Francois Payard Bakery
“I don't know the history behind FPB or where they hail from, but I'm happy this little place exists in Columbus Circle.”
“I got the espresso gateau roule (highly recommended) & the coconut flan.”
“The Espresso Roule ($4.25) was a multi-layered rolled cake, decorated with three half-macaroons.”
Francois Payard Bakery
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Good for Working: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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One the best hot chocolates in the city. I tried the City Bakery one but it was a BOMB, good to dip a croissant but not to drink. The one from Payard is perfect. The right amount of chocolate and water, super tasty and not that heavy.
Their croissants and pastries are as good as Maison Keyser's so you can go to either place (right across the street).
The coffee is not good, super strong and burned. Stick to the hot chocolate and pastries
if u find yourself wandering around the streets of Manhattan in the summertime, it's a good bet u need to cool down with a refreshing snack. there r about 5 François Payard Bakeries in the city which carries their famous Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches, regular macarons, n desserts.
this shop is located in Columbus Circle in the Midtown West area. it's not a large shop, but it suffices for amount of items they sell. they also sell sorbets, sandwiches, n salads for the lunch crowd.
so the main reason we stopped by that day was, 1. it was sweltering n we were already feeling like we've begun melting under the sun. 2. we needed to get a taste of their famous Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich to c how good it is for ourselves.
I couldn't wait to chomp down into my just ordered Coconut Mango Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich. (they have a few other flavors also.) n OMG. this was so good! I was really glad we stopped by to try this. the 2 macaron pieces were crunchy n flakey. the texture added to the softness of the ice cream. the coconut n mango flavors were very present also. if I'm around there again, I would try another combination of flavors.
Now I know why this store has only 3.5 stars and a few ratings for every location it has. The pastries were really mediocre as to such an unfriendly pricing. And the service was not great, either, to compensate the average taste of their products.
It was Macron Day. I came here in the morning (around 10:00 am) to get their new Macaron Doughnut ($5.25) and a Napoleon ($4.75) and Blood Orange Eclair ($4.75), plus, of course, the free macaron.
When I was in line, I saw the pastries and cakes. I was a little shocked to find that they were of such small sizes. For example, the opera cake, which was priced a t $5, was only 1/3 of my hand and I really have a small hand.
I had the Macaron Doughnut (only strawberry flavor) first. Very sweet. And the first taste that came to me was the sweetness from some eatable essence. It was both in the paste and cookies, which were supposed to be doughnut dough but didn't taste as such. I wouldn't associate them with doughnuts but, I'd say, soggy cookies. The couples next to me, both sides, didn't finish their macaron doughnuts, and I can tell their disappointment from their expression.
The Napoleon made me happy after the disappointing "doughnut". It was not a traditional Napoleon cake, but 3 pastry sheets (crackers?) filled with vanilla cream. Although I didn't quite like the vanilla cream (they were sweet, of course), I like how the flaky crackers got mixed with the cream. It also had coffee cream in it, too, and that bitterness enriched the whole eating experience.
The Blood Orange Eclair was the worst of the 3. It did has a strong orange fragrance at first, but the aftertaste was so miserable to me. I didn't know what I was eating. Artificial sugar and color were the only words that jumped in my mind. The choux dough tasted soggy as well. I felt like it's been in the case for at least 2 days.
Then it comes to the service part. I went to grab my free macaron and saw there were 2 kinds. I didn't see the sign on the table about the flavors, so I asked the guy who were distributing macarons. He faked a smile, with his mouth shut, and didn't say a word, but pointed his finger to the sign. Okay, I got it. There was a sign and we could just read what's on it. BUT, as a salesperson, wouldn't you mind just telling me what they are? A good salesperson not only answer a customer's question, but also knows how to sell by giving more details on their product. It's not a hit-and-run! I just think this is really unprofessional.
In a nut shell, I think this store doesn't use much natural ingredients but artificial sweeteners and colors. The service was quick but short of professionalism in my opinion.
First off let me just say the staff is not Yelper friendly since they told me not to take photos. All I got to say is it was a Yelp photo of a Macaron ice cream sandwich that lead me here so don't bite the hand that feeds you.
So anyway I wanted to try the Macaron ice cream sandwich and went to same same FP that had them which is not easy since the most of the sidewalk is closed due to construction. The place is more comfy than the FP at the Plaza Food Hall but it looks like they have less items for sale here.
The Macaron ice cream are pre-made and kelp frozen and come in four flavors;
Salted Caramel
Pistachio Raspberry
Coconut Mango
Browie
I had the Salted Caramel and cookie is a real large Macaron but the problem I had is that it a frozen Macaron and it splintered into slivers when I bit into it You don't get to enjoy that thin Macaron shell crust and soft cream inners.The Salted Caramel ice cream was OK but noting special.
I think maybe I would have liked it better if they where make fresh with some soft serve ice cream and a dizzle of caramel over it instead, I just down know but at least I tried it.
The macaron icecream cakes were good. Kind of expensive for a macaron sandwich that I wouldn't spoil myself with it..
Service, not so much.
I think they should allow us to sample an icecream just to see how it taste before spending money on it. But hey, that's my two cents
Bought the L'Ecureuil for my BF's bday. Nice blend of flavors and textures. Highly recommend.
I saw this bakery walking uptown from the MoMA; I had heard about their ice cream sandwiches and was curious about them so I decided to stop by to try one with my boyfriend. They only had two flavors left for the season; Espresso Brownie and Pistachio Raspberry so we got one of each. They are kind of small for $5 each, which is a bit disappointing. The Pistachio Raspberry one was really pretty, it was made of actual macaron for the shell, with a swirl of raspberry and pistachio for the ice cream. The Espresso Brownie one was not made of macaron, it was two brownies with ice cream in between. If they have macaron ice cream sandwiches, you would expect that the outer part would be Espresso macaron. They were nice to try, but it is not worth the price or the hype.
Came here to try the famous macaroon ice cream sandwich! I opted for the raspberry pistachio flavor and paired it with the croque monsieur, a gloried grilled cheese sandwich with ham. The croque monsieur was surprisingly filling and the macaroon ice cream sandwich was surprising small. The macaroon portion was great but I found the raspberry filling to be too sweet. The Columbus Circle location is great because you can enjoy your goodies in nearby Central Park. Try this bakery for French sweets and the ice cream sandwich if you haven't..besides that, there are plenty of other baked goods like a wide selection of macaroons!