Every Starbucks Reserve Pastry, Ranked Worst To Best

It's hard to resist a good pastry; I think we can all agree on that. No one, and I mean no one, wants to spend over $5 on something that's too small, tastes bad, or is unsatisfying — especially from Starbucks. So, we decided to take the guesswork out of Starbucks Reserve pastries and rank them from worst to best.

One of the various reasons I wanted to explore the world of Starbucks Reserve pastries is because I am personally a pastry connoisseur, and it is worth mentioning that I briefly attended culinary school and studied pastry as well as savory food. 

On the menu for Starbucks Reserve, which is different from a regular Starbucks, there are eight basic pastries. In addition to the eight pastries I am ranking, there are also seasonal specialties and dessert-like treats, which will not be included. The pastries featured in this article are five different types of cornettos, a raisin and pistachio girella, a cinnamon roll, and a classic brioche roll. Read on to find out how they ranked in our taste test.

The raisin and pistachio girella is at the bottom of this ranking for a few reasons. I was looking forward to trying this pastry, but it fell flat.

This pastry is kind of like a cinnamon bun with its interesting shape. It's a twisted bun that is delicately dotted with some raisins and pistachio cream. It looks nice and neat, and you can see some raisins and some flecks of cream. It is also rather large in size for the price, which is a great thing.

One of the things that I found interesting about this pastry is that it had a glossy and sticky finish. This is great if you have hand sanitizer but if you don't, the stickiness on your fingers is more likely an inconvenience, especially if you're running to a meeting.

When it comes to eating, it is super easy to rip apart and pop in your mouth, but the flavor combination is not very strong. The raisins offer a great burst of flavors and textures, but any hint of the pistachio cream is nowhere to be found, which was extremely disappointing. The flavor combo seemed super exciting and innovative, but since it was not very balanced, it is at the bottom of our list.

A cornetto is a typical Italian breakfast item that is often paired with coffee. It is quite similar to but different from your everyday croissant — croissants are typically less sweet and more buttery. I would say that this pastry looked a lot like a croissant and actually tasted quite similar; however, it was not rounded like a croissant.

There are five cornetto flavors on the Starbucks Reserve menu, and this bite was quite lackluster compared to the other versions of this on our list.

The texture is super lightweight, with a lot of layers of buttery goodness. It is not very sweet and leans more on the savory side. It is super crumbly, so just know that a lot of this will end up all over your shirt. I have multiple notes saying how buttery this is. This pastry was good but not anything special, which is why it's second to last on this list. 

This is a stuffed cornetto, so it's not quite as plain or simple as the previous item. I was wholly expecting this to be my number one item on this list; instead, it ranks third to last. Let me start by saying that for the size of the product, I felt like it was priced well, but that's almost where all the pros end. 

If you are looking for something that is going to be great to post on social media, this is a great item to do that with. It has a very aesthetically pleasing cocoa dusting on it, and you can see a little pocket of chocolate hazelnut spread on top. However, that little pocket of the spread is the only bit of filling in this entire cornetto. It was extremely disappointing to have that tiny drop of filling being the only filling throughout the entirety of the pastry. 

The little bit of filling had a strong flavor, which was one of the upsides of this pastry. The spread has a great balance of nuttiness and chocolatiness. Despite the lack of filling, this did play well with the butteriness coming from the cornetto dough. The sweetness with the savory is a great combo, but I wanted more filling. 

This is another variation of the stuffed cornetto, except this was stuffed with raspberry jam. The top of this cornetto had a delicate dusting of powdered sugar, which made it look pretty; you can see a little pocket of jam in the photo. When it came to the product, it was a great size for the price.

When it came to tasting, I was looking forward to a mouthful of buttery dough and raspberry jam, but that is not what I got. Upon further inspection, the jam is only in the middle of the pastry and not all the way through, so you have to eat it halfway to enjoy the filling. The tartness of the jam took over the flavor of the base pastry, so it was not super balanced. As someone who fell in love with the bold, fruity, raspberry-filled Ghirardelli chocolate squares, I was expecting this to be equally as good, but I was disappointed. 

The textures together were pleasant, but once again, this pastry is quite messy (it got everywhere). It was good, but it could have been better. 

This pastry was a very different shape from the others on this list. It was shaped a lot more like a pain au chocolat than a regular cornetto. It reminded me of the shape of a seashell. In the middle of this pastry, much like a pain au chocolat, it had multiple sticks of bittersweet or dark chocolate.

It was quite a bit smaller than the others, so it was a bit small for the price, but its taste outweighed the cost. When looking at this pastry you can see so many of the layers, which made it super satisfying to eat. 

The chocolate in this can be tasted with every single bite, which is one of the reasons why it ranked so high on this list. You could really taste the flavors throughout the entirety of the pastry and not just in one section. The bitterness of the chocolate married well with the buttery flavor of the cornetto. I wish there was a bit more chocolate, but this was fantastic.

This is the final cornetto on the list and my favorite of the bunch. This pastry was a bit small, but it was covered in almonds; some were a little burnt, but ultimately, it was quite pretty and pleasing to the eye. It was a bit on the smaller side for the cost, but it was very enjoyable.

This takes our spot as the number one cornetto because the almond filling was spread throughout the entirety of this pastry, and you could taste it. Almond-flavored things can get quite overwhelming, but the flavor here was present in a way that was not too much or too little. I do wish it had a touch more almond since, personally, I love this flavor profile.

When it comes to texture, this filling was light and did not weigh down the pastry, making it a super airy and delightful bite. The filling paired with the base dough was well-balanced and super tasty. The biggest flaw with this pastry is the fact that it was the messiest cornetto yet. I'm still cleaning my shirt. 

Name something better than a warm cinnamon roll with icing. Hard, right? This was so completely different than your everyday cinnamon roll. Instead of icing, this cinnamon roll was covered in cinnamon sugar.

Although there are plenty of other aesthetically pleasing pastries on here — this is not one of the prettiest — it is one of the best tasting. The size-to-cost ratio makes this 100% worth it. I'm not sure what base they used for this pastry, but it was super lightweight compared to a store-bought cinnamon roll. The texture of this cinnamon roll was so interesting; it almost felt more like a puff pastry.

The cinnamon flavor is very profound in this and that's one of the reasons why I loved it so much. You take a single bite, and you're met with a cozy cinnamon flavor. I was impressed with how much the flavors in this stood out amongst the other pastries.

Yes, brioche takes the top spot out of all the Starbucks Reserve pastries. This perfectly baked pastry is as pretty as it is yummy. It is in the shape of a croissant, complete with curled edges.

The brown crust on this makes it incredible for photos. It looks as good as it tastes; this is something you will see and want to eat. The crust on it is there, but it's not too thick, and it's not too thin. This brioche is fluffy and sweet, like eating a cloud. Light and airy, but it's not quite the same texture as the cornetto. Its texture is pillow-like and super soft. It is both rich and sweet, which is why it's widely loved.  

There is no filling, but Starbucks Reserve does make a lot of sandwiches and uses this as the base. One of the reasons why brioche is also a standout item is because it can be used in a savory or sweet way, making it a solid choice for anything you might be craving in the morning. It was also a huge surprise for me, as I was not expecting this to be the top pastry of the day.

When it came to ranking these pastries from worst to best, I considered a lot of different factors. One of the main factors is that I attended culinary school and studied both pastry and savory dishes, so I have a good understanding of how things should taste, feel, and look. I am also a self-proclaimed pastry connoisseur who adores all types of pastries, including sweet and savory items. 

For the rankings, I personally tried and tested all of these in the span of a day. I paired the pastries with a cup of water, so that none of the flavors would be impacted by the flavor or taste of coffee or tea. I judged each item based on presentation, taste, and texture. I also considered how the flavor profiled paired together and if I thought the pairings were successful or unsuccessful. 

Finally, the last two things I really considered were the cost of the item compared to the size and quality of each pastry, as well as if the item fell more on the sweeter side or more savory side; because sometimes you want a savory pastry in the morning and other times you might want something nice and sweet.