Breads Bakery; Best Bread Bakery in NYC, located in Union Square

Customers and employees at Bread Bakery picking out baked goods to purchase

It seems we're living in some sort of bakery golden age right now, a time when outstanding, bread-centric spots are opening up all over Manhattan. First came the Parisians, led by the amazing Eric Kayser and his eponymous Maison, which opened last summer on the Upper East Side, and where we still gorge whenever we're passing by.

Then the adored, Brooklyn-based Bien Cuit made the trip across the river, with Baker Zachary Golper and his wife Kate Wheatcroft setting up shop on Christopher Street in the West Village (the croissants are phenomenal… and make sure to bring home a loaf of Miche, which they ferment for 68 hours). And now there's an Israeli invasion, in the form of Uri Scheft and his marvelous Breads Bakery, still spanking-new and delighting the crowds just off Union Square. 

Scheft Tarts at Breads Bakery located in Union Square NYC

Uri Scheft's rosemary bread at Breads Bakery in NYC

Uri Scheft's NYC Bread Bakery

Breads Bakery is an ambitious undertaking–at any given time there are dozens of different sweet and savory options on offer–but Uri Scheft is no stranger to big-time operations. For more than ten years Scheft has been at the helm of the crazy-popular Lehamim Bakery in Tel Aviv, which also supplies two outposts in that city's markets, so he's used to delivering the (baked) goods. So even with our high expectations, and what must have opening-day (and -weeks) jitters, almost everything we've tried so far at Breads Bakery has been truly, destination-worthy, exceptional. And so far we've tried a LOT.       

Breads Bakery's Chocolate Rugelach made by Uri Scheft

Cheese Straws at Breads Bakery, warm, cheesy bread sticks available at the Union Square's Breads Bakery

Breads Bakery Delicious Baked Goods

For example, in the sweets category, there is Breads Bakery's Chocolate Rugelach, the recipe for which Scheft brought from Tel Aviv (where, by the way, it's a monster hit) and which is likely the best we've ever tasted. It's not cheap, this rugelach–at $2.50 per small piece, it's doable as a personal with-coffee treat, but to bring a couple dozen to your Aunt Rosie's house for brunch.. well, your family better be worth it!–but man is it good. Another highlight among the highlights are the Breads Bakery's Cheese Straws, flaky, buttery, sharp, salty, ridiculously addictive. Other must-gets include Scheft's Olive Sticks, the Sourdough loaves, the Danish Rye, any of his chewy focaccias, any of his gooey mini-tarts, the chocolate chip cookies, the fruit- and seed-studded muesli loaves… Clearly, we are fans. There are a few tables and a full-service coffee bar at Breads Bakery, so you can sit and stuff yourself and/or combine your visit with a trip to the Union Square Greenmarket and, especially come summer, bring home a perfect bread-and-salad supper.   

NYC residents walking into Uri Scheft's Breads Bakery, image of the exterior of the building at Union Square

Taste Breads Bakery

Uri Scheft's Breads Bakery is located on 16th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, just west of Union Square. Breads Bakery is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the week, and from 8:00 until 7:00 on weekends. The Breads Bakery website isn't finished yet, but may soon have a full listing of items.  

Breads Bakery on Urbanspoon

Posted in Downtown, NYC Dining | Tagged