Curious: Anyone tried Arsicault Bakery lately?

Arsicault continues what seems a very aggressive expansion for an artisanal independent who started very modestly - this is from today’s SF Chron:

"… Arsicault Bakery, the acclaimed San Francisco patisserie behind some of the country’s most famous croissants, is opening a new location downtown.

City business records show the bakery has registered for a location at 88 Spear St., at the intersection with Mission Street, inside a former Walgreens store. Arsicault currently operates three other locations, in the Richmond District, downtown near the U.N. Civic Center Plaza and in the Mission Rock development. "

So I’m curious! Has anyone tried - SPECIFICALLY - his plain croissant recently? Fillings and additions can mask the subtle but unmistakable flavor/aroma/texture of the highest quality cultured butter and flour.

I’m wondering because in the most recent SFBA Best Croissant competition of the 10 finalists for 2025, Arsicault wasn’t listed. I don’t know if having won previously, Arsicault isn’t allowed to be part of the competition or personally chose not to participate, or the people who voted were supposed to be voting for new names, or ???

We have not tried all of the 2025 bakeries, but we are very familiar with the Benoit, Red Bird, and Sarmentine bakeries, having tried all three several times. We don’t consider any of them to be quite the equal of Parker-Lusseau/Monterey, although Benoit comes very, very close - even closer than Rotha, whose croissants we find too big and heavy (great for sandwiches, however) despite the excellent dough.

So…any thoughts from anyone?

I had a plain croissant from Arsicault when it first opened, and it was totally all that–it was the best croissant I’d ever had. I’m looking forward to the new outpost because I’m by the Ferry Building all the time, so I can see if it’s just as good.

Great! Will look forward to hearing whether you think the quality is the same as before. In an era of rising commodity prices and tariffs, a tough environment for restaurants/food vendors is getting even more challenging, sigh.

I picked up a ham and cheese before jury duty at the McAllister street location and it was as delicious, buttery and flaky as it has always been.

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Yikes. I was in room 106 on Tuesday. No pastry though.

I picked up a chocolate croissant at mission rock location and it was great – buttery, flakey, and still warm. Maybe a little bit greasy.

They open at 8:00, so perfect timing to grab one before 8:30 Jury Duty! I was randomly dismissed.

Lucky you. Me… not so much.

I’m sure the croissants tried were very good, but I’m still specifically interested in the plain croissant. Anyone? No one??

I have continued to have plain croissants from them since they first opened, though only at the original location. My “palette” is just not refined enough to really tell a difference in the butter being used. The owner said he switched to Kerrygold in 2021. Kerrygold is my go-to butter as well, so it makes sense that it still tastes good to me.

Here’s a more detailed explanation of why he switched butters:

"About four years ago, we had issues with lamination. For some reason, it was not as good as it had been.

I tried to change the temperature, the temperature in the oven, the proofing temperature, the dough. But, eventually, I realized, “No, it’s the butter.” The butter we were using was fantastic most of the year, but sometimes, we suspect it was seasonal, it would get too hard and become brittle.

A big part of what makes our croissant special is that we give the croissant three turns. Most bakeries only give it two turns. With three turns, a croissant is flakier, there are more layers, but the butter needs to be very malleable. Periodically, the butter we were using was not extensible, it would crack, and you’d lose some of the layers. We switched butters, and now we’re consistent, and everything’s good. It took looking at the entire process. The product was still good before we identified the issue, but it was not up to our standards."

I go to the original location fairly often, as it’s close to me, but I’m a ham-and-cheese orderer. I cannot help with the plain croissants.

Will say that I don’t think the chocolate chip cookie is as good (to my taste) as it used to be. I keep trying though.

kairo, many thanks for the update! I agree with you, Kerrygold is the ‘gold standard’ of regular butters. Very interesting that he switched from the traditional cultured butter.

Croissant fans should note that BurtoNZ Bakery in Windsor, CA also makes an excellent plain croissant, using LOTS of New Zealand butter. Very buttery in taste, smell, and texture.

As for croissants feeling “greasy” - that’s actually a good sign. A lot of bakeries use cultured butter, but skimp on it. It results in a ‘dry croissant’ that lacks the flavor and texture of a really fine croissant.

Actually, ALL croissant dough is supposed to be turned a minimum of three times. Some even do four, apparently!