The best flour, cooked in a wood-oven... An obsession of the very best, a desire to perpetuate the craftsmanship know-how of their bakery, such is the signature of Maison Poilâne, which aside from its breads, produces very few other products. 

Amongst these, an incredible pain au chocolat - light as air, buttered, with the ideal amount of chocolate… In short, you start off eating half, then finish by wolfing down 4 others. 

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Maison Poilâne?

There is good news for all the hipsters in the 11th, The French Bastard offers a good dose of tradition and craftsmanship, sprinkled with pop culture in an ultra-stylish commerce on Rue Oberkampf, open by the Y generation of bakers last year. Proof that good gluten still has some successful hours ahead. 

This pain au chocolat can be classified in two categories: “Back to basics”, as they say. It comes with a delicious flaky pastry, slightly crumbly and caramelised. 

Price: €1.30.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of The French bastards? 

The most trendy pastry chef-chocolatier of Paris, aka Hugues Pouget, plays the card of excellence all the way. High-end products, respected seasons along with traditions sublimed and sustained by contemporary techniques. For sure, it’s a hard-working lab, but such is the key of perfection.

This pain au chocolat is the haute couture of Parisian viennoiseries. All those who tasted it will confirm this. The added plus? The two chocolate bars slipped inside in order to spread them properly in the golden bread. 

Price: €2.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Hugo & Victor?

To supply his buzzing restaurants with viennoiseries and good breads, Cyril Lignac, along with Benoît Couvrand, created their first bakery 9 years ago. Once again, the #gourmandcroquant team hit the bull’s eye - all the more so since the winning duo is also a cocoa pro thanks to the Cyril Lignac chocolate factory.

This incredible pain au chocolat, (ooops, we meant chocolatine), in a generous size, owes its unique taste and its excellence to fresh butter from the Poitou-Charentes region and hence its perfect chocolate.

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Cyril Lignac? 

Elected best baguette tradition of Paris in 2019, Fabrice Leroy thus became the official supplier of Macron and all the foodies at the Elysée this year. 

So, we highly suggest that you test this year their baguette for breakfast just like at Brigitte’s, and while you are there, go for their pain au chocolat that also happens to be presidential.

Price: €1.10.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Leroy Monti? 

The Tour d’Argent bakery, located at the foot of the famous restaurant that inspired the blockbuster Ratatouille, is just fab. Alexis Bourgeot, who trained with Cyril Lignac, perpetuates the know-how of this house that is all about traditions. Real “behind the scene”, the ovens can be seen from the Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, for extra mouth-watering. 

If a specific pain au chocolat had to be placed under glass and tagged as national perfection to be copied by all the bakers of France: this would be the one. Perfectly golden, crispy, plump and uniform: it’s the viennoiserie which deserves crossing all of Paris on a Sunday morning.

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Le boulanger de la Tour? 

Taken over by a disciple of Dominique Saibron, where Christophe Vesdin worked for years, the boulangerie d'Alésia has not changed in the slightest, as testified by its upscale clients such as the Senate or the Ritz…

Here, viennoiseries are a big deal. In total: 6 kitchen clerks dedicated to feuilletés. The golden pain au chocolat—crunchy, airy and filled with very good chocolate - is a big winner. Another good reason to get up early on a Sunday morning.

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of the Alésia boulangerie? 

The best flour, cooked in a wood-oven... An obsession of the very best, a desire to perpetuate the craftsmanship know-how of their bakery, such is the signature of Maison Poilâne, which aside from its breads, produces very few other products. 

Amongst these, an incredible pain au chocolat - light as air, buttered, with the ideal amount of chocolate… In short, you start off eating half, then finish by wolfing down 4 others. 

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Maison Poilâne?

It’s the absolute temple of snobs and good taste, foodies, perfection buffs, name-droppers. La Grande Épicerie: real Parisian institution and gourmet annex of Bon Marché. Their thing? Offering the very best all around.

In terms of viennoiseries, they are also way up there with Nicolas Queruel, head pastry chef since almost 30 years, who works exclusively with Made in France suppliers to guarantee top quality products, made and baked on the premises. 

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of La Grande Épicerie?

The collaboration between a pastry artist, Benoît Castel, and a bread lover, Jean-François Celbert, naturally results in a viennoiserie gem. Nestled at the heart of Saint-Germain-des- Prés, this family abode is a big fave of Left Bank foodies with its slightly golden pain au chocolat filled with a powerful dose of chocolate. 

The must? Managing to nab one early in the morning, straight out of the oven. Proust sensations guaranteed. 

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Joséphine Bakery?

To supply his buzzing restaurants with viennoiseries and good breads, Cyril Lignac, along with Benoît Couvrand, created their first bakery 9 years ago. Once again, the #gourmandcroquant team hit the bull’s eye - all the more so since the winning duo is also a cocoa pro thanks to the Cyril Lignac chocolate factory.

This incredible pain au chocolat, (ooops, we meant chocolatine), in a generous size, owes its unique taste and its excellence to fresh butter from the Poitou-Charentes region and hence its perfect chocolate.

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Cyril Lignac? 

Guardians of an exceptional culinary patrimony inherited from the great Gaston Lenôtre, this pain au chocolat is in line with the deluxe house that perpetuates with passion a tradition appreciated since 1957. 

An incredible pleasure to be dipped in your coffee. The exceptional contrast between the soft flaky crusts, ideally buttered while the crunchy chocolate makes all the difference.

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Lenôtre? 

The best flour, cooked in a wood-oven... An obsession of the very best, a desire to perpetuate the craftsmanship know-how of their bakery, such is the signature of Maison Poilâne, which aside from its breads, produces very few other products. 

Amongst these, an incredible pain au chocolat - light as air, buttered, with the ideal amount of chocolate… In short, you start off eating half, then finish by wolfing down 4 others. 

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Maison Poilâne?

Guardians of an exceptional culinary patrimony inherited from the great Gaston Lenôtre, this pain au chocolat is in line with the deluxe house that perpetuates with passion a tradition appreciated since 1957. 

An incredible pleasure to be dipped in your coffee. The exceptional contrast between the soft flaky crusts, ideally buttered while the crunchy chocolate makes all the difference.

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Lenôtre? 

It’s the absolute temple of snobs and good taste, foodies, perfection buffs, name-droppers. La Grande Épicerie: real Parisian institution and gourmet annex of Bon Marché. Their thing? Offering the very best all around.

In terms of viennoiseries, they are also way up there with Nicolas Queruel, head pastry chef since almost 30 years, who works exclusively with Made in France suppliers to guarantee top quality products, made and baked on the premises. 

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of La Grande Épicerie?

Guardians of an exceptional culinary patrimony inherited from the great Gaston Lenôtre, this pain au chocolat is in line with the deluxe house that perpetuates with passion a tradition appreciated since 1957. 

An incredible pleasure to be dipped in your coffee. The exceptional contrast between the soft flaky crusts, ideally buttered while the crunchy chocolate makes all the difference.

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Lenôtre? 

To supply his buzzing restaurants with viennoiseries and good breads, Cyril Lignac, along with Benoît Couvrand, created their first bakery 9 years ago. Once again, the #gourmandcroquant team hit the bull’s eye - all the more so since the winning duo is also a cocoa pro thanks to the Cyril Lignac chocolate factory.

This incredible pain au chocolat, (ooops, we meant chocolatine), in a generous size, owes its unique taste and its excellence to fresh butter from the Poitou-Charentes region and hence its perfect chocolate.

Price: €1.40.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Cyril Lignac? 

Elected many times as best pastry chef in the world, Cédric Grolet, now pastry maestro of the Meurice, with 1,5 million followers on Instagram, makes foodies from around the world literally salivate. A real avant-gardist, his daring style continues to impress. No need to add that his brand new boutique/tea salon on Avenue de l’Opéra is the sweet sensation of the moment.

This is not your ordinary pain au chocolat, but a real masterpiece, for which he associates visual beauty and technical feats. His credo is still the same: “Beauty makes people come and great tastes make them come back”. Our tip: be sure to arrive when the boutique opens as 8:30am to be sure to score the first of the batch. 

Prix: €4.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Cédric Grolet ?

The most bobo organic bread on Canal Saint-Martin, that’s him. Christophe Vasseur, a self-taught baker, dropped everything in 2002 to open his shop, where he renews with the essence of this craft’s ancestral techniques, short circuits and exceptional raw materials. 

Aside from his famous friends’ loaf, “le pain des amis”, which he delivers in many famed restaurants, his singularity is incredible viennoiseries such as his turnover with fresh apples and his snails. Chocolatine, as it’s named here, is also in the running. Quite simply exceptional. Only dark point: the bakery is closed on weekends.

Price: €1.95.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Du pain et des idées? 

In 2000, American Vogue, under the aegis of Anna Wintour, surnamed this artisan the “Picasso of pastry” making him an international star. Inventor of the mythical Ispahan, creator of the chocolate bar and the café Dior in Séoul, Pierre Hermé, known around the world for his “haute patisserie”, also shines with his perfect classics.  

As testimony, his amazing pain au chocolat, plump and ideally balanced. Its signature? A strong and not too sweet chocolate bar, mixed with crushed hazelnuts. A killer.

Price: €2.50.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Pierre Hermé?

In 2000, American Vogue, under the aegis of Anna Wintour, surnamed this artisan the “Picasso of pastry” making him an international star. Inventor of the mythical Ispahan, creator of the chocolate bar and the café Dior in Séoul, Pierre Hermé, known around the world for his “haute patisserie”, also shines with his perfect classics.  

As testimony, his amazing pain au chocolat, plump and ideally balanced. Its signature? A strong and not too sweet chocolate bar, mixed with crushed hazelnuts. A killer.

Price: €2.50.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Pierre Hermé?

Guardians of an exceptional culinary patrimony inherited from the great Gaston Lenôtre, this pain au chocolat is in line with the deluxe house that perpetuates with passion a tradition appreciated since 1957. 

An incredible pleasure to be dipped in your coffee. The exceptional contrast between the soft flaky crusts, ideally buttered while the crunchy chocolate makes all the difference.

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Lenôtre? 

Right on Rue Montorgueil, you are at the heart of the oldest pastry shop in Paris, founded in 1730 by the pastry chef of Louis XV, Nicolas Stohrer, is also endorsed by the Queen of England. Yes, my dear. 

Their star pastry chef, the young and brilliant Jeffrey Cagnes, ensures the continuation with brio. In addition: his pain au chocolat is royal and could, just like his decor, be classified as a historical monument. 

Price: €1.60.

Where to find the pain au chocolat of Stohrer?