Why there are few things better than a great croissant

Buttery pastry, all soft layers and crisp crunch … there are few things better than a great croissant. Here are five of Sydney’s best.

There are few things better than the buttery pastry, soft layers and crisp crunch of a great croissant. Picture: Supplied

There are few things better than the buttery pastry, soft layers and crisp crunch of a great croissant.

Lune Croissanterie

Rosebery & CBD

Lune Croissanterie.

There are croissants, and then there are Lune croissants. These are the kinds of pastries that inspire early alarms and long queues. Born in Melbourne and now embedded in Sydney’s pastry scene, Lune’s creations are feats of precision engineering. The classic butter is a lesson in lamination: shatteringly crisp outside, silky and rich within. Seasonal flavours rotate with a sense of theatre – think chocolate crackle or pepperoni pizza croissants – perfectly encased in golden pastry. Rosebery’s industrial-chic warehouse adds gravitas to your mission, while the city store offers a speedier fix. Either way, it’s croissant nirvana with a cult-like following.

lunecroissanterie.com

Rollers Bakehouse

Manly

Rollers Bakehouse.

A croissant the size of your face? Yes please. Manly’s Rollers Bakehouse is a temple to pastry excess, and we mean that in the best possible way. Set in a breezy alley just off the Corso, this local favourite combines bold and playful flavours with serious pastry technique. Think matcha cheesecake croissants, cruffins filled with spiced apple, and a rotating cast of crafty, buttery characters that all just work. The plain croissant holds its own, but it’s the creative flavours that keep people coming back for more. A post-swim croissant never tasted so good – or looked so good on Instagram.

19 Rialto Ln, Manly

Lucien Baked Goods

Parramatta

Lucien Bakes Goods.

Baked daily in-house with French butter, Lucien’s golden croissants are crisp, delicate and layered with obsessive precision. The plain croissant is all glossy confidence and crunch, while specials like the peanut butter and jam or strawberry matcha croissant deliver flavour bombs with flair. The fit-out is sleek and Euro-chic, but the vibe stays friendly and unfussy. Want to turn your croissant into a meal? Get your mouth around a bacon and egg croissant, complete with avocado and chilli jam. This is the kind of place you go for a coffee and end up lingering (with pastry flakes on your shirt).

111 Phillip St, Parramatta

Flour and Stone

Woolloomooloo

Flour and Stone.

These croissants aren’t flashy; they’re quietly extraordinary. This is the kind of pastry you unwrap slowly, eat thoughtfully and remember long after the crumbs are gone. There’s a deep, buttery flavour that comes from patience, proper ingredients and skilful technique honed over years. The almond version has become something of a Sydney icon, filled with frangipane and wielding just the right amount of gooey heft. The charming heritage corner spot adds to the sense that this is a place where things are done the old-fashioned way: with care, by hand and always from scratch. Get in early – they go fast.

53 Riley St, Woolloomooloo

Moon Phase

St Leonards

Moon Phase.

It might look like a serene Korean cafe, but behind Moon Phase’s calm exterior lies some serious croissant ambition. Every pastry here is laminated in-house, baked fresh daily and finished with immaculate attention to detail. The classic croissant is textbook – light, crisp and golden – but it’s the inventive specials that make people plot multiple weekday visits: consider spice-filled winter chai, Earl Grey with lychee and the sweetly aromatic wildflower honey. Moon Phase isn’t flashy, but it’s quietly producing some of the best croissants north of the bridge.

Shop entry via Clarke Lane (off Oxley St) 96-97/545 Pacific Hwy, St Leonards

Originally published as Why there are few things better than a great croissant