At the top of the list of French foods that I wanted to explore on our recent trip to Paris was the macaron, the most alluring of French pastries and certainly the most photogenic. These colorful little creations are made of a sweet or tart filling (buttercream, jam, ganache) sandwiched between two meringue and almond flour-based cookies. Most of the big pastry shops that specialize in this confection make more than a dozen flavors, many of which are colored extravagantly with sheer and sometimes shimmery food colorings.
In my opinion, the cookies should have a smooth, firm exterior that melts quickly in your mouth leaving a thick layer of cream fillings to linger. I tried a handful of the most popular macaron shops in Paris when we were there, in each place buying a box of five to eight so that I could sample different flavors and decide which shop I thought offered the best macarons in Paris.
Here are some of the macaron shops I tried, ordered from worst to best (plus a surprising honorable mention):
Worst:
Ladurée (Multiple Locations in Paris)
Ladurée was the first shop I visited. My friend, Pierre, spotted it and said he had always wanted to try their macarons. Later on, I learned that they are the granddaddy of French macarons and one of the most popular shops, and many people rate it the best macaron shop in the city. Nearly every passenger on our flight back to San Francisco was toting on of their signature pastel-turquoise bags filled with goodies to bring home.
Their shop was incredibly fancy, evoking a Paris of a century past. And the macarons were colorful, smooth, and perfect looking. We ordered a box of 8 of them. So it surprised me when I tasted the first one and found the texture really unpleasant. The filling was incredibly chewy, almost like taffy. And the cookie didn’t melt in my mouth, it was very chewy and actually stuck in my teeth. It tasted stale. The flavor was nice, but the texture was quite unpleasant. At first I thought this was just the one flavor that I tried, so I tried another. And then another. But they were all the same.
Because it was my first French macaron, I thought perhaps that my perspective was skewed, but when I later visited several other patisseries with softer, more delicate macarons, I became convinced that Ladurée is just really over-rated.
Second Place:
Carette (4, Place du Trocadero, Paris – Metro: Trocadero)
I read that this place won a “Best of Paris” macaron competition, beating out the more popular Pierre Hermes in a few flavor categories.
Carette is a full Parisian cafe, not just a pastry shop. It was packed with people dining in for desserts and coffee, so we had to push our way inside to get to the counter where we could buy our macarons to go. It’s located right above Metro: Trocadero, which is the stop you get off to visit the Eiffel Tower. We picked up a selection to take with us, and wound up sampling them as we waited in line to go up the tower elevator. It was the perfect thing to do to make the time go faster.
Carette’s salted caramel macaron, in line for the Eiffel Tower.
Carette had fewer flavors than the other shops I visited. We ordered a handful of flavors including the salted butter caramel, dark chocolate, and a few fruity flavors. The salted caramel and chocolate flavors were both perfectly textured cookies with one of the thickest layers of cream of any of the macarons we tried.
Carette’s blackcurrent-violet macaron was very intense.
The fruit flavors also had a very thick layer of jammy filling, which was a bit too tart and too intense for me. But otherwise, it was a great place and worth stopping by on the way to the Eiffel Tower.
First Place:
Pierre Hermé (Multiple locations in Paris)
I was drawn to this shop because I read that they offer a variety of creative flavors, including a matcha green tea/sesame seed and a vanilla/olive oil pairings — both of which I loved, so they get points for creativity.
But what I most loved about their macarons was the perfect texture and delicate, balanced (not too sweet, not too tart) flavors. The cookie’s exterior has a nice crisp coating that melts away as soon as you hold it in your mouth. The flavors were uniform in having this perfect texture and perfect balance of cookie and cream.
The shop had a sleek, modern look and the macarons were not overly colored, though they brushed some flavors with a shimmery, silver food gloss, which added a stylish touch.
They were really the perfect combination of mouthwatering texture and flavor and I can definitely understand why it is considered one of the more popular macaron places in Paris.
Honorable Mention:
McDonald’s (Locations that have a “McCafé”)
Did you know that McDonalds sells macarons in Paris? I didn’t until I walked past the storefront of one of their McCafe’s near the Hotel de Ville. I’m not sure I’m ballsy enough to exclaim that the macarons at McDonald’s were better than the century old Ladurée pastry-making tradition, but they were surprisingly decent. I’m holding McDonalds to a different standard because they are not making any claims to sell the best macaron in the city.
McDonalds’ macarons were served cold from the refrigerated cooler and were a bit firm because of that. The cookie texture was much more like a cakey brownie than a macaron, but the flavors were good and the filling was thick and soft.
It’s worth sampling McDonalds’ macarons for the experience, but please don’t just stop there!
Going to Paris? Click here to pin this post on Pinterest:
Do you like to bake? Learn to make French macarons at home using Pierre Herme’s macaron recipe or Laduree’s macaron recipe.
To be honest, I’ve never had macarons before.I’m waiting for the day I’m back in Paris so I can try some there.It might be a couple of years before I’m in Paris again, but I can wait. Right?
Hehe, I’d only had them in San Francisco before this trip — I never tried them the last time I was in Paris. But yes, they will be there waiting for you when you return 🙂
Amazing! I had no idea that McDo’s did macarons… I think I’ll have to try one when we get to France, just for the novelty! Though it breaks my heart to think that even their macarons cost nearly 1euro… you must have spent a small fortune on those sugary treats! 😉
Hehe, good catch! French sweets can definitely blow your budget! My friend purchased the Laduree batch, but we bought the macarons at the other shops. Still, totally worth it 🙂
oh man, the black currant macaroon looks AMAZING yummmmmmmm
It makes me pucker remembering how tart it was, but yes, it was amazing! I’ve been meaning to do a SF macaron tasting–a pastry chef friend of mine said she would write a guest post recommending her favorite bakeries that make macarons in the Bay Area (I had no idea there were so many!), so when she does we’ll have to go sample them for ourselves!
EIT’s theme song should be the stampeders’ great hit “sweet city woman” because of its mention of macaroons.
Are you saying I’m sweet? Oh, Larry… 🙂
I like your post , I recently fill in love with these little photoganic creatures that milt in your mouth . I am Saudi of course from Saudi Arabia , here in my city I would love Laduree but its not cheap so I go for their isphan only. We here have a local pastry shop who has a French & Saudi chefs ; they make the best macron I have ever tried . Amm for the flavor and price it’s cheap near 1 euro . They have many flavours goes from raspberry to mango . Even Mini macron .
Hi Adwa! Thank you so much for your comment! Are you in Paris or in Saudi Arabia? And what is the name of the local pastry shop that you like? I would love to check it out if I’m ever visiting the area. The flavors sound wonderful!
Thanks for sharing your love of macarons!
Hi Cassie , I’m in Saudi Riyadh the capital . It’s name “Aani & Dani ” here in Riyadh . I will visit if God will paris soon , hope to try what u mention as its my first trip to France . If its works I can bring some to try
Wow, excellent, Adwa! If anyone I know is going to Riyadh, I’ll tell them to look for Aani & Dani!
I hope you do make it to Paris very soon. I’ll be posting more pictures here on the blog in the next few weeks so stay tuned! And let me know if you have any questions about the city and I’ll try to help you out. Safe travels!
Have you ever tried the macaron’s at ‘Lette’s in Los Angeles? They are my absolute favorite here in the western US. (I’ve tried Lauduree’s macarons when I was in NYC and didn’t love them either.) The salted caramel macaron at ‘Lette’s is my gold standard – simply divine!!
Ooh, I have not tried Lette’s but I’ll remember that for my next trip to LA (which I should make happen very soon!) Salted caramel is one of my favorites!
Laduree makes McDonald’s macaroons. I found them to be quite similar but McDonald’s were a little sweeter.
Really! Fascinating! I also thought the McDonalds ones were very sweet and more cakey than Laduree. Thanks for the information, that’s really great trivia 🙂
Pinning for a future trip to Paris…I actually had my first macarons this year. My least favorites were the expensive and famous ones from Boudin Bakery in Yountville. Like the ones that disappointed you, they seemed stale.
Btw, that purple one is gorgeous! I’ve always wondered, though, what they use to make the colors? Is it some kind of nasty food coloring?
Interesting how that works 🙂 Chantal Guillon and Miette in SF both have great macarons, so try them next time you’re there. I also thought the purple one was gorgeous, but yes I bet it’s full of nasty stuff. We spotted these ones at a little market but didn’t get a chance to try them: http://bit.ly/KpbQ34. They looked much more natural, with less dye and from what I can understand on the sign, they advertising themselves as a ‘healthier’ alternative (without butter or gluten)
I too did a brief Macaron tour of Paris starting at the Dorée chain-stale and too sweet. Next we went to Laduree on the Champs Élysées -ok but not impressive. Our last stop was the temple of macarons- Pierre Hermé. My girlfriend looked as if she had died and gone to heaven after her first bite- I joined her there afterwards. Since then, I have developed a horrible addiction to macarons. I bought Herme’s recipe book and several others. I’m heading home now to try to make another batch. Be careful, they are addictive.
Hi Treker54, I heard about Dorée but didn’t get the chance to try them, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I’m right there with you on how Pierre Herme is incredibly addictive! I’ve seen his macaron cookbook but haven’t bought it yet. I’m afraid of trying to make them myself, but maybe I should. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Hi. I loved this post. Leaving for Paris in 36 days. Wondering if you tried the ones at La Romainville rue Lecourbe?
This post should be printed and tucked into everyone’s luggage who travels to Paris. If I ever do go back there (lived in France as a child) I will be trying some of these macarons you mentioned…after I have my fill of French breads and cheeses that is 😉
Hehe, thanks Anthony! It’s certainly hard to try all the lovely Parisian delicacies but I’m sure you’re up for the challenge 🙂
Next time you go, you have to try Stohrer. It’s the oldest patisserie in Paris. It’s kind of off the beaten path, and we found it on accident. It’s at 51 Rue Montorgueil in the 1st/2nd arrondissement. The presentation of pastries is beautiful, and they also have lunch foods available. The street it’s on has flower, fruit, and seafood stands lining it. The macaroons there were my favorite. Well, those and the giant one I got at the train station. 🙂
Wonderful! Thanks for the tip, Michelle! 🙂
My local Mc Donald’s (with Mc Cafe sections) all do Macarons! But that may be because I live in the foodie city of Melbourne. The Maccas Macarons here are DISGUSTING! Not macarons in the slightest! The best ones I’ve had in Melbourne are at Seasons Provedore on Lygon St. I am about 3 months out from my paris trip and I’m sure with so many tourists Laudree’s standards wouldn’t be the highest in Paris. I love the aesthetic though, so I’ll probably buy something from there for the packaging. LOVE the recommendation for Carette I’ll have to buy some for the Eiffel tower line as well!
We just returned from a trip to Europe. I fell in love with macarons in San Diego (http://www.zagat.com/b/san-diego/lette-macarons-opens-in-utc#.VChYkledegk.mailto) from ‘Lette’s of Beverly Hills. I wanted to try as many different bakeries as possible when in Paris. Since we only had three days and were with other couples, I only found Carette and Laduree, as they were close to popular sights. I wish there was a list of the best shops and their landmarks. I’m so sad that I completely missed Pierre Hermé! I agree that Carette is better than Laduree, but the Laduree’s shop is beautiful!
Hi Cathie, thanks for this! Laduree’s shop is definitely beautiful so I do appreciated the time we spent there for our sweets break 🙂 Glad you got to Carette!
And someone else (here in the earlier comments, perhaps?) recommended Lette’s in Los Angeles, but I haven’t made it there yet. I’ll remember to look for them in San Diego next time I’m there. Thanks for the recommendation!
I would like to buy around half a kilo 😛 of these… any ideas where may I find them cheap/at decent rate?
Thanks for the help!
hehe, Paris? 🙂
oh la la! oui… Ou dans Paris?
oh la la! yes.. where in Paris?
lcuky we have so many options and so many opinions huh? Pierre Herme ones don’t seem to have enough flavour for me… Laduree all the way. I’m wondering if you got a substandard one or something, because your description doesn’t sound very accurate at all:(
Definitely lucky! It’s hard to find good macarons here in California, though Chantal Guillon (http://everintransit.com/sweet-day-in-palo-alto/ and http://everintransit.com/sweet-day-in-san-francisco/) is pretty good. And maybe I was there on a bad day, but every single macaron in the box (6 different flavors, from 6 different batches) was very chewy and tasted stale. They didn’t have the crisp exterior, melt in your mouth interior that I enjoy. Or maybe that’s their style?
Chewy and stale definitely isn’t their ‘style’, and I don’t seem remember having ones that seem stale ever ( and I’ve had much more and one box of six flavours) Then again if you’re going to produce a credible guide to the best macaron in Paris I’d expect a bit more ‘Research’ than one visit to five or so shops. People go for yourself and make up your own minds.
Do you mean Laduree? It’s true, I only visited the store once, but it wasn’t just one sample–all eight flavors (so, eight out of eight separate batches) had the same dense texture. The French friend I was with that day said he preferred the ones his mom buys in the frozen aisle of the Monoprix grocery store. I’ll have to try those ones next time. And I’ll give Laduree another shot 🙂
But do try Pierre Herme! We visited on of his patisseries in Tokyo last year and the macarons were just as light and lovely as I remembered them in Paris.