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Cheese Boutique
Category: Food Specialty Food Cheese Shops Cheese Shops [Edit]
45 Ripley AveToronto, ON M6S 3P2
Neighbourhood: Swansea
(416) 762-6292
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 7 pm
Sat-Sun 8 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Cheese Boutique
Review Highlights
"...expansive array of goods and their knowledgeable staff."
(in 3 reviews)
"Local, imported, aged, sheep, goat the list runs the gamut."
(in 4 reviews)
"Try their case of pates, sausages and other cured meats."
(in 4 reviews)
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14 reviews in English
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Review from Jen C.
10/5/2011 2 Check-ins Here
While the Cheese Boutique caters to the true foodie heart, you can't help but be charmed by this store. With its fine produce on display, shelves of curated sweets, soaring shelves jam-packed with both jams and mysterious packages, and of course, an enormous selection of cheese, there's something for everyone - and it's bound to be tasty.
Ring the bell for a sweet (though you might get a look askance if you're not under 12), have tea served in delicate glass cups, and sample delicious cheese from all over. It's a crazy and spell-binding experience to visit the Cheese Boutique for the first time - and every time thereafter. It still hasn't lost its appeal for me as of yet.
My favourite thing to do is to visit with friends and cobble a picnic of meats, cheeses, breads, and anything else we fancy, then heading South to the waterfront and enjoying our haul. The only things you need bring are a knife and napkins!
If you're looking for a specialty product, this place is your best bet. -
Review from Rick Y.
Toronto, ON
5/29/2011
Oh! My! Gourmet!
I could spend so much time and money in this shop, I almost wish that I never found it... almost.
This place is incredible! All the hard to find epicurean items crammed into a comfy space, staffed with friendly and knowledgeable staff. What more could you ask for!
I can tell I'm going to be back again and again! -
Review from Nicole C.
6/2/2011
When I walk into the Cheese Boutique I always get Gene Wilder singing "Pure Imagination" in my head as a prance around the glorious wheels of cheese!!!
I don't even want to admit to you how much money I have dropped in this place. Do you know what a Griolle is? Its a machine that only does one thing: makes cheese flowers from ONE type of cheese. That's it. If you don't have that cheese then its useless. The hubs said it would pay for itself over time as he slowly hands over his credit card while I shake my head slowly...
Anyway - from their discount 3 for $30 cheese (a good way to try new cheeses you've never had before) to their extremely knowledgeable staff (one of them was just brought into the high society poobah's of cheese or some crap), to their Turkish black tea samples and their Berkshire prosciutto, the CB has every thing a snobby cheese lover could want.
I highly recommend the following: Guinness cheese (made with beer!!), Tete de moine (for you other 3 Griolle owners out there :P), Delice brie and Smoked Applewood. -
Review from Greg B.
Whitby, ON
11/7/2010
Just an update!
Wow! It is as good as it gets here!
I have found a play ground for my taste buds!
If you haven't been ..go!
Then post it! -
Review from Joe C.
8/19/2011
If trying an assortment of different cheeses is your thing then this place should satisfy that fix. But be careful because you can easily rack up the $$ on their cheeses and imported product.. I suggest not buying the non speciality cheeses that you can find at your everyday supermarket. This place also has a great selection of sausages, quality meats, and imported dry foods that you most likely wouldnt find at big brand stores. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable which is a big thing for me to come back. The atomosphere is very inviting. you feel like you need to walk around and look at all their cool imported products before you leave. A europeanish experience. Again dont get carried away though because it can hurt your wallet.
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Review from Christine C.
Etobicoke, ON
9/13/2009
When I die and go to food heaven I imagine that it would look just like the Cheese Boutique. I have been a long time customer of this food mecca, from the days up on Bloor Street and now hidden down on Ripley Avenue. In terms of being a one stop for all your epicurean needs the Cheese Boutique is five star. They carry fresh produce, have a small butcher case, prepared foods, a monster selection of olive oils, pastas, food condiments and also have a dessert case. The only thing missing at the CB is a wine & beer license!!!! I would love to sit down with a house cheese plate and a glass of the grape. It would be pure manna.
One of the really cool features of the store is the cheese humidor in the centre of the building. It is a temperature controlled room where they age cheeses and charcuterie. It was in there I found a very cool cheese called Lemon Fetish. You just so have to love a food with the word fetish in it! It's a small round of semi-soft cow's milk cheese with ground up lemon zest rubbed into it forming the rind. It hails from Prince Edward County which is the up and coming cheese region in the province. The CB also carries a large selection of Quebec artisanal cheeses and those guys behind the counter know there cheese stuff! The store also has an amazing selection of breads which being the carbo junkie I am works for me.
This is a store with tons of nooks and crannies so be ready to spend some time wandering around. The CB hosts an series of food tastings featuring some of T.O.'s best chefs. It is definitely worth checking it out. Just make sure to hang on to your bank card....this ain't a bargain spot and it doesn't take long to add up the price tag. What you get though is worth every single penny.
There is parking available which is also very handy. You can have quick access right off the Queensway. -
Review from Marie B.
Toronto, ON
6/28/2009 ROTD 7/5/2009
This is my own personal Disneyland. I can spend hours walking down the aisles looking at all the imported sauces, oils, preserves, cookies, chocolates, etc. Their selection of cheeses and meat is unparalleled. So far the only place I know that sells burrata (highly recommended - serve it torn open to expose the creamy interior, drizzled with olive oil + salt + pepper, with a loaf of crusty bread) as well as Roaring Forties blue cheese from Australia. They also carry a wide range of cured and fresh meat - Berkshire pork anyone?!
They are also generous with their samples and advice. The head cheese mongers are extremely knowledgeable and always ready to help. Had it not been for the friendly cheesemongers, I would never have discovered Comte and Gorgonzola Torte.
A visit to Cheese Boutique is not complete without a visit to the vault. I won't say anything else about it - you'll have to go and experience it for yourself.
I do have to warn you that you'll spend a pretty penny here. But the difference with the Cheese Boutique and other low-rent wannabe imposters (ahem, Fresh&Wild) is that you do get what you pay for - superior quality and service.
I hesitate reviewing this shop, if only for the fact I'd like it to be my own little wonderland. If you love food as I do, this is the place for you!!! -
Review from Dylan M.
Toronto, ON
4/11/2011
A great gem in Swansea. They have pretty much everything and anything gourmet food related. A food lovers paradise. Family owned, excellent staff and regular events make this place a favorite. Don't miss the month of Chefs! Great for catering as well.
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Review from Luke A.
Toronto, ON
8/31/2008
It was a risky move to relocate the Cheese Boutique from its old digs on Bloor West, but the current building (though well off the beaten track) is much better, allowing them to show off even more of their interesting imported foods. Fancy cheese and meat is their, er, bread and butter, but they also stock a lot of delicious sauces, pastas, exotic produce, and even have a small wine cellar.
Don't miss the coffee/tea section, which is on a narrow second-floor balcony overlooking the main deli area. Like the rest of the store, it's densely stocked, but neat and well organized enough so that it's not a hassle to find things.
They're also great with mini-events and tastings; I've often come here and been able to nibble on a free sample or sip some wine while a friend would go about his or her shopping. It's a family operation, and the owner-patriarch likes to shmooze.Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Heather M.
6/6/2010
Wow, talk about sensory overload in this place! You feel like you've died and gone to food heaven. The cheese selection is out of this world! Meats are beautiful (I never thought I would call meat "beautiful", but it is here), as is their confectionery and baked goods. They also have frequent events for their customers, which is a nice touch. Cheese samples everywhere and the staff have a real passion for their jobs and a knowledge of the products.
The cold room for cheese is great - what a heady smell in there. I would love to one day go into their basement cheese repository.
Recommended! Expensive, but what an experience. -
Review from An N.
Scarborough, ON
9/23/2009
This is heaven for a foodie. The cheese freezer blew me away and I had the most amazing blue cheese of my life. $14/gram for the cheese but it is worth it.
Words cannot describe how wonderful this place is. -
Review from Deanna W.
12/5/2009
Some girls drool positively with glee at the sight of perfume counters or beauty shops a la Sephora. Take my sister for example. Me, I go ga-ga inside food emporiums or specialty food shops. You could leave me inside one and find me days later haunting the aisles, eyes glazing over at the multiple possibilities in store.
So when my yelp buddy Christine took me here for a food expedition I was agog at having reached the holy grail of gourmet stores in Toronto. Yessss...! I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland wandering the multiple rooms stocked to the rafters with gourmet edibles. If I was having an extravagant dinner party and wanted to pull out the stops a trip here would be in order for the CB is Toronto's version of Dean & Deluca. It truly is a culinary heaven owing to their expansive array of goods and their knowledgeable staff. Truffles are available here for a pretty penny. Exotic olives and jams they got 'em. Need some fixings for a charcuterie board? Try their case of pates, sausages and other cured meats. Order up some exquisite prosciutto just so you can say hello to 'Enzo', their star imported hand cranked slicer. And let's not forget the cheese, for the selection is unparalleled throughout Toronto. Local, imported, aged, sheep, goat the list runs the gamut. Finally no trip here is complete without a visit to their cheese 'cave'-a special humidor created for the affinage, the aging of cheese. The cheese cave is the equivalent of a bank vault: one step inside will leave you marvelling at the valuable wheels of cheese and their heady aromas. Some are aged specifically for the top restaurants in town, all lookee no touchee!
Definitely worth trip out to the western part of town, especially if you are looking for some special or extra nice! Pricey yes so reserve this for fancy schmancy occasions or if you feeling like pampering yourself food-wise.Listed in: Say Cheese! (Toronto)
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Review from Orchid J.
Toronto, ON
3/21/2009
I have travelled around the world and love specialty food places. This is by far the most interesting store, most comprehensive in its stock and very fun to shop at. Warning - if you come just browsing, or wanting to pick up a few items, you will leave spending hundreds of dollars. The cheese selection is the largest I have seen in Toronto. The service is great - they give you lots of attention and let you try everything. I supplied our Wine & Cheese party with the cheese here and they were fantastic. They also created little picks with signs for the cheese as it is displayed so your guests know what they are tasting. The additional preserves, chocolates, bakery are AMAZING. You have to prepare yourself as the experience is overwhelming!
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Review from Michael S.
Toronto, ON
9/14/2009
Good selection , but I only go there for the "hard to find stuff" b/c everything is over priced ....
