Aki Boulangerie — Restaurant in Paris

My girlfriend took me on a tour through the japanese district in Paris.

Nothing could have prepared me for Aki. This is my absolute favourite place in Paris. The first time i went in thinking i would just get a mochi and a melon pan. I ended up ordering 5 things because IT WAS SO GOOD. We had plans for lunch that day. I ended up filling up my bag instead cause i wanted to try out everything! The next day i came back because i couldnt stop thinking about their matcha crepes or the mochi's i hadn't tried yet. Again i filled up a whole backpack of food. The whole day i ate delicious savory and sweet treats.

Do yourself a favor. Eat ANYTHING here. The mochi's are like little clouds of flavor that melt in your mouth.

The melon pan with strawberries and yuzu creams looks like it fell out of an anime and on to my plate. And tastes just like my dreams.

The sausage roll is the perfect combination of crunch, flavour, artistic wrapping and delicious sausage at the center.

Everytime i am in Paris now, i must visit Aki. Have a cup of yuzu tea, have something sweet and savory for breakfast. And then fill my backpack to the brim so i can have the biggest smile on my face everytime i open my bag and take a bite out of something new...

The place was loud, chaotic, and packed with tourists, which made me a bit nervous — but the quality of some of their baked goods really stood out.

Their specialty anpan (a bun filled with red bean paste) was excellent — not too sweet, and really well made. I liked it so much I went back for another, even though it was shockingly expensive for such a small item. Same goes for another item I tried: something that was somewhere between bread and mochi, filled with sweet black sesame paste. It was unique and enjoyable, but again, very expensive for what it was. They didn’t have any explicitly lactose-free desserts, but I took a chance on items that seemed low-dairy (like the anpan). Just something be aware of if you’re avoiding milk.

Their vegan matcha latte on the other hand was not great – it was lacking flavor. You can get a much richer one just down the road at “Matcha Social Club”.

I also tried their unagi onigiri, which was tasty but very small and not worth the high price. It’s handy if you’re on the go, but I’d avoid keeping it for more than 12 hours (even if you store it in the fridge).

Also, a side note: they sometimes put a flower on top of the anpan for an extra €1, clearly aimed...

I recently visited this bakery, and while most of the experience was pleasant, I had an issue with one particular employee (a blond guy with black glasses, likely in his mid-twenties). Both my friend and I had expressed multiple times that we didn’t speak French, yet this employee continued to speak French to us—at one point even speeding up as if to make it harder for us to understand. We were polite, and even responded in French initially to explain our language barrier, but he seemed intent on ignoring this and kept speaking quickly, which came across as dismissive and disrespectful.

While I appreciate that we’re in a bilingual setting and don’t expect everyone to speak English, it felt unnecessary and frustrating for him to continue in French after knowing we didn’t understand. It’s disappointing, especially since the bakery itself is lovely and the other staff were friendly and...