La-Renaissance Bakery

I’ve been coming to La Renaissance for a bit now– just because I don’t have anything this quaint, cozy and French up in White Plains. I don’t mind the 10 minute drive south of me– but it’s so freaking worth it. As soon as you go in, all you smell is sweet butter. No odd and old grease smell in the air up in here-​and I love it every time. La Renaissance is small, without a doubt, but I’m always digging small locations that are packed and oozing with tons of good things.
Nothing more unpleasant than going in to expect great things from a small shop, and leaves you hanging in the end with disappointment. La Renaissance has wonderful desserts, awesome croissants (no rinky-​dinky crap here) great cakes and vegetable quiche, that I have not tried as of yet, and of course their hot cocoa, which is tasty here.
Interior is very simple, nothing to rage about, but it’s the cute accents that make it pop like the metal Eiffel Tower by the entrance, a ceramic kind of old-​fashioned plaque that reads the shoppe’s name and a wooden and straw-​looking baguette holder against the wall. There’s also a self-​serve coffee caddy with cups, stirrers and your sugars, and 2 tables with chairs (I’m telling you, it’s small).
I absolutely dig La Renaissance, and definitely so worth it in flavor and quality for me. Coming out of White Plains zone for a good cup of hot cocoa and a pastry with a French touch, is ultimate for me.

Wasn’t hungry so couldn’t actually get myself to eat anything. However, the atmosphere inside was cozy and warm; seemed like a good place to get some reading done. Next time!

I had the best experience a woman with zero knowledge about french pastries could have. A friend of mine is from France and she is having a babyshower today ½/​16. The theme is A night in Paris… Of course I was given the task of creating the dessert table (because I am the creative one *wink). I work in the neighborhood and I walked past La-​Renaissance Bakery while trying to find a short cut to Chase Bank. I dropped in last Monday, and I was so afraid that I was too late to get such a big order in such a short time, during the holidays. I ordered a croquembouche, and two dozens crème brûlée, lemon merengue, tarte au citron, and so much more. I arrived this morning, picked up my items and a few pointers on how to travel effectively with my croquembouche. Vivian loaned me a wired eiffel tower (I will return on Monday). I am at the baby-​shower while writing this review because I am so pleased and so are all of the guests. Thank You so much to the entire team… I don’t know how I would have pulled this off without your help.
Merci, SS

The lady who takes care of orders should seriously chance her attitude. The way she talks with senior customers is totally unacceptable. Also, the service is very slow. People are waiting to pick up their orders and getting parking tickets just because 3 people who work there can not take cake of everything.

Been to this place twice. The first time I had a plain croissant and an almond croissant. The almond was quite good but the plain one was meh. it was a bit soggy and not flaky.
The second time I was walking in the neighborhood, felt cold and decided to go in for a cup of coffee. Of course, having a sweet tooth I could not resist having a slice of cake with my coffee. That was a mistake. The slice of cake + a small drip coffee came out to 10.25. Really? The cake was ok — it was a sponge cake with layered buttercream and ganache. The coffee was nothing to write home about. D
The problem with this place
1) there are no prices and no labels at the counter. You find out how overpriced things are after you’ve ordered. It’s overpriced because the pastries are only so-​so.
2) the lady behind the counter (I think she’s the owner) was rude both times. She sat at the middle of the counter with her iPad but totally ignored customers that were coming in. After they spend exorbitant sums for a few measly cookies, was there a smile and thank you? Nope. If you’re going to surf and let your help handle the customers, at least sit in the back out of sight?

I’ve Unilocaled about one other business and that review was fabulous. This bakery on the other hand is unprofessional and is also a rip off. I ordered a cake for my mother’s 82^nd birthday last week and not only was the cake substandard to what I requested but then there was never a follow up when I called the bakery to tell them that they hadn’t delivered what I asked for.
When I called to place the order I spoke with women who I later found out was the baker. It took 15 minutes for her to clearly understand my request. In short it was their strawberry shortcake with added fruits (bananas and peaches) along with a layer of custard. Then she quoted me a price and it was almost $ 20 less than the cost of the cake at pickup time. The excuse provided was «she’s the bakery and she really doesn’t know the price that well». EIGHTEEN DOLLARS DIFFERENCE??? The person at the counter tried to accommodate the faux pas and took off $ 3 but it was still ridiculous. The cake was still $ 75 (for a 12″ round) after that was applied and I was quoted $ 60! Had there been time I would’ve gone slayers but on Memorial Day there are limited options.
After getting over that shock I decided to make the best of it. Well imagine my surprise when I cut into the cake and there were maybe a handful of banana and peach pieces throughout the entire cake with minimal strawberries as well!!! It was mostly whipped cream and on top of that there was NO CUSTARD! Really??? I call the bakery after the party and spoke with the same person I’d seen earlier. She promised to leave a message for the owner and said that she would give me a call in the following day. Needless to say there was no call. I will never go back to this bakery nor will i recommend it to anyone who wants to have a good experience.
If theproduct is great then I never have a problem spending the money. This bakery is overpriced and under-​delivers. I will start doing cake research for my mother’s birthday next year. She is in the end stages of Alzheimer’s disease and will hopefully she will still be with us.

Though quality may be quite good and very authentic, the blatant rudeness of the woman that «helped» me was on full display. I’d attribute it to the French culture, but given that we are in the US and there is a wonderful pastry shop around the corner, that is full of happy and helpful people, she will need an attitude adjustment to survive! If this woman is the owner, she should go check out the competition… she will find out very quickly why no one is in her shop and the other shop is so crowded…

As close to traditional style French treats as you can get in Scarsdale. However there is always a bit of a twist. I can’t deny the technique involved in a lot of these creations however. I love when you go into a bakery (Or patisserie whatever you want) and things look exactly like they did on the website. My brother had gotten a promotion and so to celebrate we picked up a bunch of tarts and cakes including his favorite — the crème brûlée tart. We had been here previously and tried miniature versions of many of their treats including the signature La Renaissance cake which is a twist on a traditional dacquoise style of cake and was recently featured as a best signature cake with good reason. It is filled with alternating layers of dacquoise, whipped cream, mocha buttercream and chocolate cream and covered in slivered almonds. It look almost intimidating. I have to interject that I hate things that are coffee flavored however I bought this for my father who loves things that are coffee flavored and he was nice enough to share. Guess what? I didn’t hate it. It was not an overwhelmingly fake coffee flavor and sweetened to just the right degree. A totally balance treat in terms of flavors and perfectly crisp layers of meringue.
The chocolate ganache cake is what it says, a chocolate ganache cake. But for me the ganache is almost perfect. I do not like stiff or thick ganache inside of cakes and when you add chocolate cake to that equation it can be overwhelming. Now I’m not saying you can eat a whole cake by yourself, but you can definitely have a piece and be completely satisfied, especially if you’re a chocoholic.
The lemon meringue tart and crème brûlée tart are my favorites though. The tart crusts themselves are a little on the thick side, but it works. It balances out to have a thinner layer of filling on top of a good tart crust because the fillings go a long way. The lemon curd is perfectly tart. I admit I enjoy the occasional piece of diner style lemon meringue pie but I would rather have a perfect bite than a mile high pudding pie with a lame crust. This one is sweet and tart, but neither overly sweet or overly tart with a beautiful meringue on top. Seriously their meringue is always beautiful and a little goes a long way. It seems to serve more of the purpose of decoration but I prefer that in this case. The crème brûlée tart is amazing. That same thicker tart shell makes for a very unique, but traditional treat because the filling is crème brûlée filling as perfect as I’ve ever had and again not killing you with the sugar. You won’t see a burned top on this either but a nice shiny almost glaze that you probably wouldn’t even think sugar is there. Meringue dots around the edge for decorations sake complete this beautiful and delicious tart.
I haven’t tried their breads, although my brother stood in front of me and ate an almond croissant in about 10 seconds and smiled. So I will have to go back to try that. The macarons are slightly disappointing. A little too crunchy, although maybe I caught them at a bad time. The fillings were pleasant but that’s about all I can say that’s positive in that area.
A nice little shop in Scarsdale and can be slightly hard to find but totally worth it. A definite must try if you’re looking for actual French style baked goods in the area.

I’m definitely a fan of La Renaissance. It’s a very unassuming European style bakery right in the middle of Scarsdale Village. I’ve tried a few of their pastries and most have been good (in particular the bread pudding) but some are nothing special (for example, the brioche). You just have to ask the guy at the counter for some advice and he’ll tell you what’s freshest and best.
TThe best thing here in my opinion is definitely their baguette. Come early and great a fresh one… man, these things are so freaking good!

time and time again I have been disappointed. I keep trying because I want it to be good but it never happens. tonight we bought a peach/​pear tart and mini cheese cake. Both had a Hugh taste of refrigerator. not good in my book especially for the high price. Chantilly on bronxville will be my new go to French bakery.

Best croissants in the village!

Excellent!

This is a excellent bakery. Love the chocolate pastries. Full of flavor and rich. So far the best in Scarsdale.

Their baguette is to die for, perfect crust, warm center, especially when fresh, probably the best baguette in Westchester county! I even like it better than Kneaded Bread in Portchester!

Tasty baked treats, from cookies to wedding cakes, here, and during December, Yule Logs! The selections of chocolate and pastries automatically drew in the ladies in our group, and the coffee and cookies kept us entertained as they decided what they wanted. Fresh baked goods all over, although lack of many kinds of bread… mostly cakes, cookies, and sweets.