If pastry isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you conjure the South Fork, perhaps it’s time to readjust your expectations. Once known for its sprawling potato farms, the Hamptons is now building an entirely new reputation when it comes to food. Sure, we all know about the world-class rosé and the prime fruits and vegetables grown on fertile land. But how many visitors to this hallowed Fork know about the artisans making pignoli cookies, pies, baguettes and ciabatta, all of which are worthy of their own pilgrimage?
In recent years, a host of emerging bakeries have established the South Fork as a destination for the pastry obsessed. Here are a few of our favorites, along with the best of what they’re serving up.
Pierre’s
2468 Main St., Bridgehampton, 631-537-5110
Pierre Weber opened his eponymous French bistro, in Bridgehampton, in 2002. But despite the restaurant’s reputation for great soupe à l’oignon, it’s the pastries, served both at the restaurant and at the adjacent bakery and small café, that deserve their own spotlight. Fifth-generation baker Weber, who grew up learning the ropes of patisserie in his home region of Alsace, France, brings personal passion to the table, leaning on family recipes and time-tested European technique.
Alsatian-born Pierre Weber learned the art of baking from his family in France. (Photos by Doug Young)
The bakery offers items both classic and unique. Croissants, palmiers, and other laminated pastries are always available, as are a rotating offering of tarts and cakes. The bakery also accepts pre-orders around designated holidays. Galettes des Rois, French king cakes made from puff pastry and filled with frangipane, are available in celebration of the early January epiphany, a close-held French tradition. The restaurant, of course, also serves a regal line of pastries, from profiteroles à la glace to vacherin. Both the main restaurant and the bakery offer Weber’s European aesthetic: white, bright and airy, with a touch of Saint-Tropez.
Armin & Judy
1970 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, 631-296-8484
Open since 2019, Armin & Judy—the namesake bistro and bakery from Armin and Judy Bellova—has secured a strong following on the East End. Baked goods, the Bellovas say, are inspired by the European goods of Italy, France and the Balkans. Carb-lovers can find baguettes, sourdough breads, brioche, pain au chocolat, almond croissants, pain au raisin, Kouign-amann, and plenty of other Viennoiserie at this Bridgehampton space.
Armin and Judy Bellova claim to make and carry the best baguettes in the Hamptons. (Photos by Doug Young)
They’re known, too, for their triple-fermentation process, which differs from other preparation styles in baking. The “elongated, repeat fermentation removes the bad gluten, lectin and stomach-agitating enzymes without the use of yeast,” they say. The sourdough bread and baguettes are fermented for four to five days, with no yeast added. The fermentation is all natural, making for an “easy, digestible, European-style bread.” Bakers arrive at midnight to make sure that breads and pastries are baked fresh each day. The bakery, for those not in the know, is hidden behind the restaurant, though it’s hardly a secret.
Alpina Swiss Bakery
670 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-726-0900
In 2024, Christoph and Robin Meuller, the duo behind Greenport’s Alpina, Anker and Green Hill Kitchen, opened Alpina Swiss Bakery. The Water Mill spot specializes in artisanal breads and pastries with roots in Swiss tradition. The Swiss-born team bakes sourdough breads, cakes and pastries in an open kitchen, and serves coffee and teas, as well as fresh juices and quiches. Visitors to Alpina will find authentic Swiss desserts that they are unlikely to encounter anywhere else on eastern Long Island.
The bread menu includes beer pretzels; braided buns; monkey bread; seed batard; boules; zopf (a bread that closely resembles a challah); bürli, or sourdough rolls; focaccia; ficelle; cuchaule; buurebrot; shokupan; and Irish soda bread. Pastries include scones, croissants, turnovers, danish, Linzer tarts, tortes and all manner of cakes. Alpina also sells olive oil, coffee, select soups and salads, and house-made marmalades. The bakery draws inspiration from alpine tradition. The father-and-son team, who originally hail from Zurich, have introduced classic Swiss breads and pastries to the East End, drawing a devoted following.
Cynthia Sestito’s desserts are not only delicious, they are a near art-form to gaze upon, sure to add beauty (and sweetness) to your holiday table. (Photos by Doug Young)
Cynful Food
Celebrity private chef Cynthia Sestito—she appeared on the premiere season of Bravo’s Top Chef—owns East Hampton’s The Cookery, a niche bakery offering everything from sandwiches to cakes to tarts. “The idea was born during COVID,” Sestito says. “It was the excitement of creating unique sweet and savory baked goods, particularly in the gluten-free and vegan space, that really sparked it.” For her ethereal pignoli cookies, available only through custom order, Sestito only uses Spanish nuts. Almond paste is made entirely from scratch.
Early on, Sestito says, the bakery—the brick-and-mortar location on Springs Fireplace Road had to shutter in the fall—became known for their wide array of Mediterranean cookies. “This is where we showcased our love for bold, unusual flavor pairings,” she says. Cookies include lemon-cardamom, chocolate-dipped pistachio, orange-coconut-almond Moroccan, tahini sesame seed, Matcha chocolate and, of course, her signature pignoli.
Carissa’s
68 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 631-527-5996; 221 Pantigo Road, East Hampton, 631-604-5911; 3 Bay St., Sag Harbor, 631-808-3633
Carissa Waechter began her South Fork operation in 2011, selling her now-famous breads at Amber Waves Farm. In 2017, she opened a petite space in East Hampton, adding to her bread repertoire whimsical, meringue-topped cakes and other boutique baked goods. The clean, bright, minimalist white space was an instant hit, prompting a second—and larger—outpost on Pantigo Road, in Amagansett, in 2019. In 2022, she launched a Sag Harbor retail shop, too.
Carissa’s offers coffee, handmade pastries and other sweet and savory treats across their three locations in Sag Harbor and East Hampton. (Photos by Doug Young)
Online ordering has helped to control the enthusiastic bread and Viennoiseries lovers, now that Waechter and her partner, Lori Chemla, are James Beard Award-winners (2020, Outstanding Restaurant Design Award) and nominees (2025, Outstanding Bakery, semi-finalist). The three locations offer classic breads (baguettes, sourdough, Waechter’s pickled rye), sweet and savory croissants, tarts, cakes, pies, salads, sandwiches and more. Diners can even stock up on an errant pantry item or two while waiting for an order (or after enjoying a pastry on the front patio in Amagansett). A regularly rotating line of seasonal gelato and sorbet makes this bakery even more European in scope and style—and even more irresistible.
Hannah Selinger is a James Beard Award-nominated lifestyle journalist and author. Her work regularly appears in Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in the Best American Food Writing collection. Her critically acclaimed memoir, Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly, was released in 2025; her debut novel, Valley of the Moms, will be published next June.
