It won 'Best Bakery/Patisserie' at the Romanian Hospitality Awards 2026, and the Kiseleff shop has 4.5 on Google from more than 900 reviews.
About the place
Irina Stăncescu and the Englishman Tom Rees met in Paris, in Pierre Gagnaire's three-Michelin-star kitchen. She had graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and worked at the Pain de Sucre patisserie, and he was head baker at Cyril Lignac's patisserie. They opened Pain Plaisir here, on Strada Barbu Delavrancea, on 1 April 2013, with no investors, using money from a sold flat, a loan and their savings. Today the brand has nine shops and almost 70 staff.
The bread is made with a sourdough starter begun in 2013 from an unsprayed apple from the family orchard and with French flour from Foricher, a family of millers, and it rises slowly for at least 12 hours at 4–6 °C. The shelves hold country bread (pain de campagne), traditional baguettes, focaccia, croissants and seasonal cakes, and bread left over in the evening is not sold the next day. On Google, reviews mention above all the croissants, the quality and the baguettes, while a few complain about prices.
Good to know
- At weekends the shop is open only from 8:00 to 15:00, so come in the morning.
- Try the sourdough country bread, made with wheat and rye flour, or the traditional baguette.
- In autumn look for the pumpkin and walnut pie in buttery Breton pastry, which returns every year while the season lasts.
Opening hours
| Monday | 8–19 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8–19 |
| Wednesday | 8–19 |
| Thursday | 8–19 |
| Friday | 8–19 |
| Saturday | 8–15 |
| Sunday | 8–15 |
Hours may change on public holidays. Check before you go.