Ottawa Foodies

I've had the macarons here. They are good. Nothing compared to those made in Europe which are heavenly but there aren't many places in Ottawa that make and sell them. They don't last very long and bruise so easily.

Went there today for croissants and macarons and I am very, very happy.

As the people here have said, the croissants are light, fluffy, flaky, and not the least bit greasy. Divine.

And the macarons! I don't even need all the information I've found reading up on them to know they're miles better than the ones at the place on Preston. Soft middles, crisp exterior, divine filling...and they actually taste like what they say they taste like (raspberry, hazelnut, chocolate), instead of having a fairly-uniform "sweet" taste! I have a new source for this tasty cookies.

Really like their florentines... Just the right balance of well-caramelized sugar and good dark chocolate. Consistently crispy.

I was in Herb and Spice on Wellington and noticed that they carried The French Baker products. Definately an easier place to access than the market location for me.

I bought croissants. They were amazing. Basically, a real French croissant, unlike any croissant-like "bun" that you buy at the supermarkets here in Ottawa. I forgot how good the french croissants were and will be spoiled by this experience from here on in.

I have no idea how much I paid for them as I bought several things at the store and did not get my receipt.

If you are going to indulge, go for the gold and don't waste your time/caloric intake on Costco/Metro etc croissants.

After seeing the Buzz on Ottawa foodies about how good The French Bakers Croissants are, I went over to check them out this morning. I had recently posted about how Bread and Sons makes the best Croissants in the city and I wanted to see if the FB stood up to them. Well, no, they didn't. Don't get me wrong, they were very good, soft, and fresh. And yes, one of the better croissants in the city - but i resent people saying they are as good as Croissants found in France. This is not at all a negative judgment on this lovely little bakery. I also picked up a baguette this morning which was amazing and I had a really delicious Illy coffee. I just urge you foodies out there, to check out Bread and Sons Croissants because they are simply amazing. In terms of other bakery items tho, I would say both shops have a fair competition in terms of quality. The french baker however, comes out on top in terms of Coffee. I must mention that if you like soft croissants this is likely the place for you - and at any rate, you can't go wrong with practically anything you buy here.

That is my two cents.

ossBASHA, what you are saying is impossible. I know several bakers that work at TFB, and you will never get a croissant that is not fresh. Like the owner says (whom I have the privilege to know), some are kept to make the almond croissant and the pain au chocolat.

Contrary to what you say, TFB is THE place to get a real croissant in the Byward Market. There are plenty of places to go if you want a mediocre one, though.

Dear M. Mantel,
Welcome to Ottawa Foodies! I think the ossBASHA may have meant "pastries" when he said "pates", but he/she would have to clear that up.

I wouldn't be too concerned with one review. The fact that he worries about us calling him biased tells me that maybe he works for the competition! or maybe I am just making up foodie drama.

I think TFB croissants are to DIE for. Every time I have had them, they have been nothing short of perfect! Buttery, flaky deliciousness.

Keep up the great work!

Dear ossBASHA,
I am the owner of the French baker and am a little upset by your comment.
Obviously you were not in my bakery : we don't sale any pâté!
Our croissants like all our Viennese pastries and scone are bake daily in our fournil on Murray St.
At the end of each day, we give away to some charities all our unsold products (Viennese pastries and breads). We just keep croissants and chocolatines for making almond croissants or chocolatines (the real traditional way).

Went to try the croissants on Monday and was disappointed. It was dry and seemed like it was baked 1-2 days before. The same for the pates, although they were slightly less old. I'm not going to suggest somewhere else, so I'm not labelled as biased, however there are better places to go in the market.

I am absolutely in love with their croissants. Better than the grocery store bought ones for sure. I love the crisp exterior and soft and buttery interior. Perfect fluffy texture that just melts in your mouth. Love it.
Next time I'll try their almond croissant and baguettes!
P.s. Their Illy coffee is also delicious!

The chocolatines are to die for. My friend shared hers with me. I was expecting a Bridgehead chocolatine since I thought that TFB supplies Bridgehead, but somehow this chocolatine was 100% better than any I've had at Bridgehead. The outside was perfectly flaky and crisp, the inside nice and soft and buttery - and somehow the chocolate was melted inside? Maybe this only happened because it was so hot today (Mousseline?) but the chocolate inside the ones at Bridgehead is always hard. I much preferred the melted-chocolate version!

I lived in France for several years and I can confirm that these croissants are the real thing. I searched for months here for something that approximated a true French croissant and The French Baker is it. Their almond-filled croissants are very similar to the "Alsacienne" that you find in Alsace--filled with a not-too-sweet almond paste and sprinkled with almond slices. The petits pains au chocolat (I think they call them chocolatines here)are also very good. It's all about the butter....and also about not being overly sweet.

I loved the croissant here. It was airy, light and buttery. A perfect croissant and wasn't even greasy at all. Next time I'm in the city, I will definitely get croissants here.

I got a baguette the other day and was quite disappointed. The crust was fine, but the inside was too fluffy and soft, and reminiscent of Wonder Bread. I usually buy their larger oval loaves, which I love, as they are flavourful, but this baguette was just the opposite.

I purchase a baguette at Herb and Spice today.

The baguette gets top marks from me. After living in France for almost a year, I was so disappointed with bread back in Canada(Manitoba, specifically).

Here in Ottawa, I have been testing out the baguettes at various bakeries.

This baguette had excellent texture and a nice crust which was not too thick.

Their multigrain bread is also delicious. Light and flavourful with a fantastic crust. I bought a couple loaves after being served it in the bread basket at Benny's Bistro.

I had some macarons from The French Baker today and I was incredibly impressed. They were amazing! I had pistachio, strawberry, and chocolate and I can't wait to go back and get more.

Somehow at 2pm on a beautiful Saturday afternoon there were macarons left. Pistachio, strawberry and chocolate.

I've never had a macaron before so I have nothing to compare them to, but OMG - these were like little cookie/candy/cake (I can't decide what they are) sandwiches of heaven. I thought they were perfect and will be back for more.

I thought my favourite would be the chocolate, and it was very, very good - but actually I preferred the delicate nut flavour of the pistachio variety; and amazing strawberry-ness of the strawberry (they must use real strawberries in these).

I recently tried a macaron from The French Baker, and sadly, I wasn't impressed. The found the outer crust not delicate enough, and the meringue on the inside not chewy enough. There wasn't a fine balance between the two, and the one I had frankly did not have a lot of taste. I also bought one for a friend who had never tried macarons before (I rave about macarons to him all the time), and actually ended up eating it myself because I didn't want his first experience to be a mediocre one.

I went in Monday after lunch for a little pick me up alongside the baguette for dinner.
I picked up a hazelnut macrons, not entirely sure what I was getting into, also not entirely sure when "hazelnut" came out of my mouth why I hadn't said "Chocolate".

Turns out, I was in the mood for hazelnut, I just didn't know it at the time. As cinderella said, the outside is crisp, but not crunchy--more flaky, and the filling is sweet and creamy, with lots of moist, nutty flavour :) They were definitely delicious, and I will be back for more!

i had the hazelnut; i'm sorry to say that i wasn't that impressed. too chewy, and the visual texture was rather lumpy. lots of sweet creme filling.

since this was on a thursday evening, i will go back on sunday morning for a retry. they only had four flavours when i went (lemon, orange, hazelnut, and a pink one which i don't remember); i was told the bakers are there on sunday mornings so i'll pounce them then...

I went out and bought some two weeks ago after seeing this post. Wow, I'm no macaron expert, but these were exquisite! The exterior is crispy, and the filling is just sweet enough, with lots of flavor! I had one hazelnut, one lemon, one raspberry and one pistachio.

Went back this morning, and they also had chocolate and orange. Picked up one of each. They are absolutely delicious!

Well they were amazing! I ended up sharing them at a dinner party. I tried one of each and vote them all super great!

No coconut Tiana, just egg whites, ground almonds, sugar, and flavourings and colour for the lemon and raspberry ones. The noisette have ground hazelnut and ground almond.

So that was you this morning. I had to laugh because you called just after I ate my morning snack...a raspberry macaron to go with my coffee. The one we were short was the one I ate. Sorry, my bad!

I called this morning to see if they had any in and they did! I have never tried them here before but was really looking forward to it. Previously, I'd only had those found on Preston.

They had chocolate, pistachio, raspberry and lemon. I ordered 3 of each but they only had 2 raspberry ones left. I think I'll live through it.

So far, I've only eaten a chocolate one. It was amazing. The outside was perfectly crispy but gave way nicely when I bit into it. The ganache was nice and solid compared to how fluid the Preston ones are. I'm fairly certain there was coconut in it as well.

It was a soft chewy pleasure beneath the thin crispy exterior. 1 down... 10 more to go...

The folks at the French Baker have been making Hot Cross buns during the Easter season. They are a little different, but delicious! And mine was actually hot today... amazing! They have a (perfect) pastry cross instead of icing, and currants and candied citron inside, and the dough has some whole wheat flour. These guys know their baked goods. Why oh why must I work near the French Baker?!