Gordon Street Bakery

Lune mania might not have landed in Melbourne’s west. But some locals believe Gordon Street Bakery’s croissants are just as good. Their buttery aroma – and the smell of beans from Locale Espresso – hit you as you cross the white-brick facade into this fuss-free patisserie.

The almond croissant has spawned many regulars here; owner-baker Wilhem Isaac likes to dip his in his coffee. It’s generously smattered with flaked almonds and has a fluffy almond-cream frangipane inside. If nuts aren’t your thing, you’ll find the crescent-shaped beauties in other flavours like plain, choc-almond, chocolate and a vegan number. Plus, plenty of other pastries you’ll want to inhale before you get home, including much-loved cheddar cheese sticks, cheesymite scrolls made with twisted croissant dough, and cinnamon scrolls. The sourdough loaves will last a little longer – think fig and walnut baguettes, white loaves and olive loaves, as well as a dark Danish-style rye with seeds.

It helps, of course, that Isaac is French. He grew up in Paris before moving to Australia, where he spent years working at Wood Frog Bakery. Eventually, he noticed there were plenty of patisseries in Melbourne’s north and south, but few in the west. Now, he helps locals feel like a Francophile in Footscray.