Justice for Raphael’s Baguette Sandwiches

When you walk into Raphaëls Bakery on Mason Street, do not fall for the classics! Those would be the pile of oven-fresh baguettes fogging up its case, the gooey cookies that look so elevated to call them chocolate chip would be an insult, the Croissant twice the size of your hand. Yes, all are singularly delicious, but astonishingly, not the star. For that you'd have to look lower, all the way down at the bottom of the corner case, to the constellation of seemingly humble sandwiches.

“The sandwiches are honestly very popular, but sometimes people walk in and don’t even know we have them,” a Greenwich Academy student and employee of Raphael's Bakery, Elia Amaro, states. “I think it’s because it is called Raphaels Bakery and so you walk in and see this giant array of pastries and people get so focused on those that they don’t notice the sandwiches that are tucked off to the side.”

I, myself, am guilty of this phenomenon I have coined as getting so distracted by the baked goods that you don’t see a bakery’s star item.

Photo credits: CT Bites ; the array of Pastries you see right as you walk in

18 years ago, Raphaël, along with his wife Charlotte and their three children, moved to the United States. Raphaël is the 3rd generation "pâtissier / boulanger" in his family, and his earliest memory in the kitchen was him cutting strawberries in the kitchen of his parents' shop. After coming to CT, he and his family went on to open up Raphaël’s Bakery in 2020 at their Greenwich location, and on November 16th, 2025 a second location in Darien because it had been such a hit.

Since 2020, Raphaëls has been “The product of passion, fine ingredients, hard work, and a lifetime of experience,” their website boasts. And critics explain the bakery is “as you would find in a French village.”

People are drawn to Raphaels by their baked goods, high quality ingredients, seasonal decorations, and the sense of community it fosters. But most importantly, people feel welcomed by the staff and the Dequeker family.

The Dequeker family right outside of the Raphaëls Bakery Greenwich location

The whole Dequeker family runs the bakery— from his wife, Charlotte; Charlotte’s mom, Héléne; and their three children, Kelian, Bastian and Titouan. Elia Amaro, who has worked there since October 2024, explained to me how welcomed they make their employees and customers feel: “They are genuinely the sweetest people. I love working there, and they always send me home with whatever free goodies are left over by the end of the day.” She also said that “Charlotte texts me all the time, even using emojis! They were the first people I told when I got into college.”

The bakery is so popular that Charlotte once said to the press “We do sell out,” she said. “I had a customer get upset with me recently – how could you run out of baguettes? But we try to make only what we will sell that day or the next, because it’s best enjoyed very fresh.” Everything is made fresh, on the premises, every day. But even if something sells out and a loyal customer comes in craving it, they will try and make whatever they want.

Behind the Scenes at Raphaëls Bakery (source: Greenwich Magazine)

Some of the Bakery's most popular baked goods (source: Greenwich Magazine)

My family and I have been loyal Raphaëls customers for five years now: my dog's picture is on their dog-photo-wall, they know us all by name, and always slip in extra Chouquettes (their signature choux pastry with pearl sugar), no matter what we order. But we had not discovered what I now believe is their best item— their Baguette Sandwiches— and that is because we simply didn’t know they existed!

Raphaëls Bakery Baguette Sandwiches (from left to right: turkey and Avocado, Prosciutto Mozzarella (top), and ham and brie (bottom)

Since discovering the sandwiches, they have been my go-to lunch meal. Their baguettes are light and fluffy on the inside yet have the perfect crust on the outside. My favorite filling has always been their prosciutto mozzarella because of how perfectly the freshness of the arugula pairs with the salty meat-candy-like prosciutto. Elia says the most popular ones are in fact the Prosciutto Mozzarella as well as their Turkey and Avocado. Besides those two, you could also go for a ham and brie, smoked salmon, vegetarian, or salami and pickles combinations.

Up until 3pm each day, these sandwiches are constantly being made. Erika, a kitchen-helper, along with Charlotte’s mom, Héléne, are the ones making these sandwiches to their own exacting standards.

My instinct is to gatekeep them: they have brought me so much joy over the years from getting one as a reward after finishing my AP exams to grabbing one as a pick-me-up in the dead of winter. But it is for those reasons that I feel indebted to these satisfying bites of goodness and I know I would be doing my community a disservice if I didn’t share how special they are.