NYC hidden dining gems: Unregular Bakery charms with off-the-wall creations

Drinks are drinks, but drinks garnished with croissants are better drinks. So, when I heard that one of my go-to Union Square spots, Unregular Bakery, was serving “lattinis” — colorful iced lattes garnished with three mini croissants — I hardly needed an arm twisting before I hopped on the L train to try one.
Run by couple Gabriele Lamonaca and Paola Sinisgalli, Unregular Bakery is the sister establishment to Unregular Pizza, which is just down the street. Unregular Pizza won me over years ago with their “burrapizza cafonata,” a square slice topped with hot honey, ‘nduja, burrata, and pepperoni. Now, they might just win the award for funkiest pastries and lattes, if such an honor were to exist.
It all started in 2020, back when everyone entered lockdown and sourdough bread was really having a moment. Gabriele Lamonaca skipped trendy sourdough and made pizza instead. He would add “unregular” toppings and post photos on social media.
The posts started to garner some traction, so he started an Instagram account under the handle “unregular pizza.” Friends asked if he would deliver, so he did. But instead of accepting money, he would accept random gifts as “barters” in exchange for his pizza, which ranged from horseback riding lessons to hotel stays and even dental services.
Unregular Pizza eventually opened a brick-and-mortar in Union Square in May 2021. Having seen a fair amount of success, the couple decided to open Unregular Bakery in September 2023.
True to Gabriele and Paola’s quirky nature, the bakery is indeed quite “unregular.” You can opt for a 1,000 pain au chocolat, which looks like (and is) a bunch of mini chocolate croissants all stuck together, and frankly, kind of reminds me of a brain; a “BombaSpritz,” where the flavors of Aperol spritz are incorporated into an Italian donut, or bombolone; or even a BurraCroissant — a circular croissant filled with burrata and basil pearls.
My hands-down favorite sweet treat at Unregular Bakery is the chocolate strawberry cookie. The dough is crisp on the outside and light on the inside, and the slightly bitter chocolate paired with the acidic pop of strawberries makes for an addictive bite. But I’m not mad at the vegan blueberry rosemary donut or the spicy mango bombolone, where they really don’t shy away from the heat-meets-sweet factor, with ingredients like chipotle, tajin and mango curd.
I also once had a vegan pistachio croissant dipped in chocolate. Though I was skeptical of a croissant sans butter, Unregular Bakery’s is flawless, and the crisp chocolate shell added great texture.
It’s no surprise every bite is just as delectable as the next: all dough is made in-house everyday.
I last went to Unregular Bakery about a month ago, and Gabriele warmly welcomed me with a “murtadel” sandwich, made with mortadella, burrata and pistachio pesto on a savory bombolone. It was my first time trying something savory from the bakery, and I’m happy to report the salty lives up to the sweet, which comes as no surprise since the slices at Unregular Pizza have yet to let me down.
It was with my meaty, cheesy donut sandwich that I finally tried the lattini, which comes in four flavors: cold brew (made with cold brew and milk chocolate — which is what I tried); green matcha (made with green matcha and matcha chocolate); strawberry rose (made with rose extract and strawberry chocolate); and blue matcha (made with lavender syrup and blue matcha).
All lattinis are iced, topped with cold foam (if you’re vegan or avoiding animal products, just ask for no cold foam), and three mini croissants. The result is an adorable, delicious pick-me-up that’s topped with a little treat.
Not only is Unregular Bakery able to exceed the satisfaction of either your sweet or savory tooth (or, if you’re me, both), but to this day, they still accept barters. Of course, they’ll be happy to take your hard-earned cash, but you can arrange to bring them anything from a bottle of wine to a homemade meal in exchange for some pastries and lattinis if they agree to the terms.
In any economy, but especially this one, that’s a good deal if you ask me.
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