ottawa foodies

Yum! I love this place, it really does feel like an authentic Parisian Cafe in the heart of Ottawa. I especially appreciate the attention-to-detail in the ornaments and table dressing, which means there's always something interesting to notice.

I never leave empty-handed, either; the preserves and other produce make great gifts for friends and family.

You can't beat the proper French croissants, either... highly recommend.

Lovely spot for tea/coffee and dessert (tried the apple tartatin and maple sugar pie).

I had the pain au chocolate here about a month ago. While it was decent enough I think it was $3 or so for a small one that was not as crispy / flaky as I would liked.

The only croissant I really like at Art-is-in is their chocolate almond croissant.

Need to go around and try M&M again not on Mon/Tues and not late in day lol.. Ran into their hours / availability a couple of times.

We have tried the croissants here; haven't tried the baguettes. The croissants were very good. I'd place them around the calibre of Art is In, maybe not quite up to Macarons et Madeleines, which is probably our favourite place in town, but still very good.

I agree with FF's comment about the prices and value. This place reminds me of the 'Made in France' store that used to be on Dalhousie. It's not somewhere I'm going to frequent, but I'm glad it exists. They do carry some very nice products.

I do dislike the practice of not clearly displaying prices of products though.

We wandered through this shop yesterday and they have some really nice gourmet products and French country-style tableware. There is a deli-counter-style cheese fridge at the back, but the cheeses are displayed price-side down and are not directly accessible by shoppers. I guess if you want to know the price you can't afford it anyway. ;-)

On a whim, I asked for two macarons (pictured), one pistachio and one chocolate. These are the small kind and they go for $2.59 each (you have to ask about prices at the pastry counter too). I wish I could say they were great, but they were not the best in town by any stretch. The flavour was too mild and I'm 99% sure that the non-chocolate one was lemon rather than pistachio.

My wife had heard great things about the lime tart (www.ottawamagazine.com) and wanted to try this as she is fond of lemon tarts. The crust might have lost its texture because of the high humidity that day, but should it lose any flavour as well? The filling was good, but my wife declared the lemon tart at Three Tarts to be a superior product.

This is a cute shop so I hope it can survive in the long run. However, the prices and the atmosphere suggest a quality higher than reality indicates. So far, anyway. I'd be curious to hear from people who have tried the baguettes and croissants...

I am a regular customer, not the retailer. I am enthousiastic however, I lived in France and finally, Ottawa got some sort of decent croissants. Perhaps you should all be kinder to those who only wanted to spread the news about a great new little store in the neighborhood.

Well I've been to this vendor a number of times and can attest to their quality if not their marketing approach. We get the chicken pot pie regularly and the pastry is really great. Also have the arrabiata sauce regularly and it's very nice. Quiche is good too.

I've even tried their croissant! I am no connoisseur but it was tasty. Cannot vouch for the rest of the city.

So, apparently next to MHK and across from MEC on Richmond (#427).

I'm certainly willing to give it a try and see if these are ... and I quote here ... THE BEST CROISSSANT IN THE CITY!!!

If I get the chance. I'm sure they'll be sold out before I can get there if this is the case.

It was my belief that we were to abstain from hyperbole and personal review in the description of the establishment. Just the facts, man. Just the facts.

The overly enthusiastic description will surely scare people away instead of drawing them in, thinking it to be inauthentic drivel scrawled by the owner and not representative of the actual wares. Please leave the reviews to the section below. You know that you can edit that, right? Just a suggestion.

EDIT: Ah, but after checking I see that this is the same user who has made only 2 previous posts (both bad reviews) that got a total of 27 thumbs down. Oh, and my admonishment on their personal page (if that means anything to anyone).

Thank you!

Finally real French croissants in Ottawa! We are now civilized!

Tell us new user, how much do the croissants cost? And where are they located that it's 'worth the drive'? I thought they were pretty central.

And when did you open...ahem...when did you first visit this establishment?

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!!