Delighful Fluffy buttery croissants

[lamaranthe]

amadeusfinecakes.com
7380 Campbell Avenue
Thornhill, ON L4J 7M1
[phone]
Don't be impressed by the address : it is on Bathurst, going North past Steeles, on the East side, in a small strip mall. Their croissants are amazing (the price too: $2 each) but really worth it. Should you live around there or pass by, don't miss it. Their other pastries and cakes are also soooo good !

[knusprig]

I just bought and was disappointed with Amadeus' croissants, dry, small and pricey.
'What A Bagel' (8010 Bathurst St), 2 lights north of Bathurst & Centre - opposite Shoppers Drug Mart has fresh croissants at 79 cents a piece.
A very buttery croissants (and large) are from 'Bagel Nash' at the plaza where Longo's is (Bayview & Laureleaf). $1.50 a piece.

Knusprig

[junkie]

ive been browsing around at supermarkets and came across:

whole foods - just went there yesterday and was impressed to finally see a multigrain croissant (for a slightly healthier alternative), which was was fairly nice and buttery once heated... ill probably hit it up in the mornings for the more fresh ones.. they also had chocolate, almond, and plain.... (didnt try though) recall it was $1.99 each

[junkie]

wandas pies - almond croissants are amazing when fresh, regular ones are average, however service is crap
amadeus - almond croissants are pretty crisp and fluffy however on the sweet side, service is crap as well
bagel house - surprisingly the croissant was really nice and simple... not too simple like the cheap supermarket or open window bakery style.. but a nice crunch
whole foods - like above, i enjoyed the multigrain variation
le cicogne - just had an almond croissant today, on the heavy side, but not too sweet, nice little patisserie to sit in, crowded tables though
patisserie sebastien - very nice looking croissants, taste average, nice service
patachou - the almond croissant is fairly crispy, very light to taste of almonds

tim hortons - nice quick fix when fresh, do not get it heated ( they microwave it and it gets mush )
starbucks - nice quick fix as well, get it heated! stays crispy and fluffy
open window bakery - no

[shelleypascual]

Awesome suggestions, I think I'll check out Patachou to taste their almond croissant! I am always on the hunt for whole wheat croissants in Toronto. They're hard to find, and the shops that do serve them don't do 'em very well... Whole Foods' multigrain croissant was just mediocre for me... large in size yet lacking in depth/richness.

Other places that have whole wheat croissants:

—Kensington Natural Bakery: Probably the healthiest option of this list, as they're small-medium in size and easy on the butter. Nothin' special.
—Sobey's (select locations): Available at the location on Yonge St., near Wellesley, I will only pick up a whole wheat croissant from here if I'm really craving it and if I'm in the area.
—The Big Carrot: I have yet to try these house-made croissants; they sell out very quickly on weekends.

[jnine]

I've been liking the chocolate and almond ones at Aroma on Bloor in the Annex. Big, fresh, fluffy and buttery. I find Pain Perdu and Patachou to be crunchier, than the better pastries I've had in Europe. I prefer crisp crust and soft flaky insides.

I've also been impressed with the almond croissant baked in house and served at the AGO cafe. It's a little on the crunchy side, but flavour is excellent.

[unshkw]

My friends(crazy croissant fans) and I(not really a big fan of croissant) were having a little croissant competition last summer and winter. They tried La Cigogne, Thobors, Jules, Pain Perdu, La Bamboche, Rahier, and Patachou.
The result is like: Patachou≥Jules>Rahier>Pain Perdu=La Cigogne>La Bamboche>>Thobors

Some of them are actually very close. Patachou's is more flexible, and Jules' is greasier and the aroma of butter is stronger. Both of them have very nice texture, flaky outside and soft inside. Rahier's is very very nice too (my friends love greasier one, and I love the flexible one more) Pain Perdu's is also nice, but one of my friend doesn't like it that much; La Cigogne's has less aroma of butter. La Bmaboche's quality is not stable, and they are too tight inside. Thobors' just too dry.

Here is my flickr link with all (except La Cigonge) Croissants' pix, and you can compare which one looks better http://www.flickr.com/photos/katherin...

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Rahier
1586 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G, CA

Pain Perdu
736 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C, CA

Patachou
1120 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W, CA

Cigogne
1626 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G, CA

La Bamboche
4 Manor Rd E, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

Thobors
627 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[Adrock75]

I concur with the love for Patachou croissants. Fantastic texture, slightly sweet flavour, among the best in Toronto.

Pain Perdu is a nicer place to sit (if you can get a table) and the croissants are pleasant, but often slightly over-baked.

World Class Bakers' croissant is outstandingly flaky on the outside, and soft in the middle, but the croissant had little flavour.

Slightly off topic, but the almond macaroons at Patachou are spectacularly awesome.

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Pain Perdu
736 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C, CA

Patachou
1120 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W, CA

[shelleypascual]

Thanks for this helpful run-down! Patachou and Rahier are now on my list of asap must-trys. Haha. BTW, it doesn't seem like many people in this discussion care about whole wheat croissants... but I must say, I tried Fiesta Farms' whole wheat croissant recently and it was simply delightful! Flaky and crisp to the bite, soft and fluffy within.

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Fiesta Farms
200 Christie St, Toronto, ON M6G, CA

[knusprig]

Hello Shelleypascual.
I have bought wholewheat croissants from Metro supermarket bakery (Bridlewood, Finch & Warden) and they are pretty good. They're not always available. I don't if other locations carry them.

Knusprig

[junkie]

service was disappointing... ugh

women crossing arms talking about you... hahah what a joke

[magic]

I found this as well yes.

[happylnuts]

There is a famous bakery on Bayview (south of Eglington) called "Kashir" (maybe wrong spelling). Their croissants are delisious (and so does everything else in that store). There is a queue usually on a Saturday morning for all those folks who live around that area : )

[Yongeman]

You have to be thinking of Rahier or La Cigogne. Those are the two on Bayview. Otherwise it's Celestin (now Thobors Bakery) or Jules on Mt. Pleasant.

[shelleypascual]

Jules Patisserie on Mount Pleasant is an absolute gem! The patisserie has two kinds of almond croissants: heavy on the almonds and lighter on the almonds. Though literally heavier and heartier, the former croissant is superb. Not too sweet. Somewhat dense. Flaky. Fresh. Haven't tried the Light Almond Croissant yet, but I expect it to be just as superb.

[syoung]

Jules is good. However, I do have one issue. They leave all their croissants on the counter in plain view and uncovered. My issue is that sometimes when people talk, they spit and when they talk over the croissants, where do you think some of that spit lands? Now it's very little and you obviously can't see it, but just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there. As well, during the summer, you have flys & other insects landing on them. A couple of time after seeing flys land on and eating the lemon filled croissants, I just left.

Back on topic, Pain Perdu makes excellent croissants, just as good as Jules. And their croissants are displayed under glass, as it should be. :-)

[junkie]

just a reminder, pain perdu and jules are closed on mondays

[shelleypascual]

Thanks for the recommendation on checkin' out Pain Perdu! I will definitely make it a priority to try their croissants! Too bad they don't have almond croissants though? PS. You're right, perhaps uncovered croissants at Jules doesn't make them appear very appetizing :/

[syoung]

I think I saw almond chocolate at Pain Perdu but not just almond. Their menu can be found here: http://www.painperdu.com/

For almond croissant, I tend to prefer Celestin Thobors at 627 Mt. Pleasant. Celestin, as well, have their pastries covered under glass, again, as they should be. :-)

[shelleypascual]

Guess I have no choice but to try both Pain Perdu and Celestin now. I shall form an opinion from there. Croissant fiends, yeah! Daaaang, Celestin's almond croissant is $4.25! Kinda steep. But for food, price is never an object. Most of the time :/ Thanks again!

[hippotatomus]

oh gosh now you got me grossed out..i love their croissants

[hippotatomus]

i love the thuet almond

[ivxu]

I just tried the almond croissant from Petit Thuet. It was disappointingly dry and crumbly, not rich and flakey. I think Caldense, a Portuguese bakery chain does them better, and at half the price!

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Thuet
609 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

[syoung]

shelleypascual, the almond croissants at Celestin/Thobors are $2.30 each. Check their website here: http://www.thobors.ca/en_selection.htm under "Viennoiserie" category.

hippotatomus, sorry to gross you out! Unfortunately, all the croissants at Jules are on the counter where customers must talk across to order food, so, it's a busy area and, to me, thus it's a food sanitary concern.

Last summer, when I saw so many wasps and flies landing and eating the exposed croissants (it's especially gross when they land on the sticky cream-top fillings) and I informed the cashiers behind counter, she just said "yeah, we know" but did nothing. That's when we left and we weren't the only ones.

All they really needed to do was to put a see-through plastic wrap on top of the baskets and that should solve the problem. But I guess they don't care.

[shelleypascual]

I finally tried the almond croissant at Thobors! I also tried their plain croissant and chocolate/almond croissant. I must say, though the almond croissant was the perfect size, I wish it was lighter and flakier in texture. The almond filling was quite heavy, though enjoyable because it wasn't as sweet as expected. All in all, I enjoyed it... and I think I would like to try the almond croissant at Rahier next. Thanks!

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Rahier
1586 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G, CA

Thobors
627 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[gijoeanne]

The croissants at Ma Maison typically never fail to satisfy me. I have to say though, Hanks has impressed me with the quality of their croissants. Crispy, buttery, the inner layers have that pull... The almond croissant is really good too - not the custard or marzipan-type filling (although I gotta admit that I enjoy those types of filling too!)

[HSz]

I don't know what Campbell Avenue has to do with the address, but it is indeed on Bathurst (7380).

I've had their pastries and those are very good. :)

[Porto]

I live minutes from Amadeus. Certainly I'll agree that thay use good ingredients in their baked goods, butter cream and real butter in the crossiants. But I'll disagree they they are
fluffy and delightful. I have tried them on and off for about 6 years now. They are never really really fresh sitting at the counter. I find them a bit greasy and heavy, if I had to eat one of their crossisnts it would probably be the Almond crossiant although the almond paste inside is way too sweet. Same goes for most of the fine cakes and pasteries they provide. Nice flavours overall but way, way, way to sweet.

I have switched to Chocolada near Steeles and Yonge for pasteries and if a want a truly
wonderful and not overly sweetend cake I will go to Rahier on Baview. Worth the extra drive. Also Rahier or Cicogne on Baview hands down for crossiants. Again worth the extra drive.

[Chester Eleganté]

Almond only for me as well. I agree that they are on the heavy side, and rarely seem fresh (low turnover), but I still enjoy it for the almond overload. If you love your almond paste, this is the one to get. The Rahier is definitely better though, cheaper ($2), and has a proper balance of almond to croissant.

I don't find the sweetness to be nearly as overboard as your experience though. They make numerous quality cakes and goods here. Best cake is the hazelnut/Rocher-style "Amadeus" (which unfortunately is not sold by the slice). Seasonal items like the cocoa-walnut cookies and the chocolate sufganyiot doughnuts are fantastic.

[FoodJourno]

Is there a reason why we would be impressed by the address?

[acd123]

I think that may have been a joke. No?

[Chester Eleganté]

lam prolly meant to use another word. It's actually on the west side, at the sw corner of bathurst and clark (where the sunoco is).

[food face]

I was imressed by the address

[magic]

I was actually pretty impressed by the address too.

The 'Prince Noir' cake at Amadeus is amazing. Never had their croissants.