Monarch Bakery

Bakery: Monarch Bakery
Address: 1823 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver BC
Website: n/a 
Style: Canadian 
Price: $$ 

Monarch Bakery looks like a bit of a relic in the midst of newer, renovated commercial development. There is nothing fancy about the almost austere window display of cookie trays lined with baked goods as well as the small grouping of refrigerated cases, but there is something refreshing about just being greeted with sweet treats in all their raw simplicity. With it being located across the street from one of Metro Vancouver's best bakeries and greatest Polish doughnuts west of Montreal, they also have some hefty competition, at least the way I see it.

So how does Monarch fare? One thing which is nice is that they seem to have regular specials, so you can get stuff at really good prices. The second thing is that they have a nice selection of baked goods, rows upon rows of cookies, and what I assumed was a nice selection of doughnuts -- they were all gone by the time I showed up. A few cakes, but again, it's rather no-frills and perhaps not exactly as "European" as I was hoping. One special at the time was two Copenhagens for $2.75. I grabbed the last two available. The price was too good to pass up, but almost too good to be true: could a pastry that cheap be tasty?

Yes, I admit I was doubtful, but just putting it on the plate to take a picture, I found it flaky and hefty with the delicious scent of almonds. One bite and I was hooked: layered flaky dough wound round like a cinnamon bun of sorts with softer dough on the inside stuffed with a generous amount of almond mass. Then, a bit of plain old icing on top. This was... so good! My doubts were groundless.

Now, whenever I make the mandatory trip to North Vancouver for Polish doughnuts, it'll be almost impossible to step across the street and see what's on special at Monarch. One of the top bakery picks on the North Shore!

Rating: ***1/2