There’s a debate to be had about every type of food these days—except maybe this one. Because who doesn’t love a croissant? No, not those sad, deflated ones that your boss thinks will lure you back into the office. We’re talking about the kind that makes you stop, put your phone down for 37 seconds, and enjoy the mellifluous sound of honking on Miracle Mile. And before you ask—we only considered the plain version of this pastry for this guide, so there could be no hiding behind added flavors and powdered sugar.
THE SPOTS
Finding something quick, delicious, and affordable in South Beach can be touch-and-go. Thankfully, you won’t need to find a four-leaf clover or hope a ladybug lands on you in order to find a decent meal if you just head straight to True Loaf. “Small” would be an appropriate way to describe this to-go bakery, but not so much for these seriously puffed-up croissants. They’ve got well-defined, airy layers and a rich butter flavor. Maurice Gibb Memorial Park is only a block south, so you could grab a waterfront seat and enjoy your croissant, or you could just inhale it on the sidewalk in ten seconds. No judgments from us.
Two things have remained true about Wynwood over the last decade: you should never attempt to drive down NW 2nd Ave and the neighborhood is home to one of the city's best bakeries, Zak the Baker. While you really can’t go wrong ordering bread in any form here (especially the ridiculously good babka), leave room for a croissant. Shaped exactly like a mini Nerf football, they have an intricate, web-like pattern of layers on the inside and a great—almost nutty—butter flavor.
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After taking a quick glance at the glass display cases showing off elaborately designed desserts and pastries, it’s easy to think that you might have stumbled into a high-end jewelry store instead of a bakery. But you’re not at Jared—you’re at Bachour. As you browse the petite gateaux, grab a croissant. Bachour’s croissants may be the puffiest on this guide, and somehow defy physics by being simultaneously floaty and hefty. Soft and with a delicate flavor, these croissants have a picturesque honeycomb interior worthy of the embarrassment you’ll later feel when you go to show your friend photos from that boat day, but you instead end up having to scroll through hundreds of photos of beautifully tanned dough first.
Many differences in the croissants on this guide are cosmetic—some are larger than others, some are different shades of ochre, some are going to flake all over your car seat just a bit more. However, Madruga’s croissant stands out from the others because of their interiors. The webbing is much smaller and closer together, suggesting that what you’re about to bite into might be tight and dry. But, surprise: they are as soft as the ears of your neighbor’s new puppy, Horace, and deceptively light too, with a toasty bite.
At a certain point in writing this, we began to wonder if there might be a limit on ways to say “buttery” and “flaky.” And it turns out, there is for us—exactly nine. But B Bistro, a breakfast and lunch spot with locations in Coconut Grove and Brickell, made that a bit easier by allowing us to talk about how crispy their croissant is. Yes, it’s wonderfully buttery and flaky, but that extra shattery outside provides a great textural contrast with the soft, layered interior. At both locations, you can sit and eat or quickly dash in and out for a to-go pastry.
If there is a fine line between genius and insanity, the bakers at Key Biscayne’s Flour & Weirdoughs balance on it like flour-dusted tight-rope walkers. But with items like cacio e pepe sourdough loaves, al pastor danishes, and spicy corn empanadas, Flour & Weirdoughs definitely lands on the genius side of that line. While their croissant might not be as aesthetically pleasing as some of the others on this list, it makes up for it with rich, toasty butter flavor and a satisfying crisp texture. Oh, and there’s also an excellent version stuffed with brisket, provolone, and grain mustard, because of course there would be here.
Butter—and the flavor it provides—is essential to a great croissant, right? To quote the great Lee Corso of College Gameday, “Not so fast, my friend!” (Feel free to imagine us putting on a giant croissant mascot head to a chorus of cheers.) That’s because at Coral Gables’ L'Artisane Bakery, you can find an outstanding vegan croissant. It’s soft with a subtle sweetness that isn’t present in any of the other croissants on this list. That sweetness is due to the glaze L'Artisane uses—a simple syrup instead of the traditional egg wash.
Located in a small shopping center just west of 826, Caracas Bakery makes outstanding Venezuelan-French inspired pastries. It’s one of our favorite bakeries in Miami—croissants aside. But you should still get one here. The croissant resembles the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and you may or may not briefly imagine it terrorizing New York City. But if you don’t go bye-bye like Ray did thinking about that in Ghostbusters, you’ll appreciate its crisp exterior and ideal butter flavor.
You might not think a croissant could distract you from the more opulent items at Edge, Brickell's best fancy steakhouse. But the croissants here are that good (and also do not require a reservation at all). They're available daily from 7am to 11am at Edge's grab-and-go counter. Yes, they are smaller than most on this list, but they are flaky, beautifully layered, and have an outstanding salty, buttery flavor guaranteed to make you briefly forget about having to wade through those Brickell floods once a week.
