Ayu Bakehouse
Bakery · Marigny ·
Savory & sweet pastries, croissants, king cakes, breads, sandwiches, coffee
Savory & sweet pastries, croissants, king cakes, breads, sandwiches, coffee
"A buzzing bakery in the French Quarter on lively Frenchmen Street, Ayu blends local flavors with playful, multicultural influences to produce some of the Crescent City’s flakiest croissants, lavish chocolate babka knots, lacy muffuletta breadsticks, and multiple king cakes — including the Croissant City Classic King Cake that was voted best in New Orleans in the 2024 Times-Picayune king cake bracket. The open-production kitchen is part of the spectacle, and the display case is packed with whimsical pastries inspired by New Orleans and founder Kelly Jacques’ mixed heritage (she’s a quarter Chinese, Irish, Italian, and French). Standouts include the Boudin Boy — a super-crispy croissant enveloping soft‑boiled egg and tender, mild, crumbled rice-and-pork boudin (from the much-loved Best Stop) served with Lao Gan Ma chile crisp — and its vegetarian Shroom Boom counterpart. Other recommended items are the kaya bun filled with coconut‑pandan custard, the Frenchmen sandwich slathered with anchovy aioli and stuffed with tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, green beans, and radish, chewy muffuletta-style breadsticks studded with charcuterie and olives, and decadent Nutella-and-chocolate babka knots; seasonal pastry specials also rotate through the case. Opened in 2022 by Jacques after pastry training and years working in New York, Ayu (an Indonesian word for “beauty” or “joy”) aims to elevate customers’ mood — “we’re in the business of joy,” Jacques says — by offering joyful, locally rooted baked goods presented as a kind of performance." - Raphael Brion
"Ayu is the most exciting bakery in New Orleans. They offer classic laminated treats like plain and chocolate croissants, but what you’re really here for are the seasonal varieties like cheese and crawfish-stuffed crawwsants. There are also sweeter special editions, like a salty-sweet chocolate croissant filled with brown butter frangipane and rum caramel bananas, and a floral rose baklava croissant." - anne cruz
"Ayu is the most exciting bakery in the city (and one of our favorites in the country). It’s easy to get hyped about the creative treats here, like the coconutty kaya buns, cheesy crawfish croissant sandwiches, flaky parm and chive biscuits, muffuletta breadsticks, and sweet-savory jalapeño cornbread cookies. Our advice: go early, try whatever special they’re doing (the satsuma curd-filled BaYule Log was so good, we’re haunted by it not being on the menu full time), and order as many pastries as you can convince yourself is acceptable. They have a couple of tables outside that are ideal for snacking, drinking one of their on-point lattes, and gazing out on to Washington Square." - megan braden perry
"A Frenchmen Street bakery specialized in airy, laminated layers laced with cinnamon cream cheese, and known for chocolate babka knots, kaya buns, and savory-sweet handhelds like a boudin-filled pastry with egg." - Regan Stephens
"It’s easy to get hyped about the creative treats at Ayu in New Orleans, like the coconutty kaya buns, cheesy crawfish croissant sandwiches, flaky parm and chive biscuits, muffuletta breadsticks, and sweet-savory jalapeño cornbread cookies. Our advice: go early, try whatever special they’re doing (the satsuma curd-filled BaYule Log was so good, we’re haunted by it not being on the menu full time), and order as many pastries as you can convince yourself is acceptable. They have a couple of tables outside that are ideal for snacking, drinking a latte, and gazing out on to Washington Square." - anne cruz, team infatuation, jackie gutierrez jones 2, carina finn koeppicus, megan braden perry, julia chen 1, chelsea thomas, veda kilaru, ryan pfeffer, aimee rizzo, nikko duren, nicolai mccrary, candis mclean, juli horsford