If you want to nibble exquisite French pastries in the middle of Japan, Dominique Ansel Bakery will welcome you into his little Frenchy paradise.
For those who do not know Dominique Ansel, let’s take a quick look at his biography. Dominique Ansel is a French chef who opened his own bakery in New York in 2011 and Tokyo this year. He won a great collection of awards from a young age and is credited with inventing the now-famous 'Cronut', the croissant-donut hybrid. The Cronut can be filled, glazed, or simply rolled into sugar.
On a charming sunny day, Dominique Ansel welcomed us to this Omotesando-based Tokyo café-bakery.
The bakery style here is quite different from traditional French bakeries. Usually they are pretty small and decorated with wooden furniture, different types of breads and numerous pastries. Dominique Ansel Bakery (DAB) does not follow these rules.
DAB is modernly decorated, with the predominantly white color scheme imbuing a pure, clean and heavenly feeling upon visitors. Even when the bakery is full, customers are calm and respectful, in anticipation of the unique pastries and baked delights on offer here.
Dominique Ansel Bakery is the place to go to enjoy high quality pastries. Dominique Ansel himself characterized his approach as “modern, young, relaxed, creative, evolutionary and finally, projected into the future.” Dominique is rewarded his loyal fanbase by personally attending the launch of this new Tokyo branch. And with good reason – some of his customers even came all the way from New York to visit the opening too! A faithful clientele, rewarded with Dominique greeting his beloved customers.
Dominique meticulously plans out the menu offerings, which adapt according to the season and the event. Two new pastries were launched for the Autumn: the Magic Soufflé and the Lobster Pretzel.
The Magic Soufflé is inspired by the famous baked egg-based French dish. Dominique accepted the challenge to find a way to keep the soufflé puffy, and 3 months later, the Magic Soufflé was born.
The Lobster Pretzel is a nod to New York pastry expertise. This lobster-shape delight hides a peanut butter inside the body, and the brown butter whipped honey sauce perfectly suits its delicate texture.
Dominique Ansel Bakery truly offers a rare experience with high quality pastries in the heart of Tokyo. If you’re visiting the area, don’t hesitate to grab a bite to eat, even if the queue might be longer on weekends – it’s absolutely worth waiting to experience.
