Arôme Bakery

Japanese milk bread and French lamination

The signature is a thick slab of Japanese milk bread under a crunchy honey-butter crust: crisp where it has caramelised, fluffy the whole way through. It captures the French-Asian method in one item, French pastry precision applied to a Japanese bread format, and it is what most of the queue is there for.

The rest of the case works the same way. Pain au Chocolat is judged on a crisp, flaky shell and buttery layers; the Almond Croissant is filled with frangipane and comes out nuttier and more buttery than a supermarket version; the Pistachio Chocolate Escargot is a golden laminated swirl with crushed nuts, chocolate and restrained pistachio. Then come the fusion bakes: Gula Melaka Coconut Bun, Laksa Tomato Bread, Pineapple and Mango Danish, Mocha Apple Caramel Danish, apple miso Danish, Mirabelle Cream Buns and Cheese Quiche.

A Lyon baker and a Singaporean restaurateur

Arôme came out of a partnership between Alix André, a pâtissier from Lyon, and Ellen Chew, the Singaporean restaurateur behind the Chew On This group. It started as a Soho pop-up in 2019 and became a permanent Covent Garden bakery late in 2020.

André's training ran through London kitchens including the Dorchester, Yauatcha and Roka, which shows in the lamination, the crisp edges and the precise viennoiserie rather than in novelty alone. Chew brought the Singaporean side, and the ingredients follow it: matcha, jasmine, gula melaka and laksa treated as flavours for French technique to work on, not as decoration.

How the counter works

This is a casual bakery stop rather than a structured meal. The display shifts with fresh daily production, moving through viennoiseries, breads, buns, danishes, quiche and seasonal slices, so what is there depends on when you arrive and the later part of the day looks nothing like the first. The shop opened with a deliberately controlled range of around twenty-five products and widened it as demand grew.

Seating is limited and the rhythm is takeaway-led, with a bright, minimal room of light wooden panels and glass keeping attention on the bakes. Baking is done on site with organic flour, and seasonal savouries have included aubergine, tomato and cheese slices. Coffee is short and pastry-focused, using Allpress Espresso for lattes, mochas, flat whites and cappuccinos, with hojicha lattes for the Japanese side and oat milk available.