British Baker can exclusively reveal the location of Dominique Ansel’s first bakery in Europe, in London’s Belgravia. 

Ansel, the pastry chef who invented the Cronut and is best known for his Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York, will open his first UK bakery on Elizabeth Street in London’s Belgravia.

Due to open in late summer or early autumn of this year, Ansel said: “We are grateful for the chance to share a little bit of what we do with our guests in London, and we aim to do nothing less than our very best for them.

“It’s always exciting to meet everyone and challenge ourselves with new creations.”

Located close to Victoria, Dominique’s first Europe-based bakery will carry a menu of signature pastries from his original shop, as well as a new line of London-only items.

He said “Although I grew up in France, so close to London, I didn’t have a chance to visit until I was much older. When I did, I immediately fell in love with the blend of cultures and the spirit of the city.

“With each new place we go, our team draws a huge amount of inspiration. London not only gives us access to the ingredients across all of Europe, it will also be a chance for us to learn quite a bit along the way.”

Most celebrated creations

While the new London exclusives are yet to be announced, Ansel said he was thrilled to bring some of his most celebrated creations to the capital, including:

The Cronut – perhaps the first ‘viral’ pastry in the world, news of this singular item traversed the globe and led to record-breaking lines for this croissant-doughnut hybrid pastry, named one of the ‘Best Inventions of 2013’ by TIME magazine.

The DKA (Dominique’s Kouign-Amann) – the number one best-seller in the New York shop is based on a traditional pastry from the Brittany region of France. Dough is layered with butter and sugar, then baked, creating a caramelised crunchy crust on the outside, and a flaky, tender crumb within – or as they put it “think caramelised croissant”.

The Cookie Shot – a warm chocolate chip cookie, shaped like a shot glass and filled to order with ice-cold milk infused with Tahitian vanilla bean.

Frozen S’mores – inspired by the American campfire favourite, this cool treat features Tahitian vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate wafer crisps, surrounded by a honey marshmallow that is torched-to-order, and served on a smoked willow wood branch.

The bakery’s address will be: 17-21 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RP