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Hugo & Victor
Add: 40 Boulevard Raspail, 75007 Paris
Tel: +33 1 44 39 97 73
Hours: [Mon-Wed] 9am~7pm [Thu-Fri] 9am~8pm [Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 10am~6pm
Website: www.hugovictor.com
Price: €5.20~6.90/pastry
Visited on: Mar 2013
Haute patisserie by Hugues Pouget, formerly the pastry chef at three Michelin-starred Guy Savoy. For first time visitors who are confused by the arrangement of the pastries, here’s the basic logic: pastries are grouped by flavors, and there are three star flavors – chocolate, vanilla, and caramel – that are available in the boutique throughout the year, while five transient flavors change with the season. Pastries are also categorized as either “Hugo” – new interpretations of the classics, or “Victor” – traditional desserts done with a slight twist. Voilà.
Hugo & Victor is especially well-known for its jewelry shop-like design, with beautiful pastries to match. All patisseries are individually displayed in a glass case encrusted on the wall, each with a personal spotlight and detailed description.
Rows of macarons.
Colorful chocolate semi-spheres, packaged in a book-like box.
My purchases of the day.
Started with the tarte au citron (€5.40), ended up taking a million pictures of it because it’s just so gosh darn cute. I’m not a huge fan of meringues, but loved how these little points adorned the lemon tart. Unfortunately the taste wasn’t as impressive as its look – not that it was bad, but I just tasted Jacques Genin‘s lovely lemon tart the day before and in comparison H&V’s rendition was rather pedestrian.
Just the other day I was just talking with my pastry shop colleagues about litchi flavored desserts, so when I saw H&V’s Saint-Honoré Litchi (€5.40), I decided to give it a try. What it is: a puff pastry base topped with whipped cream, litchi cream, fresh litchi, and two little choux filled with litchi cream. The litchi flavor was evident but not too strong or too sweet, the puff pastry base was nice and flaky, and the whipped cream was light as air. Too bad the choux were already soft from humidity by the time they reached my mouth.
Lastly, mille feuille caramel (€5.40). Flaky puff pastry, caramel pastry cream, and two dots of salted caramel at the center. Solid.
Also sampled two macarons (€1.60/piece), liked the pistachio, but completely forgot what the other flavor was…
Hugo & Victor doesn’t rank up there as one of my favorites among all the amazing pastry shops in Paris, but it undoubtedly makes some beautiful pastries and is worth a visit if you happen to be wandering around in the Saint-Germain area.