Librae Bakery Review

Ray Varghese Madathil

Sandwiched between the busy streets of New York City’s East Village sits Librae Bakery, a “third culture” establishment that marries its Middle Eastern roots with Danish pastry techniques. Claiming to be the “first-ever Bahraini-inspired bakery” in NYC, Librae serves viral sensations like the Pistachio Rose Croissant (pictured below) as well as other unconventional baked goods like their Jerusalem bagel, sticky toffee-and-date oat cookie, or fig fennel scone. Like most hyped New York City establishments, expect a queue—though during my visit, it was certainly one of the more bearable waits, speaking to the efficiency with which they churn out pastries to meet the popular demand. Despite visiting later in the day (an amateur move, as any dedicated pastry enthusiast would tell you), I was still able to secure the famed Pistachio Rose Croissant, much to my delight. I also sampled the tahini chocolate chip cookie: an umami, nutty, and slightly savory twist on an American staple.

Librae Bakery has an open, bright design, featuring both outdoor and indoor seating. The interior has a modern, industrial-style, semi-visible interior kitchen and marble countertops, balanced with the natural light coming through the large glass windows and wood paneling. Librae has won praise from a number of high-profile NYC names, including Michelin-starred Chef Vikas Khanna, whose restaurant Bungalow earned a rare 3-star review from the New York Times.

The Pistachio Rose Croissant lived up to the hype: its flaky, buttery, perfectly browned exterior hid an intricate honeycomb structure on the inside. If you are a pistachio-lover, you certainly won’t feel shortchanged; pistachio was integrated in two forms, with a decadent, savory, nut-butter-esque pistachio filling as well as a delicately crafted crunchy pistachio topping complete with chunks of pistachio. Either pistachio aspect alone would have been underwhelming, but both together provided the perfectly indulgent bite, with the filling bringing the richness and the streusel-like topping adding sweetness. With its flaky layers of delicate croissant, unctuous pistachio filling, and crunchy upper-pistachio ridge, this croissant is a masterclass in textural contrast as well as taste. While the pistachio certainly foregrounds the treat, a discerning palate might notice the rose. Small petals of rose nestled within the topping provide the croissant with its iconic aesthetic, but a rose syrup glaze layered on top does the real heavy-lifting flavor-wise, providing the perfect balance to the savory richness of the pistachio. The rose water, purported to be infused into the croissant’s interior pistachio filling, is even more subtle— I didn’t even notice it.

I also tried Librae’s tahini chocolate chip cookie; as a big proponent of integrating a savory touch into otherwise sweet desserts, like flaky sea salt on a cookie, I really wanted to love this cookie. The tahini was delicious and introduced a nutty, peanut-butter-esque savory flavor within the cookie’s gooey center. Unfortunately, however, the balance of fats in the cookie seemed seriously wrong, resulting in an overly greasy cookie: an almost emulsified puddle, which couldn’t even be picked up without falling apart. For a bakery cookie that costs six dollars, one would hope that the bakery’s quality control would be slightly better.

Overall, is Librae worth the hype? For $9.50 per croissant, Librae certainly does not serve cheap treats, but the queues move fast, and it always has some interesting pastries featuring specialty Middle Eastern ingredients, and their “third-culture” influence sets them apart. Worth the visit, in my opinion.