Antoinette’s Patisserie in Hastings-On-Hudson is one of the best-kept secrets in Westchester, but word is getting out. Tucked under a red awning on Warburton Street in Hastings-on-Hudson, it is the place to go for carefully brewed coffee, flaky croissants, delicious sandwiches, home-made breads, tarts and cakes of every variety. Step inside and you will feel as though you are in a European cafe: lots of conversation, people reading books, the family scurrying around to make sure everything is just right. It’s a sheer delight.

Customers gravitate to Antoinette’s because they love the culture and personality of the place. Kus Beham, his sister, Jane, with their mother, Antoinette (an accomplished baker for many years), have run Antoinette’s for six years right in the neighborhood where the two siblings grew up. An obsessive coffee roaster for eight years, Kus started his profession by “studying cafes” throughout Europe and America.

“I saw how transformative coffee has been historically, bringing people together,” he said, “creating community and culture.” And, since baked goods complement the experience of sipping a perfect cup of coffee, the family’s expertise came together to create the quintessential homey café where every item on the menu is made with love, care and the highest quality ingredients.

Every morning Antoinette’s serves a wide variety of croissants, muffins, popovers and rolls. Breads always sell out by the end of the day, so stop in early if you want to sample Antoinette’s selection of French bagettes, whole grain boules, focaccia, cranberry raisin walnut rolls and onion ficelles. Eggs are made to order; steel cut oatmeal, served with fresh fruit and honey is the most recent addition to the menu. And, every afternoon, the lunch menu’s soups, salads and sandwiches reflect seasonal fresh ingredients. Delectable sandwich combinations are served on Antoinette’s freshly baked rolls, croissants or bread choices. Daily soup specials gain their flavor from rich home-made stocks. And it’s hard to leave without sampling any one of Antoinette’s truffles, cookies, cakes or brownies. All truffles are made with the finest chocolate: Valrhona and Callebaut, and the flavors may range from caramel infused with lavender, chocolate rosemary, to white chocolate, Turkish coffee, or a traditional chocolate coconut. Cookies include the traditional buttery and flaky French sable, linzer torte, oatmeal cranberry or a chocolate-dipped tuile, among others. And, Antoinette’s famous tarts, tiramisu and cakes, especially the award-winning banana cheesecake, tinged with light brandy liquer and infused with a lovely caramel flavor, are available by the slice or can be ordered whole.

Those looking for state-of-the-art coffees and hot chocolates won’t be disappointed at Antoinette’s. Kus remembers his Italian grandfather roasting coffee, and recalls the fragrant smells permeating his grandparents’ apartment. Establishing a family venture centered around the enjoyment of a subtly rich cup of coffee “became a portal to discover who I was,” he acknowledges. Now he features many varieties in an attempt to satisfy all palettes. Hot chocolates, dark or white, lattes, espressos and flavored coffees come in every imaginable variety and infusion. There are blended iced drinks, chai tea, and even non-coffee blend like strawberries ‘n’ cream or vanilla bean.

Over the years Kus has built a strong relationship with his customers, knowing exactly what each prefers and creating coffee artisanally based on their individual tastes. Passionate about his roasting methods, Kus tries “to understand each bean,” hand picking them before roasting in small batches. He likes to marry East and West bean varietals, so he deals with five brokers who collect fair-trade, organic beans from India, Africa, and Nicaragua. His five unique blends (plus a water-processed decaffeinated, which allows for a cleaner, sweeter coffee without methaline chloride treatment) range from light to dark, and sell retail and wholesale. Customers who can’t get enough of Kus’ full-bodied smooth coffee, usually leave Antoinette’s with a selection of his Giaco Beans, and local restaurants with a similar sensibility, such as The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry, feature Giaco Bean coffee.

Antoinette’s Patisserie’s staff is charming and helpful, run deftly by Jane Beham, who treats both new and longtime customers as old friends. The place is small and the ambience engaging – sometimes eclectic music, live or recorded, warms the atmosphere. It’s a meeting place with multiple sidewalk tables, well located off the Old Croton Aqueduct, where walkers and bikers often stop for some much-needed refreshment. And, for those of us who live a few minutes away in the river towns, Antoinette’s should be a destination cafe on everyone’s list.