I'm not a negative person, nor am I a food snob, however I have to say that Bonjour Brioche (812 Queen St. East, Toronto) is not that good. It certainly does not live up to all the positive reviews that come up when you Google this establishment. Although it's possible that the quality of the patisseries and bread was higher when the place first opened a few years ago (I think they have mostly new staff since then), it's certainly not the great place it's raved to be. I've been there a few times in the last year, each time at different times of the week, each time trying different items from the menu. This morning was my latest visit. I got there shortly after their opening time. The service was slow, but that's not an issue for me -- in fact, I like taking my time on a weekend morning. I had one of their signature brioches, but sadly this is no brioche to write home about (dry, no flaky crust as a brioche is supposed to have, bland in taste). While sitting and sipping my bowl of latte (which took a lot of sugar to make tolerable; not sure if it was the grind, the machine, or the operator that was to blame) I observed a non-stop stream of walk-in, pick-up traffic. Generally this is a good sign, but just because it's busy doesn't make it good! I suspect that a large reason the place is so busy is that there aren't any other patisserie/bakery options in that neighbourhood. Although I haven't tried all of their offerings, for the french basics (croissant, brioche, baguette, french toast, omelette, coffee) you'll certainly find much better elsewhere. For example, in terms of quality you can't go wrong at Patachou (1095 Yonge St., Toronto; I especially recommend their croissants and their french onion soup), although it's slightly more expensive, or try Pain Perdu (736 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto; I haven't found anything I didn't like at this place), which offers both great quality and decent prices.
