The Art of Pastry

Fika is the address that taught Almaty to take pastry seriously. In 2023, it helped set off the city’s new bakery wave — laminated dough, Danish references, proper bread and all the small rituals that come with them. Inspired by Denmark, Fika has become the natural first stop for anyone looking for the city’s best swirl or canelé. Through the arched opening, the bakery is in full view: dough being mixed, layers rolled, trays moving in and out — quiet, precise theatre for those seated on the right side of the room. At the centre is the daily display by chef baker Yulia Konysheva: fresh bread, sweet and savoury buns, freer desserts and cleaner, health-minded options.

Editor’s pick: Danish pastries

For a bohemian tea ritual, Astra is difficult to pass by. The scene is set the moment you enter: on the marble bar, arranged on silver trays and tiered stands, fresh pastries seem to look back at you with dangerous intent — all made in the spirit of brand baker Maxim Babich. Do not rush to the table. Pause first and choose your hero of the day: plump croissants, bow-shaped pastries, berry and frangipane galettes, tarts, madeleines. Everything looks so delicate, so beautifully composed, that calories feel almost beside the point.

Editor’s pick: Pain au chocolat

«Just indulging in a few buns» as the old line goes — at Aqqu, pastry arrives with a full dose of nostalgia and a distinct sovietcore mood. Large aluminium trays, the kind you remember from school canteens, are filled with vatrushki, weightless custard horns, perfect condensed-milk walnut cookies and poppy-seed babka. In the right mood, it can feel almost moving: these are flavours that belong to memory, untouched by trend and built to last.

Editor’s pick: custard horn with boiled condensed milk

Voronka is the casual café of now: part Berlin, part St Petersburg, with all-day breakfasts from 8am, proper specialty coffee, a stylish crowd and dogs with better manners than most people. There are plenty of reasons to come, but the pastry counter should not be missed. It is compact, but dangerous: banana bread, matcha cookies, a sticky poppy-seed and cardamom bun, plus weekend and holiday specials that keep things interesting — a persimmon puff one week, caviar-filled walnut cookies the next.

Editor’s pick: pastel de nata

In Almaty’s modern pastry history, Cafeteria is where the comeback really began. Back in 2018, under chef Alexander Proshenkov, the brand entered its golden bakery era — and has been impossible to separate from its signature pastries ever since. This is pastry with status: excellent butter, generous fillings, a lacquered finish and the kind of camera-ready confidence that made Cafeteria part of the city’s social routine. Dropping in for dessert here is practically a habit of glossy Almaty.

Editor’s pick: almond croissant

If your weakness is pastry with perfect form, Renée Cafe is almost mandatory. Too beautiful to pass by, too delicate to think about calories. Yekaterina Semyonova — whose background includes Ladurée — oversees the croissants, the intensely buttery dough and the distinctly French character of the counter. The display looks almost unfair: polished, precise, and arguably more seductive than many of its Parisian references. The main star is the babka — soft, fragrant, threaded with vanilla and poppy seed. Other bestsellers include the blackcurrant coulis croissant and pain au chocolat.

Editor’s pick: babka

Images: restaurant websites and social media; Yandex Maps