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Breads on shelves at Bourke Street Bakery.
Breads at Bourke Street Bakery.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

13 Essential Manhattan Bakeries

Where to find the city’s best bread, plus pastries, doughnuts, and more

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Breads at Bourke Street Bakery.
| Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

In a city full of great bakeries, leaving baking to the professionals has its benefits. The bakers and pastry chefs behind these shops are timeless talents in a city where only the best can stay afloat.

For a bakery to be considered for this list, it must serve breads as well as an assortment of breakfast pastries and sweets, such as cakes, pies, tarts, and cookies. Bakeries that only make a handful of items are excluded, as are sweets-only bakeries, strictly wholesale operations, or those that only sell their goods at greenmarkets. Here, we’ve chosen a baker’s dozen that represent essential bakeries in Manhattan.

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Orwasher’s Bakery

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One of the Upper East Side’s longest continually running businesses, Orwasher’s was founded by a Hungarian family in 1916. Today, it’s run by baker Keith Cohen, whose starters are spiked with different types of wine or lager. The shop is best known for its rugelach, pumpernickel bread, spelt loaves, jelly doughnuts, and black-and-white cookies, but don’t miss the sticky-bun babka, chocolate croissants, seeded bagels, glazed doughnuts, turnovers, or cherry cheese strudel — it’s some of the best in the city.

Baskets of brown loaves of bread in various shapes are arranged against the wall of a bakery. Signs advertising their contents rest on the outside of the baskets.
Whole wheat and other homemade loaves rest are arranged in baskets at Orwasher’s.
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Amy's Bread

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An anchor of NYC’s bread-baking scene, Amy’s opened in Hell’s Kitchen in 1992 and remains a go-to for artisan breads made with flour that’s good for you (i.e., not bleached and bromated): from white to wheat and rye in baguettes, sourdough boules, Pullman loaves, and more. Today there are seven spots to pick up bread, pastries, cakes, and other treats.

A piece of brown glistening toast embedded with slivered almonds.
Almond brioche toast at Amy’s Bread.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bien Cuit

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Zachary Golper and his partner Kate Wheatcroft brought a new level of perfectionism to baked goods when they opened their first shop in Boerum Hill in 2011. The crust on their loaves is bien cuit, or well-burnished — sometimes almost black on the edges. Another is the crumb, or bread’s interior, and Bien Cuit’s bread is held aloft by a dense network of bubbles. Though Golper’s miche is one of the city’s best, and his baguette (with its sharply curved slits) one of the city’s most beautiful, the pastries he puts out are equally lovely and unexpected.

A squarish flaky pastry with red sauce in the middle.
Breakfast Sicilian Danish at Bien Cuit.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Sullivan Street Bakery

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Jim Lahey is the maestro who reminded home bakers that long-fermented no-knead bread is as easy as it is satisfying. Lahey, a master at natural starters and Italian doughs, also makes bomboloni stuffed with jam or cream. Cookies, tarts, cakes, and panettone are also on offer, depending upon the season. The potato flatbread pizza, sprinkled with rosemary and dappled with grassy olive oil, shouldn’t be missed.

A loaf of bread on a towel at Sullivan Street Bakery.
A loaf of bread from Sullivan Street Bakery.
Sullivan Street Bakery

Bourke Street Bakery

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This Australian import landed in Nomad back in 2019 with its rustic sourdough and pastries — along with an avid following that sparked long waits in its early days. At the bakery, the artisanal breads are just part of the quality offerings, including peanut butter-and-jelly croissants, shakshuka danishes, and its savory sausage rolls. It’s since expanded.

An overhead photograph of multiple hands tearing at cookies, sausage rolls, croissants, and other baked goods
Bourke Street Bakery started in Australia and made its New York debut in 2019.
Gary He/Eater

Fabrique Bakery

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Founded in Stockholm by Charlotta and David Zetterström in 2008, and known as a “stenugnsbageri” or stone-oven bakery, Fabrique is celebrated for its  sourdough breads and cardamom buns. Other items include a ham, cheese, and mustard croissant; impossibly dense chocolate brownies; as well as saffron danish. A tea room allows customers to eat their purchases on the premises with a view of the oven.

Oblong loaves from Fabrique Bakery.
Loaves from Fabrique Bakery.
Fabrique Bakery

Breads Bakery

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Breads’ babka has become a pastry icon in a city full of black-and-white cookies and wedges of cheesecake. Each braided slice contains layers of dark chocolate and crispy sugar. But the shop also puts out yeasted loaves, cakes, and pastries each day, with a knack for combining Middle Eastern flavors and European technique. Croissant dough gets twisted into pretzels and showered in poppy and sesame seeds; challah gets studded with everything from pockets of gouda to cranberries; and even the signature babka sometimes gets an NY cheesecake filling. There are other locations, too.

A cross-section of a loaf of chocolate babka from Breads Bakery
A loaf of chocolate babka from Breads Bakery.
Breads Bakery

Bread Story

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Former head baker of Maison Kaiser, Yann Ledoux opened this Stuyvesant Town bakery in 2021; today, he’s offering baguettes and mini baguettes, cereal bread, cheese bread, walnut bread, olive loaves, and more. Viennoiserie includes pan chocolat, brioche, turnovers, and bressane, while pastry favorites include flan nature and gateau Basque. There’s also a bread subscription option.

Balthazar

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Paula Oland has been the head baker at Balthazar since 1999. Today, she runs the brand’s massive bakery operation in Englewood, New Jersey, but her products are found across the city and for retail sale at Balthazar’s Bakery on Spring Street in Soho. There find Oland’s baguettes, miche, rye bread, ciabatta, focaccia, brioche, and croissants. Meanwhile, Mark Tasker runs Balthazar’s pastry and dessert program, putting out thin puff-pastry frangipane tarts, fruit- and cheese-filled danishes, tall layer cakes, rolled mousses, stacks of cookies, and seasonal specials like mince pies in the winter and strawberry-rhubarb galettes in the spring.

A snug baking operation with loaves of bread and other pastries stacked on shelves that stretch the ceiling. In the foreground, slices of cakes rest on platters.
The bite-sized interior of Balthazar
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Grandaisy Bakery

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Monica Von Thun Calderón opened Grandaisy — named for her grandmother — over 15 years ago, after being an original partner in Sullivan Street Bakery. She makes Italian-style loaves, pizza bianca, focaccia with toppings like zucchini and potatoes, as well as Roman-style pizza, ossa di morto (“bones of the dead”) cookies, and little tarts and hand pies, often with surprising fillings. Her bread pudding is among the richest in town.

A pie shaped wedge of sticky looking bread pudding.
Grandaisy’s bread pudding.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frenchette

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Chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson opened Frenchette Bakery to replace the beloved Arcade Bakery, from which they sourced bread for their acclaimed bistro, Frenchette, down the street. The duo wanted to keep a bakery in the neighborhood and they’ve done so with riffs on French classics: twice-baked pistachio croissants, caramelized kouign-amann, and simple loaves of country bread and dark malted rye are also available daily.

Pain d’Avignon

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Friends from grade school, Bane Stamenkovic, Uliks Fehmiu, and Tole Zurovac grew up in the former Yugoslavia and moved to the U.S. In typical resourceful-immigrant fashion, they learned how to bake and started a business: Pain d’Avignon. The breads range from soft ciabattas to dense Old World-style loaves to sweet brioche buns. Pastry offerings include walnut croissants, pistachio snails, sticky cinnamon buns, and chocolate olive oil cake. Today, there are multiple places to try its baked goods around the city.

An overhead photograph of a pastry studded in salt that appears to be filled with cheesecake and fruit in its center
A salt-studded pastry from Pain D’Avignon.
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Nora Allen’s bakery, Mel, may be open just a few days a week, but nevertheless, customers consistently wait in lines wrapped around the shop to get their hands on the bakery’s fragrant, tangy sourdough loaves and flaky, buttery croissants stuffed with whatever’s in season at the farmers market. The small-but-mighty menu landed Allen on the 2023 James Beard Award long list as an outstanding pastry chef.

A close-up photo of a croissant filled with cheese set on a brown paper bag, with greenery in the background
A ham and cheese croissant from Mel.
Erika Adams/Eater

Orwasher’s Bakery

One of the Upper East Side’s longest continually running businesses, Orwasher’s was founded by a Hungarian family in 1916. Today, it’s run by baker Keith Cohen, whose starters are spiked with different types of wine or lager. The shop is best known for its rugelach, pumpernickel bread, spelt loaves, jelly doughnuts, and black-and-white cookies, but don’t miss the sticky-bun babka, chocolate croissants, seeded bagels, glazed doughnuts, turnovers, or cherry cheese strudel — it’s some of the best in the city.

Baskets of brown loaves of bread in various shapes are arranged against the wall of a bakery. Signs advertising their contents rest on the outside of the baskets.
Whole wheat and other homemade loaves rest are arranged in baskets at Orwasher’s.
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Amy's Bread

An anchor of NYC’s bread-baking scene, Amy’s opened in Hell’s Kitchen in 1992 and remains a go-to for artisan breads made with flour that’s good for you (i.e., not bleached and bromated): from white to wheat and rye in baguettes, sourdough boules, Pullman loaves, and more. Today there are seven spots to pick up bread, pastries, cakes, and other treats.

A piece of brown glistening toast embedded with slivered almonds.
Almond brioche toast at Amy’s Bread.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Bien Cuit

Zachary Golper and his partner Kate Wheatcroft brought a new level of perfectionism to baked goods when they opened their first shop in Boerum Hill in 2011. The crust on their loaves is bien cuit, or well-burnished — sometimes almost black on the edges. Another is the crumb, or bread’s interior, and Bien Cuit’s bread is held aloft by a dense network of bubbles. Though Golper’s miche is one of the city’s best, and his baguette (with its sharply curved slits) one of the city’s most beautiful, the pastries he puts out are equally lovely and unexpected.

A squarish flaky pastry with red sauce in the middle.
Breakfast Sicilian Danish at Bien Cuit.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Sullivan Street Bakery

Jim Lahey is the maestro who reminded home bakers that long-fermented no-knead bread is as easy as it is satisfying. Lahey, a master at natural starters and Italian doughs, also makes bomboloni stuffed with jam or cream. Cookies, tarts, cakes, and panettone are also on offer, depending upon the season. The potato flatbread pizza, sprinkled with rosemary and dappled with grassy olive oil, shouldn’t be missed.

A loaf of bread on a towel at Sullivan Street Bakery.
A loaf of bread from Sullivan Street Bakery.
Sullivan Street Bakery

Bourke Street Bakery

This Australian import landed in Nomad back in 2019 with its rustic sourdough and pastries — along with an avid following that sparked long waits in its early days. At the bakery, the artisanal breads are just part of the quality offerings, including peanut butter-and-jelly croissants, shakshuka danishes, and its savory sausage rolls. It’s since expanded.

An overhead photograph of multiple hands tearing at cookies, sausage rolls, croissants, and other baked goods
Bourke Street Bakery started in Australia and made its New York debut in 2019.
Gary He/Eater

Fabrique Bakery

Founded in Stockholm by Charlotta and David Zetterström in 2008, and known as a “stenugnsbageri” or stone-oven bakery, Fabrique is celebrated for its  sourdough breads and cardamom buns. Other items include a ham, cheese, and mustard croissant; impossibly dense chocolate brownies; as well as saffron danish. A tea room allows customers to eat their purchases on the premises with a view of the oven.

Oblong loaves from Fabrique Bakery.
Loaves from Fabrique Bakery.
Fabrique Bakery

Breads Bakery

Breads’ babka has become a pastry icon in a city full of black-and-white cookies and wedges of cheesecake. Each braided slice contains layers of dark chocolate and crispy sugar. But the shop also puts out yeasted loaves, cakes, and pastries each day, with a knack for combining Middle Eastern flavors and European technique. Croissant dough gets twisted into pretzels and showered in poppy and sesame seeds; challah gets studded with everything from pockets of gouda to cranberries; and even the signature babka sometimes gets an NY cheesecake filling. There are other locations, too.

A cross-section of a loaf of chocolate babka from Breads Bakery
A loaf of chocolate babka from Breads Bakery.
Breads Bakery

Bread Story

Former head baker of Maison Kaiser, Yann Ledoux opened this Stuyvesant Town bakery in 2021; today, he’s offering baguettes and mini baguettes, cereal bread, cheese bread, walnut bread, olive loaves, and more. Viennoiserie includes pan chocolat, brioche, turnovers, and bressane, while pastry favorites include flan nature and gateau Basque. There’s also a bread subscription option.

Balthazar

Paula Oland has been the head baker at Balthazar since 1999. Today, she runs the brand’s massive bakery operation in Englewood, New Jersey, but her products are found across the city and for retail sale at Balthazar’s Bakery on Spring Street in Soho. There find Oland’s baguettes, miche, rye bread, ciabatta, focaccia, brioche, and croissants. Meanwhile, Mark Tasker runs Balthazar’s pastry and dessert program, putting out thin puff-pastry frangipane tarts, fruit- and cheese-filled danishes, tall layer cakes, rolled mousses, stacks of cookies, and seasonal specials like mince pies in the winter and strawberry-rhubarb galettes in the spring.

A snug baking operation with loaves of bread and other pastries stacked on shelves that stretch the ceiling. In the foreground, slices of cakes rest on platters.
The bite-sized interior of Balthazar
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Grandaisy Bakery

Monica Von Thun Calderón opened Grandaisy — named for her grandmother — over 15 years ago, after being an original partner in Sullivan Street Bakery. She makes Italian-style loaves, pizza bianca, focaccia with toppings like zucchini and potatoes, as well as Roman-style pizza, ossa di morto (“bones of the dead”) cookies, and little tarts and hand pies, often with surprising fillings. Her bread pudding is among the richest in town.

A pie shaped wedge of sticky looking bread pudding.
Grandaisy’s bread pudding.
Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Frenchette

Chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson opened Frenchette Bakery to replace the beloved Arcade Bakery, from which they sourced bread for their acclaimed bistro, Frenchette, down the street. The duo wanted to keep a bakery in the neighborhood and they’ve done so with riffs on French classics: twice-baked pistachio croissants, caramelized kouign-amann, and simple loaves of country bread and dark malted rye are also available daily.

Pain d’Avignon

Friends from grade school, Bane Stamenkovic, Uliks Fehmiu, and Tole Zurovac grew up in the former Yugoslavia and moved to the U.S. In typical resourceful-immigrant fashion, they learned how to bake and started a business: Pain d’Avignon. The breads range from soft ciabattas to dense Old World-style loaves to sweet brioche buns. Pastry offerings include walnut croissants, pistachio snails, sticky cinnamon buns, and chocolate olive oil cake. Today, there are multiple places to try its baked goods around the city.

An overhead photograph of a pastry studded in salt that appears to be filled with cheesecake and fruit in its center
A salt-studded pastry from Pain D’Avignon.
Daniela Galarza/Eater

Mel

Nora Allen’s bakery, Mel, may be open just a few days a week, but nevertheless, customers consistently wait in lines wrapped around the shop to get their hands on the bakery’s fragrant, tangy sourdough loaves and flaky, buttery croissants stuffed with whatever’s in season at the farmers market. The small-but-mighty menu landed Allen on the 2023 James Beard Award long list as an outstanding pastry chef.

A close-up photo of a croissant filled with cheese set on a brown paper bag, with greenery in the background
A ham and cheese croissant from Mel.
Erika Adams/Eater

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