Ayu Bakehouse
Bakery · Marigny
801 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70117
Highlights
Savory & sweet pastries, sourdough, king cakes, croissants
Savory & sweet pastries, sourdough, king cakes, croissants
"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
"This bakehouse's pastry case can be a complete distraction from king cakes, with crave-inducing cookies and eye-popping egg sandwiches. The Croissant City Classic King Cake is flaky with layers of croissant, cinnamon, and cream cheese, and texture from traditionally colored sugar sprinkles (purple, gold, and green). Co-founders Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss also offer a chocolate babka king cake and The Queen Bee, a limited-edition version made with burnt honey cream and candied local citrus. The first two are garnished with a handmade gum paste golden bean; the Queen Bee is garnished with a marzipan bee. Slices are $6, and full cakes range from $36 to $45." - Ashley Day
