Masa Madre — Restaurant in New York

Absolutely LOVEEEE this place! Alberto is often the person running front of house and is so sweet! He speaks Spanish and English.

The pastries are DELICIOUS! My favorite has been the guava and vanilla cheese croissant. It’s perfectly crunchy, flakey, sweet, and slightly tart. I’m usually not a big fan of pastries but Masa Madre has such a good variety. The maple donuts are also great as well as the dulche de leche buttercake.

Also must say I always go to grab a loaf of bread, whether seeded, regular sourdough, or their walnut cranberry. The loaves sell out really quickly so grab them as early in the day as you can! They bake them fresh every day. You can also request to have the loaf sliced. I always see more local Spanish-speakers than non-Spanish speakers, so that signals to me that the locals in the area REALLY love this place 🥰 I’ve been trying to use some of my middle-school Spanish to practice.

Their conchas are also a delight! They remind me so much of Japanese melon pan and Taiwanese pineapple bun. Seems like they’re all related pastries.

It’s not super obvious, but they also sell Mexican hot chocolate and tamales. Love the hot chocolate, haven’t tried the tamales yet. Sometimes they make seasonal pastries and champurrado.

Some nice Easter eggs are the croissant door handle on the front door and the Mexican whisk...

Mexican American from California here

Tamales review: the flavors are there however the texture of the masa needs improvement. It is way too soft and watery and because of this you end up with a soggy tamal. I realize that it’s common in New York to use masa de polvo and prepare it. Not sure if that’s the case here but I am used to west coast masa where you purchase at a tortillería and the masa has flavor, color, and texture.

Baked goods: the birote/bolillo is too dense/hard/chewy but the flavor is there and the texture is good. They’re not too airy. The concha is definitely worth it. They don’t add too much of the candy topping but the fluffiness and softness of the concha is fulfilling. Cinnamon roll, too dry and not enough sugar. However, the walnuts and raisins are a nice touch and if you dip it in hot chocolate you should be set.

Overall, I do see myself coming back for conchas only. I loved the tamales because they are flavorful (salt, spice, and protein portion- they also use the right type of cheese for the tamales de rajas) BUT again the masa texture is a let down.

Great service! Friendly, welcoming, informative, patient, and speak clearly.

I cannot complain about my total. I’m always willing to pay more at small businesses than at large...

i loved all the bakes on my first visit. the cranberry walnut sourdough was absolutely delightful. conchas were one of the softest we had. mexican chocolate croissant could have more chocolate to it, but super flaky. (03/01)

on my next visit (03/06), i got the same loaf, some doughnuts, cheese danish and dulce de leche buttercake. the doughnuts was super duper good, especially the chocolate one. cheese danish - i expected it to be sweeter, but it was leaning towards the saltier side. the dulce de leche buttercake, i’m abit confused with this. i believe it is supposed to be soft, light and fluffy but this was almost like a biscuit, tho the dulce filling was delicious, it should be filled more. because of how crumbly, scone-like this buttercake was, at the end, you’d only be coated with taste of the buttercake, not the divine dulce de leche. and unfortunately, the loaf is not as great as the first time. it was way denser, flatter, and slightly drier. (you could see the difference in the photos) i was pretty disappointed with this round’s purchase.

i hope whoever baked the loaves the first round consistently does it, cause it is perfect!

i will still comeback and try the bakes you offer, just letting you know my experience during my visit....