Boston Pastry Powerhouses Join Forces for a New Lakon Paris Patisserie Location
The Newton bakery, beloved for its eye-catching croissants, expands to Brookline, with lauded local pastry chef Giselle Miller on the team.
Lakon Paris Patisserie croissants. / Courtesy photo
Since its 2020 opening in Newton Highlands, Lakon Paris Patisserie has been wowing crowds with gorgeous croissants (and other fresh-baked pastries), stuffed and topped with decadent ingredients. There’s much to enjoy all week long, but weekends are when the specials come out to play, like lemon meringue or strawberry cheesecake croissants. And have you seen these cube-shaped croissants, packing endless layers of French butter and flaky dough into neat little packages?
If you’re not already on Team Lakon, it’ll soon be even easier to join the fan club (which includes Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart): The bakery is expanding to 1410 Beacon St. in Brookline, just outside of Coolidge Corner and steps from the Green Line, within the next three or four weeks. Plus, acclaimed pastry chef Giselle Miller (Menton, Deuxave, Café ArtScience, etc.)—who recently consulted on the opening of new Downtown Boston afternoon tea spot Silver Dove—has joined Lakon owners Vichaya (Jenny) Kiangkaew and Urupong (Kope) Kharuharat as a partner and head pastry chef for the new location. Anthony Grossi, who has worked with Kiangkaew for two years, will also be a partner in Brookline, along with his role as a baker and pastry chef. All this new talent will bring the already-exceptional bakery to the next level, with lots of treats on deck.
Miller and Kiangkaew first met when they were both working at Barbara Lynch’s high-end Fort Point restaurant Menton. “I’ve always been very much a fan of everything that [Kiangkaew] has created from the start, and we were able to join together and here we are now,” says Miller, who’s long dreamed of opening her own patisserie or bakery.
“I’ve been on this journey of working in restaurants for a very long time,” says Miller. “I’ve done the plated desserts game for a while, and for now, a pastry shop is next.”
A special strawberry champagne croissant for the New Year at Lakon Paris Patisserie. / Courtesy photo
The opening menu in Brookline will have a huge array of viennoiseries and pastries available each day, including several types of sweet and savory croissants, pecan sticky buns, burnt Basque cheesecake with apricot glaze, red velvet cake, chocolate eclairs, hojicha and mango pâte à choux, and even Swedish-style cardamom buns, which are nearly impossible to find in the Boston area. (Shirley in Somerville’s Davis Square occasionally offers them on weekends.) The buns will be made with Lakon’s sour starter for “an extra flare of taste,” notes Miller. Meanwhile, Lakon Brookline’s special weekend croissants may run the gamut from tiramisu to Nutella banana to pistachio mascarpone, as well as those aforementioned cube-shaped creations.
“Lakon is colorful, it’s bright, it’s creative,” says Grossi. “It’s all the new products and baked goods that you see on social media. You don’t know where to get them? Lakon is the place.”
While the colorful croissants and other items do make for incredible social media fodder, they’re more than just eye candy; they’re deeply rooted in classic techniques. “I really love traditional techniques and being respectful of the pastry chefs and the people who have done it before us,” says Miller, “and I want to continue that tradition, just making it a little bit modernized in ways that can be visually appealing and delicious.”
While Miller is new to the Lakon team, she’s seen firsthand how much effort goes into each baked good. As she puts it, “It takes a lot of work and a lot of passion to make these beautiful creations. It’s almost like making art.”
“We do everything by hand and by heart,” adds Kiangkaew.
The Brookline shop will have no seating, so be prepared to grab and go, but you’ll be able to get café beverages with your treats: Lakon will be featuring coffee and tea options from Caffè Guglielmo and Rishi Tea, including tea lattes “that will sparkle anyone’s tastebuds,” says Miller. To start, the Brookline location will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. (8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday) to 3 p.m. (5 p.m. Saturday), with the possibility of longer hours come summertime.
Lakon Paris Patisserie croissants. / Courtesy photo
1169 Walnut St., Newton, 857-297-2181; 1410 Beacon St., Brookline (coming soon); lakonparispatisserie.com.
