Swiss Bakery

Bakery: Swiss Bakery 
Address: 143 E 3rd Ave, Vancouver BC 
Website: http://swissbakery.ca/
Style: Canadian, European 
Price: $$-$$$

From the outside, Swiss Bakery looks like a classic European-Canadian bakery that's been here for a great many years. You know the kind. Maybe a strudel or a danish, Linzer tortes and Black Forest cake if you're really lucky. So for a first-time visitor, stepping inside and finding a brand-new, bright bakery is a little bit of a surprise. I'm not quite sure whether that's necessarily a good or a not-so good thing. For one, I instantly knew this new-and-improved bakery would be pricier than I first envisioned it, though it's not bad; beyond that, I noticed that the "Swiss" was more or less in name alone. Especially in the case of sweets, there wasn't that much there that could actually be called European, much less Swiss. Baked goods included several varieties of muffins, tarts and doughnuts with a few squares and a couple buns and pastries. The focus, however, seems to be their doughnuts, or, more specifically, their various types of cronuts. And if there are doughnuts to be tried, you definitely won't find me complaining. ;)

Yes, I'll admit that my first impression wasn't as favourable as it had been before stepping inside and examining their selection, but all turned out well in the end, and that was thanks to a pair of very yummy doughnuts. I grabbed the French crueller ($2) and the apple fritter ($2.50).

The crueller isn't an easy doughnut to nail. More often than not, despite being a small bakery, the crueller has that commercial taste to it. This was one of the best I've had: airy, soft and multi-layered on the inside with a crunchy, croissant-like crunch on the outside. I can see why they do cronuts.

The apple fritter was equally tasty, with a nice amount of apples and spice, with a good glaze, great soft texture that unmistakably fresh, fried "crust" on the outside. I'm sorry for having doubted you, Swiss Bakery! ^^

Rating: ***1/2