When Dominique Ansel opened his London bakery in 2016, hundreds of people were said to have queued up outside waiting to get their hands on the famous Cronut. This croissant/doughnut hybrid was invented by Chef Dominique and until then was only available in his New York and LA establishments. But his creations are so unique and striking that they went viral on social media, tormenting the rest of the world with their sugary gorgeousness. So no wonder we Londoners went crazy for them when they finally arrived in Belgravia!
You may think it’s all a bit of a hype and more about creating great Instagram photos, much like their neighbour Peggy Porschen, than creating great flavours. We have to admit we felt the same, but when we found out they were dog friendly we thought it was about time we gave them a try. We just hoped that queue had gone by now!
Enter through the flowery doorway, which is changed seasonally and you will find yourself in a spacious cafe with plenty of natural light. There is also a covered garden at the rear with a glass roof and more flowers. The decor is minimal with clean lines and pastel colours and understated artwork. The cakes and pastries on display are very much the main attraction.
“Dominique’s vision for his London bakery was to bring a sense of wit, humour and old-school charm to pastry and afternoon tea.”
The famous Cronut isn’t much to look at but it’s definitely worth a try - though you may want to share one or risk a sugar coma. The combination of flaky croissant and sticky doughnut does result in a deliciously decadent dessert that everyone with a sweet tooth should try at least once in their life. The tarts and meringues are like works of art and we almost felt bad about destroying them but once the photos were taken, destroy them we did and
The cafe does also offer some savoury dishes for brunch and lunch along with hot and cold drinks. We think the hype has definitely died down, and we recommend you give it a try, though Dominique Ansel still remains a firm favourite with tourists and Instagrammers so pick your times carefully. We went an hour before closing and they still had plenty of cakes on offer so no need to panic and queue up hours before they open!
Here’s what Archie and Freddie have to say about Dominique Ansel:
We are not allowed to eat sweet things so we weren’t quite sure why we were taken to this place but when we saw how happy it made the humans we were obviously happy to be there to share the joy. This bakery proves to others like it that we doggies aren’t dirty and can be trusted in nice, clean places. The staff at Dominique Ansel were even happy for us to sit on the seats so we could get those all important photos to share with our friends.
We weren’t offered water and couldn’t see a bowl around so maybe take your own and being boys we had to be told not to pee on the flowers on the way out! We recommend you take your humans to Dominique Ansel just to see the smile while they eat all that sugar, after all they deserve treats as much as we do!
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