One of the buzziest openings this year is famed French pastry chef Cedric Grolet’s cafe at Como Orchard – his first store in Asia. His hyper-realistic cakes are his most popular offerings, as well as his famed croissants ($8), which have all gone TikTok-viral. The crisp flaky exterior with immaculately laminated layers gives way to an airy soft inside. Grolet himself encourages guests to dunk it in their coffee of choice.

Be warned, a long line is to be expected at the store. 

Cedric Grolet is at 30 Bideford Road, Level 1 Como Orchard, Singapore 229922.

Made with two-day fermentation dough and laminated with Elle & Vire 82% French butter, Le Lavin offers a buttery croissant ($3.80) with thin crackling layers and a fluffy interior. The cafe has also launched a French Hot Chocolate ($10.80) that doles out ultra-thick hot chocolate (almost liquid chocolate) alongside whipped cream, that you can dunk your croissant in for a match made in chocolate heaven.

Other croissant options include the Four Cheese and Ham, Burnt Cheese and local-inspired Bobochacha croissants.

La Levain is at 23 hamilton Road. Closed on Mondays. Visit its website for more information.

Le Petit Croissant was founded by Laura Dagoneau Landry in Hong Kong before expanding to Singapore in 2019. Growing up and studying in France, Laura was exposed to many amazing bakeries but was disappointed at what she found in Hong Kong. That pushed her to start Le Petit Croissant. They have mini and large croissant offerings with plain, chocolate, almond and cinnamon variants.

The shopfront is pretty small with four to six seats available, so getting your pastries to-go would be a better bet.

Le Petit Croissant is at #01-08 Mera East Condominium, 338 Changi Road, Singapore 419977. Visit its website to order or for more information.

Located a walking distance away from Lavender MRT, Mother Dough has been pulling in crowds with its artisanal bakes since its inception in 2018 by Naadhira Ismail. Priced from $5, the bakery serves up hefty plain, almond (said to be the biggest crowd-puller) and chocolate croissants, as well as savoury options like chicken sausage and cheddar, all baked fresh daily. We recommend pre-ordering to prevent disappointment.

Mother Dough is at 3 Jln Kledek, Singapore 199259. Visit its website to order or for more information.

Translated to “little bread”, Petit Pain is another small artisanal bakery located in Joo Chiat that has long drawn queues (and it sells out quickly, too). Dedicated to using quality French and Japanese ingredients coupled with natural levain and long fermentation techniques, the bakery has plain and chocolate croissants boasting rich flaky layers and an airy honeycomb. But if you’re craving other flaky crusts, they have danishes and spiral-shaped pain aux raisins, too.

Petit Pain is at 315 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427566.

Tiong Bahru Bakery needs no introduction, especially the beloved sweet creation Kouign Amann. The croissants, crafted with French flour and butter, are another star, with the usual plain, chocolate and almond flavours available. Get the Almond Chocolate Croissant or Green Tea Almond Croissant if you want something with extra flair.

Tiong Bahru Bakery has multiple locations in Singapore. 

Bored of the usual croissant flavours? Then Brotherbird keeps its customers coming back with exciting flavours that run the gamut from Lemon Meringue to Garlic & Mozarella, Cheesy Mushroom and Earl Grey Milk Chocolate. New flavours are also introduced monthly, with the newest being Taro (for Oct 2023). Traditionalists, don’t worry, you can tuck into the Original Croissant.

114 Lavender St, #01-05 CT Hub 2, Singapore 338729 and 32 Bali Ln, Singapore 189868

Using quality flours and ingredients from France and Japan, Bakery Brera has become known for its flaky croissants (plain, chocolate and almond), kouign-amann, cruffins and Basque burnt cheesecake. Besides taste, Bakery Brera is also committed to championing social responsibility, community projects, sustainability and other causes, which it often posts about on its Instagram page.

Apart from its original Empress Market location, it has also recently opened a cafe, Cafe Brera at Reunion, located within the National Museum of Singapore.

Bakery Brera is at 8 Empress Rd, #01-05 Empress Market, Singapore 260008. Cafe Brera at Reunion is at #01-06 National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road.

Carpenter & Cook is a longtime favourite in the Upper Bukit Timah scene, in part thanks to its vintage furniture decor. The cafe is helmed by owner Shenn, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu London. Its signature croissant serves up crispy, flaky goodness, and the cafe also doles out various savoury creations with stuffings such as ham and cheese as well as mozzarella tomato and basil ($8.50).

Carpenter & Cook is at 19 Lor Kilat, #01-06, Singapore 598120. Visit its website for more information.

Bread & Hearth prides itself on using traditional European techniques to create its bread and pastries. Plain, almond, chocolate and almond chocolate croissants are featured here as well as seasonal bakes during festive occasions. For a hearty option that’s a meal on its own, go for the Legendary Croissant that’s stuffed with scrambled eggs, ham, melted cheddar, tomato relish and mesclun.

Bread & Hearth is at #02-27 Katong V, 30 East Coast Road, Singapore 428751. Visit its website for more information.

It’s hard to miss the rows of deletable pastries in the window when you stroll past this halal bakery located at Haji Lane. Opened by pastry chef Aishah and her husband in 2021, there are no seats here, and the small space can only hold about five customers at a go.

Croissant options run from plain to almond, as well as chocolate hazelnut (a crowd-pleaser), cheese sausage and tuna mayo. Get its famed torched marshmallow hot chocolate to enjoy with your pastry, or one of its cinnamon rolls which is highly raved about, too.

The French American Bakery is at 49 Haji Lane, Singapore 189242.

Asanoya has been creating Japanese-European-style bread since 1933 and it opened its first international store here in 2014. Besides its signature bakes, it has plain, Salted Caramel Banana and Matcha Azuki croissants, as well as savoury confections like the Chizu Bacon, and the Mentaiko Croissant, which comes topped with red and yellow cheddar cheese, and is filled with mentaiko mayo.

Boulangerie Asanoysa has multiple locations in Singapore, including Queen Street and Bukit Timah.

This article was originally published on Aug 17, 2021 and updated on Oct 13, 2023.