Alliance Patisserie

My parents were visiting me for my birthday and I was showing her downtown Chicago. I love macaroons and wanted to stop by and get a few dozen for dinner.
Service was awful. There were 3 employees there totally ignoring us with nobody ahead of us acting like they were too cool to serve us. This was on a dead Sunday 1130am with no tourists around.
I had to double check that they were open as the staff was just looking at us like they were annoyed by having to acknowledge our presence. After 5 minutes we just walked out rather than reward indifferent service.
I don’t like saying anything bad about anybody and I’ve never written a Unilocal review before but this was so egregious that I had to write something up. Ironically, this was just telling them how friendly Chicago is. I had to tell them not to judge based on this place

Had the flour less chocolate cake, and s’more dessert and a couple macaroons. The cake was rich and fudgy. A bit overpriced for the sizes.

This is the perfect spot to catch up with a girlfriend and feel cute while doing it! The interior is covered in marble and the space is clean and aesthetically pleasing. There is a great variety of desserts; creamy, nutty, savory, crunchy — you name it! We ordered Anne, Sophia, the fruit tart, and several macaroons. They were all delicious but I would definitely recommend the Sophia — so creamy and nutty but not too sweet! The Ellen is probably their best seller, but it tends to be out so get there early! If you are ever craving a little sweetness, this is the spot to hit up!

I don’t even like macaroons but they were delicious here, give them a shot! They’re kept chilled and freshly made each day.

I was looking for a little café for breakfast and randomly stepped into this store. Alliance Patisserie is decorated with taste, very cozy and I loved the big windows with view on the green backyard. The service was great, I even engaged in a conversation with the girls there who spoke french as well. I bought a chocolate croissant, a mocha and a lime tart. They all tasted very familiar, which is a good thing coming from a French girl … I will definitely visit again when I’ll be back in town.

I am a lover of macaroons and I was determined to find some great ones in Chicago! After searching Unilocal,I decided to try this little spot!
Based on reviews I thought it was a great option and it was close to where I was spending my time. I loved the ambience of the place and was very excited and ready to try the macarons. I picked Rose, coffee, pistachio, matcha with sesame, mango and coconut lime! I obviously started with the rose because I was excited to see what this unique flavor had to offer. I was not disappointed!
It was very flavorful and not overwhelming! It tasted exactly like roses smell, if that makes ANY sense!
I tried the coconut lime next and was very impressed by the amount of flavor! So far both macarons have had a great shell and over all texture! I’m excited to return and try new seasonal flavors!
The only thing I wish was different was the amount of people behind the counter. The woman working was very nice but with making speciality coffee drinks, serving the drinks to customers dining in, cashing out and packing macaroons/​pastry orders, I just felt that she seemed a little overwhelmed. I could totally be wrong! She didn’t negatively affect my experience whatsoever but maybe it could have been better if there were more than one person doing so much :)

I love a good macaron, especially when they are the right size and price. I was making the best out of my work trip and decided this was a must on my agenda. I walked in about 11 o’clock on a weekday. There was 1 person in front of me and 2 people enjoying coffee. I was surprised by how unresponsive the employee working was. On the verge of being rude to the person in front of me. I stepped up and she was clearly annoyed by presence and tried to rush me into picking my macarons. If I were to only rate the service/​employee it would be a 1 star review. However, the macarons were actually delightful.
I ordered banana, rose, vanilla and strawberry shortcake. All were fresh and the package was perfect and none of them broke during travel (awesome!). They were also larger than some places and only about $ 2/​each.
Banana– more like banana fosters instead of banana pudding. Not too sweet and a pinch of cinnamon. Good but not my favorite.
Rose– PERFECTION! But I love rose and I know not everyone else does. But the rose was my fav.
Vanilla– more like a vanilla bean rather than cake. My second favorite.
Strawberry Shortcake– true to it’s name. Creamy not too sweet and hints of strawberry flavor. I didn’t like it very much.
My next trip to the windy city I will try this place again with extremely high hopes that the person working is more pleasant than the lady I encountered. Poor customer service always ruins an experience.

Stopped in here after a later dinner while in Chicago last weekend. For being later at night I was surprised how many desserts were still left to choose from. I got the fourless chocolate cake, my husband got 3 macaroons. The flourless cake was really hard, I am glad that my hotel room had a microwave. 20 seconds later perfection! The salted caramel macaroon was awesome! The first bite was like eh, this is ok, but then a few seconds later it just hits you — GOODNESS! The vanilla and strawberry shortcake macaroons were tasteless. I won’t make it a priority to get back here ASAP, but would suggest to others if you are looking for a late night treat to give it a try.

I was extremely pleased with my visit to Alliance Patisserie today. Having a sweet tooth and being a macaron connoisseur, it seemed to be a no-​brainer that I would like this café.
It was one of my friend’s birthdays and I decided to surprise him with one of the small cakes here. The service was amazing and I was really grateful for all their help. I requested if they had a candle for the little cake, but not only did I get a candle, I also got a Happy Birthday added on as well.
There were so many pretty cakes to choose from and colorful rows of macarons! I would love to have a chance to try each and every one of the cakes. The interior is nice and there are tables and chairs to sit and chill and talk.
Overall,‘I highly recommend Alliance Patisserie if you are on the look out for pretty little cakes that taste good as well!

This is my favorite macaron place in Chicago! Whenever I am in the area I have to stop in!
I only leave four stars because the people working the counter usually seem rather miserable for some reason… But if I were working here all day and unable to sample the delicious treats, I would probably be sour too.

Delicious light, airy, crisp, creamy French Macarons!!! I had the privilege of enjoying their hazelnut and pb&j French macarons and they were fantastic! Will definitely be back to enjoy more delicious and beautiful treats!

I really had so much hope for their beautiful macarons seeing as they were made pretty flawlessly and they had a variety of flavors. At $ 2 per, the macarons are slightly less expensive than most of the other places in Chicago. I tried the pistachio, strawberry shortcake and the lemon poppy and unfortunately they all had the same problem with consistency. The macaron shells were so hard, especially the pistachio one — it tasted like it had been left outside for at least a day. None of them had the soft, chewy texture that I look for in the best macarons so I definitely did not enjoy the shell textures at all.
The fillings all had the same consistency problem too. All of the fillings in my macarons had a white chocolate ganache base but it seemed like the ganache completely hardened the filling, making it so much more solid than a macaron filling should be!
Flavor: I thought the pistachio one needed more flavor as I could barely taste the pistachio unless I ate the filling by itself. The strawberry one had more flavor but it tasted somewhat artificial. The lemon poppy was probably my favorite when it came to flavor. It had a really nice lemon tang with each bite.
I’m still looking for a place that beats Vanille Patisserie and Pierrot Gourmet in Chicago. I thought Alliance Patisserie could come close but unfortunately it was not at all. I later found out that the macarons are NOT made on-​site. In fact, they are are delivered the day BEFORE and SIT OVERNIGHT in the store before being put on display in the store. So of course by the time I had them in the late afternoon, it was already close to 24 hours (or more) since the macarons were made. Wow… I’m shocked that there are so many good reviews for the macarons because I definitely did not think they were up to par AT ALL.
Other, non macaron related stuff: They also have a few different teas. I got the White Peony and loved how they put the tea leaves into their own bags. It was also freezing inside! Not sure why because it was freezing outside too so they could’ve at least turned on the heat…

Light breakfast and lunch, heavy on desserts. *wink* Affordable multi-​texture and multi-​sensory desserts with an obvious training from pastry school. :-)
SOPHIA ($ 7) — serves 2. Graham cookie base, white cake, some crunchy nuts, all wrapped in white chocolate with a few fruits on top with a shake of cocoa powder. Sophisticated with familiar comforting tastes.
CAFE NOIR ($ 2.50) — a big cup! Nice to see that drip now has a fancy name with a legit relationship with Café Au Lait. The house blend has berries in it.
COFFEE BEANS — Chicago local Bow Truss with an anomaly presence in Beverly Hills?
CHAI — nah! Skip it. It’s Oregon Chai.
VENUE — maximum seating in limited space without being crowded. Superbly organize, and clean.
SERVICE — coffee and water will be delivered to your table when dining in while you carry your dessert.

What a special place. The store has a beautiful display of pastries and desserts in the window and behind the cases. I was mostly interested in the beautiful macarons as they are one of my favorite desserts.
The macarons were all delicious and flavorful. The lemon was by far my favorite. It was fun to try many of the unique flavors such as Balsamic Fig.
Service could have been a smidge friendlier.

Cute, little shop on State Street. Since macaroons seem to be all the rage in Instagram decided to pop in here and give some a try.
The display case is filmed with pretty colors of macaroons in tons of flavors. Decided to try 6-​Nutella, rose, blueberry, raspberry, peppermint chocolate, strawberry shortcake. The lady behind the case was cheerful and sweet. While getting ready to check out, noticed there were homemade dog treats-​of course since our dog is a princess, I had to get her one.
Tried the macaroons later that evening… turns out neither hubby nor I actually care for them. However, our puppy literally inhaled her dog treat when we got home so that was a win!

I discovered this place walking down the street. What a hidden gem. Great service and delectable French macaroons.
They specialize in gourmet cakes and desserts.
Adding this place to my favorites

8÷30− Still smarting from the disappointing wonut experience, I happened to be wandering down State street on my way to the bus when I saw a gorgeous display of fondant covered cakes behind a clean glass storefront. My spirits instantly lifted and I sped up my walk. As soon as I went inside, I was greeted with a cheerful «Hello!» by the cashier, even though he was currently assisting another lady checkout. I didn’t have too much time to linger and pore over every beautiful dessert in the displays before my bus, but I otherwise would have very much liked to sit down at the cute little tables (I think I also saw some seating in a little garden-​like area out back) and properly enjoy a coffee or something. Everything was just so damn perfect I had a terrible time picking only three confections to take to-​go, but these were my impressions:
Vanilla rose cronut– The rose scent for me seemed to come most strongly/​only from the pink icing so I was really glad to have the vanilla cream filling running through the center of the cronut. Not too flaky, and with just enough bite from having been fried. I like this one well enough though I couldn’t finish it all on my own if I wanted to leave some room for…
Dominique– This was a raspberry mousse dome with some vanilla type custard in the center. The little powder sugared fresh raspberry on top was a super cute touch, along with the sprinkle of tiny coconut flakes along the bottom skirt of the dome. Chocolate flavor was light, but rich– perfect for me because I can’t take too much chocolate at once, lol.
Michelle– I normally don’t really like peanut butter on anything other than toast, but (forgive the geek in me) I couldn’t help but wanna try out this *PEANUT BUTTER* mousse. Seriously. How the heck do you even mousse something of that consistency? So yea, of course I had to try it! Lol… Still have no idea how that’s possible, but the PB mousse was fantastically smooth and the little touch of berry jam filling was perfect! I believe there was also a little chocolate biscuit/​cookie embedded into the base of the dome as well, just to mix things up. Throw in some coarsely chopped peanuts around the bottom rim of the dessert and we have an amazing combination of flavor and texture all in a bite. Loved it!
Don’t know when I’ll get the chance to come back and visit, but when I do… this is gonna have to be a pit stop for me! ^_​_​^

I was in town visiting friends and we strolled in here, in need of coffee. Once I walked in, I knew exactly where I was. This used to be Grahamwich!
RIP little sandwich, but hello cute Patisserie. They kept a lot of the glam décor, with the marble, the wallpaper and the seating. Not only was the pastry window gorgeous but so was the help! She was bubbly and so friendly. The three of us had a great conversation while she made us Americanos. We later sat up at the bar once other people made their way in. Then, we sat at a table in the back. We had the best time catching up and daydreaming together. I even got to see the awesome bathroom with the most unique wallpaper! I may have taken a selfie in there, shhh.

Peter’s new endeavor is a fine addition to the neighborhood! I miss his Division Street store, but when you live in River North, you don’t want to get in the car unless absolutely necessary.
So this has a bit more upscale feeling to it and Peter’s bakery is worthy of such an ambience, but despite being a bit of a foodie, I like a good old fashioned bakery. Thankfully his bakery is the same as his original place.
Kudos to finally carrying your amazing brownies which are fudgey with a bit of air to give it a lighter texture, and topped with a perfect ganache. His turkey and Swiss croissant, not to mention his chocolate croissants are fantastic, flakey and light as a properly made croissant should be.
He is known for his macaroons, and he should be, they’re marvelous. Peters attention to detail is evident in every pastry, and that alone makes it worth going for a visit.

Coffee and desserts with an incredible garden view. Stop by in the mornings for a ton of privacy, no one in this neighborhood gets up before 11AM so you’ll have the space mostly to yourself. This shop is a one-​man show, so allow some time for your order.
Variety of macarons, pastries, and fancy desserts available even first thing in the morning– probably the best selection available then, too. The raspberry dome is delicious, was suggested by the barista as his favorite.