San Francisco's beloved Arsicault Bakery is branching out to Palo Alto, marking its first move beyond the city where it first gained acclaim. Famed for its buttery, flaky croissants, which earned the title of America's best new bakery from Bon Appétit in 2016, Arsicault's expansion to the Peninsula is anticipated to bring a fresh taste of French patisserie to Palo Alto residents. As reported by SFGATE, this new location is expected to open its doors late in 2026 at 388 Cambridge Ave.
Particularly, alongside croissants and kouign amann, the palatable lineup will likely include morning buns and turnovers. Arsicault CEO Armando Lacayo, who incidentally lived in Palo Alto when he moved to California, joked in a statement obtained by Palo Alto Online about his career switch, saying, "You just drop a letter." Although not initially a baker by trade, Lacayo's quest for a proper croissant is what led him to embark on his baking journey, culminating in the creation of the bakery named after his great-grandparents.
Lacayo places an emphasis on the traditional style of his offerings, providing around 15 pastries at a time, with minimal deviation from well-established favorites. According to Palo Alto Online, he stated, "I only make things that I like very much myself," asserting his personal standards as the metric for the bakery’s menu. Arsicault's croissants, featuring exactly 30 grams of chocolate for the chocolate variety, have become a local standard setter for quality and taste.
Setting up shop in a new mixed-use development, the bakery will primarily serve as a takeout spot, but will include a small outdoor seating area, embodying the cultivated casual vibe that Palo Alto is known for fostering. As per Palo Alto Online, Lacayo remarked that the bakery's focus would remain on maintaining quality, not on expansion, jokingly saying, "My goal is to make people happy, to put a smile on people's faces, which is difficult when they have a croissant in their mouth."
