TOP PICKS: Hayes in the Fog's favorite Manhattan places for desserts, sweets, and baked goods
Last updated: March 2025
Whenever people learn about my background, I inevitably get asked the question: what’s your favorite bakery in the city? It’s a loaded question. I waited quite some time…and ate at a lot of places…before starting to give suggestions. Only now, after 3.5+ years living in Manhattan, do I feel comfortable enough to share this list. While I’ve tried many heavy hitters in the city, there are still many spots I’ve yet to try, so I expect and hope this list continues to evolve!
Without further ado, here are my favorite spots in NYC (Manhattan only for now) to indulge in sweets.
Listed in a rough(ish) ranking:
Ess-a-Bagel (the only place in NYC where I’m a “regular” with the staff)
Milk Bar (note: the flagship has fresher cookies, so I always go to that location)
Shout-out to Beli for keeping me honest with the order of my preferences.
Other lists to check out:
Hayes in the Fog’s favorite San Francisco places for desserts, sweets, and baked goods
Hayes in the Fog's favorite San Francisco restaurants
Hayes in the Fog’s favorite San Francisco breakfast spots
Why does this list only include Manhattan?
While I’ve been in NYC since 2021 now, and I do have some favorites in other boroughs (looking at you, Brooklyn!), I haven’t explored outside Manhattan enough to make this a multi-borough list, or to have BK- or Queens-specific lists yet.
Why don't you have [x] on the list? It's THE. BEST. PLACE. EVER.
Feel free to comment below if you have suggestions or recommendations; generally speaking, it's not on the list because a) I haven't been there before, b) I haven't been there enough to properly vet it, c) the desserts are great but it’s more of a restaurant, or d) I don't like [x] as much as you do. :)