Papa d’Amour

French lamination meets Taiwanese and Japanese bread

The case does not sort neatly into sweet and savoury. A laminated spiral wrapped around a pork hot dog sits near a black sesame mousse cake, and both belong. Dominique Ansel opened Papa d’Amour in New York in 2025 as a concept separate from his SoHo shop, and the name, French for father of love, points at his two children, one Taiwanese and one French. That family arrangement is the menu’s logic rather than its backstory.

The technique is French: lamination, tart shells, mousse work, the discipline Ansel has been known for since the Cronut. The flavours come from elsewhere. Scallion, basil, salted egg, black sesame and the textures of Taiwanese and Japanese bakeries run through the case, which makes it a savoury-leaning bakery as much as a pastry counter. It was named in Eater’s 2025 bakery guide.

A quick counter near Union Square

The room is bright and direct, built around counter service: read the case, order, then take it out or take a seat if one is free. University Place gives it a passing-trade rhythm between Greenwich Village and Union Square, which suits a bakery that works at breakfast, at midday and again for dessert.

It rewards the daily-bakery approach rather than the special-occasion one. There are no courses to plan around. The case is the menu, and the named items are where the thinking has gone.

Start with the Scallion Basil Blossom

Order the Scallion Basil Blossom first if it is out. It is the clearest savoury statement in the case, a scallion bread pushed somewhere more interesting by basil.

From there, choose by weight. The Kurobuta Hot Dog Spiral is the most meal-like item, a Berkshire pork hot dog wound into spiralled laminated dough. The Pretzel Salt Egg Tart is the bridge, a pretzel crust under an egg tart filling that comes out of Chinese and Taiwanese dessert traditions. The Black Sesame Jam Jar puts black sesame into a French mousse cake. The Heirloom Tomato Sando turns the visit into a sandwich, and when the Yakimochi Hot Chocolate appears with the season, it gives the counter a drinkable dessert.