Pavel Stolarsky and Mary Martin want to tell you about eclairs, but also creamy, legit profiteroles, decadent tarts, vertiginous croquembouche and so much more.June 18, 2026Pavel Stolarsky’s career in the kitchen started with a fudge. No, not that kind of fudge.“I lied to my first chef,” he says, laughing. “I told him I know everything and I didn’t even know what cauliflower looked liked. He told me, ‘Go get the cauliflower from the fridge.’ I went to the fridge. I stared in the fridge, then came back and said, ‘Chef! No cauliflower!’ He had to drag me back – the cauliflower was [right there].”Eclair at the Bay's decadent, signature eclairs.Markus RavikIt’s funny story straight up, but particularly when you consider Stolarsky’s subsequent path as a pastry chef, a position that’s almost as much science as it is cooking – there’s zero room for fudging it. Stolarsky’s impressive CV now includes stints at Maze by Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, both Michelin-starred restaurants at the time.He arrived in Australia in 2016 and, backpacking around the country, worked in the Margaret River and then at Harvest in Newrybar, along the way meeting his partner, Mary Martin.Together, Stolarsky and Martin launched Eclair at the Bay in Byron Bay in 2020. The point of difference is right there in the name.Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign up“Everywhere was a croissant,” Martin says.“Everywhere was a freaking croissant,” Stolarsky echoes, laughing. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re great bakeries doing great croissants, and I think maybe it was an arms race and everyone understands what a croissant is, and everyone understands what, say, a cookie is.”Eclair at the Bay occupies the Newstead premises previously home to Jocelyn Hancock's Cake & Bake.Markus RavikThe solution was to tap Stolarsky’s skill as a pastry chef, but also his nostalgia.“Back in Canada [where the Russian-born Stolarsky grew up] my dad and I used to buy profiteroles,” he says. “They’re great because they’re straightforward to make, they’re light and creamy and you can do a lot with them.“What dessert can we easily duplicate in many different flavours?” Martin adds. “And with an eclair you have the filling and the topping, so you can create so many recipes.”Beyond its neatly stocked counter, Eclair at the Bay produces larger items for special occasions.Markus RavikStolarsky and Martin launched Eclair at the Bay online for Mother’s Day that year and their trio boxes of eclairs (chocolate, vanilla and lemon) were an immediate hit, with 100 orders that day. Market stalls followed, and eventually a small shopfront in Byron Bay.In late 2025, the couple shut their Byron shop and moved up the highway to Newstead, opening in late March in the premises previously occupied by Jocelyn Hancock’s Cake & Bake. It’s an upgrade from the Byron digs.White chocolate ganache tart with raspberry coulis. Markus Ravik“It’s a much larger space and I have a cold room, making quality control easier to manage,” Stolarsky says.Out front, it’s carefully curated and very much designed for grab and go, with a glass cabinet decked out in the brand’s striking royal blue. It suits what’s inside: precisely presented eclairs in seven flavours – chocolate hazelnut, apple crumble, salted caramel, tiramisu, lemon and one rotating special – alongside protuberant profiteroles, textural craquelins, and immaculately styled raspberry, and caramel pecan tarts.For drinks, it’s simple: black coffee, tea and fresh-pressed juices. Otherwise, there’s a shelf full of merch, imported candy, books and the like, and that’s about it.Eclair at the Bay's Paris Brest.Markus RavikBut then, a lot of this feels like an advertisement for what you don’t see – the croquembouche, tiramisu, chantilly raspberry cakes and so on that Stolarsky and Martin produce to order for special occasions.“The croquembouche is what we sell the most of, I think,” Martin says. “They range from 15 to 60 choux.”Pavel Stolarsky and Mary Martin.Markus RavikEither way, Eclair at the Bay feels well timed. French cuisine’s Australian comeback over the past 10 years has brought with it a renewed interest in elevated, pastry-chef made desserts.“For a restaurant to have a pastry chef is an investment. It’s expensive, I totally get that,” Stolarsky says. “But I think that’s why we’re having people come into the shop and they’re not entirely familiar with what a true eclair can be … so there’s an educational element to it that we really love as well.”Open Wed-Sun 9am-6pm58 Commercial Road, Newstead, 0466 242 214eclairatthebay.comFrom our partners