Fauchon

I am so disappointed to hear Fauchon closed. They had wonderful soup, brioches, salads, prosicutto/​mozzarella sandwiches made with croissants… It was also a great place for unique fancy imported candies and high quality spices.

Their macarons turned me into a fatty. I’m glad they closed. Glad and absolutely devastated. Where am I going to get those little pieces of heaven, huh? Tell me. HUH?

If Eloise was a fan of chocolate, she would be a regular customer here. The pink packaging of the candy is adorable, and we got a said colored, paper purse filled with cocoa treats. Their marzipan has a delicate almond flavor and is delcious. I can’t wait to go back and try their ice cream.

Chocolate right here. I found this place by accident one day and walked out after an hour of shopping, for me and a FedEx box to my mom (gotta’ take care of mom). Its hard to keep Fauchon in the house, at times I lose my mind and have a category 7 chocolate fit (Yea, I’ve been clocked at 7).
If you get on the mailing list, they send out a catalog that is printed up like the Ferrari sales book, thick paper, rich deep colors. You get the idea.
A great place to get a gift. They have lots of ideas dipped in chocolate.

Dang!
Wow.
Stopped here because every Sunday I’m in this neighborhood and I keep wanting to stop here since I didn’t get a chance to when I visited Paris. It was so cute and quaint inside… albeit it was honestly a bit smaller than I expected. I thought that the selection of packaged items for sale (like savory items) e.g. Coq Au Vin in a can (yes– a can, like they sell at the one in Paris) would be expansive, but it seems like this outlet specializes in pastries/​sweets. But I am definitely NOT upset.
They had the ‘fruit gel things’ (my technical term for them) here for sale– Fruit Pâté. but at $ 45/​lb I did not purchase any.
Even with how much I love fruit pâté… that will be another time. Gives me an excuse to stop on another Sunday morning.
I did however, purchase macarons. Many many tiny macarons. I got some chocolate, some pistachio, some raspberry and some lemon ones.
As I walked out of Fauchon and up Park Avenue insanely excited to pop one in my mouth, I came to the conclusion of trying a chocolate one first, as this IS my favorite flavor macaron. It was amazing.
My 2^nd one was a Pistachio. I actually can say I’m not a fan of these– the butter-​cream filling was a bit too buttery for me (I know, I know… how can I complain about ‘too buttery’?)– but I dislike the flavor of butter .so I found this a bit overwhelming and too strong. It was actually so much for me that I had to donate my share to my friend.
So I was a bit disappointed. my next was a Lemon which was soo soo good. Lemon Curd center. Have yet to try a raspberry… but I will!
Overall though? Probably the best chocolate macaron in the city.
The texture of the cookie + the filling was all just simply delightful.

The Park Avenue location of this Parisian institution would appeal to people who love the color, pink. From their sign, to the bags and seats — pink is the color that stays with you.
Fortunately, Fauchon is a few minutes from work. That allows me the opportunity to drop in after lunch for a sweet treat. These days, it is their macarons. When I first tasted them, I thought they had the best macarons in NYC! But, over a period of time — and intense comparison to two other NYC institutions, it’s fair to say that they are in the Top 3. They feature four flavors: Pistachio, Chocolate, Raspberry, and Lemon. Their Pistachio is the best version in the city, as is, perhaps, the Lemon. I am not a big fan of Raspberry (in general). But, gone are the days of the exotic flavors like praline-​banana and strawberry-​mint. Those were the days when the macarons were actually flown in from Paris. These days, they are made in and transported from Long Island City (to correct other reviewers). That they still charge $ 5 for a large macaron, while making them locally, is thus unjustified.
But, what consistently perfect texture and moist filling! The small ones lag far behind the bigger ones (called «Big Macs» by the servers: demonstrating an incredible lack of good judgment on their part) in filling and value. Though, I have to say that the small ones just melt in the mouth!
A word of caution: To enjoy Fauchon’s macarons — please wait at least 2 – 3 hours after purchase before trying them (they are refrigerated). Try! You can do it :-))
As far as Pain Au Chocolat goes, they have an excellent «room temperature» version. Crisp and flakey exterior, many layers of buttery dough inside, two bars of bitter sweet chocolate to give just the right amount of quality chocolate. It is surprisingly light. Again, the croissants are made in Long Island City from where they are shipped into the Park Avenue store (for 10 am delivery) — so they are never warm. Nevertheless, they are one of my Top places for Pain Au Chocolat in NYC.
Fauchon features a host of other pastries — Opera, Millefeuille, Tarts (Pistachio — excellent, coffee and chocolate), along with cakes like Intense Chocolate (somewhat disappointing), Megeve (Chocolate with Meringue: very popular and very good), St. Honore, etc. All of these are also best enjoyed by letting them come to terms with room temperature.
Fauchon also sells chocolates, teas and beautifully presented specialty foods — with jars, bottles and tins of everything from Foie Gras to Jams, red wine vinegar, plum preserves, etc.
The shop has an adjacent tea room which transports you to another era with its elegant and fancy afternoon tea. Don’t expect service to be rushed — better to set your expectations that you will be served on Parisian (or alternatively, Victorian) time. The first time I went there, it annoyed me no end till I realized that fast service wasn’t the experience they were delivering on. While having tea, you will also run into «old money» here and other «gracious» ladies with ample time and an urge to play match maker (as I learnt much to my amusement). So, if you’re interested in being given a helping hand — dress up and behave :-))
Yes, Fauchon indeed has that Je né sais quoi that forces me to round the rating upwards to 5 stars — though, I admit that it clearly lags Payard and Bouchon, overall.
I confess that my judgment is perhaps clouded by the sublime Almond Tuilles — best in NYC, by a long, long margin!

The most bee-​you-​ti-​ful and sweet (literally and figuratively) apology I have ever received came in the form of tarts from Fauchon.
Fauchon has been around for over 100 years so they’ve got the French gourmet food thang DOWN. Fauchon’s NY store is the only one in the US (c’est triste). True it is small and doesn’t come close to size or variety of products when compared with Fauchon’s flagship stores in Paris. (Don’t worry, when Unilocal takes over the world, i.e. goes international, I will Unilocal ad nauseum about it.)
But sometimes you need to get your Parisian pastry fix MAINTENANT! The pastries here look like they just stepped off the pages of a gourmet magazine and taste as good as they look. Fauchon also has chocolates and a whole bevy of other treats to keep your sweet tooth satisfied.

I’d pick no stars, but it’s not possible. I’ve been to Fauchon in Paris and Tokyo, and those locations are great, but the meal I had was TERRIBLE! I couldn’t believe how disappointing it was. I had a café latte ($ 6) that was bitter, gritty and tasted like yesterday’s grounds. I also had a quiche lorraine that seemed to be made of bacon grease; entirely inedible, the eggs and gruyère were lost in this bacon pie. I know good food and coffee is hard to find in NYC, but this was ridiculous. Fauchon needs to know that a short order cook is running the kitchen.
LATER:
Interestingly, I complained to Fauchon’s HQ, but it fell on deaf ears. No response.
WORKAROUND:
La Quotidien is a much better choice in NYC. We went there four times during our week stay, and it was great and worth waiting in line (although that only happened once).

The «Fauchon Blend» tea was excellent. However, the service and the tea sandwiches were terrible. The 2 garcons were not attentive although there were only 4 tables seated and when we informed them about the bread on the sandwiches being as dry as sand, they merely stated that it was fresh and did nothing about it and charged us the full $ 15 for them!

To die for pastries and sweet decadent treats! I go there everytime there’s a special occasion to celebrate. Favorite pastries: a) INTENSE CHOCOLAT (if you’re a big chocolate fan, try it!) b) Pear Tart c) all others. Availability of pastries gets slimmer near the end of the day. So if you want to have a wide range of choices, go early during the day. A piece of pastry (or ART) range form $ 5 — $ 6.50. The quality is exceptional for the price. In my opinion, there are no other pastry shop in NYC that can compare to the taste and quality of appearance. Every aspect of the pastry is made w/​no flaws. It’s never «sloppily» constructed. Taste is always the same every time I get them. Service is not too friendly. Must go there w/​an objective and just leave w/​GOODS!

Nothing like a little afternoon tea. One of my sister’s favorite activities is tea at Fauchon so you have to know that I have alot of experience here. I just returned from France so I’m inspired to write this review since I’ve been munching on Fauchon for the past two weeks in it’s Paris flagship. I’ve never really cared for tea, tea’s tea but they have delicious cookies and chocolates and pastries, oh my! If you haven’t been, you must. Fauchon definitely has that je né sais quoi, not unlike French men, that keeps us coming back for more.

It’s like walking into a Parisian pastry shop, not that I’ve ever been into a Parisian pastry shop, but I imagine that this is what it must be like. Fauchon is elegant and fancy and deservedly so. The sweets will make your mouth water. But they can be overpriced, so don’t expect to get anything under five bucks. Totally worth it though. Splurge!

This is one of the world’s leading chocolatiers and gourmet food and specialty companies, with a wide array of candies and sweet treats flown in from Paris on a daily basis, which explains the high price tags. Afternoon tea is served daily from noon to 6:00pm (5:00pm on Sunday) — a traditional but insubstantial two-​course tea is overpriced at $ 30, but you can select from an array of salads, quiches, and the like, as well. Exquisite gift baskets range in price from $ 45 to $ 2500, the latter of which should include a key to the store so you can indulge your sweet tooth whenever you desire.