The Croissant Files - Desserts by Clement

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!

Comments

[Laurie]

Golly, $21 for 3 croissants sounds crazy! I know you probably won't do Costco croissants but I think they may be $5.99 for a whole box? I like special food but can't go crazy on those prices.
I found a yummy new jar of olives at Costplus World Market the other day. They are Divina Smoked Kalamata Olives from Greece. I forget the price but probably less than one of your croissants :)
Thanks again for all of your food & travel posts!

[kat]

sounds delicious

[Soo]

That's cool you enjoyed the croissant. Their drinks are good too.
https://www.hungryones.com/2024/01/desserts-by-clement/

[Kirk]

The regular croissant aux buerre is $5 here Laurie. The prices here would make a Frenchman cringe. Divina makes some really good blue cheese stuffed olives that the Missus loves with Her apertif, so maybe you'd like to try those! It's great to hear from you, hope all is well.

The Missus's favorite version of spiral croissant so far Kat!

Seems like you enjoyed it too Soo! I went and created a link.

[Sandy]

I didn't remember Desserts by Clement as I drove to La Clochette for croissants last week. At La Clochette, there was no line for take-out, and I think the butter croissant was $5.99. I'm not a croissant expert, but it was a bit on the salty side to me. I reheated one croissant a day later, and it was nice and flaky. Next time, maybe I'll get croissants from both places!

[Kirk]

It would be interesting to see how they compare Sandy. Been wanting to check out La Chichester du Coin for a while. But the last time I dropped in, they were sold out.

[Soo]

Thanks for the link Kirk! They have tasty but pricey croissants.

[John Dowd]

Thanks for the shout out Kirk. You and the Missus must have some serious discipline to not have tried their very pretty other treats.

[Kirk]

I think it helps that I went shopping solo and don't have much of a sweet tooth! ;o) Thanks again for the recommendation John!