Sunday Morning Bakery Claims To Have NYC’s Best Cinnamon Roll—So I Tried It

We are living in bakery renaissance times and yet—how many sweet treat spots make an okay cinnamon roll, mediocre chocolate chip cookie, and an average croissant? Most of them. Seldom do I see a bakery truly rising to the occasion and claiming to be the best of just one baked good. Cue Sunday Morning, which opened in Alphabet City this January that only serves cinnamon rolls. Yep, that’s it. I truly admire a business that commits to the bit as hard as this one. Video reviews of influencers documenting their cinnamon roll experiences have been dominating my feed since this spot opened, so it was time for me to pay them a visit.

The team that opened Sunday Morning also owns Rana Fifteen, a more traditional concept with dinner service. The hyper-specific bakery idea came about when, according to Time Out New York, the owner would bake his own cinnamon rolls at home on his one day off of work every week because (predictably, this was on Sundays) and he claimed he could not find a good one in all of New York City. Then, he decided to become that bakery he’s been long searching for—and now he dishes out 10 different types of flavored cinnamon rolls (plus coffee). I was not about to eat 10 cinnamon rolls for one investigation, but I was willing to try.

The Snacks

I arrived to Sunday Morning at 8 a.m. sharp on a Friday morning, which is supposed to be their opening time, and there was already a line down the block. To make a long story short, they did not truly open until 9, and by then the line had tripled in size. The very kind owner came outside to check on everyone periodically because it was raining, and he assured us they did not expect such a crowd on a weekday morning. Once I got a waft of cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which traveled down the block, I couldn’t even be angry about the wait. Once I was in, I had to choose between these flavors: classic, bananas foster, caramel pecan, Earl Grey strawberry, blueberry lemon curd, and an ube. Here’s what I went with:

Classic cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing. It’s important to get a baseline when trying a bunch of different flavors of the same thing. When tasting cinnamon rolls, I look for a gooey center,, a strong balance of cinnamon and butter, and a slight underbake in the center of the roll. This baseline roll exceeded my expectations because it was more buttery than sugary. The cream cheese icing was tangy and held up well against the cinnamon filling. No notes.

Earl Grey strawberry cinnamon roll. I was skeptical about this flavor combo because while it sounds good in theory, I doubted that it would hold up on such a heavy pastry. However, the Earl Grey leaves were infused in the icing and the strawberry preserves were incorporated into the actual dough. A pleasant surprise! I think I prefer the classic, but I loved how dedicated they were to getting such a subtle and floral flavor to come through.

Blueberry lemon curd cinnamon roll.This one immediately caught my eye in the glass case because of it’s bright blue and yellow color. The lemon curd tang cut through the rich butter of the roll and the sweet blueberries. It tasted a lot like a big stack of warm blueberry pancakes. What’s not to like?

Final Rating

Important to know: Like many of the places that I visit for this Snack Shop, expect a line. But I think it’s truly worth a visit if you’re a cinnamon roll lover and on the hunt for innovative and fun flavor combos that all seamlessly blend into a cinnamon roll. Keep in mind they have a lot more flavors on a rotating basis, from pistachio to chocolate babka. All in all, I declare Sunday Morning to be perfectly rated and worth the hype.

If you’re reading this and you have a suggestion for a Snack Shop in the city that I must visit and (honestly) rate, leave a comment here or on our Snack Shop TikTok video. I love suggestions!