NYC hidden dining gems: Unregular Bakery charms with off-the-wall creations

Drinks are drinks, but drinks garnished with croissants are amended drinks. So, erstwhile I heard that 1 of my go-to Union Square spots, Unregular Bakery, was serving “lattinis” — colorful iced lattes garnished with 3 mini croissants — I hardly needed an limb twisting earlier I hopped connected the L bid to effort one.

Run by mates Gabriele Lamonaca and Paola Sinisgalli, Unregular Bakery is the sister constitution to Unregular Pizza, which is conscionable down the street. Unregular Pizza won maine implicit years agone with their “burrapizza cafonata,” a quadrate portion topped with blistery honey, ‘nduja, burrata, and pepperoni. Now, they mightiness conscionable triumph the grant for funkiest pastries and lattes, if specified an grant were to exist.

It each started successful 2020, backmost erstwhile everyone entered lockdown and sourdough breadstuff was truly having a moment. Gabriele Lamonaca skipped trendy sourdough and made pizza instead. He would adhd “unregular” toppings and station photos connected societal media.

The posts started to garner immoderate traction, truthful helium started an Instagram relationship nether the grip “unregular pizza.” Friends asked if helium would deliver, truthful helium did. But alternatively of accepting money, helium would judge random gifts arsenic “barters” successful speech for his pizza, which ranged from horseback riding lessons to edifice stays and adjacent dental services.

A murtadel astatine Unregular Bakery astatine Union Square. (Kaitlyn Rosati for New York Daily News)

Unregular Pizza yet opened a brick-and-mortar successful Union Square successful May 2021. Having seen a just magnitude of success, the mates decided to unfastened Unregular Bakery successful September 2023.

True to Gabriele and Paola’s quirky nature, the bakery is so rather “unregular.” You tin opt for a 1,000 symptom au chocolat, which looks similar (and is) a clump of mini cocoa croissants each stuck together, and frankly, benignant of reminds maine of a brain; a “BombaSpritz,” wherever the flavors of Aperol spritz are incorporated into an Italian donut, oregon bombolone; oregon adjacent a BurraCroissant — a circular croissant filled with burrata and basil pearls.

My hands-down favourite saccharine dainty astatine Unregular Bakery is the cocoa strawberry cookie. The dough is crisp connected the extracurricular and airy connected the inside, and the somewhat bitter cocoa paired with the acidic popular of strawberries makes for an addictive bite. But I’m not huffy astatine the vegan blueberry rosemary donut oregon the spicy mango bombolone, wherever they truly don’t shy distant from the heat-meets-sweet factor, with ingredients similar chipotle, tajin and mango curd.

I besides erstwhile had a vegan pistachio croissant dipped successful chocolate. Though I was skeptical of a croissant sans butter, Unregular Bakery’s is flawless, and the crisp cocoa ammunition added large texture.

It’s nary astonishment each wound is conscionable arsenic delectable arsenic the next: each dough is made in-house everyday.

1000 Pain au chocolat astatine Unregular Bakery astatine Union Square. (Kaitlyn Rosati for New York Daily News)

I past went to Unregular Bakery astir a period ago, and Gabriele warmly welcomed maine with a “murtadel” sandwich, made with mortadella, burrata and pistachio pesto connected a savory bombolone. It was my archetypal clip trying thing savory from the bakery, and I’m blessed to study the salty lives up to the sweet, which comes arsenic nary astonishment since the slices astatine Unregular Pizza person yet to fto maine down.

It was with my meaty, cheesy donut sandwich that I yet tried the lattini, which comes successful 4 flavors: acold brew (made with acold brew and beverage cocoa — which is what I tried); greenish matcha (made with greenish matcha and matcha chocolate); strawberry roseate (made with roseate extract and strawberry chocolate); and bluish matcha (made with lavender syrup and blue matcha).

All lattinis are iced, topped with acold foam (if you’re vegan oregon avoiding carnal products, conscionable inquire for nary acold foam), and 3 mini croissants. The effect is an adorable, delicious pick-me-up that’s topped with a small treat.

Not lone is Unregular Bakery capable to transcend the restitution of either your saccharine oregon savory bony (or, if you’re me, both), but to this day, they inactive judge barters. Of course, they’ll beryllium blessed to instrumentality your hard-earned cash, but you tin put to bring them thing from a vessel of vino to a homemade repast successful speech for immoderate pastries and lattinis if they hold to the terms.

In immoderate economy, but particularly this one, that’s a bully woody if you inquire me.

A acold brew lattini astatine Unregular Bakery astatine Union Square. (Kaitlyn Rosati for New York Daily News)

• Address: 124 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003
• Phone: (646) 422-7262
• Hours: Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-5:30 pm.; Friday 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
• Prices: Croissants $4.50-$9; Bomboloni $5.50-$12; Egg Sandwiches $6-$11; Make Your Own Sandwich toppings scope from $1-$5; Cookies $5; Coffee & Soft Drinks $2.50-$5.50; Lattinis $6.50-$8; Wine $10-$12 for a glass, $37-$45 for a bottle; Beer $8
• Delivery and takeout available; nary reservations.

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