NYC: Best Cinnamon Rolls
For whatever reason, good cinnamon rolls are hard to come by in New York City. I’ve searched near and far, and here are the best buns I’ve come across, including one from Upstate, NY and one from Hoboken, NJ.
Red Gate Bakery (68 E 1st St.)
Red Gate Bakery is an American-style bakery in the East Village serving classic pastries with a twist. Every Friday and Saturday, they offer a limited quantity of freshly baked buns. Some weeks, they whip up their classic Brown Butter Cinnamon Bun flavor (pictured above), and other weeks they get creative with combos like “Triple Corn Cake Buns” and “Lemon Brûléeberry Buns.” They announce the flavors on their instagram page.
Bakeri (105 Freeman St.)
Bakeri is a small bakery with locations in Greenpoint and Williamsburg churning out scratch-made muffins, cookies, pies, cinnamon rolls, and more. Their cinnamon rolls are dense and gooey with a delicious, thick layer of frosting. They are available daily, and sell out quickly, so I recommend stopping by early for your best odds at snagging one.
Barachou (15 8th Ave or 449 Amsterdam Ave)
Barachou is a French pastry shop with locations on the Upper West Side and in the West Village that’s best known for their cream puffs. I was surprised and delighted to discover that they also have a stellar cinnamon roll that’s doughy and gooey, and topped with a thin vanilla glaze.
As You Are (252 Schermerhorn St.)
The Ace Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn’s restaurant “As You Are” has a warm, fluffy Cinnamon Bun on their daily bakery menu. It’s soft and bready, but could have a stronger cinnamon presence. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and if you are dining here for breakfast or brunch, I recommend ordering one to share with the table.
The Noortwyck (289 Bleecker St.)
The Noortwyck is an American restaurant in the West Village by Chef Andy Quinn and Sommelier Cedric Nicaise who met at Eleven Madison Park. Their weekend brunch menu features a variety of freshly baked pastries, including a generously frosted, warm, and buttery Cinnamon Roll.
WINNER (367 7th Avenue)
WINNER has a few different locations surrounding Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and each serves their scratch-made cinnamon rolls daily beginning at 7:30am. These are on the denser and breadier side, with a generous amount of robust cream cheese frosting.
Ciao Gloria (550 Vanderbilt Ave)
Ciao Gloria is a cafe and bakery in Prospect Heights serving breakfast and lunch daily. They have a thick, fluffy cinnamon roll topped with a generous amount of frosting. They’re available daily, and sell out quickly, especially on the weekends, so I recommend coming early to guarantee availability.
KYU (324 Lafayette St)
KYU is an Asian-inspired restaurant in Noho best known for their smoked and wood fired menu items. They offer a special weekend brunch menu that features a black sugar Cinnamon Roll with chai frosting. The rolls are made from scratch in-house and are served warm, They’re super gooey and indulgent, and are a must order item if you’re here for brunch.
See my full review here.
Baked (359 Van Brunt St.)
Baked is a small batch bakery in Red Hook that offers a dense, bready cinnamon roll topped with a thick layer of vanilla icing. I appreciated how the sugar got crunchy and caramelized towards the bottom of the roll. Overall, this one leans towards the drier side, but it’s a great pastry to enjoy with your morning coffee.
American Bar (33 Greenwich Ave)
American Bar is a sceney restaurant in the West Village serving elevated classic American foods. They offer a weekend brunch menu that features these croissant-like Warm Cinnamon Rolls that come with a side of cream cheese frosting so you can lather on as much or as little as you desire.
Petit Chou (229 1st Ave)
Petit Chou is a tiny, small-batch bakery in the East Village serving a variety of cookies, pastries, cinnamon rolls, and more. Their cinnamon roll is light and fluffy, with a conservative amount of cinnamon sugar filling, and is topped with a vanilla frosting. While I wish this had been a bit gooier, I enjoyed the flavors and it’s a solid option if you find yourself in the area craving a cinnamon roll. They also sometimes do special flavors like an “Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll.”
Ceremonia Bakeshop (743 Driggs Ave)
Ceremonia Bakeshop is home to a wide-array of homemade pastries and breakfast sandwiches, and one of my favorite items to grab here is there Cinnamon Roll. It’s on the denser and drier side, and is topped with a light layer of glaze rather than frosting, but it’s a great pastry to enjoy with your morning coffee. I recommend heating it up before digging in.
Pies ‘n’ Thighs (166 S 4th St)
Pies ‘n’ Thighs is home to a fluffy, generously frosted cinnamon roll that is sure to catch your eye the second you step into the shop. It’s made from donut dough, and has a light, airy texture that pairs well with the thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
Librae Bakery (35 Cooper Square)
Now technically this isn’t a “cinnamon roll” but I feel compelled to include Librae’s seasonal sticky buns on this list. The bun pictured above is White Chocolate Ginger, and other flavors that have rotated through their menu include Pumpkin (with pumpkin puree filling, graham cracker crust, and a torched marshmallow topping), Mango Saffron (with mango compote and curd, saffron syrup, and vanilla bean frosting), and Coffee (with whipped cardamom icing and candied espresso beans). If you are hoping to try one, I’d plan to get to the bakery early, as they sell out quickly.
Kingston Bread + Bar (43 N Front St)
Kingston Bread + Bar is an all-day bakery with a food and drink menu in Upstate New York. Their cinnamon roll is super dense with a thick, gooey layer of brown sugar and cinnamon filling. It’s appropriately frosted with a vanilla icing that pairs well with the bun underneath. This was the most memorable cinnamon roll I’d had, until I tried the one from The Hive (featured below).
Their cinnamon rolls are not available daily, so call to confirm availability before going out of your way to get one.
The Hive (1000 Park Ave)
The Hive is a coffeeshop in Hoboken, New Jersey, just outside of New York City, that serves freshly baked, scratch-made cinnamon rolls on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. These are miraculously gooey without being underbaked, and have the perfect ratio of dough to filling to frosting. They typically sell out within the hour, and lines begin around 7:30am, so plan accordingly.
See my full review here.