Canelé By Céline

Never been to a place like this in the States.
The best pastry ive had. Think of a the most moist butter cake you will ever have.
Thank me later. Trust me.

I have to say I don’t think I had a proper canele until I have been here. I stumbled across here as I live extremely close by. I think the texture of this is exactly what it is supposed to taste like: the outside was chewy and the inside was soft… the chocolate one was amazing. The pistachio one was ok.
The atmosphere of this place was also extremely quaint and they bake small batch style. You can even see them making it, which is pretty cool. Very nice local neighborhood spot. Will be back to try other flavors.

Unfortunately, I was unable to actually go to New York and personally buy the scrumptious pastries, but I received some awesome canelés as gifts.
My whole family thoroughly enjoyed the whole box (which had 30 or so canelés) in ONE DAY haha.
I will definitely go to 82^nd Street the next time I visit New York.
Great gift choice, or even personal treat.

5 stars for making a proper canelé. That is all.

Maybe I would’ve given a 3 star if my expectations were not so up there. Needless to say from the first bite to the last bite was a disappointment. I figured this pricey little treat must be so good to be charged at 35 for a box of 25 sweets, even pricier for savory, it certainly was not worth 35. I got a deal on Gilt and maybe paid 20 (?) And I still think it’s a rip off, I’d take a twinkie over this any day — preservatives and all.

Absolutely horrible service… especially from Celine herself. Tried to place an order for a savory tree, but was told that the tree was an additional $ 29. Really? Even your website prices the sweet and savory trees the same price. You’re telling me that cheese and pesto are honestly more of a premium than fruits? Give me a break.
Guess this business really cares more about making a quick buck than to give customers what they want. I’d avoid ever ordering from them again. I’m sure other canelé joints will serve my event much better.

I had the chance to grab a few mini caneles at the Bastille Day festival this past week. It was my first time trying these french pastries and I instantly fell in love. They’re sort of a cross between a bread and pastry. The outside is crunchy and the inside is a delicate airy consistency. I’ll definitely be back for more

I’m a huge fan of caneles and I’ve wanted to try Celine’s for a while now. I got a gilt city voucher for a box of mini caneles and originally I asked for all sweet ones but they somehow mixed it up and gave me a combination of savory and sweet mini caneles. I would definitely recommend the sweet over the savory. And stick with more classic flavors like vanilla and caramel. I wasn’t a fan of the chocolate version. Over all they were good but only certain flavors are worth going back for.

Sad to have bad customer service in such a small shop that sells only one thing. Especially since most people do not know the pastry. So, I bought an Amazon local deal. $ 40 worth of goods for $ 20. $ 40 gets you 25 small. The lady at the counter told me right away that the deal was expired, which required me to acess my amazon acct. There was NO expiration. In fact it says 180 days from purchase date. I wanted to like this shop because I believe in small business ventures.

These are wonderful. They make a great housewarming or dinner party gift, as most people either haven’t heard of the little pastry, or never tried one.
I was even fortunate enough to grab one of their deals from Amazon Local, which really reduced the price of 25 caneles. If I see the deal again, I’ll snap it up in a second.
I tend to prefer the sweet varieties more than the savory — I think the flavor comes through a bit better, and they make a great treat with coffee (or wine). The ability to mix or match makes it a great gift (did I mention that already?).

2.5 I very much wanted for this store to be my go-​to for caneles. Having tasted the best of the best throughout the world including caneles at many patisseries in Paris, I wanted a bakery within a reasonable distance that could provide me with a fix of a little taste of Provence.
This store specializes in flavoured, mini-​caneles. At Celine, the texture of the caneles seemed slightly off. I think that this can be attributed to the altered exterior to inner ratio as a function of its smaller-​than-​usual size. I’m a fan of the traditional, larger variety of caneles for it lends to enjoyment of the distinct aspects of a canele: a toasty, bees-​wax caramelized exterior «skin» and a gooier bread-​pudding like interior that has a bit of toothy bounce.
If you must try the caneles here, order the following:
Sweet: vanilla (original) and lemon
Savoury: truffle and cheese
Tips:
The online system appears to be dodgy. If you want to place an order, call the store directly
There is no seating in the store.
There is a minimum charge for you to use a credit card.
The box they provide is very cheap in appearance — it doesn’t do the price of the contents justice, so think twice before gifting!

I’ve never had canele’s before and I probably won’t have them again. They were good, but there are other pastries I’d rather spend my calories on. I got four minis and one large. The large was the best because you really got to taste the flavor. The small one’s tasted slightly burnt. I wish I could have tried their financiers, but they were out.
Service was very nice though.

Certainly one of the best places to pick up caneles in all of NYC if not the entire east coast, this little Upper East Side bakery deserves some major love.
I think one of the reasons this place has been a little slow to take off is that people might not realize the savory caneles are vastly superior to the sweet ones. In fact, I think the savory caneles and financiers are the two best things here, not the sweet caneles which most people seem to be buying.
Of the savory caneles, the Parmesan, Black Truffle, and Basil were my favorites. These don’t come cheap, however, and the truffle adds $ 1 to the total. I have to say that it was worth the price, though. As for financiers, if you come here you have to try the Salted Almond Financiers.
When I came here the service was solid and I generally enjoyed everything I had. I didn’t really have any of the negative experiences of the other Unilocalers, though I can’t say the service exactly blew me away. I didn’t feel the vanilla or caramel caneles had much taste and they were a little oily but the savory caneles and financiers were just really outstanding.

It’s not often that write reviews but my experience here has been so negative I was compelled to share.
As a French person living on the upper east side I was thrilled to see this place open. But after several bad visits I have decided to take my business elsewhere.
First let me comment on the product: The canelé was good, so much so that I feel the pricing is fair. I also was interested by their creative flavors and the mini canelé they offer. That being said, the service must have been pretty awful to keep me from shopping here given its close proximity to my apt.
The first bad experience occurred while trying to purchase from them just before closing. My wife and I stopped in five minutes before closing time and were denied business. After offering to pay with either credit or cash they still seemed uninterested in making a sale because they were closing earlier than their posted hours. And the product was still out for display. It was very apparent that they were not interested in making sales. Interesting business strategy.
The second time I attempted to purchase a full size canelé. When I ordered they said «Nope sorry sold out» without even trying to offer me one of their other selections. The sales girl couldn’t have cared less about selling the canelé, almost to the point I felt she was bothered that I was even inquiring.
The next experience came when I attempted to purchase $ 7 worth of product in my credit card. The minimum is $ 10. This means you need to purchase at least three canelé to use a card. It seems silly for a place where almost all of what they sell is priced far below the minimum. The biggest problem I had with the situation was the attitude I received from the staff. It was as if they were annoyed I was even attempting to use a card and were not apologetic in the least. This is because Celine truly could care less about making sales. She runs a business where customer service means nothing and making sales is not a priority.
In short I would say this place is a real shame. Decent product but not worth the attitude. I will actively tell people to avoid this place.
I would encourage anyone to try their hand at opening a canelé shop in NYC because it will not be hard to provide a better experience than your competition.

Unprofessional, unreliable, and a complete waste of money. Do not order from them unless stale, week-​late pastries are your idea of a good way to waste money.
Hands down the worst experience I’ve ever had with a business.
I went to the shop to mail my brother a birthday gift, he loves canales, and they told me to order online and he’d get it the next day. I did, and then got an email saying they would send it sometime the following week (even though I had paid for overnight). When I called and explained the situation (ie the need for the specific date), they moved the shipping up so it would only be a day late. However, the canales still did not arrive until the following week, at this point stale.
Obviously I was irate. Why spend $ 30 for overnight shipping when it takes a week? And why pay $ 15 for a stale product? I asked for a refund.
I received a call saying they’d refund me, and they took my credit card information to do that. Then they sent me an email saying, it was FedEx’s fault, and hope all is well. Two weeks later I still had no refund, and when I emailed they said despite the phone conversation, and despite the fact that the product was not edible, they’d decided not to refund me because FedEx wouldn’t refund them.
I fail to see how that’s my problem. You pay for a service, you expect the service or your money back. Simple.
This place is obviously unprofessional and disorganized. With the holidays nearing, I would urge everyone to take their business elsewhere.

You want a tasty and classy treat, but you had enough of macaroons?
Let’s have some canelés!
These exquisite little pastries are home to Bordeaux in France and are even there a special occasion treat.
Still you can find canelés in many pastry shops in France, but… They are not as good as these ones!
Céline’s are PERFECT!
Lightly caramelized crust in the outside and melting inside!
Just delicious!!!

This is a super small bakery and as you would expect they make canele. To be honest I can’t say I’ve had too many of these things but they are very good. But for how much they cost for a tiny bite sized munchy it’s just not worth it.

I brought these treats into work after using a gilt city deal (25 for 20 dollars). I have worked at a French bakery before in California and these are on par with their Cannales– absolutely amazing! The browning on the edges is just perfect and only 35 calories! I highly recommend this place for a gift or just to devour by yourself. Minus one star for not having a huge selection. I probably came too early (9am). I would call before going to make sure they have all of the best flavors. They are also on the expensive side since they are usually 25 for 45 dollars and very small (about the size of a baked by Melissa cupcake). Really a great addition to the smallish dessert community in NYC!

Canelé are the best thing to come from France since the Statue of Liberty. It’s a delicious baked pastry with a chewy outside and a moist inside. They come in fifteen sweet flavors and four savory flavors. My personal favorite is the vanilla. They’re perfect for breakfast or dessert.
Besides canelé, they have croissants and financiers. French financiers are a small tea cake with a flavored center. Think of a sponge cake in the shape of a brick of gold. Financiers also come in a bunch of different flavors, including the traditional almond.
Pop in the shop for a cappuccino and some French pastries. Bring your doggie to sit in front of the shop on their bench. You can also order online on their website.

It’s a specialty shop selling only canelés. The FIRST in New York City. How exciting. It’s in the Upper East Side where I normally don’t go to if I want to eat food but the allure of the caneles were too strong for me to resist.
Okay so yes they have sweet and savory caneles. Cool. It get it. You give people options besides the traditional one. What I don’t get is how completely subtle some of the canele flavors are. I ended up buying 3 mini caneles for around $ 5.00 and my friend did as well. It is the FIRST canele only shop in New York City folks.
All the caneles had the thick caramelized outside you would expect of a canele. It’s when you get to the custard inside that is the problem. The pink praline was a bit too sweet and moist. The pistachio flavor was lacking in pistachio. My favorite out of the ones I bought was the lemon. Exactly what I was looking for! 1 out of 3 :/​Unsurprisingly, the rum and vanilla canele my friend bought were very good. Better than the ones I chose –_​-​.
it’s good to know this place exists. They’re making yummy caneles, you just have to pick the right ones.

I came here a few weeks ago after reading an article on Serious Eats about this shop, and the pictures looked so good that I came two days later to try their canelés. I got three sweet ones ($ 4.90 total): rose water, orange blossom, and vanilla. This was my first time trying canelés, so I wasn’t sure what constitutes a «good» canelé. Texture-​wise, the outer shell was caramelized and harder than I anticipated, and overall I found the canelés to be very chewy. I was pretty disappointed at how subtle the flavors were though; I could barely taste the rose or orange blossom.
The woman behind the counter (I asked her if she was Celine and she said she wasn’t) was super friendly in describing what canelés are and some of her recommended flavors. The store itself is really tiny and there is no seating, so be prepared to take your canelés to go.
Overall, the disappointing flavors coupled with the long walk from the subway means I probably won’t be back.

Dear French food gods,
Thank you for blessing our wonderful city of New York with yet another awesome French bakery. Over the last couple of years, you have been especially generous to our beloved city, bestowing us with many new fantastic French restaurants (e.g. Calliople, Le Philosophe, Lafayette) and bakeries/​patisseries (e.g. Dominique Ansel Bakery, Ladurée, Maison Kayser). This time, you’ve given us a store specializing in canelés. Canelés, of all things! Five years ago, you would have been hard-​pressed to find a half-​decent canelé in this city, but now… now, you’ve given New York a place that makes delicious, high-​quality canelés in a variety of flavors, both sweet and savory. And as if you weren’t kind enough, you even placed it conveniently across the street from my apartment. French food gods, you are too kind!
Hardly a canelé connoisseur myself, I decided to first try some of the sweet options. Of the three that I tried (rum, the traditional flavor; dark chocolate; and pistachio), I liked the dark chocolate the most, though all three were exceptional, demonstrating textbook-​quality caramelized exteriors and soft, custard-​like interiors. Certainly no sad, soggy canelés will be found here — you, the French food gods, made sure of that!
And what is this? Truffle, Parmesan, and basil pesto-​flavored canelés? What is this sorcery??? Oh, the French food gods are too funny. While I have only tried three of the sweet canelés to date, I will certainly make the long journey from my apartment across the street to sample some of the savory options as well. Pricing is a bit on the higher-​end side, though by no means unreasonable — $ 4.90 for 3 canelés seems like a fair deal considering the quality of the products.
Bottom line, I enjoyed the canelés that I tried and will be back for more. So thank you, French food gods, for continuing to populate New York with even more delicious, fat-​laden goodness. I – and my cardiologist and endocrinologist — am truly thankful for your blessings.
Love,
Kevin
P. S. What would REALLY reaffirm my belief in your omniscience and power is if you opened a Pierre Hermé in New York as well. Pretty please? Kthanksbye

I read about this place in the NY Times and decided to try it out. The place is very tiny — tiny like there’s a thin hallway for you to look at the caneles and at the end of it is the cash register to pay. After that, you should get out, because if more people come in, there’s no room for you!
They have both savory and sweet caneles, but they’re different prices so they won’t let you mix and match which I was sad about. I decided to try the sweet ones (3 for $ 4.90 which in my opinion is a little pricey since they’re so small, but I did want to try them). I tried the vanilla, caramel & choco one. Caramel was probably my favorite of the 3. It seemed to have more flavor (the vanilla was pretty bland in my opinion). The pastries are very eggy tasting, which I didn’t mind, but if you don’t like egg, maybe these are not for you.
These were the first caneles I’ve ever had, so maybe I just don’t like caneles, but I can’t say I was blown away. It is a cute store though and the workers are very friendly.