Cocorico — Restaurant in Boston

FEB. 2024 (UPDATE) I did it! I secured a cruffin! A strawberry one to be exact. I was quite surprised that I succeeded, considering I went at noon again, but I was able to get the last one of the day.

The strawberry cruffin was $7 and tasted exactly as the name says--it was flaky on the outside like a croissant and dense on the inside like a muffin. There was plenty of filling, which tasted like strawberry cream cheese (but a good balance of strawberry to cheese flavor). The outside was dusted in sugar, but it was not overwhelmingly sweet. Unfortunately, the cruffin was not fresh because it was later in the day, so the texture was more like a day-old croissant, and the inside wasn't as soft as it could have been. However, I still thought it was good, so I can imagine it would be REALLY good fresh out of the oven (as most things are).

Overall, I can see why this sells out everyday. I still think the pastries are a bit too expensive, though that is most likely by nature of it being a hotel bakery (in Seaport, to add).

FEB. 2024 This place was not originally on my itinerary for the day, but today was one of the rare days I made my way to Seaport, and Cocorico happened to be only ten minutes away. Unfortunately, because I went later in the day (close to noon), I missed out on the famed cruffins (the person who took my order was kind enough to check with the bakers to see if they had any extras but nada). I ended up getting a ham and gruyere croissant and deux au chocolat cookie instead. Ham and gruyere croissant ($8.50): The crusted cheese on the top of the croissant added a tasty saltiness. The croissant was flaky but not fluffy (quite deflated actually). The inside had two slices of ham (or maybe one large slice folded?) and a little bit of cheese. I was craving something savory, so this hit the spot, but it wasn't anything worth raving about. Deux au chocolat cookie ($5.00): This thin cookie packed a lot of chocolatey goodness. The edges were crunchy, but the rest of the cookie was very soft. The chocolate was pretty sweet so had I gotten a second sweet pastry, I would have been overloaded on sugar. I liked the bits of salt added on top, as they helped to balance out the sweetness a tad.

Overall, I enjoyed the two things I ordered, but they were not good enough to justify the prices (I've been to a lot of bakeries in the past few months, and I think this was the most expensive cookie that I've had). However, I really want to try the cruffin, so I'll be...

I wanted to love this place but my experience was extremely disappointing. I tried the cubano coffee and two pastries: the pain au chocolat and the raspberry and pistachio croissant. The coffee was not good, the pastries were okay but they look better than they taste. The raspberry and pistachio croissant did not taste like raspberries or pistachios at all, it tasted like bitter almonds. This should be specified, it contains almonds and/or almond extracts and this flavoring overpowers everything else. Service is not what you generally find in cafes or hospitality businesses. The staff serves you without a smile and takes your payment but does not bother to clean any tables (which get quite messy since there are no trays, no plates, no glasses just single use cups, dirty napkins and crumbs/flakes/smears all over) people had to clear away cups and wipe tables with napkins themselves. This is not a high-end hotel bakery experience: it’s just a counter in a dark corner of the hotel with a bunch of uncomfortable chairs and tables by the hotel escalator. Next time I pay this kind of money for breakfast I’ll go to a place with better coffee and food, service, environment and overall a better experience. Cocorico was...

Omni hotel cafe with great pastry options.

Recently took a visit before attending a nearby convention. Due to the event, there was a considerable wait of about 15-20 minutes, even early on a Sunday morning. Despite being a hotel bakery, all the pastries on display looked enticing. I decided to try a few of their most popular offerings, along with their signature breakfast sandwich, the Cocorico Sandwich. The pastries here were denser and slightly heavier on sugar than the ones from local bakeries, but it provided an energizing boost in the morning. My top picks were their signature Strawberry Cruffin, Cinnamon Roll, and the moist Blueberry Muffin. The Cocorico sandwich was deceptively simple, yet it stood out from the typical ham, egg, and cheese sandwich thanks to its exceptionally thick and pillowy fried egg.

Apart from local bakery chains like Tatte, there aren’t a lot of modern bakery options in Seaport, so if you’re in the area looking for something different, I recommend...