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- Hours:
Mon-Sun 8 am - 6 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
13 reviews for Pain Perdu
13 reviews in English
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Review from Bartek C.
York, ON
3/3/2012
Wonderful, just wonderful.
An unpretentious french cafe settled in the middle of St. Clair West. The venue is small and seats maybe 15 at most. With fresh baguettes, pastries and great coffee, this will bring back memories of France for anyone.
Order an Espresso and Almond Crossaint and take a seat facing St. Clair on a bright Saturday morning (they open at 8am here). Do some people watching, take in the fresh pastries being baked, take your time .. and relax.
When you're done. Take the cities best Mille-feuille to go (or well, any pastry :-)) and share with a loved one.
The staff are wonderful and always have a smile, and I am a sucker for the accent. -
Review from Sascha N.
Toronto, ON
12/12/2011
So good!
Cafe au Lait! Magnifique!
Thank goodness this place exists. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
2/18/2011 12 photos
I LOVE Pain Perdu!! I wish there is a French bakery like that in my hood!!
Open daily from 8 AM - 6 PM... it is a great place to grab some croissants, a coffee.. and meet up with your buddy.
When I walked into this little place.. the first thing I smell were butter, carbs and baked goods!! This is the prove that they do prepare their pastries and bread on site.. The smell was so intense... and so delicious and yes I am sold!
Almond Croissant ($ 2.40)
- I really admiring and smelling my croissant before I bite into it.. it looks so perfect.. glossy looking (thanks real butter), firm...and unreal!
- hmmm and I have to tell you it tasted better than it looks!
- flaky all over... not doughy at all.. (thanks real butter)
Raisins Croissant ($2.80)
- At first I thought those were chocolate bits on top... but no.. those are raisins.. Sorry I just cannot eat raisins.. but if you love it.. you will be delighted because wait till you have a bite.. there are tons and tons of raisins inside..
- My friend like raisins.. I should have force her to get chocolate so at least I can try that!
Cafe Mocha ($3.50)
- So pretty... decorated with a little strawberry on the side
- Tell me those are not whipped cream on top! My friend really enjoyed that.. but I think that is just too too fattening for me! and I bet you that 2% milk is NOT used!
Cappuccino ($2.99)
- Good strong roast...and went well with my croissant!
Pain Perdu is such a cute little place... yes so French and so cozy and so warm and so fattening!! But eating here worth every calories and fat content! -
Review from Christine D.
3/31/2011
Butter!!! Yum. It's hard to believe how much I enjoyed quiche, it was unlike any I have ever had before. The crust was flaky and the filling was wonderful. The onion tart dessert was also very French; I love butter and if you do I would highly recommend Pain Perdu. Too bad duck confit was all sold out already.
[my husband wrote this.] -
Review from Eliah H.
Toronto, ON
12/28/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Let me start off with what I love about this place. For me, it reminds me of those charming little bakery/cafes sprinkled across Montreal. Really, you can just step into Pain Perdu , order some pastry and a cafe au lait, sit back and pretend you just took the VIA train from Toronto to Montreal. To make the experience even more believable all the staff are French and even the radio is tuned to a French station. It's all there to be soaked in, right on St. Clair Ave W., Montreal here I come.
OK, about the croissants...They are really good. In my top three for Toronto assuredly. I'll have to go back to try out their other offerings. As for the coffee well...It's OK but not the greatest. Perhaps I was underwhelmed as I had briefly stopped at Cafe Noir for a delicious espresso shot before coming to Pain Perdu.
As I mentioned, I need to go back and try more of their food and pastries to give a proper review. One thing I did notice that was rather odd was the fact that their croque-monsieur is prepared ahead of time and then rewarmed to serve. Literally I see a stack of them behind the counter glass, already cooked, just...Sitting their looking most unappetizing. For a place that specializes in fresh baked bread I find it strange that they wouldn't make the croque-monsieur to order.
As for service it is quite good, very attentive.
I'm giving the place 3 stars for now and will update my review upon subsequent visits.
Worth noting is if you are on the hunt for foie gras they got it. -
Review from Nadia M.
York, ON
1/15/2011
I've loved Pain Perdu since the minute it opened it's doors. The Pain au Chocolats are wonderful, the pastries fresh and flaky and the quiche is always very flavourful.
The owner is friendly and very accommodating as well as just plain fun to talk to.
A wonderful place! -
Review from Sam G.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 8/29/2010
CROISSANT REVIEW.
Yep, still my favourite croissant. A couple of things I didn't include in my first review, which are more apparent after having sampled many croissants:
- solid outside structure, not soft
- its on the well done side (which I like)
- the thing is flaky. Pleasant texture but its not good walk-around hand food because you can get flakes all over yourself.
- its a little bready in the middle but very flaky around the outside (I'm thinking this is about as flaky as a croissant can get)
- the flavour is not as distinctive as I remember but still a good amount of flavour.Listed in: Butter croissant rankings
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/21/2009 First to Review
When you walk in you do kind of feel transported to Paris!
The croissants here are amazing!! The… Read more »
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Review from Jing K.
Toronto, ON
2/18/2010
Between this place and the Stockyards it's a wonder that I don't weigh 300lbs.
The croissant are all very good - the plain and the Jocelyn (maple and raisin) are my go-to-girls. I try not to think of how much butter was sacrificed for the cause. The pain perdu, which is the French toast, made with egg bread and topped with creme anglaise is sinful. The croque monsieur is satisfying as well.
There tends to be a crowded jumble of takeout and eat-in customers on weekends who inevitably need to pay all the same time in the tiny space which means I stand at the counter wistfully trying to catch the eye of someone behind the counter while all four staff bustle around getting orders for the sit down customers wow this sentence is a crowded jumble.
Depending on the croissant style, four of them will set you back about $9. Yes, you can get cheap croissant by the clamshell at your local grocery store but you won't want to call them croissant once you have Pain Perdu. -
Review from Daphne B.
Toronto, ON
9/19/2011
mmmmmmmm CROISSANTS!!!!! Buttery flaky and you can't just eat one - so I grabbed a seat with a couple of friends and ordered a latte and another croissant and than moved onto the best onion tart I have ever had (outside of Paris)... It was the last piece so I had to share ( the little selfish kid in me came out because I really did not want to). Perfect balance of crust and onion and it is sweet and savoury and just yummy. The place is small and cozy. Haven't tried the quiche yet so I may have to visit again sometime very soon!
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Review from Ana M.
Toronto, ON
9/25/2011
Authentic 'old' cafe vibe, delicious croissants, and good strong espresso. Thumbs up!
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Review from Ariel G.
8/30/2010
A decent coffee....very attentive service and a buttery cinnamon roll. You can't ask for anything more. A very french atmosphere. Pleasant and we will be back to sample more items.
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Review from M. K.
York, ON
3/19/2011
Some of the best baked goods ANYWHERE. I am here almost every weekend. The quiche is excellent. The croissants...I want to be buried in one of them when I go. Oh my God, it's the second best buttery experience I've ever had (I really can't mention the first in this review). The staff is friendly and attentive. I love it. From coffee to croissants, from soup to croque monsieur it is a wonderful cafe experience. Enjoy.
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Review from Ms. J.
Toronto, ON
3/8/2010
Nice ambiance, small cafe feel. Marred by a brutish server/owner with a grizzly beard and noticeable paunch. Had the coffee and was waiting on the chicken and mushroom quiche with a salad. Waited about 10-15 minutes and it wasn't even busy. Finally the two items arrived in the same plate. Sampled the slightly warmed quiche - not bad, and was about to sample the salad when...damn...I noticed the dead fly on the plate. An immediate turn off! Like what on earth?! It is the beginning of March, so where did the fly come from? I of course pointed it out to the brutish server/owner. He said "there are no flies in here", not a sorry or anything of that nature. He said he would replace the dish. Yeah right, scrape away the fly, rearrange the lettuce and bring the same thing back. No thanks. We left with his fond words of "we've got the best quiche in the city". Maybe so, but Pain Perdu also has an unclean kitchen, and unaccountable service.
