Ever since I was very young, I have loved bakeries. To me, a baked good is the ultimate treat, especially fresh from the oven. Bakeries = happiness to me. The smells, the proudly displayed items. I love it!
Recently, my wife, daughter, and I had the incredible pleasure of traveling to Tokyo, Japan. While planning our trip (and any trip), I have to scout out food highlights. I became aware that Dominique Ansel had not one but two of his famed bakeries in the megalopolis of Tokyo, Japan. I had heard of the Dominique Ansel bakery in New York. Lines around the corner for the hyped Cronut® (part Doughnut and part Croissant).
Since we were going to Tokyo, I knew it was essential to get a Cronut®, gosh darn it.
My wife, Amanda, is very understanding of my baked good addiction. Quite frankly, she enables me. We are not helping our daughter either as she loves a fine treat too.
Dominique Ansel in Omotesando
On our second day in Tokyo, we made it a point to get to the Omotesando location of Dominique Ansel’s bakery (his first and original Tokyo location). We walked from our hotel, near the Tokyo Station, and then took subways to get to this bakery. As we turned the corner and approached the quiet street, we entered the door. I was giddy with excitement.
The bakery had the famed Cronut® prominently displayed near the entrance with a sign describing it. Cronuts® have a unique flavor each month. The Cronut® that I will always remember as my first had a chestnut filling and a rose icing. Sounds a little strange, but let me tell ya, it was spectacular! Sometimes when you have something that you build up in your mind, it can be a disappointment. Well the Cronut® was not. It was awesome.
We didn’t just have a Cronuts® that day. We sampled a large part of the entire bakery.
Between my wife, my daughter, and I, we ordered the treats listed below (followed by a description from the Dominique Ansel website):
- Perfect Little Egg Sandwich: Fantastic egg sandwich served hot. Incredible.
- “Steamed, fluffy, farm fresh eggs with herbs and Gruyère cheese, served warm in a mini brioche bun.”
- Frozen S’more: Super cool, inside out s’more with ice cream.
- “Our signature honey marshmallow wrapped around a Tahitian vanilla ice cream with chocolate wafer crisps. Served on a smoked willow wood branch and torched to order.”
- DKA: One of my favorite items.
- “’Dominique’s Kouign Amann’: Flaky and tender bread with caramelized layers.”
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Shot
- “A cute take on cookies and milk! In this case, a soft and moist chocolate chip cookie is in the shape of a shot glass and served warm with fresh cold-infused vanilla milk.”
- Mont Blanc
- “Made with chestnut cream accented with rose and cassis, set atop a salted butter cookie and finished with vanilla ganache and a vanilla meringue baton on top.”
- Madeleines: Hot and fresh from the oven. A favorite.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie: Very good cookie. It’s hard to screw up a chocolate chip cookie, but this was great.
- Chocolate Croissant
- Pumpkin Pie: Seasonal. My daughter loved this.
- Pistachio Macaron: Really good macaron. One of the best I have had.
- Cappuccinos: For proper plural Italiano, Cappucuni. More on Cappuccino in our article here.
We really enjoyed the Omotesando location of Dominique Ansel’s bakery. Everything was amazing and of the highest quality. The employees took great pride in keeping everything clean and organized.
Dominique Ansel in Ginza
A few days later, we went to the Ginza location (Dominique Ansel’s second bakery in Tokyo). The Ginza bakery is located in the Mitsukoshi department store. This location is much smaller and did not have some of the items that the Omotesando location had. It still had the famous Cronut®, but it did not have made to order Madeleines, Perfect Little Egg Sandwich or hot drinks. We once again ordered a ridiculous amount of treats that we ate throughout the day and later in our hotel room.
Highlights from the Dominique Ansel Bakeries in Tokyo:
- Everything was excellent quality.
- The Cronut® lived up to the hype. Delicious.
- Fresh from the oven Madeleines. Amazing.
- The DKA. Kind of like a Cronut®, but different and incredible.
- Fantastic service. Workers took great pride in everything.
I often think about the trip to Japan and the wonderful treats I enjoyed at Dominque Ansel’s Bakeries. My desktop wallpaper on my computer has this picture on it.
My wife and I are planning a trip to New York this Fall. We will definitely be adding a stop to visit the original Dominique Ansel Bakery.
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This is not what came to mind when I first thought about bakeries in Japan. I am totally down for the Madeleine and the pistachio macaron. Well, and I would not mind tasting a bit of everything actually.
Hi Patricia, thanks for reading the article. The madeleines were really amazing. I hope you make it to the bakery sometime.
French patisserie in Japan is incredible, isn’t it? The Japanese tendency towards perfection, and willingness to train for many years to achieve it, fits hand in glove with French patisserie styles! I didn’t know Dominique Ansel had opened more than one place in Tokyo, would love to visit them next time we go!
Hi Kavita, that’s a great point about how Japanese culture and French tradition are a great fit. I love how much care is taken in preparing the desserts.
My mind is blown by all of those. I was already confused when I first saw cronuts, but the frozen smores sound insane. What would you say was the best thing at the bakery?
Hi Amber, It’s nearly impossible to say what my favorite item was, but my THREE favorite things were the DKA, Cronut and the made-to-order madeleines.
We are planning a trip to Tokyo and we’re definitely adding this place to our itinerary! It’s also located at a very nice place, near the Tokyo Station, so it’s easy to get there, which is a huge bonus! Now I’m wondering what kind of Cronut flavour they’ll have when we visit!
Hi Danila, that’s part of the fun…who knows what flavor you’ll get. Have a great trip and I hope you get a great flavor.
Funny, I don’t typically think of people making donuts outside of the U.S. – I thought that we were the only overindulgent ones! Ha. I agree the chestnut filling and a rose icing sounds like something I would never order but good to know that was worth you getting out of your comfort zone. And let me just say a frozen smores?! I’m all in! What a fun day.
Hi Angela, thanks for the comment. No matter where in the world I go, I always seek out the best treats. It’s always fun to find something new.
This really made me sorry I missed going to the original Dominique Ansel bakery in NYC when I was there in February. I had it on my list, but I ran out of time. I should have made time. It is on my list with several other things for my next trip to NYC. I would love to go to his bakeries in Tokyo, I’m dying to get there! I tend to order like your family does…a little of everything, I mean you have to try it all, right? That’s why you’re there! The definites would have to be the Cronut and that Frozen S’more!!!
Hi Heather, I like your attitude–it’s fun to try everything. We are planning on going to NYC this fall and we are definitely going to go to Dominique Ansel’s Bakery. We will still try a huge part of the menu there, too. Thanks for your comment.
It’s funny because I’ve been following Dominique Ansel since his creation of the Cronut, so I was totally ecstatic when he opened a bakery in Los Angeles where I live. Ironically, I have yet to visit. Your post and all the yummy photos are propelling me to finally go. My only concern is that I’ll order everything in the cases.
Hi Theresa, I hope you make it to the LA bakery soon. Report back; it’s gotta be awesome.
Your post makes me hungry as all things in this bakery looks very delicious. I would surely stop over at Ansel Bakery whenever I visit Tokyo, Japan.
Hi Yukti, be sure to bring a good appetite when you go. Thanks for the comment.
This was a side of Japanese food I didn’t expect but it has to be the best! I’ll take a bakery over raw fish any day!! Really makes me want to return!
Hi Nicola, Thanks for the comment. Next time you go to Japan have some sushi and a cronut as a chaser.
Hi. Was there long line at the omotesando bakery ? Im planning my trip and not sure what time i should go. Thanks
Hi DJ. There was NO LINE! Such a difference from the New York location. And, you can get the Cronut all day…they don’t usually run out (again, so different than NYC). Have a great trip.