The ‘world’s best croissants’ is a huge claim, but Lune Croissanterie shows just how deliciously magical obscene amounts of butter and layers and layers of ethereal pastry can be in the right hands.
Lune Croissanterie
Location: Shop 16/161 Collins St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 & 119 Rose St, Fitzroy, VIC 3065 & 835 High St, Armadale, VIC 3143 & Also 15 Manning St, South Brisbane, QLD 4101 & Shop 10, 79 Adelaide St, Brisbane City, QLD 4000 & Coming Soon 60 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
When a foodie friend and pastry fanatic suggested getting up early to stand outside a bakery in Fitzroy back in late 2015, I was aghast.
“But the croissants are phenomenal!” she said. I remained unconvinced. After all, I’ve eaten croissants in Paris and there’s a pretty good French patisserie just down the road from where I live. And, at the end of the day, a croissant is just pastry and air. Right?
Wrong.
The croissants at Lune Croissanterie are truly an art form and absolutely worth queuing up outside for. Only thankfully, with more locations open, you might not need to.
If you want to be a serious baker, keeping your dough cool is vital. That’s where this Checkered Chef Stainless Steel French Rolling Pin comes in. You can even pop it in the fridge before using.
So what is it about these particular croissants that has international food critics salivating, baking awards piling up and normally sane people standing outside their doors before dawn?
Well, they are genuine pastry works of art. Deeply tanned and temptingly glossy, bite into a Lune croissant and marvel at the intricate honeycomb of air pockets trapped within the shell. What’s more, the over-riding flavour is butter – as it should be.
For an Aussie classic given a modern make-over, see our post on Tokyo Lamington
Lune Croissanterie’s founder, Kate Reid, took an unusual path to becoming a pastry queen. In a previous life, Kate was a Formula 1 aerodynamic engineer. However, creating croissant perfection time and time again is, perhaps, not so far removed from the precise, controlled world of F1. Maybe the baking world needed someone with an engineer’s mind to approach croissant-making as a technical problem and work out how to produce flawless pain au chocolat time and time again.
For at Lune Croissanterie, they have clearly managed to do exactly that.
If you visit Lune Crosisanterie Armadale, then you should also check out self-serve Acai Bowl temple Blitz Bar over in Malvern
The Space
Minimally dramatic, the fit-out at Lune Croissanterie is austere concrete. Functional, is the description that springs to mind.
At the Armadale venue, a monolithic counter fills at the back of the shop, with oven racks of baked treats stacked behind. As we’re in Melbourne, there’s a coffee machine working hard on one side of the serving space.
There is no display cabinet. Instead, the day’s selection of croissants and cruffins sit starkly on the counter top – named and priced.
If you wish to stay and enjoy your croissant, there are a few tables and chairs on the pavement outside the store.
For some of the most amazing tarts you’ll ever eat, pay a visit to Tarts Anon. See more here.
The Food
A carefully curated selection of croissants and a cruffin or 2, plus a couple of limited edition bakes.
As I said above, all the pastries look incredible. Burnished, lacquered and mouth-watering.
Whilst there’s nothing to tell you what any of the bakes on display are, bar their name and price, the staff are more than happy to fill in the gaps. In fact, the young person who served me was extremely helpful and patient as I ummed and ahhed over my morning tea.
Although the Ham & Gruyere Croissant looked amazing, I decided against savoury this time.
Instead, I chose the Lemon Curd Cruffin and The Turtle which was a November special.
Lemon Curd Cruffin
The lemon curd cruffin sat high and proud, its clear swirls frosted with powdered sugar.
When I cut into it, rich, sunshine vibrant lemon curd oozed from a generous pool in its centre.
The structure of the cruffin itself was a fine web of bubbles, making the cake surprisingly light. In contrast, the curd was tart and punched a great smack of citrus. It was fabulous against the buttery layers of the pastry. It was a triumph.
For a kitchen that is doing for Donuts what Lune has done for Croissants, see our piece on Levain Doughnuts.
The Turtle
The November Special was a twice baked confectionery-addict’s dream.
A pain au chocolat suped-up with a mork chocolate frangipane, a caramel sauce and given texture by toasted pecans. As if this wasn’t enough, it was studded with candied pecans and daubed with salted caramel and splodgies of chocolate ganache.
Obviously, it was rich and decadent and utterly fabulous. What’s more, it took me 2 gos to eat my half (and son inhaled his in about 10 seconds) and I don’t regret a single one of the calories. So there!
Monthly Specials – Update
As Lune Croissanterie changes its heavenly bakes on a monthly basis, we thought we’d get on board.
Therefore, from now on, we will endeavour to update you on what you’ll find across their stores each month.
March 2024
March already, and Lune are moving with a wonderful-sounding Tomato & Straciatella Danish ($11.00) and then there’s one of my childhood favs, in pastry-form, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake ($11.00). Bring It On!
The Growing Lune Empire
As we write this piece, Melbourne has 3 Lune Croissanterie outlets: Lune Armadale, Lune Fitzroy & Lune Melbourne CBD.
Meanwhile up in Brisbane, there are 2 shops: Lune Brisbane CBD & Lune South Brisbane.
And there are strong rumours that Kate Reid will finally bring her flaky wonders to the Harbour City later this year with the opening of Lune Sydney.
Overall
Without doubt, Lune Croissanterie is at the very pinnacle of what it does.
Technically brilliant and tasting as good as they look, check them out when you’re in the neighbourhood. Just be prepared to line up with everyone else!
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The Best Croissants in Melbourne
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The Best Cake Shops, Cake Delivery and Takeaway Cakes in Melbourne
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