Fezziwig's

Bakery: Fezziwig's Bakry Cafe
Address: 605 KLO Rd, Kelowna BC
Website: https://www.fezziwigs.ca/
Style: Canadian
Price: $$

It has taken me so long to get Fezziwig's on here, even though, with three locations, it's one of the more major bakeries in Kelowna; the reason is mostly that it's never open! I've gone by this location a few times and have never made it. Once, I deliberately made a trip to their other location on Gordon and got there 10 minutes before closing time; I found it closed, lights out with no one inside. Suffice to say, they hadn't just closed. At long last, I was going to pick up some pizza and -- lo and behold! -- Fezziwig's was actually open. I'd come around half an hour prior to closing and was a little irritated that the first words upon entering were: "we're closing soon, you know". It's not like I was gearing up to order a three-course meal or something! Wow, Fezziwig's really seems to live for closing time.

Accordingly, I just wanted to get in and out. Having take a look at their various pictures of sandwiches online and in-store as well as from local reports, I always assumed Fezziwig's to be a bakery in name only, that perhaps bakes the bread they use to make their sandwiches or just have sweets for the sake of having something to have with coffee or as a dessert. You know, a cafe; at the very least, they seem to especially cater to the lunchtime crowd. In this sense, I was surprised that they actually had quite a large display area of the store devoted to bread and baked goods. It is, indeed, a real bakery. I was more surprised at how large the selection of danishes, squares and cake slices was at so "late" in the day. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, since more often than not, I encounter empty bakeries hours before closing, not relatively full ones at closing. Bonus points for me.

I really like bread pudding and whenever I see a place sell it, it's likely to be my first pick. Such was the case at Fezziwig's. Their bread pudding ($2.60) had a baked crust for a nice crunch on top with a soft, chewy inside, just the way I like it. A delicate hint of flavour, and though the granulated sugar sprinkled on top added sweetness, it was a little excessive in places, especially as it turned into a hardened crust when warmed up prior to eating; I wasn't such a big fan of that. Pretty good. I just wish the welcome was as warm as my reheated bread pudding.

Rating: **1/2