Address: 3306 Yonge St, Toronto ON
Website: n/a
Style: French
Price: $$-$$$
I went on another Cake Tour by car through Toronto again and, as seems to be the case, it definitely didn't go as planned, and the number of potential bakeries went from five to one, namely due to the bakeries no longer existing, being sold out of everything, or simply being ridiculously overpriced for something you can get considerably cheaper at a four-star (that is, rated by me) bakery. :(
Hence, I ended up exploring this bit of Yonge St for the first time and chanced upon Pâtisserie Sebastien, a relatively small cafe with an equally-sized variety of elaborate cake slices and traditional French baked goods. The former looked fairly impressive, though a tad bit pricey (at $6.50), especially as everywhere else, the fruit tarts (which are always my fave) are slightly cheaper than say, the fancy chocolate and pastry concoctions. Some had a bit of a Japanese influence (the art also supported this theory of mine, and lo and behold, this is yet another Franco-Japanese team -- at least what I could get out of the article (in Japanese) on the Japanese-Canadian businesses website -- à la Pâtisserie 27! ;)) Sadly, the selection I experienced was a far cry from the photos featured on the Japanese site of shelves stuffed with lovely cakes and viennoiseries, which I assume means the place has seen better days prior to my visit. The inclusion of cupcakes (cupcakes!?!?) especially cheapened the otherwise lovely display. :/
Having risked mousse-y creations on a hot day once (and only once), I knew it wasn't worth risking another catastrophe, so stuck to the baked goods this time around. Though there wasn't much to select from, I picked out the apricot danish ($2.50) as the potentially tastiest of the bunch (there was also an apple). Dough was excellent: light, airy and deliciously buttery (as it should be!! ;D) and especially yummy with the soft, sweet apricots in the middle. The bed of I'm not sure what (apricot is usually served with an almond paste mixture or it could have been some sort of custard) was also tasty, though the graininess of the otherwise smooth and mushy inside bugged me a little bit; it felt like it didn't belong. O.o Overall, there may not be that much selection, but I quite liked it and you can tell that the guy in charge knows what he's going. I have yet to go up and down fully on Yonge north of Eglinton, but from first glance, this is the best place, in terms of both value and original, tasty-looking pastries and viennoiseries.
Rating: ***
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