A Farmers Market Parisian Baker Favorite Gets a Culver City Brick-and-Mortar Cafe

If you’ve purchased French pastry at one of Southern California’s farmers markets over the last few years, it’s very likely that the baguette or croissant came from Des Croissants Paris. Though these baked goods were previously available only at roving markets throughout LA, this bakery/boulangerie-patisserie now has a storefront all its own, operating next door to Super Domestics Coffee’s east Culver City location at 8539 Washington Boulevard.

Since 2017, Parisian-born Samuel Manar has operated mostly out of farmers markets in Culver City, Mar Vista, Studio City, Echo Park, and Old Town Santa Clarita, where there’s often a long queue for Manar’s croissants, paniers, and baguettes. Though he’ll continue to set up retail stands at local markets, the new Culver City spot is designed to offer a standardized and Parisian-centric experience for locals to settle into. “We really wanted to do something good, not too fancy,” says Manar. “Something super clean, simple, and also long-term.”

Manar still bakes from a commercial kitchen, so he’s using the brick-and-mortar space to sell a selection of sourdough bread, baguettes, eclairs, paniers, olive loaves, pain au chocolat, chausson aux pommes, cinnamon rolls, and more. He sources as much as possible from France — especially the butter — and applies traditional techniques from his decade-long career in France, as well as stints at Milo & Olive and Bottega Louie when he arrived from France in 2015.

Along with hot chocolate are pre-bottled coffee drinks like a plant-based latte or matcha latte with oat milk made by his also Parisian-born business partner, Angelique Sakho-Green, who also has sea moss shots available through her company L’Angelique.

It’s a very cozy space, enough to navigate three tables for in-house noshing. Architect Natalie Kazanjian converted the former art gallery into Des Croissants Paris with three interior tables and a massive display case where everything Manar prepared is for selection. The newly-opened Des Croissants adds to Culver City’s Francophile boom with Sweet Lily Bakery, Bianca, Simonette, the plant-based Maison Macha, and the brand-new Juliet all less than a mile away.

Des Croissants Paris is open Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Mona Holmes

Des Croissants Paris

8539 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232 Visit Website