La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Rue du Bac. If you're running low on time, and need to make up for your fill of quality Parisian desserts: show up at this stretch of Rue du Bac. Your first stop should be La Patisserie Des Reves (LPDR).

Philippe Conticini is a master craftsman! I'd only recently discovered the traditional French sweet, Calisson, when I entered LPDR to see that he'd reinvented the sweet as a dessert (crunchy almond base, orange blossom flavored marzipan, orange compote flavored buttercream, swiss meringue on top)...

... seriously, how can one keep up with French desserts?

This is not his first reinvention: You can start by looking at his interpretation of the St Honore cake, the circular puff pastry that he re-introduced in his gorgeous, rectangular gatueax, (Crunchy base, rich caramel choux pastry, smooth pastry cream). Then, there's the Paris-Brest with its pull apart modularity and runny praline cream center that isn't just visually pleasing, but marries in function as well by eliminating one of the long running concerns over the traditional Paris-Brest (WAY too rich for most adults). LPDR's award winning Paris-Brest is intensely flavored but with very light praline cream.

I also tried another of his "childhood" pastries: Grand Cru Vanille. This would compare favorably with the best in its genre, accenting vanilla, vanilla, and more vanilla: vanilla sponge, black vanilla filling, vanilla mousse with white chocolate, crunchy vanilla - it's like the patissier threw a smackdown: how about vanilla that is anything but vanilla??

At the guidance of the young lady who spoke fluent English, I also got a pack of 10 shortbread granola biscuits coated in dark chocolate and with a hint of sea salt. While pleasing, it didn't come close to her other excellent recommendation, the Croustilles: Puffed cereals and caramelized pistachios with dark chocolate coating.

Sure, I felt like the elephant in the "Wonderful Pistachios" after-the-party commercial... but do I regret it? No. Absolutely not... need to search carefully for any tattoos, though ;)

Awesome little bakery that reminded me of Dominique Ansel back home. I had the Kouign Amann stick, which was amazing, and a small chocolate layer cake. Fantastic presentation and packing, too.

FIG TART!!! lately I had a fig obsession and the fig tart here did not disappoint. The BEST tart i have ever had. So many beautifully sugar glazed figs on top of a wonderfully flaky yet sturdy tart. oh.my.god. so SO delicious and SO beautiful that you don't want to break it apart. The middle is MOIST and the tart is the perfect balance of hard vs. soft. MUST TRY

I also tried their famous millefeuille that is on various lists for the best millefeuille in paris. I have to say it is in my top 2 for sure. The vanilla custard/cream is fantastic and the layers are so perfectly crispy. I feel that all the flaky, layered type pastries at this place must be fantastic. Definitely will be back here to try other things :D LOVE

Best Paris Brest ever. I've loved Paris Brest cakes for a long time but this one was nothing compared to the ones you buy in "normal" bakeries. I did not know about La Patisserie des Rêves before and went inside because it looked like a jewelry shop for cakes. I did not regret it. Of course at 7.5 euro for a small Paris Brest it is expensive, but to me it's an experience you have to have once. The brioche was also very good, but that Paris Brest...

Dont waste your money, go somewhere else. Don't know if it's because they just don't care because of all the money they get anyway, but for any reason it might be, the service was not up to par to the price. The staff finished serving someone, i was waiting for her to address me, but someone else got in the store and the staff just served her before. I got 2 small cakes, paid, and you know what? No thank you, no have a good day. My bill was close to 18 euros and the service at my local bakery is top notch compared to this place.
What about the taste? It's on the sweet side and nothing wowed me. It's definitely not worth 8.75 euros a piece. It's not even worth half of that price. Save your money, run away and look somewhere else.

Yes, this is the stuff that dreams are made of as Philippe Conticini is a pastry magician and innovator of classic French desserts. The desserts in his shop are displayed like artwork, almost like in a jewelry shop, each dessert is protected under a glass dome.

I had to try the chocolate eclair that was wrapped in a sheet of chocolate, and the Paris Brest, which was voted the best Paris Brest. All of his desserts take on such a modern form. For example the St. Honore abandons its normally round shape and the Paris Brest is composed of a bunch of small choux that you can actually pull apart and share. One dessert that caught my eye, but was a bit too steep for my budget, was the foret noire. When you think foret noire, you think of a cake covered in chantilly and chocolate shavings. Nope. Conticini's foret noire takes the shape of a glistening apple that would lure any Snow White into taking a bite out of it. Perhaps next time I'll have to try it.

I'm not a big fan of the jewelry shop feel of the boutique. When you ask tell the sales lady what you want, she tells someone in the back and its quickly packaged up and delivered to the front of the house. This sort of presentation is becoming more popular in Paris, though I prefer to be able to see and pick out exactly the dessert you're taking home.

However, I LOVE the packaging. I've never seen such ingenious packaging before in any patisserie in Paris. When I arrived home a good 4 hours after purchasing my desserts and being shoved around on the metro, I was sure that my desserts would be massacred. To my surprise they were intact. For his packaging, Conticini employs a foam base at the bottom of each pastry box. The desserts are carefully arranged and then plastic picks are inserted to secure them in place. Why hasn't anyone else thought of this?! Of course it is more time consuming and increases the overall cost, but at least my desserts made it home in perfect condition.

As for the desserts themselves, the chocolate eclair was pretty standard, though I do appreciate that its wrapped in chocolate. When it comes to chocolate, the more the better. The Paris Brest was divine. Each ball contains a praline cream and piped into the center is runny praline adding a burst of flavor. I think the next time I'll stop by his other location to sample more desserts on site.

A hit since it opened in 2009, this modern and playful pastry shop from Philippe Conticini offers modern twists on old classics--like a Black Forest cake shaped into the form of a lacquered cherry--displayed under severe refrigerated glass domes that hang suspended from the ceiling. Despite the slightly clinical atmosphere, the sweets are perfectly decadent, from the intense tarte à l'orange to the delicate crumb of the madeleines. It also won raves for its Paris-Brest.

There are so many patisseries in Paris - how are you supposed to pick just one? I realized that I didn't have to - and basically went to each one and tried whatever caught my eye. This place is insanely beautiful and each pastry is showcased like the jewel that it is. My favorite here was the Paris Brest. I know my description won't do it justice - suffice it to say when you take a bite, the praline filling goes straight to your head.

Even if you end up getting tempted by something else, you have to come here just to look at the works of art they create.

Pâtisserie des Rêves was around the corner from where I used to work, and it was always on my short list of places to try. My friend and I decided to indulge one day for our goûter, and we were not disappointed. I got the tiramisu and she the lemonata citron (I think that's what it was called...) The tiramisu was amazing-- dense and rich but not sopping wet. The lemonata citron was even better. It was lemony and sweet and an amazing light texture. SO good, and not too overwhelmingly sugary.
It's a bit expensive, so it's probably not worth it if you're in the mood for something simple (you can find a good croissant at any of the bakeries within a block from this one). But it's perfect and delicious if you want to indulge.

Super modern bakery. My eyes widened as I spotted 1 deilcious pastry after the next.

I of course had to try a chocolate croissant but we also split a chocolate cake that we chomped on while waiting online at Versailles.

Both were decadent and delicious.