A great pastry is one of life's simpler pleasures — flaky, fresh, and best eaten the same morning it was made. At Fable we bake daily, and every season brings something new worth trying. Here are five to start with.
There's a reason the pastry case is the first thing people look at when they walk in. Done well, a pastry is a small act of craft — the right lamination, the right butter, the right timing out of the oven. Done badly, it's just expensive bread.
At Fable, pastries are baked fresh each morning. The selection shifts with the season, but these five have earned their place on the counter.
This season's five
1
Butter croissant
The one that sets the standard
Daily staple
Properly laminated — dozens of paper-thin layers of dough and cold butter — baked until the outside shatters and the inside pulls apart in soft, pillowy ribbons. Eat it plain. Eat it with a flat white. Don't overthink it.
2
Seasonal fruit danish
Changes with what's good right now
Rotating
Stone fruit roasted until jammy, on a base of lightly sweetened cream cheese and crisp laminated pastry. Built around what's actually good rather than what's always available.
3
Almond croissant
For those who want a little more
Weekend favourite
Yesterday's croissants soaked in syrup, filled with frangipane, and baked again until golden and dense with almond cream. Pair with a long black and take your time — this isn't a pastry to rush.
4
Pain au chocolat
The childhood classic, done properly
Daily staple
Two batons of dark chocolate folded into laminated dough, baked until deep golden and the chocolate has just melted. Better than you remember from childhood, which is saying something.
5
Seasonal special
Ask the team what's on today
Ask us
Changes regularly — a cardamom knot, a miso caramel twist, or something the kitchen has been experimenting with that week. These tend to sell out first, which tells you something.
"We bake every morning because day-old pastry isn't worth serving. The window between out of the oven and at its best is smaller than most people realise."
— The Fable kitchen
When to come for pastries
Pastries are best in the first half of the morning — the earlier you come, the better the selection. By late morning the most popular ones are usually gone. We bake to sell out rather than to have leftovers, which means what's there is always fresh but the range narrows as the morning goes on.
Pair any of the above with a flat white or filter coffee and you have a morning well spent — whether you're heading into the Gardens or settling in for an hour with nowhere to be.
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