Banner: Stella made a fortune teller that helped us pick which bakeries to check out! Photo credit: Craine, 2023.

During my time in Rabat so far, I've eaten a lot of pastries. I've enjoyed familiar favorites, like pain au chocolat and palmiers, and I've tried new treats, like flaky, sweet-savory pastilla and almondy crescent moon cookies. But nothing can quite match the elegant simplicity of the plain croissant.

This week, my friend Stella and I searched for the best croissant in Rabat's Agdal neighborhood. We tried croissants from four bakeries near Amideast: Amoud, Paul, Bert's, and La Fournée. Our ranking system has five categories: dough flavor, flakiness, inner moistness, color, and shape. We also noted the price. For each category, we rated the croissant on a scale of 1 to 5 and added up the points to produce an overall rating.

Amoud

Amoud is an upscale patisserie. When we were there, the bakery was completely overflowing with chabab looking for an after-school snack. They had all kinds of sweet and savory pastries, breads, and sandwiches. A side note: my host family got my birthday cake from here and it was incredible. Here is our rating of Amoud's plain croissant:

Dough Flavor: 3
The flavor of the dough was adequate. Average. About what you'd expect.
Flakiness: 2.5
This croissant was flaky bzaf. Far too flaky. The flake gave it a dry, crunchy taste, and there was too much air at either end of the pastry.
Inner Moistness: 2
Absolutely no gooey softness in the middle. Personally, that's what I look for in a croissant.
Color: 3
Slightly uneven. It was not golden-brown enough in some spots and was too brown on the bottom. Over-baking may have contributed to the dry texture.
Shape: 3
Slightly too flat for my liking.

Price: 6.00 MAD or ~0.60 USD

Overall Rating: 2.7/5

Paul

Paul is a fancy French bakery and restaurant. They have sweet pastries and breads, as well as all three meals served on a lovely patio. I'm dying to go back for a nice brunch. Paul seems to be well-known among the pastry connoisseurs of Rabat. He has a reputation.

Dough Flavor: 4
Great. A certain je ne sais quoi. Still felt like it was missing a slight flavor, but that's just because I'm picky.
Flakiness: 5
The perfect amount of buttery, melt-in-your-mouth flakes.
Inner Moistness: 5
This croissant had the soft middle I dream of. It was spongy and airy; the perfect contrast to its crisp outer shell.
Color: 5
Perfectly golden brown, even color. Slightly shiny on top in the best way.
Shape: 5
Excellent. You can tell it's been rolled to perfection. Immaculate definition of each crease. Puffy but not too fat.

Price: 6.00 MAD or ~0.60 USD

Overall Rating: 4.8/5

Bert's

Bert's is a cafe near Amideast. They have food, pastries, coffee, and juice. It's one of my favorite places to study. My favorite thing I've had is their jus de mangue.

Dough Flavor: 2.5
Exceedingly average.
Flakiness: 3
Too many flakes for my liking but not as flaky as Amoud's.
Inner Moistness: 2.5
Pretty dry, but not terrible. Would certainly have been better fresh out of the oven.
Color: 4
A nice hue, but not quite golden or shiny enough.
Shape: 4
Nice folds, good definition, but lacking some plumpness and joie de vivre.

Price: 8.00 MAD or ~0.80 USD (Overpriced for what it is. Classic Bert's.)

Overall Rating: 3.2/5

La Fournée

La Fournée is a cafe I walk by on my way to school every day. I've been intrigued by its ambiance and menu, so I thought I'd check it out. They had very tasty-looking pastries in their front window. I may need to return and try their tarte aux framboises.

Dough Flavor: 3.5
Not bad! Definitely had some depth and complexity.
Flakiness: 3.5
Not too flaky, though it was dry, the flakes were not the problem.
Inner Moistness: 2
I personally thought it was way too dry, but Stella didn't think it was terrible. I may just like a moister croissant than her, so we gave it an even two.
Color: 4
A nice tone overall, but slightly uneven, and lacking shine.
Shape: 4
Very flat and wide. Interesting. Unique.

Price: 6.00 MAD or ~0.60 USD

Overall Rating: 3.4/5