Cho Pain

How I miss Cho-​Pain which is now closed and is poised to become part of the
expansion of the bar next door. I knew something was wrong when they put up
signs saying they were closed for renovations late last summer and yet the weeks went by and no updates. There is nothing in the area to compare. They had consistently great and often francophone staff, very tasty bread, good coffee and sophisticated sweets like candied grapefruit peel. They even redecorated the interior with chic stripes last year. Going across the street to Cobb’s I discovered how truly
reasonable their bread prices had been, especially given the quality. They gave
the usually tasteless and much maligned Portuguese bun a makeover into something delicious and irresistable. Wheat Belly diet here I come.
Will there be a new location? Please don’t leave us, Mr. Cho-​Pain !

I got chocolate cake.
It was too heavy and too sweet for me.
But it was pretty good.
I want to try other items:)

The Pistachio Croissant is off the chain here!
Has sweetness mixed in with the nutty flavor and generous amounts of the filling.
The staff are great and it’s a very chill place to grab a snack and a drink.
Best part is it’s not pretentious and even has a sign that says «no cellphones while ordering» for all the dorks that do it: D

I’m the Dutchess here, it seems. I have a thing for pistachio flavoured or infused things, and also baked goods. Really, I challenge you to find someone who likes or eats more baked goods than I do.
This place does it so right. The chocolate almond croissant is also amazing, but I will be making a trip to Cho Pain near everyday to get that pistachio croissant.

Super cute little French bakery in downtown Vancouver. The croissant I had was delicious, and my husband enjoyed his chocolate croissant. I also bought a bag of macarons, and they were delicious — and quite large. The prices were a bit steep, but that seems to be the average in the city, so I wasn’t really bothered. Service was mixed; the first fellow was brusque — though not really rude — but the other woman was very sweet.
They also had a lovely selection of pastries, cakes, tarts, and sandwiches… seems like a good place to pick up lunch or breakfast on any given day. Go. And get some macarons for later.

This French bakery bakes real good apple and almond crousonts. The pastery is flakey and crispy to the touch. The prices for the pastries are reasonable. It makes the perfect morning quick breakfast for anyone on the go. I’m also the Duke of Cho Pain. Not bad for an out of towner.

Was in town recently on business and I was advised that for a great coffee (49^th Parallel) and a Croissant (Chocolate please) that Cho Pain was the maestro of the two in Vancouver.
Located along Davies street just a 5 minute walk from where I was staying at the Burrard. This place made my shaky morning all that much better. The coffee was hot and fresh and hit the spot AND that Croissant (the Chocolate one)…ughhh freaking orgasmic (I moaned the entire way back to the hotel getting all sorts of quizzical and interested looks LOL).
Price was really fair for the two and the staff were super friendly. I have been to Paris friends and if you live in Vancouver this is as close as it gets. Enjoy

Amazing!
I’ve become addicted to the Ham and Cheese croussants, and I dont even like cheese very much!
They seemed to have gotten better with their coffees, as I noticed a huge improvement from last year.
Everything always looks so good in the display case, and if I wasnt worried about becoming one of those crabby obese bitches in a scooter, I’d eat everything they stock.

Yes, I am a fan, been coming here for years… Love the breads and pastries, the non-​pretentious atmosphere… Sometimes love the coffee (although the staff should really know the difference between a latte and a cappuccino = LESS FOAM).
And one small request: could you make more brioches? Without raisin. Just good ol’ plain brioche. After all, what else epitomizes a French bakery if not a classic brioche with coffee which your are always out of, or only have the raisin variety. Who invented that monstrosity, after all, there’s always a plain croissant, aside from the others. Why not a plain brioche? Is all I ask.

I have nothing against France or French food. Quite the opposite, in fact, but I’ve just returned from my first and probably last trip to Cho Pain. Why last? Wellnow: burnt coffee and not-​very-​good food, all served up with a generous helping of passive-​aggressively peevish attitude.
There is a difference, evidently lost on these people, between dark-​roasted coffee and *burnt* coffee. The woman behind the counter served me the latter, but not before reacting to my question («Do you have soy or almond or coconut or some other non-​dairy milk?») by curling her upper lip in undisguised disgust and saying «No!» in a tone of voice that would’ve been more appropriate in response to a request for poached dog crap. Um… seriously? Madame, this is Vancouver.
I ordered a ham and cheese croissant. Would have liked it warmed up, and they appeared to have the facilities to do so, but she did not offer and when I asked, she pretended not to have heard me. But then again, perhaps I am misattributing malice here; espresso machines aren’t silent, but the ones here are unnecessarily and conspicuously noisy. They got in the way of conversation with my friend once we sat down, so prhaps they likewise prevented her hearing the simple query I enunciated clearly and repeated before giving up. So, a _​cold_​ham and cheese croissant. It was edible, but nowhere near spectacular and not worth the price.
As for the aforementioned burnt espresso: after ordering and paying, I stood aside to wait for it so others could approach the counter and place their orders. This was evidently not acceptable; the woman behind the counter stared at me and hovered her hand over the cash register, making the next customer wait while she made it clear to me that I should leave the counter. Ohhhhhhhhkay, then! I sat down and began trying to talk and listen with my friend over the din of the espresso machines. By and by, my espresso was placed, unannounced, on the front counter. No call-​out, no bringing it to the table. I went up and fetched it.
My friend ordered a few different pastry items, and let me try them. I was just as underwhelmed with them as with my own lackluster croissant fromage-​jambon. All in all, this was a disappointing and frustrating waste of time, money, and stomach space. Not again.

I’m sad to report that it was… Ok.
I don’t know if it’s the time I went (Tuesday mid afternoon)? I had a chocolate croissant. It was ok … Even the ones from urban fare are better… Given the # of amazing reviews, I’d probably try again.

Having been to a couple of different french bakeries around downtown, and tried a good number of breads, pastries and coffee/​tea at Cho Pain, it is clear that this is AS GOOD AS IT GETS.
Always a great place to catch up with friends, or read and watch the world go by. Go for it!

It really doesn’t get any better. It’s fairly busy at brunch time, but well worth the wait if it’s sunny.
Their sandwiches are amazing, the tarts are fresh, the bread is always fantastic, their coffee is decent sized.
I spend more money here than I should, but it’s worth every bit.

My friend and I stopped in this bakery for an afternoon snack. Let’s just say that there was no talk while we ate our pastry and dessert. It was AMAZEBALLS!
I had the pistachio slice and he had a three layer chocolate mousse. It was soooooo good. If I had know about this place earlier in the week, I would have come twice a day. You must give this a try.

I went earlier in the morning this time (10am Sunday. but that’s not that early I guess) and was able to finally try almond croissant! Em it was great! Same buttery and flaky goodness plus the almond taste! I also took home the ham&cheese and pistachio croissant. The pistachio was too sweet for me but the ham&chees was amazing. I loved it. The cranberry pecan loaf was so good. I love dried cranberries so of course I am a fan.
They offered me a free refill (maybe I looked so sad coughing and all) for coffee. The service was great this time! Maybe the weather makes ppl feel better too?

This place is a carbo-​lovers dream! The shop itself is tiny, so be prepared to either order to-​go or get to the shop early to snag one of the small bistro seats. My boyfriend and I stopped in for a light breakfast and snagged two drip coffees and a couple random pastries to sample. He devoured his ham&cheese croissant, and all the people in line behind us were ordering several of them, so I have a sneaking suspicion they are well known for them here.
I thoroughly enjoyed my brioche bun and also nibbled a bit at the seeded bun. 2 coffees, a brioche bun, seeded bun, and ham&cheese croissant set us back a total of $ 7 or so — a fabulous deal for breakfast in the city!
Being a parisian style patisserie, their bread is airy, fluffy, and not at all dense. If you want something chewier, I’d recommend Cob’s across the street — but if you’re in the mood for buttery, flaky, and fluffy, Cho Pain is where it’s at!

Just wanted to say, this place has become my regular weekend treat. It is so deliciously amazing to be able to walk here and indulge in that oh so delicious chocolate almond croissant.

Once wasn’t enough. I had to go back to get more the next day.
High quality is right, but you wouldn’t have thunk that looking at their prices.
First visit we went for the desserts. I had the triple chocolate mousse, gf had the neapolitan. Both were delectable. I’m not a fan of kill-​your-​teeth level of sweetness for desserts, these were just right.
Other notables: apple turnover (never seen such a sexy version), croissants, banana chocolate muffin among others. Everything is good. Forget COBBS et al.
Services is excellent. They imported a girl from Latvia and one from Ireland last I was there. Sweet girls.
More bread awesomeness please.

All Marri longed for was a man to whisper doux «de riens» in her ear. And the best frangipane croissant qu’elle n’a jamais mangé.
As she choked on a mélange of chickpeas and larmes silencieuses, she finally realized the true worth of a tender man. But even more so, the worth of a flaky croissant.
See, it’s always been the other way around for Marri, and she knows better than to expect either of them to stick around long after she’s through with them. And when left with the choice, she always goes for the one that’s easiest to swallow; easiest to forget.
Marri then ran to the bathroom; along with her tears, and her lunch, she purged the thought of, yet again, making the wrong choice.
Rather than sitting around and waiting to be swept off her feet, Marri swept her heart up off the floor and set off in the direction of a bakery. Any bakery. Because she knew, that within a matter of minutes, it would happen all over again.
—
Go early and often; their frangipane (almond) croissants sell out by the early afternoon, and provide for a strangely intimate experience.

Omgosh love this place. i might not have noticed if someone didn’t tell me about it… but when I walked in, I saw one pastry case filled with cakes and the other full of puffy pastries. I honestly could not determine which one I wanted…
I actually came into here planning to get a treat for my roomate but I decided to treat myself too! Knowing that my roomie doesn’t like chocolate, that eliminated about ¹⁄₃ of the options. I ended up going to an apricot tart — that looked super tasty! Then I saw the APPLE GOODNESS! I asked the super sweet (and cute) guy whether the apple treats were good and he rightfully agreed. in a humble kind of tone… so i got that too :) He was sooo polite and so patient with me. good eye candy with a dreamy french accent (please don’t tell my bf).
Took it home in my takeout box and enjoyed half of each. I think with ice cream it would have tasted even better. The pastry was loaded with butter like it should haave been and and I even wish I hadn’t shared with my roomie. but you know what they say. Sharing is Caring.
I have to come back for the Apple turnover — it looked HUMONGOUS!
so… to continue my earlier review. I just came back from Cho Pain with two parisan macarons in my hands — for 70 cents each! one was green pistachio flavour while the pink was strawberry. I was so excited I didn’t even get a chance to take a photo.
To give you an idea — the shell was crispy and the overall size is larger than what I remember in France. it tasted good, but not quite Paris. I would say good effort, but not sure if I would try again.

Almond croissant, fresh out of the oven…
Whole Wheat Oat loaf thick sliced…
49^th Parallel Coffee ready for any java kick…
Space to read, space to write, space to people watch…
What is this place? Neighourhood heaven.