Arcade Bakery

This is a true hidden gem. If you love a good margarita this is the place to go! For $ 9 you’ll get the most crispy and perfect pizza.
I added fresh garlic for $ 1, but next time I’ll go plain. The garlic was kind of overpowering.
Arcade Bakery is not hard to find, but it’s not a place you will walk in to if you don’t know of this delish pizza (and pastry).

I really loved the ambiance of this place, so unique! You can sit in the set in arcades of the walls with wooden tables that are built it. They offer room temp water and glasses on all the tables.
Come early if you want to get the almond croissant. The chocolate walnut babka is much different than Breads’ famous one. It is a bit breadier and less oily. The apple brioche is very light. They do not slice their bread :(

This place is known for its baked goods, but I usually come here frequently for the iced coffee because it’s the best in the area.
The bakery has a lot of seating in the arcade, which has been thoughtfully remodeled to leave the architecture intact while creating lots of space for people to enjoy the bakery’s food. People rave about the pastries and babka.

Outstanding bread, and very cool concept, but I wish they were open on weekends!

I should have listened to Youngest Sis when she recommended this bakery to me. She had the street cred. After 911, she delivered to me 3 batches of biscotti, beauties made from that divine chocolate, Valrhona. I ate 47 of them in one weekend. Following are a few reasons I have to apologize to sis and make up for lost time:
S’Mores Danish-​this is another masterpiece, seemingly so simple to put together and yet complex when you eat it. Bittersweet chocolate is smartly paired to cut the cloying sweetness of toasted marshmallow, the taste of the two balanced. The pleasant surprise is the crunch that comes after your teeth pass the marshmallow, then the chocolate, and meet the layers of laminated dough, right before the buttery pastry. I wondered how Gural made this. If he baked the pastry first, and layered the chocolate and marshmallow after, he magically managed to keep the crispness in the exterior. I pondered the technique after one bite, then promptly devoured it. Some lucky customers have eaten it hot out of the oven. The first time I went, I was told a customer cleaned them out and bought forty. Easy to understand why. I could eat a tray of this myself. I gave one to Oldest Sis. She sent me two emails, saying she liked it. In Older Sis code, it means, «Get more».
Chocolate Bread-​I can already tell after eating this that Arcade’s breads are going to be dangerous. Arcade Bakery’s pastries are too rich for me to eat more than one (well, maybe two) in a day. But the bread, I can eat that for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This bread packs a few delightful surprises. The crust is soft, not hard and crispy as in many chocolate breads. The doughy inside is like the baguette, tender, moist and with that same airy quality. Another wondrous touch were the diced orange peels in this bread. I dug out one of the minute pieces; it was only slightly sweet, seemed more preserved than candied. Then I dug out one of the small pieces of chocolate. A smooth, dark chocolate, without a strong smell and not in large chunks. The almonds are whole, toasted, fresh and crunchy. I put my nose to the velvety bread and smelled yeast, not the cocoa I expected, or the expresso powder I was sniffing for. Gural loves his bread so much, he does not let any added ingredient dominate the taste of his bread. But he has mastered baking alchemy, along with matchmaking ingredients. When I ate the bread as the sum of all its parts, the orange and almonds accentuated the cocoa and chocolate and a wonderfully addictive chocolate bread emerged. I almost ate half the loaf in one sitting. My bff showed more restraint, but raved about this bread too.
Almond chocolate croissant: Another rich creation. The layers crackle not as sharply as with the almond croissant, perhaps because the filling was a wetter paste, a mix of the almonds and sugar and melted chocolate and whatever goodness Gural bakes in. I expected a more intense chocolate flavor. This one tasted more like an almond cream with chocolate flavor. A lovely breakfast pastry, but the plain almond one I thought surpassed it in texture and taste. But don’t shie from buying this. It is delicious.
Caramel apple brioche: A pretty ring of brioche with apple pieces on top, this pastry caught my eye at the first encounter. Gural, I realize, doesn’t permit one ingredient to overpower another but understands how well they complement each other. First, I like to nibble on his ingredients separately to taste them. Tasted singly, each piece of the brioche was good, not remarkable. But when the browned apples (caramelized in sugar and browned butter?) is eaten with the bread portion of the brioche, transformation into wonderful occurs with each bite. I also loved that there wasn’t even a hint of cinnamon in it.
Lemon sugar brioche– I didn’t try this but bought it for Oldest Sis, who said it tasted like an overpriced lemon danish. But sis, you must understand, likes an artisanal pastries as well as a cheap, processed supermarket pie. If it’s like the other products from Arcade, I am sure it is very excellent.
I know I love this place after writing a super long review that I had to put out in three parts.
Live your life without regret. Visit this bakery pronto.

My coworkers and I got pizza here and it was great. This place is in the lobby of an office building and you could easily pass by it if you weren’t paying attention. There is no real seating except for some wall seats, so just be prepared to wait if it gets busy.
We ordered our pizzas online and got text messages to let us know when they were ready. It’s technology at its best. The pizza was good and all the different pastries and breads looked amazing,

When I was growing up, my mother used to make me sandwiches for lunch. She was a very hard working woman who did her best to put a roof over the kids heads and made sure we were never hungry. Being as busy as she was, she didn’t always have the time to make the fanciest sandwiches or come up with a diverse meal plan for us. We were on a budget. Lunch for school was often simply ham and cheese in between two slices of white bread.
I ate that for years. Or at least I tried to. Unless I was extremely hungry, sometimes I would just throw the sandwich away. I’m not sure what type of ham she would get for these sandwiches, but eventually, I just couldn’t eat ham anymore. I think I told my mother to stop making these sandwiches for me and she never did again. I was a very unappreciative kid. To this year, I’ve never willfully ordered ham of any kind (bacon, pork belly, and the kind are a different story).
Fast forward 12 – 13 years later, and I’m told about one of the best bakeries in New York City – Arcade. Deciding on what sandwich to get, I wanted something on their famous baguettes. But when I read the menu, I saw the ingredients in the sandwich… cheese, butter, and… ham.
Not wanting any other type of bread for my sandwich, I swallowed my old hatred for ham. After snapping pictures of this plain looking sandwich, I delve in. A big bite for this crunchy-​on-​the-​outside, slightly-​chewy-​on-​the-​inside baguette. My teeth sunk in getting into each layer. First into the subtle butter. Then into the cheese and the HAM simultaneously…
The harmony of all four simple ingredients in my mouth had me wondering what I was eating. Was this how sandwiches were supposed to taste. with HAM??? This could possibly be the only ham sandwich I can ever eat again.
Now, I understand what my mother had to do to feed three children at the same time while holding down a full-​time job, working overtime, and trying to get her degree at the same time… This sandwich made me appreciate that. It brought back memories of sandwiches I ate for years and threw away for years.
Thank you, Mom, for all your sacrifice and thank you Arcade Bakery for helping me appreciate her.

Definitely one of the best hidden secrets in NYC
Fantastic pastries !!!
Excellent variety, croissants, Danishes, brioches etc etc…
Though!!!
Make sure that you get what you see on the shelf
Their list is not up to date and some pastries are out of season or gone for the day .
Second visit — arguably the BEST bakery in NYC.

Dreadful people — unwelcoming and unfriendly… Dismal customer relations — meaningless and inconsistent policies… Painfully slow service — long lines that never move… I was hoping this could be my local, frequent, favorite bakery — not happening…

Absolutely gorgeous space, super friendly staff, and delicious baked goods and sandwiches. A bit pricey though. I got a ham and cheese sandwich and a smore danish. The sandwich was pretty large and came on a baguette. It was wonderful! The smore danish was gooey and yummy. I left full and satisfied. It’s definitely a popular spot!
The seating is really pretty, classy, and minimalist. There are no chairs or tables, but you sit along the wall (hard to explain but you can see in photos) and platforms come down from the wall to serve as tables.

TLDR:
— The pear and buckwheat bread is art.
— Excellent croissants and baked goods across the board.
— Rich drip coffee.

OMG. When I read about Arcade Bakery in a NY Times article I was like ahhh I need to try this.
Thankfully my wishes came true sooner than I thought. My husband works in the building sooo I made him get me a croissant.
And. It. Was. The. Best. Croissant. Of. My. Life.
I have also heard that they have a sick chocolate danish but have yet to try it.
This hole in the wall bakery is a rare find.

The Arcade Bakery is located inside the 220 Church St office building, in which they offer handcrafted breads and yeasted pastries. Founded by Roger Gural, who considers himself a ‘bread romantic,’ he wanted to offer delicious French breads and pastries for everyone. The bakery actually has a kitchen on the premise in which small batches of their baked goods are made fresh daily. Babkas, breads (baguette, wheat, rye, etc.), breakfast pastries, pizza, and croissants are offered. The hubs and I came here for a quick morning stop and tried their Croissant, a Chocolate Banana Walnut danish, and a small little cheese roll. The croissant was flaky, but I wished it was a little bit more buttery. The danish was light, but more dark chocolate-​focused. The small cheese roll was pretty delicious, with the slightly salty cheesy top in a soft little roll — I think this would be great with a cream cheese spread. Mr. Gural was there, and he was very pleasant and friendly. He even noticed that I preferred a more cheesier topped roll and went back to the kitchen to select one for me — WOW! I loved how there were ‘wall’ tables that are pulled down in which you can sit on the ‘ledges’ and enjoy your treats! Definitely a cute little find in the Tribeca neighborhood: D
+located inside the office building
+fresh French pastries and breads

Wow the s’mores Danish is perfect. Flakey dough, melted chocolate and toasted marshmallow.
Perfect pastry!!!
Seats are available to eat the pastries inside the building.
Amazing!!!

Holy Moly the pastries here are DELICIOUS. I first wanted to go to this place when I saw an article on CNN about it being one of the most stunning restaurants in the world and fortunately it was an avenue away from my boyfriend’s place. It is only opened Monday — Friday and closes at 4pm so I finally had an opportunity to go on a Friday I had a day off and boy am I glad I made this trip.
First off, yes the place this bakery is situated at is unique. When passing on the street, one would immediately miss it as it looks to be an entrance to an old office building. Upon walking in, there are these beautiful arched roofs and the tables for sitting are literally coming out of the wall. The design is super simplistic and to me, gives off a 50’s vibe based on the light fixtures and minimalistic design. The bakery itself is just a hole in the wall in this long archway.
Now on to the pastries. Although a bit pricey at $ 4 – 5 for the S’mores Danish and Chocolate Almond Croissant, it was totally worth it. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I was in the end super impressed. I started with the S’mores Danish. Tasted just like a S’mores graham cracker sandwich. It wasn’t overly sweet and was perfectly balanced. The marshmallow had a great presence and the perfect complement to the chocolate layered in with a graham cracker. The crust of the Danish was super flakey and crisp. Everything was nice and soft with a good mild chew.
As for the Chocolate Almond Croissant, it was THE BEST croissant I have ever had thus far. The croissant itself was crisp on the outside. Starting on the edges, as I bit in, I found it to be chewy in the best way possible, reminiscent of a French macaroon. As I ate more towards the inside, I found it was coated with what I believe to be some type of almond nut paste. So subtle and so delicious with the croissant. Not one ingredient overpowered the other: the chocolate, almonds, croissant pastry. Every taste complemented each other perfectly with the texture of the croissant.
If this is the quality of what the Arcade Bakery produces on a constant basis, I am more than willing to go here every day I get off. I want to try everything!!!

Super rico. Probé el baguette de jamon y queso y es delicioso. Un pequeño gran hallazgo.

Croissants! Amazing croissants! When I was interning in TriBeCa this past summer I’d grab a croissant from here every Monday. They are so big, airy and golden! Solid coffee and beverages.
The gentleman usually working the storefront is a sweetheart. You can tell they know they put out a good product and get a lot of traffic in and out. Also, the cutest confectionary paper for their pastries!

Now, I’ve never been to France, but this is everything I hope for it to be.
Housed within a regular building, this place is very unassuming from the outside (very easy to miss as there’s only a simplistic sign). I stumbled upon it with the help of Unilocal while searching for a coffee place in the area. The elegant entrance leads to a cute little lobby kiosk area. It’s actually absolute perfection and is the quintessential NYC spot because it utilizes the beautiful architecture to create little alcoves for seating.
I ordered a s’mores danish and a cup of coffee (they don’t have an espresso machine, and only do drip coffee). At first I was a little peeved that my danish was $ 5, but holy moly it was worth EVERY penny. Freshly out of the oven, the crust was flakey, the filling was gooey and oh-​so reminiscent of an actual s’more. It was melt in your mouth perfection and everything a pastry should be. COULD I PLEASE HAVE S’MORE (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). The coffee was also v on point and was the perfect counterpart to my pastry.
The woman ahead of me ordered a lemon brioche, as did the man sitting at the table next to me. Had I been able to eat more, I would have loved to go back and order another round of pastries. But alas, my stomach seems to have a limit. Another visit perhaps to try that, their almond croissant, and their many pizza and sandwich options (note: their pizza is only available at weekday lunch hours).
This is a MUST try place, especially for you folks who work in the building/​in the area!

Heavenly delicious, fresh baked daily, baguettes and pastries, like one would find in France. All croissants are artisanal flakey perfection. The almond croissant everyone is talking about is most likely the-​best-​in-​town. I have tried them all!
You will see many French patrons waiting on the line at the beautiful lobby kiosk, which is confirmation enough of expertise and authenticity. The Arcade Bakery is a big winner for excellent French pâtisserie!

This arcade is truly special. As you walk down the golden arcade to the kiosks you are struck by how the architecture of the building is used for alcove seating. What awaits as you walk into the corridor through the arcade to the baked goods, mostly bread driven and made to order pizza. are those of an elevated quality & reasonable price. A mini baguette was $ 1.50 and that they even offer it is a boon to those for whom a whole baguette is too much. Amazing NYC spot!

Arcade Bakery
NY Manhattan Tribeca
10:30am Thursday 9^th April 2015
Five Stars (I won’t break their streak)
The location is very discreet. I live a block from here and never even noticed it. When you go inside, it is a well-​lit spacious hallway. You can see the bakers making their fares. They were out of the caramel apple brioche (I am sure you have get here earlier) so I was torn between the almond croissant and the chocolate bread. Then I saw that they had a pear and chocolate pastry. It was too weird of combination to not try. I ate it there on one of their many cozy benches. The crust was flaky. The filling was strange but not unappealing. The small bits of pear and rich chocolate had contrasting flavors but my mouth was interested in every bite.
I cannot wait to go back.