Ok, I have definitely found the winner for best mille feuille in town and the award goes to Henri Charpentier’s caramel mille feuille stack. Pierre Herme used to hold the prize for the best mille feuille in my book before I stumbled upon this lovely pastry shop in Ginza, but today I pass the award along.

The mille feuille

Not to mix things up, it is not a mille feuille you buy at the pastry shop but one you have to order from the menu at their cafe in the basement of their Ginza shop. If you get confused, there are pictures in the menu. Just pick the one pictured above. It is so heavenly delicious I am having trouble picking out the words to describe it. I am speechless. The mille feuille combines the perfect amount of crunchiness of the puffs with some lovely hazelnut cream and a touch of caramel syrup. I was so afraid that this is only a seasonal menu, I didn’t even dare ask.

Enough raving about the mille feuille, now we may move on to some more dainty delights that Henri Charpentier has to offer. Although disputed by some, Henri Charpentier, a french chef, was known as the creator of the crepes suzette. Of course, I had to try some. Ordering the crepe suzette here brings a waitress with a trolley who cooks the crepes right in front of you.

I have never been a fan of crepes suzette (or any dessert that has an orangey taste to it), so my review might be biased. Lets just say, it wasn’t bad.

Another pastry I found absolutely delectable was their caramel bon-bon.

The caramel bon-bon

I am sure all the other mouth-watering pastries on display are absolutely delicious as well.

The pastry display

Well, I’ll just have to go back and find out. The coffee is also good and it is better to pay them a visit in the late afternoon. There are always lines at lunch hour and a little bit after. Around 5 pm would be the perfect time to visit and I will be doing so again very soon. Before I leave, some pictures of their interior and exterior.

The interior

The exterior

Prize : $$ (for pastries)

HENRI CHARPENTIER GINZA. Address : 2-8-20 Ginza Chuo-ku. Tel : 03-3562-2721.