14 must-know places in Singapore for buttery, flaky croissants

One of the buzziest bakery openings in Singapore is famed French pastry chef Cedric Grolet’s cafe at Como Orchard – his first store in Asia. His hyper-realistic cakes are his most popular offerings, as well as his famed croissants ($8), which have all gone TikTok-viral. The crisp flaky exterior with immaculately laminated layers gives way to an airy soft inside. Grolet himself encourages guests to dunk it in their coffee of choice.

Cedric Grolet is at 30 Bideford Road, Level 1 Como Orchard, Singapore 229922.

Indulge in delectable comfort treats and freshly baked delights at Nassim Hill. Not to be missed are their irresistible croissants, boasting a perfect balance of buttery richness and flaky texture, available in original, chocolate, and almond variations.

For those craving something more substantial, the bakery also has savoury options such as the B.B.B. – a hearty treat that features scrambled eggs, ham, tomato, spinach, and melted gruyère, all nestled within a croissant.

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar is located at 56 Tanglin Rd, #01-03, Singapore 247964.

Made with two-day fermentation dough and laminated with Elle & Vire 82% French butter, Le Lavin offers a buttery croissant ($3.80) with thin crackling layers and a fluffy interior. The cafe has also launched a French Hot Chocolate ($10.80) that doles out ultra-thick hot chocolate (almost liquid chocolate) alongside whipped cream, that you can dunk your croissant in for a match made in chocolate heaven.

Other croissant options include the Four Cheese and Ham, Burnt Cheese and local-inspired Bobochacha croissants.

La Levain is at 23 hamilton Road. Closed on Mondays. Visit its website for more information.

It’s hard to miss the rows of deletable pastries in the window when you stroll past this halal bakery located at Haji Lane. Opened by pastry chef Aishah and her husband in 2021, there are no seats here, and the small space can only hold about five customers at a go.

Croissant options run from plain to almond, as well as chocolate hazelnut (a crowd-pleaser), cheese sausage and tuna mayo. Get its famed torched marshmallow hot chocolate to enjoy with your pastry, or one of its cinnamon rolls which is highly raved about, too.

The French American Bakery is at 49 Haji Lane, Singapore 189242.

Le Petit Croissant was founded by Laura in Hong Kong before expanding to Singapore in 2019. Growing up and studying in France, Laura was exposed to many amazing bakeries but was disappointed at what she found in Hong Kong. That pushed her to found Le Petit Croissant. They have mini and large croissant offerings with plain, chocolate and almond variants.

338 Changi Rd, #01-08 Mera East Condominium, Singapore 419977

Located a walking distance away from Lavender MRT, Mother Dough has been pulling in crowds with its artisanal bakes since its inception in 2018 by Naadhira Ismail. They have plain, almond (said to be the biggest crowd-puller) and chocolate croissants and we do recommend pre-ordering to prevent disappointment.

3 Jln Kledek, Singapore 199259

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Tiong Bahru Bakery needs no introduction, especially the beloved sweet creation Kouign Amann. Croissants are another star, with the usual plain, chocolate and almond flavours available. Get the Almond Chocolate Croissant or Green Tea Almond Croissant if you want something with extra flair.

Tiong Bahru Bakery has multiple locations in Singapore. 

Bored of the usual croissant flavours? Then Brotherbird is set to surprise with flavours such as Rocher Croissant, Strawberry Pain Au Chocolat, Green Curry Chicken Twice-Baked and Mentaiko Prawn Twice-Baked. Traditionalists don’t worry, you can tuck into the Original Croissant.

114 Lavender St, #01-05 CT Hub 2, Singapore 338729 and 32 Bali Ln, Singapore 189868

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Using quality flours and ingredients from France and Japan, Bakery Brera has become known for its croissants (plain, chocolate and almond), kouign-amann, cruffins and Basque burnt cheesecake. Besides taste, Bakery Brera is also committed to championing social responsibility, community projects, sustainability and other causes, which they often post about on their Instagram.

8 Empress Rd, #01-05 Empress Market, 260008

Carpenter & Cook is a longtime favourite in the Upper Bukit Timah scene, in part thanks to its vintage furniture decor. The cafe is helmed by owner Shenn, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu London. They carry almond and chocolate croissants as well as various savoury croissants with stuffings (other brands in this list do that too) such as ham and cheese.

19 Lor Kilat, #01-06, Singapore 598120

Founded by Eric Kayser in 1996 Paris, Maison Kayser prides itself on creating artisanal bakes with natural leavening and long fermentation. In fact, Eric even built the Fermentolevain, a machine to produce natural leaven. Croissants here are available in plain, almond, chocolate and almond chocolate.

Maison Kayser has multiple locations in Singapore. 

With two locations in Singapore, Bread & Hearth prides itself on using traditional European techniques to create its bread and pastries. Plain, almond, chocolate and almond chocolate croissants are featured here as well as a raspberry purée and almond cream filling iteration. Raisin lovers can opt for the Raisin Roll too.

18 Keong Saik Rd., Singapore 089125 and 30 East Coast Rd, #02-27 Katong V, Singapore 428751

Asanoya has been created Japanese-European style bread since 1933 and they had opened their first international store here in 2014. Besides their signature bakes, they have plain and Matcha Azuki Croissants. Keep a lookout for their seasonal bakes too, which currently features the Kaya Mochi Cruffin.

Boulangerie Asanoysa has multiple locations in Singapore.

(Read also "8 Eateries In Singapore That Serve Authentic French Crepes & Galettes")

Translated to “little bread”, Petit Pain is another small artisanal bakery dedicated to using quality French and Japanese ingredients coupled with natural levain and long fermentation techniques. Petit Pain has plain and chocolate croissants. But if you’re craving other flaky crusts, they have danishes and escargots too.

315 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427566

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly on Aug 17, 2021 and updated on Oct 13, 2023.