The croissant scene has thankfully improved in Zürich, with more and more passionate bakers coming onto the scene. After many delicious and not-so-tasty bites, we have some definite winners and losers.
If you can’t make it to Paris for the day, here are the best places to eat a croissant in Zürich city.
Best of the best
In Oct 2025, we did another croissant tasting of our favorites and a few that people keep recommending to us. I’ve revised the list with the clear winners. I also updated our post to remove closed businesses (so long Seri and Bred).
Our original taste-off was in 2022, when we ate over two dozen croissants at bakeries and cafes all over the city. After multiple rounds, we had four winners that made it into our finals: Collective Bakery, SERI®, Bred Bakery and Walter Buchmann.
1. ētre patisserie
The new reigning croissant champion in Zurich is ētre patisserie. The butter croissant is practically perfect – crispy outside, lush interior and round butter flavor.
But it’s hard to settle for a simple croissant with all the other exciting pastries on offer. I’ve included pics of my favorites below, but the flavors change often so your experience may vary.
They also serve delicious specialty coffee, with a wheel full of flavor profiles to choose from. The cafes has a modern interior, attractive but a little soulless. They also have a couple outdoor patio tables.
On Thu-Sun, they offer a decadent brunch, with dishes like shakshuka with sourdough, tiramisu panckaes, and croissant french toast.
ētre patisserie
Dufourstrasse 43, 8008 Zürich (Seefeld)
etre-patisserie.com • Instagram
2. Collective Bakery
In our original tastings, the croissant from Collective Bakery was consistently the clear winner and we still love them. One of our tasters still finds collective the best of the bunch.
The only downside was having to travel so far outside of the city center to get them. But happily now you can get them at their Wiedikon counter and a couple cafes in the city.
Appearance: 5 – It’s big one, tall and tapered, exactly what you want a croissant to look like. The layers are so lovely that you can happily spend several minutes luxuriously peeling them off individually and eating them one by one, if that’s your jam. Sometimes the crust is a bit dark, which made us a little nervous. But don’t worry. It’s always perfectly cooked.
Texture: 5 – The crust is crunchy in all the right ways, crispy flakes flying but scooped up quickly, because you immediately realize you don’t want even a crumb to go to waste. Even the ends are delectable, a crispy treat that friends might fight over if you’re sharing. (But don’t share, everyone deserves their own!)
Flavor: This croissant has a perfectly balanced flavor, definitely buttery, a tad savory, but not over the top. Everyone agreed, that this croissant knocked it out of the park to flavor town. We loved that it didn’t feel greasy, which super buttery versions usually do.
Atmosphere: Always friendly, English-speaking, happy to chat if the line isn’t long. They have the same passion as John Baker, but more approachable and clearly happy to have your business. I appreciate that they’ll often tell me about special pastries available that day without me having to ask first.
The indoor space has a clean, modern feel – not cosy like Swiss-style cafés, but still welcoming. In fair weather, we usually opt for a sunny outdoor table. On weekends, it can be difficult to get a seat for their brunch as they don’t take reservations, so best to go early.
Collective Bakery
Förrlibuckstrasse 160, 8005 Zürich
Mo-Fr 8:00–15:00 / Sa & Su 9:00–15:00 (brunch until 13:00)
collectivebakery.ch / IG: @collectivebakery
3. Boma Bakery
We were so delighted to have Boma Bakery join the bakery scene in early 2025. They started at the Brupbacherplatz Saturday market and now have a food stand in that location Wednesday to Saturday.
The plain croissant is excellent. But we’re always tempted to take home the creative combos like their savory sesame cruffin with caramelized onion, mustard, and roasted red pepper.
They also make great foccacia, baguetta, and sourdough loaves. For the widest selection, show up early.
Boma Bakery
Brupbacherplatz – Sihlfeldstrasse 32, 8003 Zürich
Wed-Fri 8:00 -15:00 and Sat 9:00 -14:00
Instagram
4. TSUGI Micro Bakery
TSUGI is a small bakery, making everything by hand and proudly using organic stone ground flour from Switzerland. They are popular for their Shokupan (Japanese milk bread) and sourdough. But they also have pastries, so we included them in our most recent tasting.
Despite the humble appearance, we really enjoyed both the flavor and texture of this croissant. We all immediately agreed that this croissant belonged in the “best of the best” category.
They have two bakery locations and are available at a few retail shops and cafes. See all locations.
Molkenstrasse 20, 8004 Zürich (near Helvetiaplatz)
Wed-Sun 9:00 – 18:00 (until 17:00 on Thurs)
tsugi.ch • Instagram
Pretty Good
We had a lot of surprises along the way, with some ugly ducklings tickling our taste buds. Although we wouldn’t seek out the croissants in this category, we wouldn’t complain if they were the most convenient.
5. Juliette
This French bakery was a welcome addition to the scene in 2023, with flavorful, toothsome and pretty croissants. Since they are a bigger company, not a passion project, we can expect them to be around long term.
Their baguettes and sourdough loaves are also excellent. They also have a beautiful selection of cakes and other pastries.
Appearance: 5 – The croissant are very pretty with tons of thin spiraling layers and cute ends tucked in neatly. Nice golden color, never overbaked.
Texture: 4.5 – The crust is the right amount of crispy and flaky, with that satisfying shatter when you first bite in. The interior is soft and toothsome but not underdone.
Flavor: 4.5 – Tastes exactly how a French croissant should taste – buttery and nice balance between savory and sweet. We love all the flavored versions as well, particularly the raspberry croissant.
Atmosphere: 3.5 – Their Enge café has a small indoor seating area with about 8 tables, a fine place to meet a friend. It’s not particularly cozy, with harsh overhead lighting casting unpleasant shadows on everything. But we like that the tables are along the window so you can watch the world go by.
Sadly, we don’t love their coffee, which is a bit bitter. I much prefer to get their croissants to go and drink coffee elsewhere.
Zürich Enge
Bleicherweg 72, 8002 Zürich
Mo-Fr 6:45–18:30 / Sa-Sun 8:00–13:30
Zürich Altstetten
Vulkanplatz 9, 8048 Zürich
Mo-Fr 7:00–13:30 / Sa-Su 8:00–13:30
www.juliette-boulangerie.ch • Instagram
6. Walter Buchmann – “De Beck Z’Züri”
The Buchmann family has been baking in Zürich since 1909 and the only “old school” bakery that made it into our top tier.
During our testing, Buchmann offered a “butter croissant” and “extra butter croissant” (also a “butter gipfel” but we skipped that). Both were delicious, delivering the most butter flavor all of the croissants we tried.
After discovering these, I now walk an extra five mins past two other bakeries to get these for breakfast.
Appearance: 4 – Their croissant is somewhat diamond-shaped, but not as pretty as the other top tier croissants. The crust was a bit bubbly, which was a common fault of other low scoring contenders. But it still much prettier than the majority of other croissants we tested. We would happily bring these to a potluck.
Flavor: 4.5 – As I mentioned above, both croissant versions are very tasty. They can stand on their own, not needing a spread. For some palettes, they might be a bit too savory. The “extra” version is very butter forward, which I loved but might not be what you are looking for. On my last two visits, they didn’t have the “extra” version, but it’s worth asking just in case.
Texture: 4.5 – Both versions have a nicely webbed interior and flaky crust. One taster thought the extra butter made the inside a tad too moist, but I didn’t mind. The “extra” version was a bit greasy, with lots more butter smashed between the lush layers. You will want to wash your hands, and perhaps your face, afterwards. A couple tasters weren’t quite as won over by the butter extravaganza like I was, so you be the judge.
Atmosphere: 4 – Buchmann has handful of its own bakery shops, some takeaway only, some with seating. Their products are also carried by a few cafes in Zürich, like Café Sprossling which carries only vegan options including a donut. It’s the typical Swiss café vibe, welcoming but don’t expect to chat with the bakers. It’s not their passion; they just work there.
Zürich center
Rennweg 4, 8001 Zürich
Mo-Fr 6:30–18:30 / Sa 8:00–16:00 / Closed Sundays
Seefeld
Seefeldstrasse 90, 8008 Zürich
Mo-Fr 6:30–18:00 / Sa 7:30–14:00 / Su 8:00–14:00
Stauffacher
Birmensdorferstrasse 21, 8004 Zürich
Mo-Sa 7:00–17:00 / So 8:00–17:00
Buchmann is also carried at various cafes in town. See all current locations on their website.
walterbuchmann.ch / IG: @walter.buchmann
7. Babu’s
Babu’s has so many delicious things to eat – scones, cakes, pancakes, etc – that a croissant would be the last on our list of things to order. But I was pleasantly surprised when I picked one up from their Wiedikon bakery to include in our test.
Although it wasn’t at the top of our list, we found the buttery flavor pretty good, if perhaps a bit greasy. It had a nice golden color and more layers than most in our tests.
But overall the texture was a bit soft and lacked the crunch we long for in a good croissant. A couple tasters thought the interior was a little underdone and chewy. But another day, I found the texture well balanced, not too moist or dry. Overall, not too shabby.
Babu’s Bakery
Zentralstrasse 127, 8003 Zürich
Mo-Fr 7.30–18:00 / Sa 8.30–17:00 / Su 9:00–15:00
Babu’s Coffeehouse
Löwenstrasse 1, 8001 Zürich
Mo-Fr 7.00–17:00 / Sa 8.00–18:00 / Su 9:00–17:00
babus.ch / @babus_bakeryandcoffeehouse
8. Bachmann
Bachmann was started in the Lucerne area over 120 years ago and now has bakeries all over Switzerland. We regularly go to Bachmann for their apple strudel pastries and delicious butter Zopf bread.
So we were happy to find that we also like their croissants. Although they weren’t our favorite of the bunch and aren’t so pretty, we would happily eat them any day.
Based on the blond appearance, we weren’t expecting much and were surprised how much we enjoyed eating it. If you were looking for something pretty for the table, this wouldn’t be our first choice.
But the flavor is nice, pleasantly buttery and just a tiny bit savory, making it delicious on its own without any accompaniments. We felt it would taste great with jam or sandwich fillings, though perhaps a little decadent all dressed up. Great layers, very flaky, moist but not underdone. Basically, an average croissant – not more, not less.
The Bachmann counters are often busy and you have to jockey for position to get help at the counter. But once you get a turn, we find the staff helpful, if efficient. They have lots of other yummy and beautiful things to eat, so we often walk out of our way to visit one of only two Bachmann shops in Zürich.
Near Zürich HB
Bahnhofstrasse 89, Zürich 8001
Mo – Fr 6:45–20:00 / Sa 7:00–20:00 / Su 10:00–18:00
Zürich Sihlcity mall
Kalanderplatz 1, 8045 Zürich
Mo-Sa 7:30–20:00 / Closed Sundays
See all locations in Switzerland.
www.confiserie.ch / IG: @bachmannconfiserie / FB: @confiseriebachmann
9. Bäckerei Hausammann
As noted in their tagline, Bäckerei Hausammann’s main product is Zopf bread, baking it in Zürich for more than 80 years. So we weren’t expecting much from their pastries.
Instead of their tiny butter Gipfels, we opted for the large ambling “croissant,” which had no distinct shape and no tapering at the ends. More of blob or “log” as one taster remarked. The crust was very bubbly, not particularly appealing. Before tasting, we were worried and guessed it would be last in that days’ qualifying round. But it surprised us!
The texture wasn’t the best we’ve had, but not bad either. The crust was a little soft and not as flaky as we would have liked. One taster said “it just feels wrong.” Also no distinct spiral of layers. But the interior has beautiful webbing.
As a whole, it had a decent mouthfeel, if a bit on the dry side. Another taster said it felt and looked like croissants you might buy in bulk at Costco. So a little mass market, but a decent version.
The super buttery flavor rescued this croissant and shot it to top of our qualifying round. We all loved how it tasted and went back for more. It doesn’t need jam or anything else to make it pleasant to eat. If I wanted a croissant and this shop was less than 3 blocks, I’d go. But I wouldn’t walk across town.
Bäckerei Hausammann
Universitätsstrasse 88, 8006 Zürich
Mo – Fr 6:00–19:00 / Sa 6:00–17:00 / Su 8:00–17:00
www.zopfbeck.ch
10. Migros Croissant François
Most top tier croissants are expensive, prohibitively so if you need to buy a lot for a party. So we also tried all the less expensive grocery store brands to give you a budget option.
Our favorite of the bunch was the “Croissant François” from Migros, sometimes called Croissant pur Beurre.
It has a nice buttery flavor and decent texture, but it’s a little sweet and the crust isn’t particular crispy. But compared to Coop, Aldi, Denner, and Lidl, this was the clear winner for us. It improves greatly after 10 seconds in the microwave or a minute in a warm oven.
We don’t like the Migros “Butter Gipfel” which is dry and tasteless compared to the croissant. In general, we find the croissants at the Migrolino convenience stores a bit better as they tend to be cooked fresh more regularly throughout the day.
Vegan options
We tried a few vegan croissants/gipfeli during our research. Although the flavor cannot really compare to a buttery croissant, we were delighted to find two delicious options if you are focused on a plant-based diet.
Moser’s Backparadies
Everyone liked this vegan Gipfel and wondered why it was so much better than the butter version from this same bakery. The sprinkling of nuts and seeds on top helps you tell it apart from the butter version but also gives it an interesting flavor and mouthfeel, perhaps a little unfair advantage.
Tasters commented that it was very satisfying and had a pleasant texture. If it wasn’t so small, it would feel almost like a meal. We would definitely buy this again.
The regular butter Gipfel from Mosers was about as average as they come. Not offensive, but not distinct either. Decent crunch on the crust and serviceable interior. Slight butter flavor, but nothing special. I wouldn’t grab it from the buffet, but someone served it, I’d slather on some Nutella and not complain.
Bakery Bakery
We were all-around surprised at how well this vegan croissant compared to butter croissants. Although it wasn’t nearly our top choice overall, we didn’t feel like we were significantly comprising on flavor or texture by eating a vegan version. Definitely recommended.
It had a good flavor and faintly buttery, though we’re not sure how that was accomplished. A couple tasters detected a slight bitter aftertaste, akin to olive oil, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. It had a very pleasant texture with good layers and nice crunch on the crust.
Some tasters felt it was a little too chewy and bready, perhaps slightly underdone. Another taster enjoyed that mouthfeel, the way the inside sticks to your teeth a bit.
The staff are super friendly and English-speaking. They like to chat and really want you to enjoy their products. We appreciate this attitude, which is not common at other establishments. If you know, you know.
Bakery Bakery – Zürich HB
Mo-Fr 7:00–21:00 / Sa-Su 8:00–20:00
www.bakerybakery.ch
Not our favorite
These bakeries and cafes have many other delicious things on the menu (which we have noted below), but perhaps pass on the croissants. Sorry, not sorry.
Sprüngli
We love almost everything at Sprüngli – hot chocolate, truffle brioche, vanilla bean truffles, salted caramel luxembourglis, berry bircher müesli, and so much more. But the croissants? Not our favorite.
Very bready, neutral flavor, not particularly crispy. “A black hole” said one taster, “Not offensive, just not worth the calories.” You’re much better off with their truffle brioche, a rich fluffy roll with delicious chocolate ganache baked into the center.
John Baker
While we absolutely adore John Baker bread and many of their seasonal sweet treats, we aren’t fans of their croissants, which lean more towards bread than a pastry.
No surprise since they are primarily a bakery, not a patisserie. But lots of people must like these croissants (my son loves them!), because they are churning them out all day long.
We found the texture rather heavy and dense, not fluffy. Compared to our top tier croissants, the cross section in these has more compact layers and less webbing.
It tastes a bit savory, perhaps better paired with egg salad than jam. It would work well for sandwiches, sturdy enough to accommodate strong fillings.
While we wouldn’t exactly call John Baker a friendly destination, it’s not all business either. They are clearly passionate about baking, so you feel excited to participate in that.
Although John Baker counters are busy and crowded, we always feel welcome and want to spend more time admiring their beautiful breads. But we think there are so many better things to order at John Baker. Better to have croissant somewhere else.
Le Petit Marais
Perhaps our biggest disappointment was Le Petit Marais, a small start-up bakery that supplies pastries to cafes all over the city, including some of our favorite coffee shops.
We admire the ambition and hard work of their founder and don’t want to rain on her parade. But after trying these croissants multiple times at different cafes, with similar results, they are not our favorite.
Their croissants are pretty and look promising. But when you pick them up, something already feels off as they feel strangely too light for the enormous size. The crust has the same problem as many other croissants in our testing, crumbling to dust instead of flaking.
On multiple occasions, the interior was “undercooked and doughy,” sticking to our teeth. Our tasters found the flavor “strangely soapy” and so lacking in butter flavor that we wondered if we had mistakenly got a vegan version. That said, we don’t mind their Pain au Chocolat, so perhaps order that instead.
Perhaps the quality might be better at their own bakery shop. But it’s so far outside the city, we haven’t found the time to visit. We do appreciate their vision, so we hope that perhaps our experience is not the norm or that the quality does improve over time. We would love to be proved wrong on this one.
Keep walking
We don’t want to be negative or throw anyone under the bus, but we ate a lot of bad and sad croissants during this research (some got a zero rating). We think our readers deserve to know so you can do better.
Let’s just say we’d order something else at these locations: Backbar, Honold, Hug, Känzig, Kleiner, Kornsilo, St Jakobs, Stocker, Steiner, ViCAFE.
Of course, this is just our tasters’ opinions. You may feel differently.
What’s your favorite croissant?
Our tasting criteria
Many of the reviews originally came from our tasting project in 2023, with the goal to find the most delicious French-style croissant in Zürich. Our tasters were looking for:
- delicate crispy crust that flaked nicely, not dusty
- attractive crust with spirals and layers
- webbed interior with irregular holes, not too dense or bready
- moist interior, not wet, doughy, or undercooked
- pleasant butter flavor, but not too greasy
- not too sweet or savory, something that could stand on its own and also be complemented with spreads
- toothy but not heavy, also not too airy – we want a pleasant bite and chew
There were lots of surprises and disappointments along the way. Taste is subjective, so you may feel differently. Also note, differences in flavor and texture are much more pronounced when you try many croissants at the same time. Everything was rated on a 5 point scale.
In German-speaking Switzerland, most bakeries make “Gipfeli,” which look similar to croissants but are denser and less buttery. Gipfeli tend to have fewer layers, a crisper crust and are often drier. If a bakery did not offer an item labeled “croissant,” we tried the most croissant-like item they made like a “butter Gipfel.”
Note: I heard that bakers are suppose to shape Gipfelis as crescents to distinguish them from torpedo-shaped croissants. But in our experience, we found the name or shape did not necessarily correspond to the style or flavor.
2 responses
You missed Backbar in Seefeld. One of the best french Gipfeli in Zürich. Next to other things which are tasty and even not so vommon
We included Backbar in our blind tasting and we didn’t like it so much. Maybe we’ll give it another chance.