April 02, 2014

Le Royal

My love for French pastries keeps me busy with an ongoing mission to discover where I can find the best that Miami has to offer and this mission led me to Le Royal. As I’ve mentioned previously, I feel like you can base the authenticity and quality of any French bakery just by trying the croissants that they serve, and what Le Royal offers is a definite improvement over what I have tried at La Provance. Here I have found croissants that are more buttery, flaky, and fresh tasting compared to the dry and crumbling sadness that is in the bread cases at the competition close by. Still, I am not 100% satisfied with the croissants, as they get to the point of being overly greasy and a bit one note. I was looking for a contrast in texture between a pillowy inside and a caramelized outside, but this was not the case. I did enjoy the croissants here, but I know that with a continued search I can find better.

Le Royal does offer a nice selection of croissant varieties, ranging from apple, to turkey and cheese, to almond (my favorite variety). I enjoyed the almond croissant due to the paste, which is not too sweet and actually tastes like the nuts it claims to be using. You can taste the quality of the paste, but I wish that it were more generously applied. On top of that, I would even consider it to be great if the croissant that it is placed in were of higher caliber. Instead, I recommend the almond brioche, which uses the same paste in a perfect proportion to the bread that it is placed on. The brioche itself has the contrast in texture I was looking for in the croissant, with a tender inside and a crusty exterior. It is then topped with a generous helping of the very well made paste, slivered almonds, and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. In my opinion, it is the best treat this small bakery has to offer.

Le Royal is a bakery owned and operated by two French twins, who are on a mission to bring food from their homeland to the South Miami population. You can see them hand making everything in the back, and this is something I appreciate since you can witness the love and dedication that they are putting into their food. Although the counter-service can sometimes be so straightforward that some would consider it rude, it offers an authentic experience as far as French bakeries go. I will continue my search for the perfect croissant in Miami, but I think I can stop looking for a good almond brioche.