Maison des Lys

When Drissilla David struggled to find truly outstanding vegan pastries in Auckland, she decided to learn how to make them herself. Originally from Paris, she moved to New Zealand in 2015 – but was already missing French pastries and cakes by that point, as she’d switched to an entirely plant-based diet a year before.

The first step was a food stall at The Shed Collective markets in 2020. Two years later, after amassing a fanbase that saw her selling out nearly every weekend, she opened her first shop in Grey Lynn.

Maison des Lys is located on Great North Road, in the same curve-fronted building that houses Uptown Bounce trampoline park. The high-ceilinged, street-facing space used to be a barber shop, and while the interior may look minimal, David says it was a lot of work to renovate and set everything up – including large commercial ovens and a pastry proofer.

David has always loved baking, but says it was quite a challenge to learn how to replace eggs. Instead of folding butter into her croissants, she uses an organic butter substitute by Naturli Foods that’s made of things like shea butter, coconut oil and rapeseed oil. The key is that it has the exact same melting point as butter.

Maison des Lys’s most popular pastries are its croissants – both the almond variety and filled ones stuffed with Biscoff or strawberries and vegan cream. The savoury vegan ham and cheese is another favourite. Danishes and tarts, opera slices and, impressively, macarons made with potato protein instead of egg white also glisten invitingly in the cabinet.

Thanks to the effort she's put into her exceptional lamination, it's not unusual for David to hear that her croissants are the best someone's ever had – even if they're not vegan.