In the last seven years we’ve seen pastry elevated from flavoured and stuffed croissants to a buffet offering of intricately designed religieuse, cakes, and petit fours. The best pastry shop in Toronto is just not about croissants. Canelés and kouign-amann are starting to appear daily, not just one-offs that sell out with the push of a tweet.
Here’s our roundup of where you can find Toronto’s best patisseries.
1. Colette
When the Chase Hospitality Group took over the former Scarpetta space at the Thompson Hotel, they brought refined French dining to the King West neighborhood. Along with Colette’s dining room, exec chef Michael Steh and pastry chef Leslie Steh opened a French pastry counter at the front featuring an assortment of French treats and artisanal breads. The croissants are some of the best in the city, perfectly laminated and stuffed with chocolate. The peanut butter variety is the café’s best offering thus far.
Colette Petit Café, 550 Wellington St. W., 647-348-7000
(Image: David Ort)
2. Maman
Newest to the Toronto patisserie index, Maman aims to bring Michelin-grade viennoiserie by way of Southern France to the city’s financial district. Maman’s menu stretches from baked sweet treats to savoury tarts, sandwiches and salads, making it a versatile option for both morning and afternoon meals. After only being open for a few weeks, the highlight so far appears to the sandwich offerings.
Maman Toronto, 100 King St. W., 647-879-3642
(Image: David Ort)
3. Tempered Room
The long awaited Parisian patisserie comes from beloved Toronto chef Bertrand Alépée who has singlehandedly inspired many of Toronto’s pastry and dessert programs from Centro to Canoe. All of the signature Alépée items are featured at this Parkdale shop from a line of eclairs to confectionary (financiers, coconut macaroons, chouquettes) and viennoiseries (brioches, croissants). The savoury items, quiches and croques, have created a cult-like following.
The Tempered Room, 1374 Queen St. W., 416-546-4374
4. Thobors
A long time favourite in midtown Toronto, Marc and Sylvie Thobor have been master bakers in Toronto for over 10 years. The highlights here include the daily bread selection — baguettes, fig breads, honey rye, and the stuffed danishes and croissants. It continues to be one of the few places in Toronto where you can get an authentic kouglof (brioche stuffed with raisins and almonds). The cake selection has plenty of gluten free options.
Thobors, 627 Mt. Pleasant Rd., 416-544-1733
5. Roselle
The newly opened Corktown pastry shop by George Brown grads is part of a wave of new Asian-French fusion pastry and sweet shops opening across the city. One bite of the banana cream eclair is enough to prove that pastry chef Stephanie Duong is madly talented. Since opening Duong has added cakes, tarts and souffles to the menu. During the weekend the duo also serves up a crepe menu with a rotating selection of toppings and spreads.
Roselle Desserts, 362 King St. E., 416-368-8188
6. Nadege
Pastry chef Nadege Nourian opened her first boutique pastry shop on Queen West back in 2008. While Toronto had its share of croissant and pastry shops, Nourian was arguably the first to expand the city’s spectrum of French pastry. Toronto got its taste of finely decorated macarons, petit choux and canelés. Nourian has since expanded with more boutique shops across the city, but the original location on Queen West remains the best.
Nadege Patisserie, 780 Queen St. W., 416-368-2009
7. Petite Thuet
Think of the last time you had a really good loaf of bread at a restaurant in Toronto and chances are good that if it wasn’t baked in house, it came from Marc Thuet’s bakery. Thuet has a longstanding reputation in the city for his baking, and his midtown shop is the best showcase for the man’s talents. Macarons, croissants, seasonal danishes and an assortment of breads are the highlights.
Petite Thuet, 1162 Yonge St., 416-924-2777
