For our most recent trip to Paris, we went out of our way to sample the baked goods at four bakeries we have tried in the past. All are good and worth going to, but we have developed our favorites for various items and figure that readers will find such a comparison helpful.
The bakeries are: Josephine Bakery, Smith's Bakery, and Paul in St. Germain des Pres, and also Moulin de la Vierge in the 7th Arondissement. For each of these bakeries we ordered similar items on different days, focusing primarily on croissants (plain and pain du chocolat), chausson au pomme, quiche, and sandwiches.
Our favorite bakery of the bunch is Josephine, on the strength of its croissants, pain au chocolat, and ham/cheese/butter on baguette sandwiches (the classique). As indicated in a prior review, Josephine is a neighborhood bakery that is open only M-F. Their clientele is noticeably local and French (you hear French spoken by almost all customers, though they do speak English), perhaps because they are located away from the most heavily tourist-focused areas of St. Germain des Pres. In particular, the pain au chocolat stands out above all the others. It is the lightest and flakiest, with an excellent balance between chocolate and dough flavors. Yum. We gave a slight nod to its butter croissant, but it is a pretty close call between Josephine, Smith's, and Moulin de la Vierge for that. And then there are those sandwiches...so simple, yet tasty. Waaaayy better than sandwiches I buy for lunch at home. Yes, maybe it's just the effect of being in Paris, but I didn't act as strongly to other sandwiches on this trip. Good ingredients (especially good bread) allow simple to be excellent.
Our second favorite is Moulin de la Vierge. Its outstanding item for us was the chausson de pomme. Flaky crust and tasty filling. By comparison, the same pastry at Smith and Paul were not quite as good (Josephine did not offer this item during our stay, but we've enjoyed it there in other years). Moulin de la Vierge's croissants were really good too. A bit less buttery than Josephine, so that might be a personal preference thing. The pain au chocolat was just a tad heavier and slightly weaker in chocolate flavor than Josephine's, but still very good.
As for Smith's, the winning item there was the quiche. We had both the quiche Lorraine and the quiche with smoked salmon and spinach. Excellent! By comparison, quiche Lorraine at Paul across the street was smaller and saltier. If you're about to order quiche at Paul, for heaven's sake walk across the street! Smith's basic croissant was also excellent, with the pain au chocolat good, but heavier than the others. Again, at this place, order the quiche!
Finally, Paul wins on decor. It's the largest, most comfortable place inside. The food is decent, but in the end, it's a chain and it shows. The items are good, but none remarkable. read more