Bisous Ciao
“Venue: 4.5
– Luxurious feel and the bags and boxes are perfection for gift giving
Macarons: 4/5
Dark Chocolate was awesome.”
“For my 2nd and 3rd picks I went with two flavors I wouldn't usually be drawn to: Rose and Honey Lavender.”
“Such a delightful little macaron shop with a beautiful display of those tasty little cookies.”
Bisous Ciao
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I really like how they have a few unique flavors such as black sesame and Thai iced tea. Since it was during their Happy Hour (3-6pm), which you can buy 2 get 1 free, I chose the black sesame, Thai iced tea, and my flavor flavor that I use to judge macarons, rose. They all taste just like the flavor describes! And it is not overly sweet. Also, at $2.75 a piece, not bad. It's also a plus when you don't have to wait in a long line for your treats
I like the flowery macarons like rose, poppy and lavender! Most of the others however ran on the too sweet side, like salted caramel.
The store is cute and it's one of the few dessert places that's open late in the West Village.
I never noticed how many dessert spots were in this area! My sis and I were headed to a yelp event down the block and stopped by since we were a little early. Anyways, the happy hour sign caught my eye. Buy 2, get 1 free from 3-6pm!
The space is so bright, shiny and inviting. The colorful macarons and other delights were neatly displayed in the case. We decided on the pistachio, thai tea and salted caramel and it came out to $5.50.
So the flavors were definitely there, the thai tea being the most distinguished and my favorite of them all. The macarons were light and flaky on the outside but I found the fillings to be a tad too sweet and dense. These macarons were also on the smaller side. I wouldn't pay $2.75 each for these but the happy hour is a decent deal if you just want a lil' somethin' to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Everytime I visit New York I get incredibly depressed because I am reminded of how inadequate the macarons in San Francisco are.
And this time the point was doubly brought home. My sister knows that I love macarons and macarons are basically my entire reason for existing so for my birthday she had a box of macarons FLOWN IN from Lauduree in Paris. Not to be a total bitch, but I didn't really love them. Instead, I dragged her along to BIsous Ciao and bought a jasmine tea macaron (TO DIE FOR I SWEAR), the lavender macaron (UNFFF) and a black sesame macaron.
She became an instant convert. Seriously.
We went back the very next day.
And the day after that.
And basically everyday until the end of our New York trip.
Just so you know, my sister doesn't even like macarons.
But basically that is how life changing Bisou Ciao macarons are. They are crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and subtle, delicious and creamy. And now I need to plan my next trip to New York so I can have MOARRR.
I came here in hopes of finding my new macaron niche but, unfortunately, was let down.
It's a small shop with a few teeny round tables, so don't expect to stay around for long.
There were some very interesting macaron flavors, notably thai tea and blood orange. I LOVE thai tea, so of course I had to get that. Just in case, I also got some classic flavors: the usual chocolate and vanilla. Mmm, they did not disappoint. They were good but they weren't the best in my books. The thai tea macaron came off as a little strong to me, so I guess I'll be sticking to thai tea as a drink for now. The blood orange was surprisingly pretty great. And it was a good decision to get both the vanilla and the chocolate flavors. However, I do think there are quite a few places with better quality macarons with the same price range.
I also brought home a black forest (forêt noire) and an opera home with me, accompanied with a chai tea latte. The opera was yummy and was presented nicely. I was not happy that it had slid around a bit in the box even though I handled it with care. I mean, for small cakes that are six bucks each, I'd appreciate it if they were more carefully contained, but I suppose it wasn't too big a deal. The black forest was what I was looking forward to eating more than than the opera since it had an interesting, non-traditional presentation. The cake outside was a bit dry but the layers of chocolate and other goodies inside were pretty good. (I liked the opera better than the black forest, even though I was expecting it to be the other way around.)
What I am NOT happy about and the reason why I will not be frequenting this location is the customer service. I ask a few questions and I receive curt replies from the associates behind the counter who make it seem like such a bother that I'm a customer. Be wary if you're looking to hangout -or even just stop in and purchase something – here past ten because they "close at 11 SHARP," as I was so "kindly" informed, despite there being an hour left before closing.
Also, the loyalty rewards for drinks is for coffee only, not tea, or so I was told…
My thought after visiting here today: go for their macarons, only.
I'll give 2 stars to their chocolate eclair. I don't know what it is, it just tastes awkward and plain. Maybe the chef forgot to put sugar in it?? But the chocolate flavor didn't come out, either. It's like watered down chocolate. And the chocolate chips on top taste funny, too. I'm just disappointed.
The chocolate noisette is a joke, not about the taste, but the portion and how they present the cake to customers. Basically, it's in a cup where the hazelnut mousse cream is on top of chocolate sponge cake (bread?) cubes that are supported by a layer of mascarpone cheese (flan-like) and chocolate spread at the bottom. They face one side of the cup which is full of chocolate and mousse to customers, so I didn't know that, on the other side, there's a big space (about 1/3 of the cup)!!! More specifically, there is a huge gap between the mousse and the cake cubes. I was like wtf!! This little tiny thing cost me $5.5 and it's even not full!!! No matter how good it tastes, they should not try to hide it to their customers!!!
The only thing that kinda gave me some comfort is their macaron. I only had the Turkish Coffee macaron and it's very good. It does have a strong coffee flavor that is different from the regular. I've never had Turkish coffee, so I guess this is it.
They have macaron happy hours from 3-6, I believe, when you buy two and get the third free. And the young guy who worked there this morning (3/12/2016) was nice and served me well.
I guess it's been so long since I thought of biscous ciao, the original way I discovered a macaron on the lower east side, that they've dissolved the lower east side location and opened this spot up into a patisserie!
It's still all about the macarons. You get one free with coffee or drink purchase! The pastries also look inviting (pistachio raspberry wheel? Mm mm) but if you're looking for light and fluffy the macaron is where it's at. I like the occasional innovative flavor like sweet corn. This spot is probably in my top three macaron places in the city.
Stop #4 of our NYC DIY food tour brought us to Bisous Ciao for some tea/coffee and a macaroon. A quaint, authentic macaroon shop in the heart of the West Village, Bisous Ciao offers some decent macaroons.
Advantage: If you order a beverage you can enjoy a free macaroon of your choice. After ordering a double espresso and a tea my wife and I chose a salted caramel macaroon and a gianduja (mix of chocolate and hazelnut).
Plus: The espresso was very tasty and a trouble double shot as the small cup was basically filled to the brim. Plus: the gianduja macaroon was very good. Soft exterior and nutella like interior which doesn't really get much better.
Minus: the salted caramel macaroon fell short of our expectations. The exterior was dense and didn't taste as fresh as the other gianduja.
The store was very nice and the prices weren't terrible either. I don't often crave macaroons but I would probably come back if the mood ever strikes again and I'm in the city.