Celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre named Chaumont Bakery in Beverly Hills as one of his five favorite Los Angeles bites  – highlighting their pain au chocolate (aka chocolate croissant). With such a strong endorsement from one of LA’s top chefs (who is French, so he knows), I was curious to see if it lived up to the hype.

Chaumont Bakery & Cafe is a small casual cafe, where you order at the counter. They serve breakfast and lunch, with various egg dishes, sandwiches and salads, but I was here for the pastries…

Their famed pain au chocolat is a work of beauty. The meticulous attention paid to the layers, beautifully swirled around a chocolate filling, left me in awe.

Unfortunately, I did not try the pain au chocolat. My daughter had managed to scarf down 3/4 of it, before emerging between mouthfuls to say, “You may want to heat yours up.”

I had planned to get a more traditional croissant, but got distracted by the pain suisse, an 11-inch long pastry, filled with vanilla cream and chocolate chips. It was too long to photograph it properly, so I had to resort to cutting it in half to fit into a photo. It was rich and buttery, chocolatey and oh-so decadent.

My favorite was surprisingly without chocolate – the almond croissant. Normally I don’t like almond croissants, as I don’t enjoy almond paste. The only problem I had with Chaumont’s almond croissant was that I liked it too much, happily ripping off piece after piece, even though I was full.

So are Chaumont’s pain au chocolat worth the hype? Judging by the quality of the pastries I was able to try, I would say probably.  I guess I will just have to pay them a return visit in the interest of research, gleefully indulging in the caloric splurge, to find out.

Location –  143 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills 90212
Website – http://www.chaumontbakery.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Vegetarian Friendly – Yes
Vegan/Gluten-Free Friendly – No pastries, but the lunch items can be modified.