Desserts by Clement was recommended by two "FOYs" (John Dowd and Stephanie) in the comments on my post on Patisserie Melanie. Seeing that the Missus has been wanting all these newfangled croissants since we visited Le Deli Robuchon in London trying the Instagram "superstar" cube croissant, which btw was a disappointment. Still, the Missus has been wanting to try these new spiral croissants. So, I decided to head into PB early on a Sunday morning, the patisserie opens at 8 and I figured I could then hit up TJ's on the way back home.
Being a Sunday; it seems that PB wakes up a bit later on that day of the week, plus the rain we had earlier in the morning, the streets were empty. Check out what Garnet looked like!
I parked on Garnet and walked on over to Desserts by Clement. The nice young lady had just unlocked the door.
The shop was clean and bright; the two young ladies were super friendly as well.
I got one croissant and asked the young ladies for something not overly sweet; they recommended the Pistachio Rolled Croissants and also said the Swiss (Pain Suisse) was very popular.
So, I got all three….man, three pastries, over $21….who'd have thought?
I got home and the Missus was anxiously waiting and immediately went for the Spiral Croissant, which looked quite Instagram ready.
The Missus loved this! And made me have a taste. While more bready than the flakey-crisp of a regular croissant; the exterior was nicely lacquered with a bit of a crunch, the inner layers not overly doughy. The pistachio filling was on the lighter side; with a mild nuttiness and not overly sweet. This was pretty good!
The Swiss was a bit too sweet for the Missus, so I passed.
As for the Croissant?
Well, this was pretty good. I prefer my croissant aux buerre a bit more crisp, but this was not bad. It was light , fairly fluffy, and not overly doughy with a nice, balanced butteriness, and a mild hint of salt. While not in the same league as our favorite in Paris, La Maison d’Isabelle, this was easily the equal of Ernest & Valentin.
I was happy with my croissant as was the Missus. Man, I need to head on back to Wayfarer and can't wait until Izola opens at their new location.
You can read about Soo's visit here.
Desserts by Clement
1380 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Tues – Sun 8am – 6pm
Closed on Monday
Thanks again for the recommendation John and Stephanie!