By Abigael T. Sidi
I’d love for long-time Upper West Siders to chime in: In your view, has Epices Bakery proven itself a worthy successor to your beloved Soutine? I was 4 when Soutine closed in 2012, after three decades operating in the same spot on West 70th (off Columbus), but I’ve always heard great things about it.
In researching this piece, I also learned that legendary Soutine owner Madge Rosenberg had sold her recipes to the owners of Epices Bakery, Tunisia natives Ali and Biba Naouai, in hopes of ensuring some continuity. (The Naouais first opened Pain d’Epices when they took over for Rosenberg and, after a two-year hiatus in 2019 and 2020, opened Epices Bakery in 2021.)
Back in 2013, Naouai had even promised Rag readers that “we’re going to do almost the same thing [as Soutine], but cut out some of the sugar.” While I can’t compare it to its famed predecessor, I’m here to tell you that Epices Bakery does a lovely job at every level, whether with their croissants, patisseries or harissa (yes, the Maghrebi hot sauce, you read that right.)
Epices Bakery first came to my attention when loyal reader (and arguably my fiercest critic in the column’s comments section), the (in)famous Jay, recommended it in response to my piece on Wave Hill’s sourdough miche. Given the high praise I had given the miche and Jay’s unattainable standards for everything food, I took his suggestion seriously.
Agonizing over what to choose, I asked Epices Bakery clerk Siri Edafemuoke for advice. “Our specialties are croissants – plain, chocolate, almond – and our baguettes; people love-love-love our baguettes,” she said. “But my personal favorite is the chocolate mousse cake.” She added that I couldn’t go wrong, because “Ali [Naouai] has a passion for ingredients of the highest quality, such as the freshest fruits for our pastries, to deliver the best possible products to our customers. We have our bakers that come every morning and make everything fresh. And we always have gluten-free options as well.”
With that info in hand, I proceeded to order a baguette, a plain croissant, the chocolate mousse cake, two fruit-based pastries (the lemon meringue and caramelized apple tart), and added one of the gluten-free options of the day (the Opéra). Lastly, for good measure, I also got a gigantic, almond covered sphere of goodness called “Délice.” My dad, who was tagging along that day, had been drooling at a jar of home-made harissa, which was sitting in the counter next to the pastries. “We’ll have that as well!” he said, whispering in my ear that “whether your [Moroccan] mom likes it or not, Tunisians make the best of the best.”
Back home for tasting, I first focused on the pastries. The gluten-free Opéra definitely held its own, with a rich chocolate ganache and lightly rum-infused sponge cake layers reminiscent of a Magnolia-type, solid American cake. Edafemuoke’s favorite, the chocolate mousse, was indeed sensational: rich and decadent but not too sweet, a tell of the quality of the chocolate. The Délice was just ridiculous, probably meant for six people, combining meringue, sweet butter cream, and chocolate ganache, and covered with toasted almonds – an over-the-top, crunchy/crispy/decadent creation.
Where I felt Epices Bakery’s pastries shone most, though, were the fruit-based creations I had selected. The lemon meringue tart was excellent– especially its buttery short crust and tart lemon cream – while the caramelized apple tart felt like a quintessential, full-of-love, homemade cake, with jammy apples and hints of burnt caramel all melting in my mouth at once.
But I wasn’t done yet, setting my sights on the croissant. And let me tell you, this is a real-deal croissant. The kind where just bringing it to your mouth immerses you in a world of butter. The kind where the flakiness, crispiness and lightness all hit at once: an unmistakably great croissant. It completely overshadowed the baguette, which I felt was good (with a nice saltiness to its crust) but not on the same level.
Lastly, the harissa – how can you judge a bakery if you don’t try its harissa? The Naouais’ version of the condiment is not of the paste type, but rather, it has a loose-puree consistency to it, perfect for slathering on anything you like (merguez, lamb, avocado toast, you name it.) It has an enchanting, smoked paprika-like flavor and potent but not overwhelming heat. “Told you,” my dad said. “Maybe they have the recipe in their book” [Speaking Tunisian: A Love Story with Recipes, by Biba Naouai, which is sold at the bakery as well as in bookstores].
Epices Bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is closed on Mondays. Follow them on Instagram for daily specials and seasonal and savory offerings, such as their viral plum tart and highly advertised quiches. Call them (646-692-3226) for pickup.
The Dish: Pastries ($7-11), croissant ($4.50), and harissa ($8).
The Restaurant: Epices Bakery, 104 West 70th Street (between Broadway and Columbus Avenue)
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The Baguette? I am nuts for a great baguette–with cultured butter and French ham. Balthazar is a good one. How does the Epices baguette stack up? I’ve tried every croissant on the UWS and Epices is tops. But it requires a trip there every day. Question: must a croissant be eaten as soon as possible? is there a way to buy several and crisp them up a day to two later? or is that heresy?
It would not qualify as a true French baguette. However, it’s an excellent loaf of bread; they don’t make the mistake of substituting cheap flour.
Croissants freeze nicely in a ziploc bag. Bring to room temp or microwave on low for a few seconds to defrost. Then crisp at low temp in the oven or for a minute in the toaster-oven.
Thank you Abigael!
We are big fans of Epices especially the baguettes and vanilla sable cookies.
Any chance Epices will re-introduce the yummy Soutine cheese bread?
I agree their croissants are fantastic, including the almond, but I never cared much for their baguette (CItarella-type) or pastries. Although I haven’t tried their fruit pies yet. Interesting that the sell this home-made harissa. Do they have other Tunisian items/spices?
I desperately want to love their croissants but they are too flaky for me (it crumbles in my hand into a thousand pieces each time I break a piece off). I will still remain loyal as it’s so charming and sweet, and we have few independently owned bakeries in the area, but how I wish it were a bit less crumbs!
We are very lucky to have a French Bakery on the UWS, and I am happy that we have Epices. The flavors are very good, but the overall look of the pastries and some other items is lacking in finesse. I certainly enjoy the sable cookies very much, but find that they may be inconsistent from one purchase to another, especially with respect to breakage. At roughly a $1 per cookie, I feel they should be whole and intact. Often times, up to four out of five cookies will be broken in the bag. Because of the foregoing, I shop there less, and bake more.
Overall, pretty good for a standalone non-chain pastry shop. I am grateful for their coffee eclairs, as they are rarely found in the United States. Maison Keyser had them, but, alas, they closed during COVID and were replaced by Pain Quotidien (owned by the same company that owns Maison Keyser). I wish the company had closed Pain Quotidien and opened Maison Keyser which was far superior. But I do miss Soutine’s cheese Danish, which was light and fluffy in contrast to the heavy ordinary ones elsewhere. The ginger cake squares are almost the same as Soutine’s, which were a bit lighter too.
Some time after Soutine closed, one of the workers at Soutine had opened up her own little shop on Amsterdam around 108th, with apparently Soutine’s recipes, but it didn’t last long. I believe it was called One Cup Two Cup Cakes.
Obviously it’s a crummy joint where everything costs a lot of bread.
Finally…A piece on THE BEST bakery-
EPICES!! Their 🥐. are famous
in my family. From Maine to California-with a stop in Exeter, NH and Chicago-Everyone ❤️❤️❤️’s them!
Don’t care much for pastries but that harissa certainly looks the part! Great find right there, I’m so tired of hyper-conditioned sauces and pastes they sell in grocery stores, including “made-in -brooklyn” ones
I believe that Ms Rosenberg announced she was closing Soutine in 2012, but in fact did not close it for nearly a year, while she trained the new owner’s bakery staff. So, it closed in 2013, not 2012. Perhaps the formal sale completed in 2012.
Anyhow the new owners then ruined the pastries, then it was a gluten free bakery operating under a name I’ve forgotten; business did not seem strong.
Are you the Jay the author is referring to? Tough customer indeed!!
Yes.
I stroll down Columbus and grab a baguette and croissants from Epices at least once a week. It is a certain style of baguette (a little rounder than the crispier-crust style Maison Keyser used to sell), but I’m a huge fan. Never tried the harissa, that looks delicious.
Oh and those berry tarts are to die for. Literally, like you eat too many and your heart will clog. One of my favorite special treats.
Yes, the fruit tarts alone are worth the trip (okay, I live within 5 blocks) and they’re not as good as Soutine’s.
This is the best bakery on the UWS, just the smell walking in is worth it. And the staff are wonderful and kind. My favorite are the quiches, berry tarts, and all the croissants. The apple open face pastry is to be in Paris!
The quiches are to die for
Hmmmm……. I thought you wanted a new name for Absolute Bagels, yes??? Well, I tried just putting my word in and I got a notice my comment was too short. So then stuck the name in a sentence. Still too short. So here I am blabbering along to fill up space. My name suggestion is:
BAGELICIOUS!
Where would we be without Jay?
Celebrating white meat turkey?
No bakery can match the perfection of Eclair, whose grand Opera Torte was colossal, and available as a whole or by the slice, “mit schlag.” I wish the heirs would publish a cookbook. Grossinger’s had the best cinnamon rolls, which had two kinds of dough. Others were good for challah. Cakemaster had wonderful individual “coffee rings,” and PartyCake had an inexpensive English tea cake that was wonderful. Nothing compares with those glories.
But Eclair closed 30 years ago, and nothing replaced. Whereas as with a “gluten free” break + a ruin the pastries interlude, Espices replaced Soutine.