François Payard

They make a really nice cup of coffee.
Their pastries are okay. The first time I had them, I wasn’t blown away. I think that the eclairs and the macarons are better at Laduree. There were a few items that tempted me today, but I wasn’t going right home.
Maybe next time…

I haven’t been to Payard in a while (last time was few years ago). Oh how I’ve missed this place.
I ordered the Louvre and the Sacre Coeur. The Lourve is a silky chocolate and hazelnut mousse, hazelnut dacquoise cake and crispy hazelnut wafer. No picture available because I ate it too fast. It was that good. I was worried the chocolate would be too sweet but the crispness of the wafer gave the pastry a perfect texture that offset the overall sweetness of the chocolate.
The Sacre Coeur is a mandarin mousse, matcha panna cotta, vanilla bean pound cake. The cake itself is beautifully and delicately made. I wish there was more matcha but overall it was delicious.
Only downside to this place is price ($ 7.25 a piece) but hey, you get what you pay for!

I had the most unprofessional experience at Payard at 74^th st this past Monday.
On Friday I went in to order an Opera cake for my colleague’s birthday this past Monday, to be shared at our weekly Monday morning meeting by 15 or so by other members of our team.
Before accepting the order, the counterperson made a phone call to assure that the cake would be available for pickup around 9:00am Monday and after a short conversation told me it would be no problem; the cake would be at the 74^th Street store around 8:00 am.
As I was out of town on Monday I made arrangements for our office manager to pick it up, I gave her the receipt, which BTW had my full name and cell phone number on it. When she arrived to pick up the cake, she was told there was no cake and they knew nothing about a cake being ordered for that day and they had no cake that size that would serve 15+ people.
Frustrated and angry she left empty handed and when she returned to the office, called the store to complain. As a means to make amends the store sent over a box of assorted macaroons, and two other small cakes, none of which I initially wanted or ordered.
I tried calling the store twice this morning and no one even answers the phone.
No one from Payard has contacted me to explain why all this occurred or to offer an apology.
This is the most unprofessional experience I have ever had with such an allegedly reputable retailer.
I am contacting Amex to dispute the charge.
SIMPLY DISGRACEFUL!!!

I heard that this place has ice cream sandwiches made of macaroon. So that is what gave me the reason to try this place out. It is a well spaced French café. In the front the offer pastries and various macaroons, and also ice cream. In the middle they sell small bites such as sandwiches and other quick bites. If you want to sit down they have various tables around to sit at. The place you can come and just relax and have a coffee and a dessert and a nice conversation.

When I was craving for ice cream, I walked pass this shop and saw that they serve ice cream. At first, I hesitate to try because this place is well-​know for macaron and other bakery, but their ice cream looks so good so I decide to give them a try. I ordered mixed berry and mango sorbet. Both flavors were delicious and refreshing. I think this place know how to make customers happy by serving amazing bakery and ice cream! I will definitely be back :)

What wonderful service to contrast the atrocious quality of viennoiserie that Payard carries. This tourist trap plays on the American palate by over-​sweetening everything they bake «fresh». A real French pastry chef would consider everything disappointing at best. My advice: save your money and book a flight to Paris.

Dessert heaven! Loved the interior, hate I wanted everything lol. This place is not cheap at all but is so worth it to treat yourself once in awhile. My mom and I love to indulge in these luxury desserts. The Eclairs and everything else are beautiful and taste as good as they look. The staff seemed happy to be there as much as we were.

My husband and I came in after an early morning run at Central Park. We sat at the bar for breakfast and had fantastic service. The guy behind the counter was friendly and funny. He knew every person that came in and they all greeted him personally. I had the best vegetable quiche and warm chocolate croissant and hubby enjoyed a blueberry muffin and fresh fruit. Highly recommend on service and food alone. Enjoy

Memories of the original Payard bistro and bakery. The pastry and cakes are sublime. Light and ethereal yet each flavor — raspberry, chocolate, passion fruit, apple and lemon merengue retained their distinct flavor even in combination treats. We took home a fresh brioche loaf and macaroons after sampling gelato. Also perfect. Jonah from the original Payard oversees this location with all the skill and charm one could hope for. Am I gushing? Yes!

Hate to go against the grain here, but the pastries I got from Francois Payard were some of the worst I’ve ever had from any patisserie.
The Strawberry Basil Éclair had no basil flavor and tasted like it was filled with strawberry whipped cream. The St. Germain Cake wasn’t too bad, but I’ve had similar versions from Chinese and Japanese bakeries at significantly cheaper prices. The macarons? Nahhhh! The strawberry basil was as unimpressive as its éclair counterpart, the cassis was forgettable, raspberry lychee had no lychee flavor (see a pattern here?), the salted caramel was okay, and the dark chocolate and cocoa nibs missed the part about the nibs.
Factor in the unnecessarily snooty service, and this place falls as flat as its bland, flavorless desserts.

FP. I saw it in many locations around the city and finally decided to try it.
It was just meh. Almond croissant wasn’t anything special. I would save my money and calories for something else.

Monsieur Payard, I miss you! I don’t live in NYC anymore but was just reminiscing about this place. I thought it had closed though or maybe it relocated from Lexington to Third? Does anyone know? Anyway, many years ago I lived around the corner and used to treat myself to a rhubarb tart that he no longer makes unfortunately. Everything else there is THE BEST and I lived in Paris for 1.5 years so I’m not comparing this place to my CT farm town’s closest patisserie (which would be Dunkin Donuts). One day a handsome and humble gentleman was walking around the bistro section (I’m talking old location) asking people how everything was. So I asked «ou est la rhubarb tarte?!» He answered that Mr. Payard likes his tarts like he likes his women: simple and natural. He said it wasn’t selling because he didn’t make his very sweet which was not palatable in the States (unfortunate for me b/​c I liked how he made it). So he’d rather pull it from the menu than add a bunch of extra sugar. I admired that and only at that point did I suspect I was actually speaking to Mr. Payard himself so I asked «Qui etes vous?» and he replied that he was just a simple cook and walked away. Aaaaah, this place always left me wanting more. Also, years later I took my then dairy allergic daughter there for lunch and everyone was so cautious and understanding about her allergy. Vive la rhubarb tarte! XO Monsieur Payard!

I am a die fan of Laduree in Paris, not in NYC upper east side. I am not sure if it is the milk, water and others, but I did not enjoy the macaroons from the upper east side Laduree NYC. Anyhow, I had macaroons as well as apple tart from Payard and I must say that it is wonderful. I do not like the thickness of the Macaroon cookie but the firmness and the sweetness of the cookie is perfect. If I was to recommend, I would recommend the apple tart over the macaroons. The taste of apple is definitely emphasized and accentuated by the right amount of sugar and crust underneath.

Best. Brunch. In. Manhattan.
I’ve lived near FP Patisserie for 2 years and go for brunch frequently. I love the eggs cocotte (it’s very rich, buttery and cheesy), croissant florentine and eggs benedict. All of the coffee drinks are strong and tasty, but the iced cappuccino is the standout.
For lunch, all of the sandwiches in the café case are great, my favorite is the turkey and cheese on pretzel bread.
You can’t go wrong with any of the pastries, macarons, ice creams or chocolates.
If you go in the summer, the macaron ice cream sandwiches are a must try. The salted caramel sandwich is amazing, so rich and sweet; the pistachio and berry is refreshing.
Everyone that works here is super nice and great at their jobs.

Simply the best.

A very nice place.
I used to love Payard ever since I went to their restaurant on Lex that is now closed.
So I was happy to discover this one on the UES.
They have very nice desserts, more complex than those in Kayser (which is little more rustic). Nice selection of eclairs and macaroons.

This place is pricey, but most of their stuff is worth it. You’d pay the same at Au Bön Pain for similar pastries ($ 3 – 4 for brioche or almond croissant) but the quality is top notch. Also the employees are always nice.
The chocolate almond croissant is to die for. Try the cheesecake ice cream.

A very, very good macaroon selection. I recently tried the macaroon ice cream sandwich — highly recommend the pistachio and raspberry one, very delicious and unique. Have yet to try any chocolate, which I know is their specialty. All in all, I love this place as a stop post-​brunch for some yummy dessert.

The macarons were good, but a little warmer than I cared to have them in a melty kinda way. They were good, but the selection was limited to approximately 10. However, they did have macaron ice cream sandwiches, which were brilliant! Soo good during the summer time! They also have fabulous décor and a professional coffee bar. Did I mention the sorbet and chocolate? I was in dessert heaven!

popped in for afternoon pick me up… was very impressed with friendly prompt service. was seated in the bakery area which i enjoyed. the pastry case was mouth watering artwork! the flavors and textures certainly matched the beauty! enjoyed every bite! hot chocolate was good as well.
will return during next visit!

I thought the Louvre in Paris was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but turns out the Louvre hazelnut/​chocolate dessert here is just as equally stunning — delicious and moist on the outside, with crispy wafers on the inside. Yum yum yum.
4 stars only because the portion size is so damn small for a $ 8 dessert — but I guess that’s an authentically French portion size so I can’t complain too much.
Coffee is decent, nothing to brag about. Pricey items for sure, but that’s no surprise.
The décor is elegant and ridiculously upscale. Take someone here if you want to impress her.

Une musique affreuse une déco qui se la pète des pâtisseries pas bien fraiches (ce jour là) et quelconques aussi peut être mêmes surgelées tellement cela manquait de saveurs. Des casquettes pour les caissières qui rappellent la touché Mac Do… Bonjour le luxe à la française et né parlons pas du passage secret en forme de coquille St jaques qui libère des managers… ça né s’invente pas ;-)
Mention spéciale pour le service qui fut discret et attentionné.