United States · The Cronut and the Palm Court
New York
New York eats pastry in queues and in gilded rooms, sometimes on the same day. The Palm Court at the Plaza and the Grand Salon at the Baccarat do the ceremony; Dominique Ansel and Lafayette do the line around the block.
Since Dominique Ansel invented the Cronut in 2013, New York has known that a pastry can be news. Lafayette’s Suprême, a cream-filled croissant ring, did it again a decade later, and Lysée in Flatiron proved that a Korean-French pastry chef could open a boutique that looks like a gallery and sells out by two. This is the city where the boutique pastry chef became a brand, and the queue is part of the product.
The other New York is upstairs. The Palm Court at the Plaza has poured afternoon tea under its stained-glass ceiling since 1907; the Baccarat Hotel serves it in a Grand Salon lit by crystal; the St. Regis pours it in the Astor Court beneath a painted sky, and the Peninsula in the Gotham Lounge. These are teas with more champagne than scones, priced like a dinner, and beloved.
Chocolate in New York is a craft revival: Gabriel Kreuther’s bonbons next to his restaurant on Bryant Park, Stick With Me in Nolita, La Maison du Chocolat on Madison. Come in December when the salons are dressed and the windows on Fifth Avenue are the city’s own patisserie display.
Sweet profile
- Afternoon tea
- €110
- One pastry
- €10
- Box of chocolates
- €45
- Sweet Index
- 81
Smart in the hotel salons; anything downtown.
December for the salons and the windows, May for the terraces.
Guide prices per person or piece, editorial estimates in euros as of 2026.
A sweet day in New York
From the first croissant to the last truffle
May, October to December
- 08:00The queue
Dominique Ansel Bakery in SoHo opens at eight; the Cronut sells out within the hour.
- 10:00Lafayette
The Suprême in NoHo, best eaten on the spot before the cream warms.
- 13:00Lunch light
A slice at Lysée in Flatiron counts as lunch.
- 15:00Palm Court
Afternoon tea at the Plaza, the Baccarat or the St. Regis: book a week ahead, dress for it.
- 18:00Chocolate
Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate on 42nd Street or Stick With Me in Nolita before dinner.
- 22:00Dessert
A soufflé at a Midtown dining room or a slice of cheesecake at a diner: both are New York.
Districts
Fifth Avenue and Midtown
The Plaza, the St. Regis, the Baccarat and the Peninsula: the tea salons of the grand hotels.
SoHo and NoHo
Dominique Ansel Bakery and Lafayette: the pastry queues of downtown.
Flatiron and Nolita
Lysée and Stick With Me: the new boutique generation.
Madison Avenue
La Maison du Chocolat and Ladurée’s Upper East Side salon.
The addresses
13 addresses in New York
HotelIconNew York · Fifth Avenue, Central Park South
The Plaza
The Palm Court
HotelIconNew York · Midtown, West 53rd Street
Baccarat Hotel New York
Tea by crystal light
HotelIconNew York · Fifth Avenue, East 55th Street
The St. Regis New York
Astor Court
HotelIconNew York · Fifth Avenue, West 55th Street
The Peninsula New York
The Gotham Lounge
Afternoon teaNew York · Fifth Avenue, Central Park South
The Palm Court, The Plaza
Under the stained glass
Afternoon teaNew York · Baccarat Hotel New York
Grand Salon, Baccarat Hotel
Crystal light
Afternoon teaNew York · Fifth Avenue, East 55th Street
Astor Court, The St. Regis New York
Under a painted sky
Afternoon teaNew York · Fifth Avenue, West 55th Street
The Gotham Lounge, The Peninsula New York
The mezzanine tea
BoutiqueNew York · Spring Street, SoHo
Dominique Ansel Bakery
The Cronut bakery
BoutiqueNew York · Lafayette Street, NoHo
Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery
The Suprême corner
BoutiqueNew York · West 21st Street, Flatiron
Lysée
A gallery of pastry
ChocolatierNew York · West 42nd Street, Bryant Park
Kreuther Handcrafted Chocolate
Bonbons beside a two-star kitchen
ChocolatierNew York · Nolita, Prince Street
Stick With Me Sweets
Painted bonbons in Nolita
One dessert, one house
Signature Desserts: New York
Dominique Ansel Bakery
The Cronut
New York · Since May 2013
Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery
The Suprême
New York · Since 2022
The people behind the glass
Pastry Chefs: New York
Good to know
Tips for New York
- Tea bills in New York add tax and expect 18 to 20 percent gratuity on top; a 110 euro tea becomes 145 with everything.
- Cronuts are one flavour a month and one per person on weekends; the pre-order online opens two weeks ahead.
- The Plaza Palm Court dress code is smart; no shorts, no flip-flops, no exceptions.
- Lysée sells out its signature pieces by early afternoon; come before one.
- December is the month: the salons are decorated, the chocolatiers do their best boxes and the Fifth Avenue windows are free.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best afternoon tea in New York?
The Palm Court at the Plaza for the room, the Baccarat Grand Salon for the crystal and the pastry, the St. Regis Astor Court for calm.
Is the Cronut still worth the queue?
Yes, once. Arrive before eight or pre-order online. The kouign-amann at the same bakery is the connoisseur’s alternative.
What does pastry cost in New York?
A boutique pastry costs nine to fourteen dollars, afternoon tea from 95 to 150 dollars per person before tax and gratuity.
