Solly's Up Main

Bakery: Solly's Up Main 
Address: 4071 Main St, Vancouver BC
Website: n/a 
Style: Jewish, North American 
Price: $$

Solly's, a sort of breakfast/lunch New York-style bagel spot with a side of baked goods, got my attention with their giant street-side sign: "best cinnamon buns". I must have gone past Solly's sometime during previous Vancouver trips, since it seemed vaguely familiar, but I never considered it a place worth checking out in terms of potential Cake Tours. Of course, with a claim like "best cinnamon buns", they need to be put to the test.

Actually, I was surprised that they had more baked goods  and that it had more of a bakery vibe than I thought they would. The selection isn't huge, but it's nice to see cinnamon buns alongside chocolate babka buns and some sort of mini bundt cakes. That chocolate babka did look rich and delicious, I couldn't resist, but I think it was first my duty to challenge that claim to fame: does Solly's indeed have the best cinnamon buns? That is the question.

Solly's cinnamon buns ($3.50) are baked in trays and cut out in squares. They have an ooey-gooey syrupy topping that gives the buns a stickiness, though beyond that top it's actually more doughy, almost reminiscent of cinnamon/raisin bread; because of that, they're not overly sweet, which is good, but still loaded with cinnamon between those thinner layers of dough. The best? Probably not, but still tasty.

Almost identical in style, texture and execution to the cinnamon buns, the chocolate babka ($3.50) also comes in bun form, though it's certainly the richer of the two with a chocolatey filling in addition to that chocolate swirl on top, though I think the cinnamon buns were moister. Very good; perhaps not the best I've had, but a great place to stock up when you're craving classic cinnamon or chocolate buns in Vancouver.

Rating: ***