Maison Kayser

We used to come here a lot for breakfast. Since we became vegan we haven’t be back because there are not many options.
We went recently there for dinner and we found it over priced for what it is. It tastes good tho…

Popular spot for brunch. A bakery store sits on one side and the tiny café on the other. Be prepared to stand on a line outside and wait for a table to open up and accommodate you. One busboy and three waiters try their best to service the bustling crowded room with the manager and maitre d’ at times having to lend a hand. Tables are very close together and clientele are on the svelte side. Imagery tell you enough yet? Be graceful as a gazelle in here or your derrière will knock your neighbor’s plate off the table. Thankfully a wall of mirrors makes the room appear larger otherwise you’ll feel more claustrophobic.
The food is good in my humble opinion and the service a bit lacking and slow but with such a tiny place the size of a Manhattan tenement apartment crammed full with tables, chairs, and about 30 customers, I can only imagine what the size of the kitchen is.
I ordered the Croque Madame which is essentially a grilled open-​faced ham and Swiss sandwich with a sunny side egg on top and a cup of green tea with apple and spices. The tea came with a quaint little almond flavored bakery bite. My sister and date each had the asparagus and scrambled egg on sourdough. A taste of her dish told me the eggs had a splash of cream for richness. Nice.
Overall, I would say this place is more of a treat to taste the baked goods served on the other side. The other Maison Kayser I was going to visit is much larger but temporarily closed.

OMG, I love this place!!! It’s awesome. Baguettes and eclairs, tartelette and beverages. Service is great. I love everything about this place.

I’m normally a huge fan of the pastries, but today I got a raspberry tart with three frozen raspberries. Although this is the first time over many visits I have experienced this, it is nonetheless disappointing for a franchise that prides themselves on bakery perfection. Does this imply that the pastry was frozen after it had been created (a big no-​no) or that the refrigerator case had a cold spot and this pastry was sitting there for far too long? Either way, I hope it’s just a one off.

You can’t help but stop and contemplate going in when you smell the bread! Maison Kayser has an amazing selection of pastries. The pastries, baguettes, etc. get five stars.
On the other hand, the service and dining experience are underwhelming. Each time I go to sit down for some coffee and order a sandwich or pastry, there’s any annoying fly trying to share my meal. It’s happened during every visit. Be prepared to wait for service. This may be driven by their team being understaffed because the waiters are very kind but it takes a while to spot one and get their attention.
I’m a fan of all the Maison Kayser locations around the city but this one offers a lackluster experience. I recommend stopping by to pick up some things but I don’t advise staying there to eat.

The baguette with buckwheat and the loaf with buckwheat and olives (Pain des Cyclades) were phenomenal. Rolls just OK. Excellent mini chocolate-​hazelnut tart, and quite good apricot-​pistachio tart.

I normally go to their 74 street location and service is always excellent.
On Easter I stopped by the one on 86 & Third avenue and the gentleman behind the register couldn’t be any more rude even if he tried harder!!! I wanted to take my $$ back and leave I felt confused as to why he wanted me to form a line when there was no one else in that store. By the time I turned around people walked in n were witnessing the read. Very embarrassing and needless to say I will not be patronizing this location again.

Stopped by Maison Kayser on the way home to bring back a light dessert and some hot chocolate. There’s a nice selection of French pastries to choose from. They looked palatable and I’m definitely down to try some another time but the one my fiancée wanted, the raspberry tart, was hard and, all in all, not too good.
The hot chocolate was different in that it was creamier! I was actually expecting something thicker like Parisian hot chocolate but it just turned out to be more ordinary. Still, it was quite good!
I’d be down to give this place another shot and try something I’m more partial to… like a soft éclair or something chocolatey!

I wanted to try the place and enjoy a real pastry made by a French place unfortunately nothing special about it. It’s a true NY thing.
My tarte au citron wasn’t that great and not fresh at all.
The waitress was friendly.

Delicious French pastries
We wanted some sweets and picked out just a few of what looked like the most decadent chocolate desserts:
Éclair, chocolate croissant, chocolate mousse and a plain croissant.
All were fantastic! Since it was late the chocolate éclair was a bit on the dry side but it was still good. The fudgy chocolate exterior was semi-​sweet, and the filling was a chocolate/​caramel orangey paste but not too sweet. Overall good.
The plain croissant was just what you’d expect: flaky, buttery, lightly sweetened coating — warmed up would’ve been even better!
The chocolate coffee hazelnut mousse was spectacular! It had a delicious consistency, sort of like panna cotta — it was nutty, with the caramelized slightly toasted hazelnuts, and rich. One of the best!
My absolute favorite was the chocolate croissant though! I can’t image a fresher version of this warm, gooey, chocolatey, flakey pastry. Hands downs one of the best chocolate croissants I’ve had. Imagine it straight out of the oven — mmmm! Hits the late night sweet spot for sure.
Seriously though… make sure you get this!

They have the best fresh baguettes in the city. Always fresh! Their dessert is always top notch, I love the eclaires. They have a large restaurant and seating area as well. I usually go in and sit down for a latte and chocolate croissant, the place has a euro vibe and you feel like you’re in France. Very affordable, and great for a quick stop or sit down.

Maison Kayser, are your store managers and bakers sleeping? Not sure if Maison Kayser is showing growing pains but it seems like the quality in service and product seems to be slipping in many of their locations. Their bread is still tasty, but I had problems recently, like getting a burnt loaf a few months ago. This location is clean, as is all, with the huge pastry counters and the shelves and baskets of bread. The woman counting the money in the cashier didn’t even look up when I entered, and the other staffer was busily emptying baskets of bread, not meeting my eye as he went about his business. No one said anything so I waited to see how long I would be ignored. A few minutes passed before the woman finally asked if she could help me. At least say, «I will be with you in a few minutes.» if you can’t give me a smile. I gave you a smile! As far as the bread goes, it had the same chewy crust and wonderful mouth feel as always. But the olive loaf I bought was missing the huge pieces of olives that had always made I a great loaf. It were as if instead of putting in many whole olives that got cut when you sliced the loaf, the cook had decided to put in chopped bits. There were many chopped bits but the intense olive flavor the loaf used to have was gone, due to the absence of the big pieces. I used to love to how the saltiness of an a huge piece of olive would contrast with the pure, unsalted bread. This may not stand out to a person just new to their breads, but for someone who has been a loyal customer for a long time, I notice the difference and am sorely disappointed. Perhaps corporate needs to send secret shoppers to their stores.

The famous Maison Kayser! It is the experience that trumps here. We were here for a Sunday brunch — served till 4 PM so we just about made it. There are some dishes which are unique, some which taste good and some that are average. The bakery items are really really good. So again — you will want to go there for the experience.
The sausage and scrambled eggs with pesto is unique and flavorful .
The eggs Benedict looks so good and loved how the yolk just oozes when you cut it right in the middle.
The ham and scrambled eggs are ok — though the presentation is decent.
Now here is what is killer– the almond croissant. Would love to go here again just for the croissants ! Unbelievably good ! Works so well with the coffee– which in itself is pretty good.
So give it a shot New Yorkers — you have so many locations to choose from !

I am pretty much a fan of all the Maison Kayser restaurants. This one is not the spot I usually go to as there is one 2 blocks from my apartment but the hubby and I were catching a mid-​week flick and wanted to grab a quick bite before the movie.
The restaurant is very clean and has a strong French feel. The service is really good.
I had the egg & asparagus tart. It was very good, they used terrific quality gruyère cheese. The hubby had a pain au chocolat which was yummy.
The coffee is consistently good here. I can’t get away with having less then 3 cups of it!
Maison Kayser is always a good choice!

Love this French bistro! Bright beautiful display with fresh pastries. Quick take out service and plenty of delicious pastries, coffee, and teas to choose from. I couldn’t decide on a pastry, although I was impressed that they offer a flourless mini cakes and gluten-​free as options. I talked myself out of the pastries and instead opted for a refreshing iced tea. The Des Amants has green tea, berries, rose, orange blossom & green date. Although the flavor of the tea was so vague, I couldn’t distinguish the various components, I still enjoyed it! For those of you who like to add a little sweetness to your drinks they have the normal sugar options and in addition, sugar cane cubes in wrappers, and maple syrup as well.

I live nearby and come to MK on 3^rd Ave pretty often. I always loved their bakery and bistro, and MK staff was always very attentive and nice.
Not today though… Dinner at MK totally ruined my night because:
1. Burrata with figs didn’t have any figs; tomatoes were semi-​ripe. The waitress didn’t bother to apologize for this.
2. Bread was brought only after burrata was returned back to the kitchen; no butter was brought to the table.
3. Boef bourguignon was my main course. It tasted like re-​heated beef with undercooked potatoes and carrots.
4. Nobody came to the table to refill my glass of water.
I think MK management should seriously look into this issue — this might be a sign that this place is deteriorating.

I had a very lovely brunch Maison Kayser with my aunt one Saturday morning. It’s around the corner from her apartment, and it was a nice change from our usual weekend diner, formally a Viand’s, on 86^th and 2^nd.
The place is popping, with a fair ratio of the customers under the age of 3. (Heh.) We ordered our meals quickly, and we had them in ten minutes flat. I opted for the Pain Pedru (French toast) with fruit salad and crème fraîche. (Cafeteria fraaaîche! [“South Park”, anyone?]) What I love is that you only get one slice of bread, but is is wonderfully thick with a crunchy outside and a custardy center. The fruit salad was the perfect size and broke up the richness of the toast nicely. I wasn’t a big fan of such a huge glob of crème fraîche on my toast, however. It was golfball-​sized, no exaggeration. Eh. My aunt ordered a tartine with eggs, gruyère, and asparagus. I am not an egg fan on the whole, but I took a bite and I easily could have eaten the entire thing! The eggs were a perfect scrambled consistency, the cheese and asparagus flavors really shined.
Afterwards, we both went to the pastry counter and drooled over some of the wonderfully crafted confections. Their eclairs looked amazing, though my stomach was too full to enjoy one. Well, there is always next time!
This is a wonderful addition to this part of the U.E.S. I can’t wait to come back for more, and I’ll be sure to save room for a pastry next time!

Their pasties are so delightful mmmmmm!
I brought a tarte café and it’s so good. The café mousse from the inner part of that Ferrero Rocher thing taste delicious. Also, I love the nuts from the inner part of the tarte.

I had a doctor’s appointment close by and I had over an hour to spare so I decided to treat myself to breakfast and reading (I can be a very solitary creature). I researched some good places to eat nearby and to my dissatisfaction, many of the sit down restaurants only open after 10 am. Finally, I stumbled upon this place, which opens at 7 am.
When I walked in at 7:30 am, the place was empty. There was only one other person but no bother, it was still early in the morning. I was immediately seated and it was my choice as to where to sit. I got myself some coffee with almond milk and it was pretty delicious. Very smooth. I also got the crostini with avocados and sunny side up eggs.
The breakfast was pretty good. Everything was made almost perfectly. The eggs was slightly underseasoned so I added some freshly ground pepper. Combining the eggs with the avocado and toast was pretty heavenly. The portion looks small but it was more than enough for me (aka I’m stuffed now).
The service was, by far, one of the best I have ever gotten. My waiter, Alan, was always smiling, always offered to help, and he was observant. He knew when I was ready to order, when I was done with food, and when I was ready to pay. I never had to wait. He didn’t rush me out though. He saw me with my Kindle and knew I wanted to read as well as enjoy my breakfast. All in all, I got in at 7:30, and left by 8:05. Efficient.
The place itself was so comfortable with lovely music playing in the background and laughter around me that I found myself wondering if I could stop by this place everyday for breakfast. But I don’t think my bank account can take it.
Supposedly, this place has amazing almond croissants so I ordered one to go to give to a friend of mine. I’ll get his opinion later.
It is on the expensive side though… especially for breakfast. I feel, though, this would be a great place to go for brunch. I would come back… on pay day!

Maison Kayser
NY Manhattan UES
1pm Tuesday 24^th February 2015
Four Stars
I have heard mixed reviews of this bakery/​café so I stopped in for an Almond Chocolate Croissant ($ 4). It hit the spot. The outer crust was crispy with the added crunch from the nuts. The light dusting of powdered sugar tickled the tongue with sugar. After that the bite transitioned to the soft buttery bread. Finally the chocolate touches your palate and the pastry resonates in your whole mouth. The dessert is a bit messy and I am sure is much better with coffee than without it. It was good but just not 5 star quality in my opinion.

Le service à domicile est tres tres decevant.
Nous avons commandé un poulet basquaise, un taboulé, un éclair au chocolat.
Le Poulet basquaise etait bon mais le poulet etait de mauvaise qualité car tres
ce fait plus de dechets que de viande.
Le Taboulé etait bon mais en trop petite quantité et l’éclair etait absent. Ils nous ont offert 3 cookies. mais vraiment ce n est pas leur force.
Meilleur sur place qu’a domicile. TRES DECUS