Crescent Croissanterie

If you head to Crescent Croissanterie on a weekend, try and get there as early as you can. This small Crows Nest shop commonly sells out by midday, and even arriving late morning might be cutting it too fine. Since opening in 2022, Crescent has become more than just a local gem – it’s now firmly on Sydney’s pastry A-list, drawing in crowds from around town.

Owner Elly Kim’s baking career started with an internship in California, before she took a job back home at Paris Baguette, one of South Korea’s largest bakery chains. Here in Australia she’s done stints at Paddington’s Organic Bread Bar and Berkelo’s Brookvale store, and she draws on all that experience to create Crescent’s technically immaculate pastries and inspired flavour combinations.

Both the plain croissant and the pretzel croissant are the perfect vessel for any filling or condiment – if they somehow survive the journey home. Two kinds of chocolate (including a “dirty” version with choc-shell top), an almond, and a ham and cheese crowned with jalapenos round out the croissant range. The Yuzu Butterfly – a palmier whose caramelised sugar crust is varnished with a honey and yuzu-lemon glaze, then studded with candied pieces of yuzu peel – is a standout. Danishes also get a gussy-up – sweet renditions include Earl Grey custard, while the eggplant parmigiana is the must-have savoury number.

To drink, there’s Single O coffee on tap along with some juices and sodas. The shop is geared towards takeaway, but there’s some bench seating outside beneath Crescent’s moon-shaped croissant sign.