Menelon Bakery

Bakery: Menelon Bakery
Address: 811 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto ON 
Website: http://www.menalonbakery.com/
Style: Greek 
Price: $$ 

The third in my St Clair W Cake Tour Extravaganza (three bakeries in one day; more to come on a future visit ^^;), Menelon Bakery was the only bakery whose success and existence I was assured of prior to my coming. Always a fan of Greek baking and likewise it's not the easiest baking style to find outside of Greektown, I jumped at the chance to pop into this well-established bakery/deli. As with a majority of Greek bakeries, you do need to be somewhat aware of what you're getting, because nothing is named or priced. However, Greek baklava is certainly the most bang-for-your-buck (or should that read 'bang for your buklava'? ;D) out there and Menelon is no exception. At $2.50 a piece for what seems to be all the large pieces, you won't be wondering where all your money went. Lol.

While the bakery is pretty much limited to the front window of the store, selection is small, but covers all the essentials: a couple varieties of baklava (triangles, rolls), bougatsa (custard cake), semolina cake (sorry, my knowledge of Greek pastries is not, on the other hand very comprehensive), cookies sold presumably by weight, and Greek whoopie pies (they have a Greek name, that I know) of various sizes. The only thing that was really missing from the roster were loukoumades (honey-drenched doughnuts), but they had diples! So I'm not complaining! *-*

I've actually only seen these thin rolls of fried dough once and assumed that no one else would have them. I've come to discover that I really like them, so I just couldn't resist more diples ($2.50)! :) Delicately scented fried dough brushed with a hint of honey and sprinkled on top with cinnamon and chopped walnuts, this was very good. I'd say I liked my first one better, as this was a little more brittle, but the nuts were a nice touch and I still loved unrolling my dough. ^^;; Mmm... diples.

The second item was a classic triangle-baklava ($2.50) loaded with nuts and weighing a lot. One sampler said it could have been more drenched in honey syrup, but everyone agreed it was a great piece of baklava.

However, what got more rave reviews than the baklava was the bougatsa ($2.50) -- generously swimming in honey syrup and filled with tasty custard. This was rich and moist and very good.

In general, Menelon was really good, but not the best Greek bakery I've been to; however, it's a great alternative for those west of the Danforth. And you can have your diples too. :3

Rating: ***