La Saison in Cambridge is top tier IMO

Diesel in Davis Square has good croissants.

Colette in Medford is amazing

Lakon Patisserie in Newton is new and fabulous. And it's across the street from the Newton Highlands T stop.

This. Can't wait for their Brookline location to open as well!

MA France Lexington

Butternut in Arlington! Really good chocolate croissants

Steel and Rye is excellent.

Hana will still make you croissants. You just have to call her. Pick up at Cafe Madeleine.

Cafe Beatrice in Cambridge Crossing and Colette in Medford both do a great selection of traditional patisserie.

And don't miss Rae the Baker's pretzel croissant at True Grounds for a nontraditional take. (The miso morning bun is also an incredible mix of savory and sweet laminated pastry!)

Greystone has great croissants

clear flour in brookline

This is the answer- Clear Flour is the best bakery in the state of Massachusetts- probably New England

Yeah ok

Third cliff in JP

100% clear flour

Clear Flour! It’s a no brainer with that one.

Do you DM her? How do you pick up if Cafe Madeleine is closed though?

The kitchen door in the back I assume. I am out of town and haven’t ordered direct yet. She used to take February off, but on IG I see she was baking up a lot of goodies this weekend.

Edit: https://www.instagram.com/hanaquon/?hl=en

Praliné in Cambridge

Colette and Beatrice are same owner?

Where do you suggest that’s better lmao. I’ll believe it when I see it

Iggy’s

Iggy’s is so overhyped. Sorry for the hot take. Between those two, clear flour by a mile.

We are talking about best croissants. I stand by Iggy’s plain and almond croissants. They remind me of Paris.

K, fair enough. I haven’t tried their croissants so can’t comment. I gathered that you were referring to the bakery as a whole because you replied to a comment naming CF as the best bakery. I will have to try a croissant from Iggy’s next time I’m out that way.

Forge bakery and La Saison would be my picks, both are insanely good. If you go to La Saison on a weekend you can often get them still warm. Forge’s pastries can also be found at Diesel Cafe.

They also were supplying some other cafés and possibly still are. The kitchen is definitely still in operation - walk by regularly with my dog who is keen to get an invite inside. I believe Render just down the street gets their pastries from cafe Madeline still. They usually have some croissants.

The absolute best croissants, especially pain au chocolat / chocolate croissant, in the greater Boston area hail from Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery in Winchester. They also have the best baguettes.

Yes, they’re better than Clear Flour’s croissants and baguettes. They’re better than La Saison, Colette, Praliné, Lakon, and Salt.

I’ve tried them all, repeatedly. I’ve done head-to-head comparisons. Blind taste tests. The results leave no room for ambiguity.

Did I mention that their baguette is out of this world?

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Breadboard Bakery in Arlington, open only on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

I’ve had baguettes at every French bakery in Somerville, Arlington, and Cambridge and I agree that Mamadou’s win.

I’ve recommended forge , diseal and bloc in the past but the owner treasdd to the employees horribly. I used to work for one of the stores it always nervous to say something because of how wildly they are liked. The DBF owners are the epitome of small business tyrant. Everyone is paid minimum wage but yet customers are charged a kitchen fee that goes nowhere to BOH. Also this past week the are doing everything in their paper to prevent DBF from finalizing the unionism contract.

This place. Everything I’ve tried there has been way better than I expected. Their Vietnamese iced coffee is wonderful, too.

No, totally different! Both very good.

(If they don't have a fierce rivalry about their Kougin Aman, they should!)

Fornax bakery in Roslindale

well now I’m hungry.

Standard Baking Co in Portland is a contender

LOL I should operate a bike pastry tour. Start at Colette for trad French.

Then True Grounds for Rae's neo-excellence. Then get Montreal bagels at Turenne, English muffins at Vinal, and finish off with trad French at Beatrice.

I know there was an ice cream crawl by bike last summer. And a hot dog crawl.... Although I think that was like "collect stamps from participating hot dog places over the course of several weeks" because nobody should eat that many hot dogs all at once.

My first thought as well! Their morning bun is AMAZING. My wife and I live down the street from a decent bakery but we regularly make the 7 mile drive to Arlington anyway. Totally worth it.

You call the phone number at the appointed hour posted on IG, then you pick up at the back door. Same bags, boxes, same deliciousness. They even answer the phone ‘Café Madeleine’. But now there’s a frisson of danger to it.

This is by far my favorite. Salt in Newton Center is pretty good too.

Actually Ma France may be the best, but I haven't been there in a long time.

Costco

Swissbakers!

My workplace spent several months figuring out where to get the best croissants, at the behest of our French president. This was the winner.

Going to throw Quebrada into the ring here. I go to the one in Arlington.

The croissant in general are lovely, but the breakfast sandwiches are another level of amazing deliciousness. I swear my partner visits me just so she can get breakfast at Quebrada the next morning.

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Mamadou’s croissants are legit.

Not sure why you’re downvoted. Clear Flour is great at bread but their pastries are not that good.

Backdoor croissant dealings. I like it

Ma France is the only thing that comes close in New England.

I believe they use French flour and yeasts as well. The chausse aux pommes is also 100% correct.

💯

Easily the best. They sell out so fast too on the weekends with their specialty variants.

Came here to say this. Bonus, since OP was a cafe Madeline fan, might be a South End resident / visitor so this is by far the closest suggestion to there

It's a drive but my answer is always Keegan's Kreations in Plymouth

Mamadou’s Bakery is the best imo

Mamadou’s Bakery made my French dad cry when he had their baguette for the first time. It was the first time we’d been able to find a real baguette since moving here.

Biased because I used to work there but Mamadou’s Bakery is the best. He doesn’t have the variety as other bakeries mentioned. But that’s because it’s just him and whoever is his helper.

Everything he makes is incredible and authentic. Every French ex-pat I’ve talked to who knows about Mamadou’s approves.

I love how strongly you hold this opinion.

Dunkin

I’d go on the tour.

But for the record, the best Kouign Amann in Greater Boston is at Salt in Newton.

I’ve asked the owner about it. I believe for the croissants, the dough is flown in from France every single morning and they bake them in house. Some of the other pastries are flown in daily finished straight from France. They are amazing and the best croissants I’ve ever had, but they come with a ridiculous carbon footprint.

Pastry Land in Quincy, just down the street from Quincy Center station!

Cremeux brookline is good but wicked expensive

https://youtu.be/fnXmzJHlqN4. Reviews of best croissants in Boston. La Saison.

Quebrada in Wellesley (and Belmont and Arlington) makes really nice flakey croissants that are my personal favorites.

My sister has been the head baker at the Wellesley location for like, 20+ years so I’m totally biased that this is my choice too 😉

Iggy's for sticky buns and almond croissants

12 for $6 and they are delicious. Good call.

She still supplies La Colombe, at least the one in the Seaport.

Came here to say this. Costco croissants are yummy, and you can't beat the price.

Cafe Iterium in Eastie

Okay....but are there any recs for a place in Back Bay or Downtown Boston specifically? I have to confess that one of the biggest perks was Madeleine being within walking distance on an early morning....🤞🤞🤞

Croissants are fine. B+ quality. Pretzel croissant on certain days of the week (Saturday?) is A+ grade.