Brioche à Tête

Spotted this cozy café on the way to Fairmount. Went in to have breakfast before heading to get the bagels; and I’m glad I did. The coffee here is great and the pastries are excellent. My fave is their canele. Its crust has such a rich caramelized flavor; and the inside is so soft. Superb service! This place is now on the top of my must-​stop-​by list when visiting Montréal!

Nicest people around and awesome coffee and pastries! It is a real hidden gem and people should know about this place because they really deserve it.

As the previous reviewer Eva C wrote this is indeed a hidden gem. If you come early you will see a short line of people or a bunch of happy costumers drinking great coffee and loving every second of it.
The made a wonderful latte and the croissant I ate was just perfect. The prices are somewhere between inexpensive and moderate but the quality as I wrote is superb. Mile end is filled with great coffee shops this one I believe is in the top 10% if you are nearby just go for it

Worst service I’ve ever had in a bakery. We just read a great review and went there, but the people didn’t even say hi to us. No espressos, but the pastries look good.

Hidden gem alert! My number 1 spot to get brioche in Montréal. (And I tried quite a few — like a crazy French woman roaming Montréal streets in need of her brioche fix.) Know that I’m very picky about brioche. It has to be lightly sweet, moist, buttery, dense, flavourful, with a thin golden crust and a hint of orange blossom. This hits the spot every time. This is the Traditional French brioche very similar to the ones I can find in my hometown in France. Come early as the best brioche sell out. Try the brioche a tete with chocolate chips…(drooling). Friendly Francais de France service. Easy to miss on fairmount street in mile end. That’s all you need to know!

Easily one of the best croissants we have ever had. yes ever had!!! Came to the neighborhood for bagels at the famous bagel shop on the same street. We went for a quick stroll to check out the area. We came by this tiny little bakery, with 2 friendly french guys working there. We have been in Montréal for 5 days and have tried many croissants this visit. But these ones looked very good and we saw the baker making another 5 trays. So why not one more. Thank goodness we did since these we perfect in every way, buttery, crispy deliciousness. We had 3 croissants and 2 kinds of brioche that were also good. But it is all about the croissants. Listen to me — it is worth the drive or walk or cab to try this place. Coffee also very good. We will be back every time we are in Montréal.

A friend of mine recently had a contract and spent a few months in Montréal. She mentioned this magical, delicious, highly addictive little bakery on Fairmont and I thought… mmmm…where? What’s it called? I had never heard of it! For various reasons I was never able to make it there until… today.
Oh mon dieu! She recommended the classic croissant. Said it was the best she’d had in the city. And she’s a foodie so… today when I went in I ordered a few things to sample: croissant, chocolatine, danish (sadly they were out! next time…), «brioche a tete» (chouette! their signature creation) and for kicks a gluten free chocolate brownie. I ordered an espresso (most reasonable price in the neighborhood, fair trade, and DELICIOUS… so flavourful no sugar necessary!) and sat down with «the croissant.» ($ 1.50/ea)
Yes, it was crispy and buttery and divine on the outside and the interior denser but very, very good. The chocolatine was also delicious but I imagine it’s best fresh out of the oven when the chocolate is warm. The brioche — I’m not normally a fan although savoury ones I enjoy from time to time — was simple but tasty and terribly cute to look at. Not sweet, not savoury… somewhere in between. I kept thinking it would be yummy with some crème fraîche and smoked trout/​capers and a roquette salad (my stomach is grumbling as I’m typing this!). The only thing that was only «good» was the gluten free brownie. It was a little on the dry side and could have used more chocolate. But I imagine since they are traditional bakers from France they are only beginning to experiment with gluten free recipes.
Oh my… I just checked their facebook and they also sell «délicieuses confitures maison.»
Framboises — bleuets/​eau de roses — canneberges/​oranges ($ 5.25−7.00/ea)
Ainsi que notre fameuse tartinade de caramel au beurre salé ($ 5.75)
There were also savouries on the menu — meat pies, quiche, pizzas — and other classic sweets like chocolate fondant, Paris brest etc. Highly recommend this cozy little bakery and look forward to my next visit!