Where to Find the Best Macarons in Paris
A true Parisian knows that these delectable sweets are fit for any meal — including breakfast. We scoured the city for the most irresistible cookie of all.
By Adam Pitluk
Illustration by Catalina Matamoros
Never mind the fact that they are Italian-born. Their ancestors were brought to France by Catherine de Medici’s chef when she married the Duc d’Orléans in 1533, but the delicate, intensely sweet, brilliantly colored macaron is as Parisian as Marion Cotillard. Beloved by citizens of all ages, they are the go-to dessert to bring to any dinner party. All this is why, as my family and I plotted a trip to Paris (where my wife and daughters had never been), my dreams turned cookie-ward. The minute our plane touched down at de Gaulle, I announced that we’d be scouring Paris to find the Platonic ideal of the sweet. No, I said, these aren’t the shredded-coconut macaroons — note the extra o in that name — of America. Think of them as Oreos — sugary, buttery sandwiches of multiple flavors with creamy insides. But Parisian Oreos, laden with culture and sophistication and twice as much sugar. My family smiled. Game on.
Ladurée Champs-Élysées: Three Stars
We began our hunt in the Eighth Arrondissement, with the most historic macarons in Paris. It was Ladurée bakery that in 1862 took two macaron shells and married them with a velvety ganache filling. The recipe hasn’t changed since.
VERDICT
Per my daughters, the raspberry was clearly the front-runner, and it was accented well by a cup of café au lait in Ladurée’s suitably belle epoque tearoom. But the très cher price made it taste a little . . . comment on dit . . . extravagant? 75 Av. des Champs-Élysées, +33–1–40–75–08 -75.
Grégory Renard Cacao et Macarons: Four Stars
Second day, Seventh Arrondissement. Divide and conquer: Eiffel Tower for me and my 8-year-old daughter, Lilly, and Grégory Renard Cacao et Macarons for my wife, Kimberly, and daughter Maddy.
VERDICT: Wife and Maddy said the chocolate sea-salt macarons were the best they’ve ever had, but they saved none for Lilly and me. Grégory Renard’s tiny cocoa-colored shop is warm and inviting. That in no way made up for me not having a macaron. 120 Rue Saint-Dominique, +33–1–47–05–19–17
Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolatier: Three Stars
After the Louvre, we hunted for a macaron joint as artistic as the building we had just left. We found it at Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolatier: Its glass-and-steel design echoes I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre.
VERDICT: Jean-Paul’s macarons are works of art but more Magritte surreal than, say, Cézanne. Nontraditional combos include white-chocolate biscuits with grapefruit ganache and a violet chocolate biscuit with violet ganache that was, well, violet-y. 231 Rue St. Honoré, +33–1–55–35–35–96.
Pâtisserie Gérard Mulot: Five Stars
But had we found the ultimate macaron? We could arrive at no consensus. Then, on our last day in Paris, we went to the Fourth Arrondissement. Near the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame we found Pâtisserie Gérard Mulot.
VERDICT: No frills. No gimmicks. No impressive history. Ils ne parlent pas l’anglais. Just a custom bakery offering incomparable macarons. The coffee-flavored ones were the best of a sublime lot. Said daughter Lilly firmly: “These are the kind of macarons I like to eat.” 76 Rue de Seine, +33–1–43–26–85–77.
About the author: Adam Pitluk is an award-winning journalist and the author of Standing Eight and Damned to Eternity. As the former editor-in-chief of American Way magazine, he still enjoys traveling in search of the highest-calorie macarons that will enable him to build mass so he can fend off his enemies.
