Where to go for the best pastries in London

Pastry perfection.

It's official. The cupcake, doughnut and even cronut are so 2017. It's time for these dated pastries to step aside and for you to meet their sophisticated French cousin the éclair. Forget the dry, uninspiring and somewhat tasteless offering you're use to seeing on the shelves of the local supermarket and say hello to Maitre Choux's mouth-watering éclairs - pastry perfection.

Maître Choux is the brainchild of Jeremie Vaislic and three Michelin star-experienced pastry chef Joakim Prat, who came to London from Barcelona’s Can Fabes to take on the role of Joël Robuchon's Head Pastry Chef at L'Atelier, before moving on to Mayfair's The Greenhouse.

Choux pastry, a staple of every patisserie in France, it is a very malleable yet simple bakery base. In the hands of Joakim, it is transformed into something quite extraordinary.

“Traditionally, éclairs are made using chocolate and coffee flavours,” says Prat. “We add a large range of flavours to a basic pastry product. We try to play with it by adding colour, texture and flavour. From a very simple base you can get a complex product.”

Opening their first store in South Kensington in 2015, Maître Choux has since expanded with the launch of a second bakery on Soho's Dean Street. We suggest you take a visit if you want all the charm of a French bakery with a contemporary twist.

The éclairs look so good you won't want to eat them (although we suggest you do!), with these famous French classics ranging from lemon meringue & bergamot and Spanish raspberry to our personal favourite the hazelnut & milk chocolate treasure.

So what are you waiting for? Hurry along (or should we say choux choux) to Maître Choux!