The Artisan Baker

Very pricey for the awful tasting, mediocre food.
Atmosphere may be great but having dinner here was a horrible choice.
I waited one hour for the food, and it was served with mediocre presentation.
It was WAY TOO SALTY and it was salty enough for me and my company to gag.
The taste was awful, the time wasted was awful, and it was not worth the price at all.
Very disappointed and will not ever return again.

A great spot close to St. Clair for baked goods, and brunch!
Ambiance is relaxed and friendly; Staff was attentive. The quiche and soups are delicious.
Must have: The almond croissant is one of my fave pastries in the city!
Personally, I would come here more for a coffee and pastry rather than full meals (based on selection and value). There are many great sandwich makers in the city for example — where Artisan truly excels are the amazing pastries. Every baked good I have tried here has been delicious!

The best Eggs Benedict I’ve had in the city. The eggs were perfectly poached (a skill that takes years to master), the hollandaise was full-​bodied and the croissant-​style pastry was light and fluffy. But it gets better, it’s served with amazing rosti potatoes topped with caramelized onions and tomatoes. This dish ($ 15.95) is perfection.
The Croque Monsieur was fantastic. The béchamel sauce on top was heavenly.
The almond croissant is a must-​have. Flaky, not too sweet and made with European-​style butter (85% butterfat content).
The service was great, the quality of the food was outstanding and Bruno and Ronit are the kind of local business owners I love supporting. They’re passionate, talented and incredibly kind.

What a delightful and gorgeous new addition to the Yonge & St Claire neighbourhood. I stopped by for a rich fruit tart and vanilla latte afternoon break. The tart was delectable and the latte was too sweet for my tastes, but that’s more a statement about me than this charming restaurant. I now know where to come for my afternoon tea break! (Yes, next time, I will choose tea)
The beautiful man working the counter was so attentive and wonderful to this plain Jane, offering to bring my afternoon tray to my table. The staff is quick to serve you with a warm and welcoming smile.
They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can not wait to try it out for dinner!

Not impressed… ordered charcuterie which came with no pâté only sliced meat and pickles… when pointed out we were told «oh we are out of pâté» (well then you are out of charcuterie!!!) then were expected to pay full price for charcuterie, but were offered a free desert… foolishly ordered desert (which was stale) and then were charged for that and had to remind them of the free desert… embarassing… food was just barely okay… but that in combination bad form, and high prices means we will definitely not be going back.

Nothing exciting in terms of food, drinks or service. All four varieties of bread in the bread basket were stale, I’d say it was bread baked two days before (strange for somebody who calls himself a baker), none of the breads were something that you cannot get from a grocery store. Four condiments that came with bread were not special either: butter, one type of jam, honey and relish. You expect more from a French bakery. Cheese on cheese platter was camembert, blue and some variety of gouda I believe — again, nothing you cannot get at the grocery store.

Have you tried AB for dinner yet? The food is great. I had the wild, mixed mushroom purée (soup) and it was so rich, earthy and had a great balance of garlic and raw sprouts garnish and a secrete ingredient (found out what it was by asking). Shared a bowl with my partner and it was plenty. I had the Mushroom and sweet breads, partner had the coq au vin. Mine was served on one of their amazing croissants — rich, full of flavours and filling. The coq au vin, was nicely marinated and the reduction was great. It was served on a rich slab of scalloped potatoes with roasted veggies — A great meal for foodies like us. We did want a most dinner type atmosphere (table cloths perhaps) to separate it from the breakfast, lunch bistro atmosphere. Do go and support this newest dinner joint in the St. Clair and Yonge neighbourhood.

***½ stars
I don’t frequent this part of Toronto much because parking is a pain in the butt and it isn’t exactly restaurant haven. However, I am glad that I got to dine here.
The décor inside, as my friend put it reminds you of a Restoration Hardware. The velvet-​padded walls and the chandeliers are classy chic with paintings of rural and farm life hanging on the walls. I really like the interiors. The restaurant itself is long as opposed to wide, but it’s a large space. Seating is located to the front with the take-​out/​coffee counter as well as a wall lined with gourmet goods towards the rear. The space is very bright as a lot of natural sunlight comes through the 3 doors in the front of the restaurant.
The name of the game here is quality ingredients. Co-​owner and chef Bruno Beaudoin (a native of Lyon) go through great lengths to source everything from their Quebec cheese to the flour they use in their bread. They actually go to the local producer to source the ingredients. Now if only they could tell me the source of their kick-​ass coffee I would be in heaven. All I know is that it’s an Italian roast. And I don’t know about you, but the test of a good brunch/​breakfast spot is to coffee as a good bread basket is to a restaurant.
The attention to detail shows in the small things, like a creamer shaped like a calf and coat hooks made of bent spoons. The chef is quite down-​to-​earth and takes the time to come out from the kitchen to interact with the guests while sharing his passion for the dishes put in front of you.
On this Sunday afternoon, we indulged in a lot of goodies. The cheese and charcuterie platters are separate, but upon request, we were made cheese AND charcuterie platter. I like businesses that listen to their customer and accommodate their needs. As mentioned earlier, the cheeses at the Artisan Baker come out of Quebec and chef Beaudoin explains that the cheeses he serves are tempered as opposed to pasteurized. The difference? Pasteurization tends to kill all cultures — good and bad whereas tempering the cheese only kills off the bad cultures. The board featured an assortment of charcuterie (saucisson, prosciutto and salami) served alongside a bounty of strawberries, olives, dried cranberries, walnuts and thyme-​infused honey. For those who have never experienced cheese with honey — I highly recommend it! This comes served with an assortment of bread, which was not the freshest.
The main attractions were the Quiche Lorraine — perfectly eggy and oozing of bacon flavour with a perfectly flaky crust as well as a Mushroom Tartine (open-​faced sandwich) which I challenge anyone to polish off on their own. The perfectly-​crusted bread on which bacon, Swiss cheese and mushrooms sit is every bread-​obsessed girl’s dream. And I like the fact that the side salads are lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.
For those who still have room for dessert — there is an assortment of baked goods (pain au chocolat, lemon tarts, Millefeuille, crème brûlée) to choose from. We opted for the Millefeuille and Crème Brulee. Both were very well-​executed and absolutely divine!
The serving sizes here are quite generous and we ended up doggy-​bagging half the quiche AND the tartine. We didn’t finish the cheese/​charcuterie platter either so come with an empty stomach! And for those who love their croissants you should definitely try one as Bruno uses high-​fat butter (the good stuff) to make his flaky rolls of heaven. Just as a side-​note, higher fat butters yield much better tasting baked goods and because it is so rich, you use less so it’s a win-​win situation! Small things come in condensed packages I tell you!
Did I also mention that the service here is top-​notch? Even better than some so-​called «fine dining» establishments I’ve been to? This is thanks to co-​owner Ronit Keith’s years of experience in the hospitality industry coupled with her hands-​on management of the restaurant and down-​to-​earth personality.
Dinner service is currently in the works and will come to fruition when their liquor license is approved. I would definitely recommend you check this place out!

Great local gem. The pastries are always fresh and the menu has a variety of dishes. This place is pricey, with an average price of a lunch menu item at around $ 15+tax. I love the wooden floor and the paintings on the wall, which are for sale btw at around $ 1,800 to $ 2,800 each. I had a delicious Tartine sandwich with salad, which was served on a wooden serving tray. The décor is great and you can see that the owner paid attention to every detail. If you’re in the area, you owe a visit to the Artisan Baker to at least experience their croissants with coffee.

Alright, I’ve been here three times now and the one thing I can say about this place is that The Artisan Baker has consistently friendly but ineffectual service. Details below:
Round 1: The first time I went I called for a lunch reservation, was told they don’t take reservations only to show up the next day to a half-​full restaurant but unable to get a table because THE REST WERE RESERVED. Annoying, but they accommodated us so that was ok. I had the Tiger Shrimp tartine (open faced sandwich) — it was good. It came with a carrot and ginger soup — it was extremely bland. All in all, I decided to give it another go because they accommodated us (in a friendly but ineffectual manner).
Round 2: Here we go again! This time made a successful reservation by phone — except after being seated they moved us by the door to accommodate a larger party. Note: Don’t sit by the door, it’s cold and high traffic. This time I had the Croque Monsieur — very tasty, heavy and rich. Soup of the day was a leek and potato soup — but like none I’ve ever tasted before, extremely sour and salty. Fast forward — We tried to split the bill and pay with credit cards, but this took awhile… alas, the friendly but ineffectual server appeared confused as to which order the cards needed to be processed in (ie — NONE just process the damn cards). Left this time thinking…“maybe not, there’s a great Oyster place down the way”…however…
Round 3: A friend wants to try this place. I call for a reservation — resounding success! They even asked if I had dined with them before. «Yes!» I say and they even go as far as asking if I had a preferred table. I replied, «Anything as long as it’s not by the door». Done and done. They’ve clearly got the ‘taking reservations’ part down. Show up the next day looking forward to seeing my friend, a good sandwich and bland but hot soup… EXCEPT…a table is NOT reserved, but they offer me the table by the door. It was truly a comedy of errors. Happily, it’s not full and we get to sit near the back. Not one to tempt fate I go with the tried and true Tiger Shrimp tartine and the soup today is roasted red pepper. The soup is predictably bland — but I expected as much (the main event is the sandwich anyways)…melting cheese oozes onto the plate… mouth salivating, anticipation builds… SURPRISE — NO Shrimp. Instead, it’s salmon. It’s not gross, but not what I ordered either. I call the server over and ask her what the deal is. She explains that they sometimes use Basa fish instead of shrimp. I reply, «I see, that’s weird because shrimp and basa are nothing alike, furthermore, this is salmon».
Clearly everyone is confused and after a moment’s pause with much silent blinking she offers to check with the kitchen. She returns. Mystery revealed! It turns out (according to the kitchen) that the «Tiger Shrimp tartine» sometimes comes as a mélange of basa, shrimp bits, and salmon she explains. ‘A’ for effort, but if you’ve run out of shrimp and have to substitute salmon, IT’S OK — just give a heads up.
I’ve been here three times now so you can’t say I haven’t given them a fair shake. Anyways, long story short eat here if you want. The sandwiches will often be tasty, the soup will often be bland, and the service will consistently ever-​friendly but ineffectual.

This is an excellent French café with excellent breads, pastries, coffees and even hot foods – the perfect thing for a cold, dreary Toronto morning. I highly recommend.

I found the food quite good, but the service is absolute chaos. The first time, I chaulked it up to being new and not having worked out the systems yet, but the second time I was pretty annoyed. They don’t have table service. You need to line up to pick and pay for your food. Then either you take it to your table or they do, but they don’t bring everything at once. I had to ask for cutlery, then a glass, then they took our food to the wrong table. That was after mass confusion about where to get my quiche from — one guy wanted to give me what was behind the counter, but another guy wanted to get it from the kitchen. The management needs to put some systems into place. I honestly have never had to deal with so much confusion at the counter and at the prices they are charging, it really is inexcusable. The food is good and we need a place like that around here. I will give it one more try. If the service isn’t good, I won’t go back.

Everything about this place is off-​putting. It seems like a café but the space is so huge and underutilized that it loses any sense of homeyness.
There are way too many people working – I believe I counted as many employees as patrons. Their display windows are poorly laid out the actual products in them are sparse and not very appetizing. But the worst part is the actual food.
After Panier Rouge packed up and left (apparently without paying any of their bills), I’ve been left with a weekly hankering for the hot sandwiches that they had. Not wanting to venture down to the Black Camel (which is fantastic, btw), I decided to give this audacious space a chance as I’d seen that their board outside said they have hot sandwiches.
I got attended to very quickly and was pointed to the very back of the very long display windows when asked for hot sandwiches. There were two types of «sandwiches» with no signs to let anyone know what they are. Let me say here that these are not sandwiches. They are just single slabs of day-​old bread with ingredients splattered on top. These are also not hot – well, they may have been at some point, but certainly not when they’re being sold. The girl helping me guessed which one was which. One was a shrimp-​saffron affair and the other was some kind of chicken concoction.
Another lady rang them up ($ 29 and change) and asked the girl serving me if the salads are coming, to which the girl replies «no». The cashier asks if I don’t want the salads. Only at this point does the girl bother to let me know there is a salad with these so-​called sandwiches. Already being too deep into this, I decide to get my $ 30 worth by agreeing to the salads that I was entitled to.
So, I heated them up and started eating them. One bite into the shrimp-​saffron sandwich and I almost vomited. No sign of saffron, but I could taste a lot of different flavors all competing with each other to mask the disgusting taste of rotten shrimp, but failing miserably. The chicken one tasted like the kind of terrible prepared frozen-​dinner lean-​cuisine garbage people buy in the frozen aisle and peel half way and nuke – rubbery chicken, waaay too much cream, and not really very much else.
The salad was good, but really, how can you mess a salad up?
So, after spending $ 30 on two pieces of stale bread topped with awful tasting sub-​par ingredients, I ended up having to make food anyways. Both sandwiches went into the refuse one bite in.
PATHETIC! If you’re going to boldly announce that you’re selling hot sandwiches, do it right! I don’t know how the actual bakery is, but I will not find out as I am disgusted with this place.
TL;DR — ugly space, incompetent service, terrible sandwiches, extremely and unjustifiably overpriced

Welcome to my neighborhood! I tried their almond croissant a couple days ago and I loved it. I went back there after work today to let them know I really enjoyed it and wanted to grab two of those for breakfast tomorrow, but it was sold out! Too bad, but it’s ok I can stop by anytime on my way home from gym. I don’t need to go all the way to north of Yonge and Eglinton to look for almond croissant anymore! Yay!

Solid 4 with potential for 5.
Great sandwich (ham on olive fougasse, I think) and coffee. Its not inexpensive, you can tell they put some money into the place so I don’t mind the price. There is a great feel with the wood floors, and the tables are nicely spaced apart. Lots of room to move to service eat-​in and take-​out customers.
Glad to have more selection in the area, and apparently they will be open on Sundays.

I just went to Artisan for lunch with a co-​worker. We have been extremely excited about its opening as we are both new to the area and have been disappointed with the selection in the Yonge & St. Clair neighbourhood since arriving in October from Bay street.
My co-​worker had the tuna quiche and I opted for the split pea soup and a croissant. I was not disappointed with my meal at all. The soup was thick, filled with ham, and very filling (I could not finish it all). The croissant was delicious, although I wish that they had heated it up for me, but then again I could have asked. The tuna quiche looked delicious and was revealed to be so by my co-​worker.
As it is their opening day (12÷12÷12) they were not fully ready with the sandwiches that we were expecting as their sandwich maker was delivered from Europe without the right electrical components for North America. We were assured that the sandwich offerings would be better in a week or so once the machine issue had been remedied.
The space itself is elegent, yet a bit sparse. It is a large space, but does not have a lot of seating — although I am sure that this will not be an issue in this area. The staff were great, especially for a lunch time spot. Everyone was very helpful and wanted to take the time to explain the dishes on offer as well as assist you with taking your food to your table.
I am looking forward to heading on over there again as it is a great spot and much better priced than Delica across the street. I will definitely be there on a weekly basis!
Cheers!

Great croissants! When it comes to croissants, there are few places in Toronto that get it right. South of Patisserie Sebastian at Lawrence, the next place that comes to mind is Petite Thuet which is all the way down at Yonge and King! Enter Artisan Baker. A croissant oasis for the Yonge/St.Clair area.
They make some great breads, sandwiches and lunches. Sandwiches and lunches use very high quality meats and artisanal cheeses, and the premium is reflected in the prices. I tried a prosciutto sandwich. It was excellent. Some sandwiches were prepared in advance for a lunch time rush. Other lunch items seemed to be in the 12 – 14 dollar range. They all looked very good.
The place has a comfortable feel, with upholstered wall seats and large chandeliers and French café chairs. It’s a spot for a casual but uncommonly high quality lunch.