Wah in Chinatown — most buns, including the famous baked roast pork bun, stay under $3. It’s the best value baked good in the city and a strong counterpoint to the $8–9 filled croissants elsewhere on this list. For another cheap classic, see our best bagels in NYC guide.
When’s the best time to go to avoid the lines?
Early. Most of these bakeries open by 7–9am, and the worst crowds hit on weekend mornings. For the Cronut at Dominique Ansel, pre-order online on Mondays. Levain, Radio, and Cannelle all move fastest right at open.
Last updated: May 2026. Deals, hours, and menu items are subject to change — confirm with the venue before visiting. Several of these bakeries sell out of signature items by midday, so go early.
More NYC guides: Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens happy hours, plus the best bagels in NYC, best Asian restaurants in NYC, and best French restaurants in NYC.
See our best desserts in NYC and best cakes in NYC guides.
Related: several of these bakeries make a serious hot chocolate too — our best hot chocolate in NYC guide has the prices, from $5 up.
