ottawa foodies

La Maison de la Baguette, on Bank Street, has very good croissant. They are not viennoiserie style (which I find The French Baker's) but are more buttery and less flaky. They are hard to find sometimes because all the people working downtown buy them all up at lunch time. Worth the trip for the croissants, the rest of the stuff there is good but not nearly as amazing.

The French Baker hands down has the best in the city!!!

Here is a perfect croissant, freshly purchased from the Première Moisson bakery on Monkland Ave in Montreal (June 24, 2006). A few memorable minutes later it was all mashed up and soggy in my gut. Highly recommended.

Picked up croissants today and was really disappointed. They were very heavy and greasy. The outer crust was flaky, but inside was gluey and heavy. I don't mind a bit of dough, but this was all dough and no flaky layers. Staff seemed particularly grumpy, so maybe it was just an off day.

The croissants were excellent! They are the denser, smallish style but have excellent flavour and crispness. My wife preferred these to the bigger, flakier style found elsewhere. Can't wait to try the almond croissant!

Thoroughly enjoyed a perfect croissant from here this afternoon – buttery and flaky. Love the new storefront too.

Based on one visit, I think this Croissant might deserve the crown of Ottawa's best croissant... very slightly edging out Art Is In Bakery and Bread & Sons Bakery. In fact, I'd describe it as kind of a cross between those two and the heavier The French Baker offering. Highly recommended!

I was in Herb and Spice on Wellington and noticed that they carried The French Baker products. Definately an easier place to access than the market location for me.

I bought croissants. They were amazing. Basically, a real French croissant, unlike any croissant-like "bun" that you buy at the supermarkets here in Ottawa. I forgot how good the french croissants were and will be spoiled by this experience from here on in.

I have no idea how much I paid for them as I bought several things at the store and did not get my receipt.

If you are going to indulge, go for the gold and don't waste your time/caloric intake on Costco/Metro etc croissants.

After seeing the Buzz on Ottawa foodies about how good The French Bakers Croissants are, I went over to check them out this morning. I had recently posted about how Bread and Sons makes the best Croissants in the city and I wanted to see if the FB stood up to them. Well, no, they didn't. Don't get me wrong, they were very good, soft, and fresh. And yes, one of the better croissants in the city - but i resent people saying they are as good as Croissants found in France. This is not at all a negative judgment on this lovely little bakery. I also picked up a baguette this morning which was amazing and I had a really delicious Illy coffee. I just urge you foodies out there, to check out Bread and Sons Croissants because they are simply amazing. In terms of other bakery items tho, I would say both shops have a fair competition in terms of quality. The french baker however, comes out on top in terms of Coffee. I must mention that if you like soft croissants this is likely the place for you - and at any rate, you can't go wrong with practically anything you buy here.

That is my two cents.

ossBASHA, what you are saying is impossible. I know several bakers that work at TFB, and you will never get a croissant that is not fresh. Like the owner says (whom I have the privilege to know), some are kept to make the almond croissant and the pain au chocolat.

Contrary to what you say, TFB is THE place to get a real croissant in the Byward Market. There are plenty of places to go if you want a mediocre one, though.

Dear M. Mantel,
Welcome to Ottawa Foodies! I think the ossBASHA may have meant "pastries" when he said "pates", but he/she would have to clear that up.

I wouldn't be too concerned with one review. The fact that he worries about us calling him biased tells me that maybe he works for the competition! or maybe I am just making up foodie drama.

I think TFB croissants are to DIE for. Every time I have had them, they have been nothing short of perfect! Buttery, flaky deliciousness.

Keep up the great work!

Dear ossBASHA,
I am the owner of the French baker and am a little upset by your comment.
Obviously you were not in my bakery : we don't sale any pâté!
Our croissants like all our Viennese pastries and scone are bake daily in our fournil on Murray St.
At the end of each day, we give away to some charities all our unsold products (Viennese pastries and breads). We just keep croissants and chocolatines for making almond croissants or chocolatines (the real traditional way).

Went to try the croissants on Monday and was disappointed. It was dry and seemed like it was baked 1-2 days before. The same for the pates, although they were slightly less old. I'm not going to suggest somewhere else, so I'm not labelled as biased, however there are better places to go in the market.

I am absolutely in love with their croissants. Better than the grocery store bought ones for sure. I love the crisp exterior and soft and buttery interior. Perfect fluffy texture that just melts in your mouth. Love it.
Next time I'll try their almond croissant and baguettes!
P.s. Their Illy coffee is also delicious!

The chocolatines are to die for. My friend shared hers with me. I was expecting a Bridgehead chocolatine since I thought that TFB supplies Bridgehead, but somehow this chocolatine was 100% better than any I've had at Bridgehead. The outside was perfectly flaky and crisp, the inside nice and soft and buttery - and somehow the chocolate was melted inside? Maybe this only happened because it was so hot today (Mousseline?) but the chocolate inside the ones at Bridgehead is always hard. I much preferred the melted-chocolate version!

I lived in France for several years and I can confirm that these croissants are the real thing. I searched for months here for something that approximated a true French croissant and The French Baker is it. Their almond-filled croissants are very similar to the "Alsacienne" that you find in Alsace--filled with a not-too-sweet almond paste and sprinkled with almond slices. The petits pains au chocolat (I think they call them chocolatines here)are also very good. It's all about the butter....and also about not being overly sweet.

I loved the croissant here. It was airy, light and buttery. A perfect croissant and wasn't even greasy at all. Next time I'm in the city, I will definitely get croissants here.

I literally just came back from the Bridgehead at Golden and Richmond. A friend invited me for latte and then treated me to an Almondine. We both quite liked them. Really flaky on the outside and the inside had that yummy paste but still had the layers of croissant. It was a pretty decadent treat calories wise I am sure so I best not do that too often but for me it was a delightful treat. I guess different strokes for different folks.

I love the new Bridgehead croissants. I hate the new Bridgehead Almondine. An almond croissant should still taste like a croissant. It should be a bit flaky, a bit crispy and the almond mixture shouldn't be so buttery and thickly layered that it makes the inside of the croissant soggy.

Honestly, I wasn't impressed and I probably won't order it again. On the other hand, they have three other croissants that impress me time and time over.

Very good croissant, should probably have made the top 3 and beat out Le Moulin de Provence... I had the ham & gruyere croissant, amazing! Definitely rich though, maybe a once a week type of indulgence. I wish I would have taken a photo, but I ate the thing too damned quick... was a beautiful looking pastry while it lasted.

The new croissants are better than the average grocery store croissant but they don't really compare to the French Baker ones that they used to carry.

I'll probably get baked goods from elsewhere instead of their now overpriced croissants.

I was not first but I also got one of their croissants this morning. I was pretty dubious about them getting rid of the French Baker croissants and chocolatines but I have to say their new ones are excellent too (the croissant anyway, I did not see any chocolatines). They are very crispy on the outside, soft and flakey on the inside; maybe not as buttery as the French Baker but perhaps closer to what people might expect in a croissant. I'm a fan of the F.B. style but these will certainly do.

I was fortunate enough to be the first to try their new croissants at the new Metcalfe and Sparks store this morning at 6:30 am.

Cheaper than a flight to Paris!!!

Run, run now. They won't last long.

ottawafood.blogspot.com

Rumor has it that the new croissants will be made from the same dough that they are using for the Morning Buns (see review below). If this is the case, I think they'll survive just fine.

Gasp! Looks like Bridgehead is switching from French Baker Croissants to... (wait for it) MAKING THEIR OWN! Big shoes to fill! Looks like no croissants at Bridgehead until they get going on April 12th. I am interested to see how this goes down!

On Tuesday they only had the regular croissant left and I bought one.

It was decent but not really worth the $2.50 since it is not quite as good compared with the ones I had in Paris the week before for 1 Euro or 1 euro 20. With the high fat/butter content of the croissants, it is an indulgence I want to save for something a little better.

On Wednesday, realizing that they might ran out a lot of stuff with March break, I called at lunch and asked them to set aside 3 chocolate almond croissant in addition to the double chocolate mousse cake I had ordered. With my Mom's birthday dinner, I am pretty sure we will have some takers. My niece misses the pastries from Paris and my sister forgot the little bag of hand carried goodness / care package under the footrest in the plane back on the Jan trip.

The chocolate almond croissant is a almost as good as the ones I had had the week before and a good deal at $2.95 considering the amount of work that goes into it and these tend to be 2Euros or more in Paris. Decent amount of chocolate, almond paste and sliced almonds with flaky pastry. I rather have these once in a while as a treat rather than the tarts, truffle, scone, and regular coissant I had tried in the last 2 days.

We finally got to the new location last week, twice! Everyone loved the almond croissants - they were definitely the favorite. I also had a chocolate croissant and it was very nice.

tried a croissant from here for the first time. it was great. definitely my favourite croissant in the centretown area so far. time will tell how consistancy is though.

i had another pastry - a kugelhopf - as well (it was mother's day afterall). it was really disappointing. i had one previously (though can't seem to find my review on here) and it was wonderful. i don't know that i will try again. the prices are just too high for my pocketbook for me to take too many chances.

Definitely my new favorite croissant in town.

I came to Art Is In to try out their lunch sandwiches (delicious) and discovered my new favorite place to enjoy a croissant and double espresso. I can't wait to try out the rest of the inventory!

I find it amusing to read the various comments on this forum from posters chiming in about croissants, some of whom go so far as to claim authority from having travelled to distant faraway lands such as France where we're told they bake the real McCoy. Having eaten my fair share of both trash and treasure in this fabled gastronomical Shangri-La, I'd like to say that there as many styles of croissants in Paris as there are bakeries, with long queues of their respective devotees.

This empirical data suggests that the best croissant is possibly the one you enjoy best. Given that, I'd like to throw some gas on the fire and flat out denounce the croissants from the French Baker. I was introduced to these more than 20 years ago by a Parisian no less, and while once upon a time I would have agreed that they were very, very good, over the past few years they've become inconsistent, greasy piles of Pilsbury dough, and with all the finesse of a lead weight. I used to buy these from Herb & Spice on Wellington and when I complained was told that the quality varies depending on which baker has been on the night shift. Thanks for the explanation.

I'm told that even Herb & Spice got tired of the complaints so recently switched to Art-is-In and I have to say that I really enjoy their offerings: airy puffs of pastry, with a good amount of buttery flake, light inside, equally good warmed or as is... salvation at last, to have croissants in the neighbourhood that do justice to my husband's scrambled eggs, and make Eggs Benedict worth the effort.

To put my remarks in proper context, my holy grail of local crossaints hailed from the long defunct "Blue Moon Cafe" on the corner of Bank St at MacLaren. While Art-is-In croissants are not quite on par — this little bistro made them every morning and served them hot & fresh with the most amazing omelettes — they are a fairly close second and will have to do until I retire in Provence and play petanque with the locals while we drink pastis and debate which baker makes the best croissants in the Vaucluse.

(As a side note, my favourite baker in the city is currently True Loaf and I wonder when and if they will start to offer their version of the mystical croissant.)

The cross-sectional view, after tearing in half. Just beautiful!

Finally!!! Ottawa has a source of truly authentic Croissants! These are without question the BEST I've had outside of Europe, and are (as far as I can recall) exactly the same as the great croissants I enjoyed in Montreux.

They strike that perfect balance between crisp flakiness, chewy butteriness, and light airiness. This is what I've been talking about, folks.

Reading the "About" page on the Art Is In Bakery website, I see that Kevin Mathieson has work experience in Paris, Monaco, and Zürich. It all makes sense now.

I am ecstatic!

$2 per croissant makes this a pricy treat, but certainly one worth experiencing -- if only to save yourself a trip to Europe. ;-)

The plain croissants here ($1.50) are very good in comparison to grocery store offerings. Buttery and hearty though they are, they just don't have the joyful crispy airiness found in a perfect croissant. A little too sweet for my taste.

I will return to try the chocolatine and cheddar versions. This style of croissant would work well with fillings!

The croissants here are baked from frozen and are pretty good -- light, moist, chewy, fairly flaky. Not quite Art Is In Bakery or Bread & Sons Bakery good, but certainly better than you find in most bakeries. The one in this photo was $2 at the coffee counter.

The really cool thing is that they are also available for purchase in their frozen state (product of France). This means you can bake them at home for an extra special morning meal without having to first drag yourself to a bakery at an ungodly hour! And they have chocolatines too.

Since it came up, Ichiban has my favourite croissants in the city. Better than the French Baker or Art-is-in (although both are good). Lovely service from the family who owns and runs it. Great Baguettes too...

Not sure why people a badgering user named Rizak were unkind when I posted about a nice, new establishment in Westboro. Perhaps their hostility prevents them from going out and exploring these wonderful eateries. PS Rizak, one of the rules for this forum is to treat other foodies with respect. If you cannot do so, do not comment.

Yes, blubarry they were in St. Jovite! They are now in Westboro, accross from the Clocktower or running room. In addition to the croissants, they have freshly baked breads and a great assortment of cheese. No I do not work for them, I live near them and go daily for my fix!

If you ski at Mont Tremblant you might know this place already, since they have relocated from there. Not just food but French tableware and linens as well.

Where are they? Maybe you could fill in the details for inclusion under the header.

THE BEST CROISSANTS in Ottawa! Worth the drive! No other place matches the authenticity and french crisp of these croissants. I have longed to have a real french croissant since moving to Canada and this IS the place!! A MUST!!

A month ago, I would have given the croissant crown to Art-is-in. Now, I'm not so sure. It's chewier and doesn't melt in the mouth as fast as a croissant from Art-is-in. However, that is not a bad thing at all because it has a different taste and texture when it's in your mouth.

Ah well. Just means I have to eat more of their croissants to decide.

Wow!! Crisp, flaky, chewy, appropriately buttery, not sweet -- everything a great croissant should be!

I'm calling a tie between Bread & Sons Bakery and Art Is In Bakery. The French Baker is great too, but they are a different kind of food.

The almond croissant was pretty good, although we weren't crazy about the artificial almond flavouring (think amaretto). YMMV.

Didn't try the chocolatines yet (got them for the kids) but they look great!

they certainly know how to make a croissant done right here. they're very flaky and buttery, like a croissant should be. reminds me of great croissants in Montreal at Duc De Lorraine and Au Pain Dore.

these should really be rated much higher on OF. go out and try one and give a thumbs up!

My favourite croissants I've yet had in Ottawa (including those from the French Baker!). Made with 100% butter, they are also available with bars of dark chocolate or crushed almonds.
Just flat out delicious.

I've eaten croissants on my travels, including France. I agree the French Baker croissants are great. But, right there with them are the croissants from Second Avenue Sweets in the Glebe. You have to get there early to buy them as they don't make a lot each day. The chefs there are incredible.

I'm told the ebar gets their croissants from The French Baker. This was less greasy (i.e. less buttery) than I remember those croissants being, but the flavour was good and the crispness was perfect! A nice option when you run out of the house on the way to work without having breakfast. ;-)

I have had these also and they are pretty good. Even better, though, will be the croissants that you will be able to buy at Macarons et Madeline's when they open their storefront on Wellington Street, which hopefully will be any day now. I realize that is a ways from you but it will be well worth the trip. And, even better, he will make Kouign Amann upon request!

I have just returned to Ottawa after living in three different regions of France for fifteen years, the last twelve of those years in Normandy.

In France the standard of baked goods like bread and croissants various from one Boulangerie to another. Usually, but not always, you will find the better products in those establishment which display the sign Artisan Boulangerie. Which indicates that they bake everything themselves from scratch and do not use prepared bulk products. But you can also quite often find acceptable baked goods in the chain supermarkets; Leclerc, Intermarché, Carrefour, etc. As they all bake in house the quality varies from supermarket to supermarket, depending on the baker employed there.

The croissant being my staple breakfast food I went in search of them as soon as I got here. And I found acceptable croissants, easily up to the best of French supermarket standards, just around the corner from where I am living, at the Metro on Beechwood Road in a box marked Front Street Bakery – Café Butter Croissants described as Baked in store. A large box (I think there were 10 in it, but I was jet lagged and I did not count them) cost $3.99 – cheap even by French standards. Though the croissants were much smaller than those I am used to.

By sprinkling them with water and popping them into the oven for a few minutes to revive them they have lasted me 5 days. I will certainly buy them again.

I hope this post does not upset the purists among you.

The Herb and Spice (at least the one on Wellington, I'm not sure about the one downtown) sells croissants from The French Baker. So if you're craving croissants and can't get down to the Market, there's another place to get your fix!

I've been reading the comments here and I have to disagree with anyone who says the croissants are as good/or better than anything you find in Paris. BIG DISAGREE. I have tried several of the foods from Le Moulin de Provence and yes I have enjoyed some, and have been disappointed with others! But their croissants lack quality!

Just this past weekend I decided to give them another try (I was disappointed with them before hand) I was craving a chocolate/almond croissant and it was horrible. It was dry and hard on the outside and raw on the inside. There was far too much powdered sugar on the top and was made with far too much almond flavouring. Not one flake of almond on the whole thing. And the chocolate inside was ....well, lets just say, there was one little square of it near the outer corner of the croissant. Sorry, but this was NOTHING like the ones I have had in France..

The person I was with also had a cheese croissant. He ended up throwing his in the garbage after a few bites because it was so dry.

Lets just say, I wont be giving them another chance, nor will I spend another penny there. The disappointments outweigh the pleasures from Le Moulin de Province.

After reading that Ron Eade and company (communities.canada.com) found these to be the best croissants in Ottawa, I had to give them another try.

It seemed a little better than I remembered from before, being a little more moist and a little crispier. However, I found it waay too sweet. The sugar may be added to appeal to the North American palate, but to me it just makes it taste like grocery store product.

In my books, The French Baker is still king of the croissant, although I'm keen to try the new ones at Bridgehead .

We tried some croissants here (plain, cheese, and chocolate) just after trying one from the French Baker (The French Baker). It was a bit like eating a slice of processed cheese after tasting a morsel of Oka.

Not absolutely terrible, but not much better than one can get at the grocery store. (Pillsbury croissants are absolutely terrible, so these aren't quite that bad! :-) ). A little on the dry and chewy side.

Yum - I've finally found a croissant that reminds me of the ones I used to get at my local market in Montreal! Picked one up at the Merivale location this morning, fresh out of the oven.

All this talk about croissants made me hungry - picked up a couple at Farm Boy (Merivale) this evening :P

Today's batch (or what was left of it) looked more like buns than croissants ->

Sorry - I should have clarified I was talking about the Premiere Moisson croissants! I really wish they had them in an open display so I could pick and choose as I see fit :)

Just wondering monty....are you talking about the Premier Moisson croissants from the showcases or the croissants that you get in the 6 packs??

I love these croissants. Great flavour with just the right amount of butter, and baked to perfection - unlike some other grocery store's so called croissants (Loblaws...blech!)

Yes!!! If they bake them correctly (e.g. Merivale location) they are recognizable as the superior Première Moisson croissants. Interestingly, the shape is more "manufactured" and less artfully delicious looking than those in Montreal.

I was shopping quite late in the day (6pm) and purchased two of the five remaining croissants. I ate one as soon as I got home and it was clear that it hadn't been baked within the past hour or two; but the great flavour and texture were unmistakable. I'm drooling to try one earlier in the day, when they are fresh from the oven.

For my taste, these are now the best croissants in Ottawa!

Spied at the Merivale Farm Boy location: perfectly baked non-yellow Première Moisson croissants (like the one in my photo on the Croissants page). Because of the holiday shopping rush I didn't get a chance to linger and sample one, but I will do so ASAP.

The new Farm Boy in Barrhaven sells Première Moisson croissants. I was excited when I discovered this because the ones sold in Montreal are truly awesome.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find that the Première Moisson croissants sold in Ottawa are underbaked. Croissants are not meant to be a YELLOW food! They are supposed to have a nice brown colour like the one in my photo of a Première Moisson croissant purchased in Montreal. Sorry, I can't recommend them.

Plain, almond (not overly sweet) and chocolate (pain au chocolat); wonderful brioches, too.

i know i shoulnt compare anything to paris, but i cant find anywhere that makes good (with real butter) croissants! Ive heard Delice royal was suppose to be there, and ive had their croissants before, but i cant find them...

Their croissants are really good, both the traditional and chocolate. Probably only second to the French Baker in my opinion.

Went there this past Sunday, tried the 'almond paste' croissant, absolutly terrible! super dry, stale tasting and the almond 'paste' seemed to be so absorbed due to the overall dryness of the croissant that i could barely detect it's presence. my jaw hurt from the chewing and the last end bite sent shards of croissant flake shrapnel flyng out of my mouth. DISGRACEFUL performance, shut down and open back up when your bakers care!

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned Boko Croissants yet!

Buttery and soft on the inside, crisp and flaky on the outside. They are an absolute delight!

My favorite breakfast is to pick up a Bridgehead coffee and a Boko Croissant on my way to work.

Best Croissants outside homemade