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13 reviews for Pancho's Bakery
13 reviews in English
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Review from Genaro V.
Toronto, ON
5/16/2012
Not only Churros but fresh Orange juice squeezed in front of you on a fancy machine! Mmmmm!
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Review from Johnny H.
Toronto, ON
5/15/2012 2 photos
Churros are really tasty. Right amount of sweet taste. Not too crispy or spongy. Very clean flavor overall.
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Review from EatingoutT O.
Toronto, ON
4/24/2012
Fresh hot churros. They seal one end of the churro to prevent the filling from leaking out to the bag. Clever. A must in Kensington.
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Review from TOFoodReviews n.
Toronto, ON
3/21/2012
I heart churros. At least that's what the button said that was given to me by the man behind the counter at Pancho's Bakery. After noticing the small collection I have attached to both my bag and jacket, he was quick to give me a new addition. I was hesitant to let it join the ranks, after all "I heart" anything is a pretty bold statement, and to be honest, as of that moment, I had never had a mind blowing churro experience, or at least one that would have me declaring such strong feelings for them. The only time I ever ate a churro was at an establishment once promoted by a talking Chihuahua, so you can understand my hesitation. I pocketed the button, as its fate would be determined later.
Pancho's Bakery makes up a portion of what is titled the Latin American Food Court in Kensington Market. The tiny little storefront on Augusta Avenue is deceiving, as it houses more businesses than I would have guessed. Assuming it was only Pancho's in the building, I was surprised (and excited) to see a stall selling tacos, another dealing in empanadas, and the infamous pop-up Agave y Aguacate. Pancho's itself occupies the space right up front, across from the Korean dumpling stand... I'm not sure exactly how they fit in. Apparently the Latin American Food Court doesn't discriminate, and why should they? Dumplings are tasty, and well, I'm sure another vendor only helps pay the rent.
It was around twelve o'clock on a Friday when my friend and I decided to check out Pancho's. Neither of us had eaten, but we couldn't quite justify having churros for lunch. We are of the mindset however, that believes dinner shouldn't be the only meal followed by dessert, so our afternoon repast that day would have a churro chaser.
Full of carnitas tacos, and kimchi empanadas (Korean dumpling cart influence!), but not too full to pass up deep-fried dough, we made our way back to Pancho's. I was promptly questioned as to the whereabouts of my button but I quickly placed my order as a distraction.
The churros at Pancho's are piped out in the front window, and brought to life for all too see, before quickly being led to their delicious demise in the deep fryer. They are served hot, either plain or filled with your choice of chocolate, dulce de leche or strawberry syrup. We ordered four, one of each flavour, and a plain. At my servers recommendation I also grabbed some bread pudding and traditional Mexican concha bread. As we had lost our seats (there aren't many to begin with) and the sun was shining, we took our treats to go.
We started with the chocolate, moved on to the dulce de leche, followed by the strawberry, and thus ended anticlimactically with the plain. They were crispy and sugar coated on the outside, while soft and (with the exception of the plain) accompanied with a burst of sweetness from within. Churro rookies be warned... a churro is a like a deep fried dough straw. Any filling that goes in the top, will ultimately come out the bottom. We left a sticky trail through the streets of Kensington that led back to Pancho's. If Hansel and Gretel only knew about these, they would have rethought the breadcrumb idea.
Later at home, I popped the bread pudding and concha into the oven. Concha is a sweet bread that resembles a clam shell, hence the name. It tasted a little of brown sugar, but overall it was bland. I think the idea however is to serve it alongside a cup of café con leche or hot chocolate and get to dunking. I could see this working in its favour.
The bread pudding however (traditionally served around this time of year to be eaten for Lent) was delicious. Dense, but very moist, and just sweet enough, my girlfriend went nuts over it. Apparently she doesn't have a problem with dessert after other meals either - and this time it was breakfast.
Now I'm not a fan of donuts, and the churro is essentially the donuts Spanish cousin, but I would take a Pancho's churro over a donut any day, and these are what I will return for. As it turns out, I really do "heart" churros after all. Now where did I put that button? -
Review from En L.
3/11/2012
Come for the Churros! It's the best! Oh, be careful, the sauce is quite hot. Burned my tongue once.
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Review from Viviana M.
Toronto, ON
8/14/2011 4 photos
Specialty: Mexican Baked Goods
Location: 2 locations - 1345 Davenport Road and 214 Augusta Avenue, both located in Toronto, Ontario
Reviewed: Conchas, Novias and Banderillas
Today the spotlight is shining all over Pancho's Bakery. Pancho is one of the few Mexican bakeries one can find in the Toronto downtown core. With two locations serving the community, Pancho's has kept its promise, over the last 3 years, to deliver great quality baked goods that will be sure to stratify one's palate.
One of my favourite treats are Conchas.Especially the Chocolate ones. Conchas are big delicious and simple bread-type treats that are flavoured with cinnamon and chocolate (other times vanilla) and topped with white sugar. The translation of this famous pastry is oyster shell. You will find more and more Mexican baked goods that have a special shape to them, that acquired over time, have become staples in the country.
And another great example of shaping in Mexican baking are the Novias.Although Novias look like your typical cinnamon roll, they taste nothing like it. These swirl-shaped goodies are less sweet and crunchy than Conchas, but just as tasty. In my mind, these taste a bit more like Colombian Roscon, minus the filling.
Last but not least, another great pastry creation from Pancho's is the Banderilla. The flaky pastry treats are so easy to make, they are used for just about any kind of meal pairing in Mexico. To my understanding, the way you make a Banderilla is by cutting the dough into long thin stripes, painting them with beaten egg and then baking until fluffy and golden. After these are completely baked, you remove from the oven to cover with syrup and put back in for a last minute baking. Yum, Yum, Yum.
Oh and I guess I should also share why the name Banderilla; well this one is an interesting one. Banderillas are the long dart-shaped weapons used by Bullfighters, hence the name and shape.
Buen Provecho,
Viviana. -
Review from Yvonne T.
6/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
One word... CHURROS! These delights are best enjoyed piping hot.
When I went in with my dining companion post Burger Bar, I had told myself that I would be a good girl and not get anything sweet... But my dining companion was evil and ended up buying one, and coerced me into taking a bite. Other than Churros, they also sell Bread Pudding Cake and various flavours of Mexican Buns. They also have Mexican Hot Chocolate (wonder how that tastes in comparison to Nesquik?)
The Churros themselves are relatively inexpensive, however, I deduct 1 star for the lack of generosity when it comes to the churros filling. -
Review from Allison T.
Toronto, ON
6/1/2011
"M'aam...where did you get that churro?" Inquired the little boy on the streetcar.
He could tell how amazing it was as the cinnamon-sugary-smell wafted towards him.
& no, I don't share. Get your own churros, little boy. -
Review from V A.
Toronto, ON
3/27/2011
Ok, I thought the name of this place was El Gordo, until I tried to write this review. Pancho's bakery is actually in the "foyer" of the store called El Gordo.
What brought me to Pancho's bakery? when i see a sign that says "churros" I am automatically intrigued.
Churros investigation:
Step 1: case the joint pretending not to only for the churros.
Step 2: scope out the churros
Step 3: buy the churros
Step 4: eat the churros
Step 5: wish you had bought more churros (if they were good)
Review:
Mexican turnover-like pastry ($1.50). It wasn't flaky like a turnover, more like a crumbly cookie-ish kind of texture. I thought i was getting the raspberry one (cuz she said that was the raspberry one) but i ended up getting the pineapple one. Good thing I like pineapple. I was initially going to get one of each, but I hate artificial pineapple flavour, and don't like risking my taste buds. Luckily, it was real pineapple, really who is going to use fake pineapple in a turnover (silly me). Tasted ok, mild pineapple flavour, decent amount of filling. I think I would really have enjoyed the raspberry one i planned to buy.
Churros ($1.50 or 4 for $5). Saw the guy making the dough on one side and wondered where the cooked ones were .... behind the cash, where else would they be. There are three choices, chocolate, Dulce de leche, and strawberry. I guess plain would be a fourth choice. She takes the warm churro, rolls it in cinnamon sugar and then injects the sauce from a squeeze bottle. Yum. Yum. Yum! Warm gooey, chocolatey. I had one on the taste of St. Clair that had a weird chocolate taste, but this had none of that. My only regret was to not get 4 of these bad boys.
I will be back, but i will now refer to this place as the El Gordo churro hut, as i will be stuffing my face with churros. All other food products in this place be warned, I don't care how good you taste there will only be room for churros. -
Review from Jason K.
6/4/2011
- the smell of baked amazingness floods the streets as you walk by
- after a visit to el trompo for tacos, what a coincidence that this place happens to sell fresh churros
- after being popped out of the fryer, these magical tubes are injected with whatever filling you want....
- the happy smiling girl behind the counter advised us that you HAVE to get the dulce de leche. ....so worth it.....
- we also tried the chocolate.. which was a little sour for some reason...
- and at $5 for 4.... you cant go wrong. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
10/29/2010
As I turned the door handle UP, as instructed by the note on the door. I mowed my way through a crowd which we later on found that it was a Spanish speaking out-of-town youth tour group that might have been from another Country. Sorry kids, you get in my way of Food. That's a NO-NO.
As we waited in line, I looked at the beautiful goods. Yes, there was lots of Bakery goods too. As the smiling happy friendly lady prepared the Churros($1.25) for the other guests on a constant pace. There was also a Churro Cart on one side unused but seemed more for display purposes. Churro was warm crunchy outside and soft sweet inside.
I didn't notice a table area however there were a couple Ikea style wooden stools. Do you really need a table to eat all these handheld street snacks? If you do, maybe there's a table at the back where it seems to be another section altogether that I have no clue what happens there but a Granny was peaking over the counter at us.
Warning: Don't let your non-sweet friend dictate how much Caramel they want if you decide to share, as the SWEET cashier lady will ask you how much you want in your Churro. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
10/30/2010 5 photos
I would never have go into Pancho's Bakery if my friend did not take me to a food crawl around Kensington Market, (I got a little confused where I am at as usual :P)
I think he really wants me to get sugar high, I just could not resist to have the freshly made churros covered in sugar and yes have to have more sugarly filling.
The Freshly deep fried Churros is just crunchy outside with the sugar and soft and warm and nice inside..... I asked for not too much caramel filling inside, since I am not into really sweet treats.. but my friend that was sharing me with was a little disappointed.
Now coming to El Gordo for one of their Churros will be a ritual for me whenever I am in the area!
Garcias, Senor Food Crawl Buddy! -
Review from Joanne S.
Toronto, ON
1/16/2011 1 photo
Came here after a visit to Mexican Salsas and it was so good! You can see them making the churros. I had two - strawberry and dulce de leche (they were out of chocolate). Next time I might just get that 5 churro special they have all with that yummy dulce de leche filling.
At the back of the store was this really cute guy who said he set up shop there two days before our visit. He was making pupusas (sp?) and other things. He was very talented with the rolling and patting and frying. I wish I wasn't full or I'd have tried some. He offered me a free pupusa and I had to turn it down :(
Definitely going back!
