Every Croissant At Paris Baguette, Ranked Worst To Best

Maybe it's just me, but I woke up one day and felt like Paris Baguette stores were everywhere. Especially in the suburbs, it was like the brand found every shopping center with a Starbucks and added a Paris Baguette on the other end. Okay, this is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it still seems like these stores arrived out of nowhere with world dominance in mind. The reality is that there are around 340 Paris Baguette locations across 32 states in the country, with California currently boasting the most spots. The company's U.S. footprint, however, pales in comparison to its more than 4,000 locations worldwide.

Despite the name, Paris Baguette is a Korean company founded in the mid-1980s in Seoul. Stores named Paris Croissant actually came first, with Paris Baguette originally launching as a less-expensive alternative. So while the company may be using baguettes to conquer the globe, its croissants are still arguably its signature item. The chain does sell a baguette, but it only comes in one flavor, while it also offers more than a dozen croissant options, with selection varying slightly by season. The store also sells a wide variety of cakes and other pastries and has worked its way to become one of customers' favorite bakery chains. All that considered, then, I figured a good way to get to know the brand's offerings would be to start with its beloved laminated pastry in all its (hopefully) glorious variations. Without further ado, then, let's dive into our ranking of Paris Baguette croissant flavors.

Though pumpkin spice-flavored things can be rather divisive this time of year, I consider myself a fan. In fact, I use these spices — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, sometimes cloves — in my cooking year-round. I also use canned pumpkin just about every month. So, pumpkin spice season is always a welcome development for me, and I was actually excited about this limited-time option. (Paris Baguette, by the way, does seem to offer other seasonal cruffin flavors throughout the year.) Honestly, however? The pumpkin spice cruffin — which is a croissant-muffin hybrid, if that wasn't clear — is a complete mess.

Firstly, it's so sweet. The spices are there, yes, but the cloying sugar overpowers them. In addition, there's just so dang much cream in this thing, easily overshadowing the pastry itself. In sum, the sugar overpowers the spice, and the cream overpowers the pastry. In the end, it's sloppy, unbalanced, and not very appetizing. Despite my love for all things pumpkin spice, this one definitely isn't a reorder.

Paris Baguette's mini croissants come in a pack of six and are about 4.5 inches long and just shy of 3 inches wide in the center, compared to 7 inches long and about 3.5 inches wide for the classic croissant. Oddly, however, these minis are listed on the bakery chain's website at 390 calories per serving, whereas the standard is only 230. It's unclear exactly how these numbers are calculated, making me wonder whether there is some creative math involved.

Anyway, these mini croissants are quite underwhelming. The base — which I assume is the same as the classic croissant — is mostly flavorless, and the balance between crust and interior leads to an overly dry impression. (And they go stale much faster than the larger croissants.) While these don't taste bad per se, they don't taste good either, and texturally they barely meet the flaky, layered standard of a well-made French croissant. While they might do in a pinch and can easily feed a crowd, there's otherwise little to recommend here.

It's a shame, because the idea of a cronut (a term Paris Baguette avoids using, but we're all thinking), or a layered, flaky croissant that's been fried until crispy, is certainly appealing. The problem here — similar to what I found in the cruffin — is that the ratio of cream and glaze to actual cronut is way off, at least for my taste. The amount of custard cream inside this croissant donut is so abundant, it simply dominates every bite. And while I do enjoy the little hit of lemon in the glaze — which provides much-needed acidity — in the end this topping is just another creamy element that partners with the filling to drown out the dough.

The flavor of the custard cream is not the issue here. Though nothing special, it's fine. Again, it's the amount that irks me. Instead of a subtle interplay between the layers of dough and the cream, it honestly just feels like I am eating a large scoop of cream. Do some people actually like this style? I suppose so, but it sure isn't for me. (Perhaps I just don't like cronuts.)

Like the aforementioned plain (lemon?) croissant donut, the coffee croissant donut also suffers from an overbearing cream-to-dough ratio. Biting into it is like taking a spoonful of cream, forgetting the pastry altogether! That said, the added bitterness of the coffee cream at least brings a bit of diversity to the table, offering a little something to get away from the one-note pastry cream. There's also a little chocolate coffee bean that, for the one bite it fits into, offers a pleasant hit of palate variation.

To be honest, however — and despite what I just wrote — the coffee cream isn't great. It's reminiscent of coffee liqueur, or otherwise artificial coffee sweetness, which theoretically balances the bitterness but in reality tastes a bit odd. Though I'm giving this one a slight advantage over the regular croissant donut, I can't see myself ever ordering either one again.

As mentioned in the intro, the classic croissant may just be Paris Baguette's signature item. And if you accept that premise, well, this is one disappointing signature item. I'm not mad at it; I'm just ... disappointed. As in, this is the best you can do? It doesn't taste bad, have any off flavors or notes, but it is kinda sad. Visually, it's limp and has very little of that laminated sheen a truly great croissant offers. And flavor-wise, like the mini croissant, it is rather bland, boasting very little of the rich, buttery decadence that I have come to expect from a top-tier croissant. Warming, unfortunately, didn't do it many favors either; in fact, it actually took away from the delicate airiness so crucial to a croissant's texture.

Yes, it's still a croissant, and a mediocre croissant is better than many other things on earth. But also, if I'm going to waste the effort and calories to find and consume a croissant, it needs to be better than what Paris Baguette is offering here. If this fails to shine on its own, however, we've got some flavored and stuffed versions below that can perhaps carry this base into something stronger.

As noted above, the base croissant is nothing to write home about at Paris Baguette. Therefore, since the strawberry croissant features a reasonably large quantity of sliced fresh strawberries, its overall merit relies quite a bit on the quality of said fruits. Of course, this could vary by season, individual store, luck of the draw, etc. I, of course, can only judge the dish that's in front of me, and in this case, the strawberries were okay. They were reasonably ripe, certainly not notably under- or overripe, but they also were nothing special. They tasted like your average, everyday supermarket strawberry. Fine, but hardly transcendent.

This treat also includes a bit of custard cream, which I found better balanced with both the croissant and the strawberries, creating a generally pleasant experience. Indeed, this one sets itself up as a reasonable facsimile of strawberry shortcake, so fans of such would do well to give it a try.

For anyone who looked at the photo and immediately wondered how this could possibly be considered a croissant, you're not alone. It's definitely weird. The "supreme" croissant style, it turns out — which is sometimes haughtily written suprême, with that fancy accent — was introduced in 2022 at Lafayette Grand Café and Bakery in NoHo, New York City. It created a cronut-like frenzy, including crazy-long lines and gushing social media posts. Though the hype has since died down, it has, of course, like the cronut and cruffin, spawned many imitators.

To make one of these pastries, laminated dough is rolled into a tight spiral, creating a round overall shape. Paris Baguette's chocolate supreme croissant is also filled with chocolate custard cream and dipped in a chocolate glaze. Honestly though, I'm not all that comfortable calling this a croissant. Unlike the cronut or cruffin, where it is abundantly clear that the pastry in question is some kind of hybrid, the word supreme offers none of that clarity.

As for the eating experience here, it's fine. There's a decent crunch on the outside, yes, but it also lacks the light, lacy structure that makes a croissant, well, a croissant, and therein lies the problem. Does it taste good? Sure. But it's also missing something fundamental.

The mini strawberry lemon cream croissant is similar to the aforementioned strawberry croissant in that it features freshly sliced strawberries and pastry cream. While it's true that this one is served on the less-effective mini croissant, two things stand out that take it above the last. For one, the cream is lemon-flavored, and that citrusy acidity adds a zingy pop that brings out not only the cream but also the flavor of the strawberries in a lovely way. It is a great combination.

In addition, this option is just more properly sized for what it is. As in, yes, I bagged on the mini croissant a bit above, but when it comes to something that's filled with cream and fruit, the combination can quickly get overwhelming. Serving this all up in a more manageable size is definitely preferred and tends to outweigh the downsides of the mini croissant.

When I originally saw this option on the Paris Baguette menu (as part of my research for this piece), though I figured it would be fun to try the store's garlic croissant, I also assumed it would finish last. It just seemed like something that, while theoretically viable, would likely be executed poorly. In other words, I was expecting an aggressive garlic bomb that overwhelmed the pastry and left me desperately thirsty for the rest of the day.

How wrong I was! For one, despite being listed in the savory section of the Paris Baguette menu, this is not fully savory. The glaze on this croissant actually offers a sugary note that balances the garlic's pungent tendencies in a beautiful way, melding together to create something that's surprisingly harmonious. Is it for everybody? Surely not, but garlic lovers should definitely give it a try.

As a point of order, I should also note that the glaze featured on these is quite sticky, so if you're going to order these — which are only available in the mini size, in packs of six — be sure to request that they put them in a separate box; otherwise, every item in the order will taste of garlic.

Visually, the almond croissant from Paris Baguette leaves something to be desired. It's so ... flat! Where is the delicate, airy texture I associate with croissants? It's certainly missing in this pancake-looking thing. That said, this pastry, which is filled with almond cream and topped with powdered sugar and roasted, sliced almonds, is actually quite tasty.

The inclusion of almond cream can be dicey in pastries like this one because it can sometimes feature the dominant flavor of almond extract, which isn't made with the almonds we eat but rather bitter almonds and sometimes even other stone fruit pits. In this case, however, the potentially divisive flavor isn't an issue; it is seemingly used sparingly or not at all — Paris Baguette does not publish ingredient lists — allowing the flavor of toasted, sweet almonds to take center stage. Of course, this also means that devotees of this alternative almond flavor may be disappointed.

If I have a complaint about this almond croissant — other than the visual ones mentioned above — it's that it can be a bit dry, especially on the ends. But its flavor otherwise saves it.

Having conducted a number of these exercises in my time writing for The Takeout — like this ranking of Crumbl cookie flavors — I find that the simplest options often rise to, or at least approach, the top of the lists. Complex, wacky, Instagram-worthy options have their moments, sure, but at the end of the day, simple and well-made often trumps showiness. And while, in Paris Baguette's case, the classic croissant failed to impress, this traditional, well-made pain au chocolat (or is it chocolatine?) illustrates this concept quite well.

Restraint is key with this pastry. The chocolate should be present, yes, but not the lead flavor. It should blend with the buttery dough in a pleasant, clean way. And that's the case here: As shown in the photo, the chocolate fits into the flaky pastry subtly, easily, and harmoniously. Though this is certainly not the pain au chocolat of an artisanal baker, it adequately delivers on the promise of its name; thus, it is one of the better options available at Paris Baguette.

While the raspberry almond croissant has similar visual issues as its cousin, the almond croissant, the combination of flavors here is simply fantastic. Like the aforementioned almond, it's filled with almond cream and topped with toasted almonds and powdered sugar. Yet it is also laced with a lovely raspberry jam and includes a few raspberries in the topping as well.

It's the jam that really leads the way here: It's sweet yet oh-so-tangy, acidic in a way that clears the palate for the next bite. In this way, it's borderline addictive. And the sweet-sour raspberry combo also pairs wonderfully with the roastiness of the almonds. While I'm not sure the berries in the topping add much — other than visually distinguishing this one from the plain almond croissant — it doesn't matter, since the jam is so delicious. And unlike the strawberry croissants mentioned above, this one doesn't rely on fresh fruit for its flavor, so there's less danger of discrepancy based on season, supplier, etc.

While in many American bakeries this term refers to pain au chocolat, in this particular case, Paris Baguette produces not only that, but also a specific creation it calls a chocolate croissant. Like the pain au chocolat, there is a small (but mighty) amount of chocolate stuffed into the pastry. In addition, the entire croissant is dipped in chocolate, which ends up coating about half of the outside of the pastry.

An interesting aspect about the chocolate croissant was that structurally, it was — by far — the best base croissant I tried from Paris Baguette. In other words, it had the correct shape and size, and was neither limp nor flat. Was this, somehow, because of the chocolate coating, I wondered? Did that protect the pastry from suffering the same fate as some of the ones listed above? Or did I just happen to get a good one? To be honest, I'm not sure. But what this means is that, in addition to a delicious blend of chocolate (inside), chocolate (dip), and buttery croissant flavor, it also held up texturally better than anything else on this list. And that combination certainly makes it a worthy winner here.

Because the Paris Baguette menu has a wide variety of pastry options and many of them might use a laminated croissant dough as a base, it can be a little tricky to define what counts as a croissant and what doesn't. For this exercise, then, I included everything labelled croissant, of course, as well as the obvious croissant-hybrid pastries such as the cruffin. Though it might offend some purists, I also included the pain au chocolat because it's often referred to as a chocolate croissant in American English. In this case, Paris Baguette does call a different item a chocolate croissant, but I wasn't going to skip either one.

Once the list was set, I ordered each pastry option from my local Paris Baguette. Because I needed to get home and photograph each flavor before trying it, and I wanted to taste them all on an even playing field, I did not order any of these warmed, as you can for some (but not all) of these pastries. Other than that, for each option I considered flavor, texture, and overall balance as part of my ranking process. As for what's up next for me? Croissant croutons for salad, of course!