San Francisco may not have needed another croissant destination, but opening day at Parachute, the latest bakery in the Ferry Building lineup, proved that this city’s appetite for flour and butter is pretty much insatiable. 

By 8 a.m. on Thursday, dozens of pastry lovers had queued up outside for the bakery’s much-anticipated debut. And just about 90 minutes after staffers pulled open the gates and began taking orders, they’d sold through all 800 items that had been prepared for the day. “We have a lot of prep to do,” said co-owner and executive pastry chef Nasir Armar after stepping out from behind the counter to gaze at a trio of empty proofing cabinets that had been full of trays less than two hours prior. 

Judging by the pastries on offer, it’s clear Armar has a deep passion for — and skill with — laminated dough. Parachute’s classic croissants flaunt impossibly thin, flaky layers; fanatics may find them similar to those at Cedric Grolet’s Parisian patisserie, which makes some of the world’s most sought-after croissants. But Armar’s attention to detail is even better exemplified through the pain au chocolat.

Rather than shaping it into the usual rectangle, he stretches the pastry into a long, skinny batard, which allows the chocolate inside to run the length, meaning you get a sweet morsel in every bite. The almond croissants, which sport a spine of sugar-dusted sliced nuts, look like they could be saccharine monstrosities. But Armar avoids being too heavy-handed with the almond paste, giving the hefty pastry just the right amount of sweet, nutty flavor. 

It’s hard to resist the visual allure of the passion-fruit and vanilla cubes, which see tangy fruit and vanilla custard encased in a perfect box of croissant. These feats of edible architectural prowess comprise more than 200 layers of dough and butter that are compressed before being baked in cube-shaped molds. In another break from tradition, Armar uses Okinawan black sugar to achieve a deep, burnished, brown exterior on his brown-butter canelé; it’s a sharp contrast to the luscious, custardy filling inside. One of the most delightful surprises from the lineup is the unassuming monkey bread, a pull-apart pastry spiked with cinnamon and baked to a beautiful bronze. 

For those who favor a savory start to the day, the pain Suisse — a stuffed croissant usually filled with pastry cream and chocolate — showcases acidic little sun-dried tomatoes along with roasted mushrooms, spinach, and goat cheese. The beverage lineup includes coffee and espresso drinks, as well as playful options like strawberry cream soda and a banana and salted cream einspänner, an iced drink made with banana syrup and espresso. Customers who have a few minutes to sit and enjoy their pastries can do so at one of the few tables inside. 

For the time being, the safest bet to get your hands on the city’s hottest new croissant is to show up as early as possible. But once the team finds its groove, Armar plans to bake fresh pastries throughout the day. Noting Parachute’s location by the water and the high level of humidity, he warns that those flaky layers stay shatteringly crisp for only so long: “I’m a firm believer that the lifespan of a croissant is two hours.”