Pastry Alban Guilmet

Chocolate at the back, pâtisserie at the front

A chocolate fountain rises about two metres at the back of the boutique, which settles the question of what this house is about. Pastry Alban Guilmet works as a pâtisserie and chocolaterie together in Caen, under a Norman pastry chef and chocolatier whose stated aim is to mix the good and the beautiful. The Caen presence began in 2011 and the two crafts have been kept side by side ever since. Normandy is the reference point throughout, in the language as much as the produce.

Chocolate got its own address in 2017, when La Chocolaterie opened nearby, designed in chocolate tones with a manufacture-style setting. The same focus produced an exclusive Haïti chocolate developed with Valrhona. The house is a Relais Desserts member, which places it inside a network of French pastry chefs and chocolatiers working at that level.

A boutique shaped by its display

The setting is modern and boutique-led, and the counter display shapes the visit more than a seated café rhythm would. The main boutique was renovated in August 2024, refreshing the interior while keeping the presentation central. There is also a city-centre branch, so the Caen presence works as a small network rather than a single storefront.

The range spans pastries, chocolates, bread and viennoiserie, with the full spread concentrated in the main pâtisserie and the chocolate work given its own room at La Chocolaterie. Seasonal collections keep the case moving through the year, including Fête des Pères, Fin des écoles and Retour des fruits rouges.

How to approach the counter

Take the chocolate side first if cocoa is the draw, and specifically the Valrhona-linked Haïti creation, which is the one thing here that exists nowhere else. Then work through the pastry case for the day’s cakes, individual pastries and whatever the current seasonal collection has put out. The individual pastries change with the season, so the case rewards a second look rather than a fixed order.

Bread and viennoiserie sit alongside rather than replacing the sweet work, so a croissant and a coffee is a legitimate way to use the shop. Custom cakes for birthdays, weddings and events are made here too, with set pieces and personalised decoration, and pâtisserie courses extend the boutique into a place where the craft is taught as well as sold.