Lakon Paris Patisserie — Restaurant in Brookline

I feel like most places either have good food or good-LOOKING food; the rare few have both. Lakon definitely excels at presentation, but after coming here several times, I still don't think the quality justifies the price.

JUL. 2023 Chocolate Cube, Strawberry, and Matcha Croissants: Not fresh and quite hard. I went in the afternoon and understand that pastries will be best straight out of the oven, but the texture could have been overlooked had the fillings/frostings been good. Unfortunately, those were disappointing as well. Neither the strawberry nor the matcha packed much of a punch. I liked the chocolate balls on the chocolate cube croissant, though. Passionfruit Macaron: Strong passionfruit flavor but too sweet.

FEB. 2024 Hot Chocolate Ring Croissant ($9.50): Cute concept but not original. It came in a perfectly sized holder, but I highly recommend bringing a bowl like I did to eat the croissant once you are done drinking (big brain moves over here). The straw that it comes with is impractically short. I started drinking within 2-3 minutes of ordering, but the croissant had soaked up a lot of the hot chocolate by that point. However, this resulted in the croissant tasting like hot chocolate, so all is not lost. The croissant was fresh, so it tasted much better this time. Very flaky and moist from the hot chocolate, which also was not too sweet. Overall, it was a fun experience but not something I would get again. Crème Brûlée Croissant ($9.25): This was a weekend special. The presentation of the caramel glaze was pretty; it reminded me of a beehive. The caramel had a nice, sticky crunch, and the inside had plenty of smooth, sweet custard. I recommend lightly heating up the croissant so that the custard has a slight liquid-y ooze, as it tasted that much better. This croissant was also flaky on the outside and fluffy on the inside. However, it is not something I would get again because it was VERY sweet (yes, I could tell just by looking at it, but the idea of a crème brûlée croissant sounded too good to pass up, and there's something about marketing a thing as "special" that tickles my consumerism).

MAR. 2024 Chocolate Flat Croissant ($7.50): Once again, Lakon is hopping on the viral train, but I'm a sucker for novelty items. This tasted exactly how you would imagine: a dry, burnt croissant. 2/5 for taste, but it did get oddly addicting to crunch on. Milk Cream Peach Cube Croissant ($9.50): Not as flaky or buttery as it could have been, but the peach was fresh, and the filling was good.

Unless you go RIGHT at opening, expect there to be a line on weekends. The wait isn't too bad, but popular items will sell out. You can pre-order weekend specials via...

We decided to visit Làkon Paris Pâtisserie after spending some time a few doors down at the pottery place. It’s a small, quaint little Pâtisserie located in Brookline.

It was my birthday and I figured I’d grab a treat here instead of the usual cake. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing.

The Pâtisserie had a small, but solid variety of baked goods, desserts, and pastries. The croissants looked incredible and I will certainly be coming back to try one!

The tiramisu is also another favorite I’ll have to try! But today, I decided to grab the last two Eclairs. The Eclairs are adorned with chocolate nibbles/flakes and edible gold! They also come served on a convenient little “tray”, which is very unique. I haven’t seen that before anywhere. Presentation of all pastries and desserts was on-point.

The eclairs looked pretty tasty, but we were floored when we bit into them. The filling is typically vanilla or cream inside of eclairs. Their take on the eclair uses a very, very rich chocolate filling.

To be honest, it was so sweet it wasn’t edible. These were $8+ a piece and it was my birthday. They should inform customers if they choose to go against the norm. They should’ve just clarified that they are CHOCOLATE-filled eclairs.

As I said, they have a small selection of baked goods, pastries, and desserts. Honestly, I was surprised by how small the selection was. They could certainly improve in that regard. It may have just been the time of day I visited too. I will update my review after another visit to the establishment.

If you are into coffee/espresso, they have you covered on that! I cannot comment on the taste or quality, as I am not a coffee person.

I will certainly be returning to give the tiramisu and the croissants a try! I do feel they could improve selection and be more forthcoming with customers. Let folks know it’s not a typical eclair. That way, they can pick something else if that isn’t their thing.

I am hopeful the next visit to this establishment will yield a better experience! Everyone deserves a second chance, I’m willing to go back and give it...

We walked into Lakon on a whim near closing time despite the sign on the door that clearly stated that they were sold out of croissants. Turns out we were in luck -- someone hadn't picked up their order so we were able to buy it. We felt very lucky and rushed home to try our haul. We spent close to $30 for three croissants, which, phew! That's a lot of cash for three pastries. Overall I wasn't really impressed, though.

The strawberry croissant was filled with strawberry jam and cream. It was quite sweet. The croissant itself was not very good -- a bit dry and not flaky and buttery. It tasted like a day old croissant, which it might have been. I'm not a fan of pistachio croissants in general so I can't speak to how the pistachio croissant was.

The milk cream cube was quite good. I liked the milk cream filling the most out of the three croissants. However, I was again not very impressed by the croissant.

I don't live in the area so probably wouldn't ever be able to join the long morning lines. And from what I've tried, I wouldn't be willing to wait. It seems like people who order a lot of croissants are able to pre-order and pick up without a wait, but at this price, I wouldn't do it with my own money. Perhaps the hype will die down someday and I can try some of their other offerings, hopefully in a...