Bakery Ribault

Update 2016:
Love the new location with plenty of seating inside and outside to enjoy the croissants, all the baked goods and a coffee. The restaurant is kind of tucked away between stores located next to Wells Fargo on Lomax Street in Five Points. If you’re not looking you might miss it and that would be a real shame because Alex makes the best chocolate croissants in the area.
The baker uses high quality chocolate to go inside his pain au chocolat & other specialty pastries so just make sure you get up early enough to enjoy them. He can also make other desserts upon request. Never hurts to ask.
This last visit, I picked up a few of my favorites. I haven’t tried the lunch menu yet, but the ham & cheese croissant in the case is superb and only $ 3.89. It’s an excellent lunch choice if you have to do a grab-​n-​go. I believe it had a Dijon-​type mustard on it and reheats well. My boy absolutely loved it and it’s big enough to share. Thank goodness we have a great baker so close to home. 5-​Stars
Previous Review: 10/​16/​2014
LOCATION: Corner building of Oak & Barr in Riverside. This coffee and pastry shop offers some of the tastiest treats in the area. The owner and baker, Alex, started selling at a few local farmers markets including RAM and recently established this bricks and mortar location in June to cater to his long time customers & the community.
EXPERIENCE: Right when you walk into the café, you smell the sweet aroma of fresh baked bread and pastries welcoming you to this modest but quaint hideaway. Alex has been offering organic sourdough bread since 2011 as well as his specialty pastries of the day and fresh homemade desserts.
BEST SELLERS: Giant chocolate & plain croissants, hardy white & wheat sourdough bread loaves, tasty peaches & pastry cream tarts, classic French baguettes, sweet croissant cinnamon buns and his exclusive classic & chocolate Russian Napoleon. Pastries: $ 2.50 each; Fresh Bread: $ 4 – 6
WHAT I ATE: Weighing in at 2.95 ounces, this heavy-​weight chocolate croissant was going down! I finally woke up early enough to indulge in Bakery Ribault’s infamous chocolate croissant and I have no regrets. Crisp, buttery and flaky — yet so moist and chewy with the perfect amount of bittersweet chocolate hidden in the center. I savored every single bite and I’m glad I bought two. Now I know why this place sells out of these yummy pillows of heaven. Rich perfection.
EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM: Croissant Cinnamon Buns: almost 4 oz. each. Delicious and filling, the CCB is a clever French twist on regular cinnamon rolls as they are made with the same amazing croissant dough with the perfect amount of cinnamon sugar melted in between the layers. Sinfully sophisticated.
BEVERAGE: Great coffee. BR offers a mean cup of Joe using Growers Alliance Coffee, specializing in «the finest gourmet, organic and Fair Trade Coffees from the best and most exotic coffee growing countries in the world.» Only $ 1.50 for a small cup and it goes well with the pastries. Boldly robust.
OVERALL: A great place to come enjoy really good coffee and French pastries at extremely reasonable prices. You will definitely get more for your money here without sacrificing taste or quality. The plain croissants are wonderful to take home to use for sandwiches. Outside seating is available with easy parking in front. Specialty items and pre-​orders are available by request. This place has a pretty good following so get there early if you want the chocolate croissants. :)

Stopped by the place after my walk and best decision I’ve made. I pretty much stopped eating croissants of any kind but this place has the best pan au chocolat. EVER!!! I was kinda disappointed that they ran out of the chocolate almond croissant so I got the plain almond croissants little did I know that I would enjoy it immensely and even the plain croissants are good too. The flakiness and buttery of the croissant is just the best. Now the pan au chocolat is my all time favorite. You’d think it’ll be too sweet b/​c of the chocolate but it’s not. Met the owner as well, very nice guy. Will definitely be back.

They have ruined my ability to enjoy any other croissant. I am somewhat bitter about that.
Well…not really because the chocolate in this airy French Pastry renders me unable to be anything but happy.

I asked them to make me something that was not on the menu, a cheese sandwich that was more delicious than I could have imagined! The chef came out and discussed it with me, he was genuinely concerned about my experience of the cheese sandwich! Definitely will be going back.

We’ve been enjoying Bakery Ribault’s bread and pastries for some time from local markets and their previous location. This was our first visit to their new and inviting storefront and comfortable dining area. We had a wonderful assortment along with some great coffee too (Mocha made with actual melted chocolate). We had the ham and cheese croissant, with the afore mentioned fillings but also some great sliced pickles and the perfect amount of mayo… Think French Hipster meets Cuban! We also enjoyed the Spinach pie and a chocolate croissant and my favorite, the almond and chocolate filled croissant which was decadently oozing a rich Frangipane dark chocolate filling. The croissants themselves are huge, shatteringly crisp but still wonderfully soft and buttery on the inside. They also list a variety of sandwiches all on their sourdough bread including a Ruben and some wonderful rustic grilled cheese ones that can have items such as avocado or bacon added!

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m standing in the kitchen with a piece of bread and a some olive oil. This is the best bread I’ve ever had. Go early as he usually sells out of bread by the afternoon. And yeah, the croissants.

I was impressed when I walked in and saw they offered more than desserts. They serve lunch and offer fresh baked loaves of breads. The Rueben I had was huge and the Rye bread so fresh. I purchased a Lemon Tart and found it to be very filling. It is within walking distance to me so that makes it very convenient. I am excited to see what other bakery goods they offer in the future!

The Bakery Ribault is back open for business in it’s new location. I stopped by this morning for a seemingly addictive chocolate croissant and it was fantastic. Having previously supported my croissant addiction at Ribault’s market locations I am happy to have a permanent location in Riverside. Everything looked so good, I can’t wait to systematically try all the pastries in the shop. The coffee is outstanding as well, if you are in the area definitely stop by.