The Best Croissants in Melbourne
Croissants are notoriously hard to make. Even beyond the immense skill and patience required, you need to deal with the weather. A slight change in air temperature, humidity or even the heat in your hands can radically change your final product.
And there are a few things that mark a good croissant. It should be crisp but not overly crumbly. The dough within should be buttery and fluffy. When you pull at the sides, it should stretch rather than break.
This is the ideal, but even the best bakeries and pastry chefs have off days. These Melbourne operators are the most consistent. Just make sure to get in early – you’ll never find a good croissant in the afternoon.
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Lune Croissanterie Fitzroy
Don’t write Lune off because it’s the biggest player in town. There’s a very good reason why busloads of tourists make a beeline to Lune directly from Melbourne Airport. Kate Reid’s croissants are flaky, soft and – most importantly – freakishly consistent, in part thanks to the temperature-controlled glass cube they’re made in.
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Q le Baker
Good bread should be as accessible as good coffee. That’s the philosophy of French-born baker and Q le Baker founder Quentin Berthonneau. His former training at Vue de Monde and Chez Dre has led to some of the best croissants on the south side. The consistent line at Prahran Market says it all.
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Monforte Viennoiserie
Visit this tiny bakery for knockout sweet-and-salty croissants, hazelnut pains au chocolat and asparagus and goat's curd pastries. But get in early and be prepared to queue – it almost always sells out.
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Baker Bleu Caulfield North
While the purpose-built pastry kitchen made a name for itself supplying sourdough bread to some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, it’s also behind some seriously flaky, chewy sourdough croissants. They’re made with stone-ground flour and have the signature dark crust “magic”.
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Loafer Bread
This warm little bakery has been making excellent viennoiserie for more than a decade, and there are still lines on Scotchmer Street. When it’s available, opt for a twice-baked, rum-soaked almond croissant, made with love and plenty of cultured butter.
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Agathé Pâtisserie
A South Melbourne Market staple since it first opened. It's understandable – the crowd-pleasing roster of French treats here (including some stellar croissants) are baked by an owner who attended Paris's most prestigious baking and patisserie school.
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Neds South Yarra
Former aircraft engineer Ned Radojcic decided his skills could be better used in baking. And we’re not the only ones grateful for it. His cafe is well known for putting on killer brunches, but don’t leave without trying its famous croissants. Almond, original or one of each will do the trick.
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Austro Bakery
Inside a former warehouse, this Austrian-inspired bakery serves savoury pretzels, layered chocolate cakes and other baked treats, all hewn from classic European recipes. But truly, it’s the croissants that shine here. Unmissable stuff.
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Florian
This Rathdowne Village cafe has an old soul: with a relaxed, unpretentious feel reminiscent of the pre-Instagram era. Co-owner Dom Gattermayr's mother runs Austro, so this is a great way to get Austro's croissants and pastries northside.
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Candied Bakery
An Aussie bakery with a sweet American twist on the west side. It's better known for its made-to-order cakes and pies, but trust us, the croissants are well worth a look-in.
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Bakemono Bakers
This Japanese-inspired bakery is from the team behind Little Rogue just across the street. It's selling whole loaves of shokupan (fluffy milk bread), flaky almond-yuzu croissants, Danishes piled high with berries, and soft buns filled with cream cheese, then doused in garlic butter.
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Chez Dré Patisserie Boulangerie
This South Melbourne bakehouse does just about everything to a very good standard, and the croissants are no different. It's a great option to stop by on your way to South Melbourne Market.
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Tivoli Road Bakery
While bread might be the main game here, the line-up also caters to those yearning for sweets. The flaky croissants are of either the plain, chocolate or almond variety. But stop by on weekends for the standout special: a cinnamon and orange-sugar-dusted croissant with custard filling.
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Bread Club
While the purpose-built pastry kitchen made a name for itself supplying sourdough bread to some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, it’s also behind some seriously flaky, chewy sourdough croissants. They’re made with stone-ground flour and have the signature dark crust “magic”.
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Cobb Lane Richmond Traders
This sleek baking operation inside the Richmond Traders precinct is the result of a chef who earned his stripes at world-renowned restaurants. He oversees the production of top-tier classic croissants plus monthly specials, like croissant pastry stuffed with leeks and fennel.
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Wild Life Bakery
This striking converted warehouse is immensely popular with locals. It’s known for excellent slow-fermented sourdough, and some of the best croissants and pastries around. They’re made with cultured Gippsland Jersey butter. Line up, it’s worth it.
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Artisanal Bakehouse
This petite bakery is renowned for its cinnamon scrolls and croissants (especially the savoury one – go for the garlic butter croissant if not sold out). It’s by two French chefs that have swapped out the bustle of Michelin-starred Parisian restaurants for the calm of Bentleigh’s main drag.
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Faraday’s Cage
Since it opened, this bakery-cafe has amassed a contingent of loyalists with its dense sourdoughs and flaky croissants. The space is pretty neat, too. It was formerly a recording studio used by the everyone from John Farnham to Tina Arena.
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Ovens Street
This tiny operation is little more than a takeaway window in a grimy industrial street. But on weekends it attracts small crowds seeking top-tier bread, Polish doughnuts and more. Don’t go past the ham, gruyere and seeded mustard croissant.
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Cavallini
A European-style bakery-cafe in Clifton Hill with artisan bread and pastries. If you can prise your eyes away from the colourful macarons, we recommend going for one of the croissants or fresh sandwiches.
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Choukette
The eclairs at Choukette get a lot of well-deserved attention, but don't overlook the croissants. The sweet and buttery things hit all the right notes.
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Penny for Pound Richmond
What it lacks in space, it makes up in its range of pastries baked fresh every half an hour. Whether you’re after a traditional croissant (plain or almond) or something a little more contemporary (spinach and cheese), they have you covered. There are locations in Moorabbin and Camberwell, too.
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Falco Bakery
Falco co-owner Christine Tran cut her teeth at notable picks Loafer and Tivoli Road Bakery. Nowadays she makes indulgent buttery croissants and other standout sweets.
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Gordon Street Bakery
Lune mania might not have landed in Melbourne’s west. But some locals believe Gordon Street Bakery’s croissants are just as good. Locals flock for Paris-bred owner’s fluffy almond croissants. Plus, find flavours like plain, chocolate, almond-choc and a vegan number.
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Via Porta
We've yet to yet to find a thing that this beautiful Mont Albert deli and cafe doesn't do well. And the croissants keep Via Porta's streak going. They're soft but crisp in all the right places, and have the croissant ratio of sweet to salt nailed.
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Zelda Bakery
The croissants at this micro-bakery developed such a cult following (alongside kosher sourdough bread and other sweets) that the owner moved the operation from her Elsternwick garage to a fully-fledged shopfront. Brave the queues.
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Baker D. Chirico
After more than 20 years in the business, Daniel Chirico has all but nailed the formula for a thriving bakery. His whole-wheat loaves, bombolini and hot cross buns are renowned and regularly sell out before close. But don’t overlook the buttery and sweet almond croissants.
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To Be Frank Collingwood
Franco Villalva picked up his pastry knowledge all around the world, and knows his way around a great croissant. Here he regularly changes croissant flavours, according to local ingredients. Yet the mainstay almond croissant and pain au chocolate are always reliable.
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Sourdough Kitchen
Another long-time player, this no-frills bakery has been quietly doing its thing for more than a decade. The combination of friendly staff, sausage rolls, sourdough loaves and pillowy baked croissants are all it’s needed to stand the test of time.
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The Wood Frog Bakery
The range of croissants might be small, but it packs a mighty punch. A three-day baking process culminates in perfectly nutty, silky croissants – whether plain, almond or pain au chocolat.
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JC Patisserie Boulangerie
A grand chandelier and marbled walls give this tiny French patisserie an extra dose of opulence. That’s before you get to the Paris-inspired madeleines, baguettes, house-blended coffee, and a new take on the classic croissant.
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Drom Bakery
Watch the bakers in action at this queue-worthy bakery, where creative croissants are made over three days. Try those alongside picture-perfect cakes, triple-cheese toasties, Basque cheesecake by the slice and more.
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Lumos Bakery
A light-filled bakery best known for its brownie-croissant hybrid. Its owner, an ex-Dinner by Heston Blumenthal pastry chef, has also served hazelnut croissants, chocolate babka and inventive toasties.
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Motte Bakery
A third-gen baker is behind this micro-bakery, where Basque cheesecake might come spiked with yuzu or ube. Plus, find a rotation of takeaway-friendly focaccias, ham and cheese scrolls, and more.
