Papa d’Amour

Dominque Ansel’s long-awaited new bakery offers Asian-style pastries. We visited on opening day, and the atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation. The egg and tomato bao was a delightful treat, bursting with that intense savory umami flavor that you typically find in this combination. The hotdog sticky rice croissant was also impressive. The hotdog is glazed in a sweet sauce that complements the savory mushroom sticky rice underneath. Unfortunately, it arrived cold, mostly due to the sheer number of orders that were coming through on opening morning. The taro lace mochi donut reminded us of the taro lace dishes you’d find on a dim sum menu. The sweet jam filling was a delightful surprise! The iced chocolate soufflé was poured table-side and is currently only available for dine-in customers. It had a Milo dinosaur-like taste and was perfectly sweet. Overall, this is a great addition to New York City’s bakery scene. Despite some minor hiccups on opening day, we would happily return to try more of their offerings!

Great new cafe! Interesting blend of different cultures. Strawberry jam was excellent. Enjoyed the iced coffee. Bought a ton of bread to go sealed for home. Wait on a Saturday was about 20 minutes likely due to the rain. Lots of seats inside but you’ll have to wait for one given the volume of people! It gets incredibly crowded and hot. I would recommend decreasing the allowed volume of people inside or you’re sweating like sardines. Trash overflowed.

Papa d’Amour opened on Wednesday, May 21st, on University Place. On this rainy day, I was tenth in line but entered quickly. Iced Vietnamese Coffee Latte ($7.50). Crispy Shrimp Patty Sando ($14.50) and Strawberry Jam Jar ($10.50) was my order. The Jam Jar was luscious. Shaped like a jar and cut in half to see the interior, the concentrated strawberry confit was tart and eaten with the cream and cake delightful. I wanted to get a second one. The sandwich on the other hand was dry and the shrimp patty had no flavor, was thin and had too much breadcrumbs. I was given more aioli to smear on the bread but it didn’t taste good. Two wafer thin slices of radish was on this sandwich. Two? There should have covered the sandwich with many slices of radishes. This lunch cost $33 and I was mildly content. Three days later, Adrienne and I went and had the Almond Jam Jar and the Chocolate Hazelnut Jam Jar. As we entered, I grabbed a table as seating is limited. Between the two, the Almond Jam Jar was far tastier than the Chocolate one which lacked a rich cocoa flavor. What cocoa was being used? Freshly baked Shokupan bread (Japanese milk bread) is fluffy and 4.5” in size and expensive at $9.50. A box which held this bread increased the cost to $14.50. I left the box because I wasn’t going to display it on my mantelpiece. Daylight robbery! At the other two bakeries, the Bakery and the Workshop give pastries in boxes that I always toss. I am not charged for them. Tables and chairs along with some counter seating doesn’t encourage chair huggers or lengthy iPhone use. Eat, enjoy and let others sit. A clean unisex restroom is available. On the first day, Chef Dominique stopped at each table to see how his customers were faring. Many asked for pictures and selfies and Chef with his beaming smile obliged. Customer service here is amiable. Tashi and Lotus helped me and they were patient and kind. Laurence, one of the managers, was adept at keeping this new business flowing.

Had a quick bite here since I had some time to kill, the scallion basil blossom was not bad, it just didn’t really have much flavor. The ganache was delightful. The curry pan’s my favorite, but as someone already mentioned, the inside is a bit hollow. Wish they added more filling because that was the best part. I was a bit disappointed to find out their mochi donut were all sold out by 1pm though😭 and a good portion of their pastries were sold out by the late afternoon. Definitely coming back for an early brunch. Line was organized and the staff were all friendly too.

tasty selection of “East meets West” pastries! Enjoyed the kurobuta hot dog, as well as the taro mochi. Barely any line on a Sunday afternoon, will have to come back to try their “jam jars”! Only thing I’d say is I felt like the prices were a little high for what it was, compared to other bakeries I love.

Great place! I had almost all the favorite items. - Mochi 4.0 loved the texture combinations and also the flavor but, the bottom of the mochi was 99% grease so I only ate the top part with the filling. - The egg tart 5.0, great appetizer. - Kurobuta hot dog 4.5 very yummy and loved the sweetness but I didn't loved the sausage when is already cold. - mango coconut jar 4.5 the mango filling is deliciouse but a little too simple in the outside. - eggs bao 4.0 the egg filling was very good but the bun disappointed in the sense that I was expecting a much softer bao, I could barely cut the bottom with a knife. - Shrimp Sando was AMAZING 5.0, what a surprise! Not just the different textures and the sauce but the flavors wow. Nice coffee!

I love trying Asian and Asian-style/fusion pastries, but I was very disappointed in what we tried today. First off, I'd like to say that the staff were very gracious and the service was efficient on a busy, crowded Saturday. The ingredients and pastries all tasted fresh, and each individual component and its flavors tasted "authentic" so to speak. We dined in during this visit and had the steamed bao and hot dog spiral hot. Taro and mochi lace batter donut: I was looking forward to the taro and mochi lace batter donut most. The outside was truly crispy, which contrasted well with the interior. Unfortunately, the taro flavor was not as strong as I would have liked, and the guava jam overpowered any notes of taro that were there. I hoped the guava would also be a nice contrast to the taro, adding in a little brightness to the creamier, richer base of taro and mochi, but the guava jam was only a sweet addition that made the donut feel even heavier. The mochi portion was very soft, almost soggy - not the chewier texture I had hoped for from mochi. 3/10. Kurobuta hot dog spiral: We had this item heated up. Sticky rice was great, fun textures overall. This item was lovely, just feel that the bread itself could have a more interesting flavor that pairs well, whether that's a thin/crispy glaze or flavoring the actual dough. Maybe sesame in the dough itself rather than furikake, or a thin sugar/soy glaze like on the hot dogs? I'm not a chef! 7/10. Hot and cold red bean butter croissant bao: The bao as a croissant is cute, and tasted like home. I'm not sure if the cold butter and red bean paste and steamed bal had the temperature contrast as intended - I think the cold components might need to be colder or bao needs to be steamed longer (the way it makes you go afhshahgjajghahd when it's too hot in your mouth!). The red bean flavor tasted so fresh! But the granulated sugar particles threw me off very much - grainy and crunchy felt strange for read bean paste, which is usually very smooth. I think to add some interesting texture, maybe some semi-whole/smashed red beans would be less jarring for me. 4/10. Pretzel salt egg tart: The crust delivered! The egg custard itself did not taste flavorful or fragrant enough. 3/10. Shokupan toast with rice cooker clotted cream: This was TOASTY! The whole slice was crunchy and toasted, through and through. I'm usually drawn to shokupan because of its usually richer flavor + thick slices = yummy fluffy cloud vehicle for jams, toppings, etc. I would have liked to eat this as a toast with its classic shokupan, fluffy center rather than entirely dry and crunchy. The clotted cream and raspberry jam were wonderful. 5/10. Strawberry jam jar: So cool and well executed concept that feels like a nod to all the edible containers of Dominique Ansel. The basil was a lovely touch! I shared this with two other people. By the end of my portion, I still felt that it was too heavy and one-note - I wish the strawberry had more notes than just sweetness, maybe some tangy/sour or even more brightness, like mint or lemon to really cut through the ganache and white chocolate (?) shell. 6/10. Overall, I enjoyed the concepts but the execution did not live up to my expectations. I understand that "not too sweet!" could be the perfect compliment, but in this scenario, items generally lacked depth and strength of flavor and could have used that extra seasoning. At the point in time, the humble Asian bakeries of Chinatown and Flushing might be using lesser/cheaper ingredients, but comparatively hit the right notes and more balanced flavor. I see the passion! But would not return for a second visit right now, but would love to see what the future holds.

I visited Papa D’Amour on opening day, and despite the cold, rainy weather, the line outside the store spoke volumes about its appeal. Even on their first day, the staff handled the crowd with warmth and patience, making sure everyone felt welcome. The pastries were fresh, flavorful, and crafted with top-notch ingredients—Chef Dominique truly shines, pushing the boundaries with his creative touches, this one inspired by his kids heritage. The experience was great, though be prepared for a wait (took about 45 mins overall), as the delicious food and drinks are worth it. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys inventive pastries.