Arome Bakery did a little pop-up last year which I was incredibly excited to check out at the time. Unfortunately, when I arrived, the venue was hosting a private event. That meant I only had the chance to take a glimpse of their bakery goods but no chance to taste them. Fast-forward to a year later, they have now just opened up a permanent site in Covent Garden.

I was quite gutted to not be able to try them out last time around, especially having spotted a Laksa Bun from them! Ever since laying eyes on the laksa bun, I’ve been keeping my eyes on Arome Bakery and led to this moment where they finally open up their own shop. Whilst the laksa bun hasn’t made an appearance on their menu at this shop, their other pastries are looking just as good as ever.

The range of pastries at Arome Bakery’s Pop-up in 2019

Arome Bakery: when East meets West

What makes Arome Bakery stands out is the way they embed French pastry techniques with Far East flavours. Arome Bakery is co-founded by Alix Andre, a French pastry chef who has had worked and trained with the likes of Alain Ducasse and Ladurée. The other co-founder is Singaporean restauranteur, Ellen Chew, which explains the marriage of French pastries with the Far East influence.

Want to learn more about Arome Bakery’s story? Check our interview with them in this post.

Vegetarian Croissants at Arome Bakery
Vegetarian Croissants at Arome Bakery

The Covent Garden shop is situated at St Martin’s Courtyard. Walking in, you’d be immediately greeted by a row of alluring pastries on display. One could literally stand there for minutes just to admire the beauty of the pastries.

What’s also lovely is their interior. The shop follows a minimalist theme, featuring light wooden panels and an open kitchen that offers a glimpse into their bakery operation. It’s very bright and got a very chilled atmosphere. Sockets are available for you to plug in your laptop and enjoy a quiet morning/afternoon away with some heavenly pastries and coffees.

The Food: What We Ordered

Please note that Arome Bakery does not serve halal meats. But there are plenty of vegetarian options to choose from.

Melaka Gula Coconut Twist

Melaka Gula Twist Buns at Arome Bakery

The Melaka Gula Coconut Twists are one of Arome Bakery’s signatures. Melaka Gula translates as coconut palm sugar, a common ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisines. The buns are almost like sticky Scandinavian sweet buns. They are delicately shaped into knots and laced with coconut palm sugar & desiccated coconut. The buns are fluffy, carrying just the right amount of sweetness and a lovely glaze. Would definitely recommend grabbing one of these!

Pistachio Chocolate Escargot

Another popular pastry on the menu is the Pistachio Chocolate Escargot. Well-laminated layers perfectly swirled and baked to the perfect golden crispiness, it really demonstrated the high standards of quality from the bakery. Flavour-wise, the pistachio was quite subtle, with a sprinkle of crushed nuts to add extra texture. The chocolate, however, didn’t shine much. All in all, it’s a very solid one, mainly due to its perfect execution, but we feel the flavours could be better.

Pain au Chocolat

Pain Au Chocolat Pastries at Arome Bakery

Their Pain au Chocolat showcases exceptional pastry quality. It was incredibly crispy and flakey, with a beautiful buttery touch of flavours. These genuinely reminds me of top-notch Parisian pastries and easily one of the best ones I’ve had in London in terms of pastry quality. The only criticism from my end is not having enough chocolate inside! The Pain au Chocolat is pretty big in size but there’s proportionately more plain pastry than pastry laced with the chocolate.

Mocha, Latte

Arome Bakery also serves a good selection of coffees on their menu, using artisan coffee from Allpress Espresso. We tried out a latte and mocha, both coffees coming with a strong and intense taste. If you enjoy strong coffees as I do, you’d love it. Great quality and flavour, with a smooth and velvety texture – it just hits the spot so perfectly.

Food Review Summary

In summary, I couldn’t be more thrilled to see Arome Bakery back on the London food scene with a permanent shop! The fusion of East meets West flavours is an absolutely unique one and creates some pretty phenomenal pastries to savour. It also offers top-notch coffees, which is exactly what London needs more of. If you’re out and about in Covent Garden, I’d highly recommend making a little pastry stop there. And well, you might catch me lurking around waiting for that Laksa bun to make a reappearance on their shelves too!

Looking for more London coffee shops? Check these out too:

Arome Bakery
  • Food
  • Atmosphere
  • Service
  • Value
4

Halal Status

Arome Bakery does not offer halal meats. Vegetarian options are available. 


Website: http://aromebakery.co.uk/
Instagram: aromebakerylondon

Nearest station: Covent Garden



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