Nadege Patisserie
780 Queen St W 
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Phone: 416.368.2009
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My road to Nadege Patisserie was longer and harder than I ever could have expected. 4 weeks, to be exact, as our visit fell on their one-month anniversary, and about...4 weeks after I had initially planned to go. My Nadege dates and I had made many futile plans to visit during this time (you know how the summer is), and they visited without me even more times than that.
Thus, when we all finally rendezvoused at this West Queen West establishment, the hype had reached epic proportions. The sharp, white corner facing off with Trinity Bellwoods Park is hard to miss, and its pristine white and shiny walls, tables, sugar bowls, and absolutely everything seem frighteningly easy to mess up.
I suddenly feel underdressed. But I am still treated like someone who has every right (financial and otherwise) to be indulging in some magical little French delicacies known as "macarons".
These light and crisp cookies sandwich a variety of thick and creamy ganaches. Lucky me, I am with the macaron twins and they purchase enough on their own to give me a pretty broad sample, including poppy, pistache, and rose.
"I almost cried when I ate one of these in the car the other day," Dylan says.
"Seriously. I was like, okay, pull over and have your moment, before you get us into an accident." Steve verifies.
Sweet and coolly fragrant, it melts in my mouth as I melt, ever so-slightly, into my chair. My coffee is sweetened with perfect, imperfectly-formed lumps of white and brown sugar, while my tiny spoon tinkles against the sides of my fine glass teacup.
I feel far daintier than I should ever be allowed to feel (especially in this Guns 'n Roses t-shirt). Last week I was (apparently) Jay Gatsby, today I am Marie Antoinette. The Sophia Coppola version, FYI.
My friends' macaron-bender allows me the freedom to indulge in one of the apricot croissants that first caught my eye. It's everything that I hoped for; only the mildest bit of sweetness in this fine custard, and a dense yet flaky pastry. Two gleaming halves of a slightly-glazed apricot are set on each side, like fruity jewels.
Nadege herself, Executive chef and co-owner (along with her husband Morgan), is a sweet and friendly (and French) lady, and she takes me on a bit of a tour. She makes it very clear that every item is crafted to be a shining example of quality and care.
Gourmet ingredients are brought in from the locales which do them best; for sandwiches, it's white ham from Paris, prosciutto from Italy and Spain.
The bread is baked on site fresh every morning (as is everything here, she adamantly states) and with such flavours that will most perfectly complement the other elements- raisin and walnut buns, for one example. They are all garnished with only the freshest, local produce.
I am encouraged to try some samples of gourmet marshmallows which are displayed on top of the pastry case. I had already helped myself the second I walked in, but not to the Gin and Tonic or Violet, which are profound lessons in grown-up candy-making. Light, airy and certainly unlike any I've ever had, they are "very trendy in Paris," she tells me.
"Did you try one of the cakes? You have to try the cakes!" Nadege insists. "They're our specialty."
My dining companion and I dig into the first of two painstakingly-crafted creations. (Our group is down one by now).
"I feel like I'm destroying art," Steve says to me. That's because we are. Delicious, delicious art.
Morgan walks by and proudly notes, "everything is edible, except the gold foil at the bottom". Paper-thin sheets stamped with the store's logo hold together a rectangular creation that we both, independently of each other, refer to as a "house".
The black currant flavour explodes in a dense, tart mousse that is perfectly complemented by an even tarter lemon and subtle-as-air violet.
This subtlety of flavours is repeated in our second round. A lovely, lemondrop-shaped specimen that still leaves me skeptically thinking, "there's no way this can beat the other."
But it certainly elicits the same brand of eyes-closed savouring. The integrity of the pink champagne is miraculously maintained as it literally bursts in between chunks of strawberry and mango. We are dizzy and so very full.
From what I gather, this is all in a day's stroll through Paris.
"We walked by this one chocalatier's shop," Morgan says as I half-intrude on his conversation with another lady well-versed in the city's glamorous ways.
"And we thought it was a jewellery store."
It's all starting to make sense to me. The white gloves, just-so table-settings, neat little rows of croissants, and those kickass "Oui Madame" t-shirts they all seem to be wearing.
It's not just dessert to these guys; it's an art, an opulent experience. My Guns 'n Roses t- shirt and I can use a little of that every now and again.
Merci, Nadege.
Comments (25)
I'll have to back and try the cakes after reading this review.
But what's the big deal with the macaroons? Are they a new thing in Toronto? I've had better, less expensive macaroons in Montreal and Quebec City compared to the ones at Nadege.
@Skeptic - step off a bit. White ham is a style of ham also known as Parisian ham and it is quite pale. Prosciutto from Spain is also known as Jamon Serrano.
Skeptic + not doing the homework = epic fail
Just sayin.
I wanted to like it - I love Clafouti, love baked goods in general - but Nadege is just too antiseptic. The author felt it too, with the line "I suddenly feel underdressed."
Maybe I'm just not cool enough, I don't know. This store would probably do well in the Annex, where the shoppers are totally price-insensitive and just trying to "wow" their neighbors. But I just don't see it near the park, where the shoppers are either families or poor/cool young people. Nadege feels like a good place to have your appendix out, not a good place to purchase and consume a croissant.
If they want to stay in business, they should distribute flyers in the richest parts of the city, make their shop a "destination". I don't think local foot traffic is going to do it.
i've had the lime jelly coconut rocher ball concoction (http://www.blogto.com/listings/bakery/upload/2009/08/20090817_nadege_02.jpg) - a wonderfully exquisite taste indeed!!
perhaps they melted in your mouth so well because they're virtually hollowed out and there's nothing to eat!
Macaroons are made of coconut.
Macarons are the colourful cookies you see in the photos.
I must agree though, just from the look of them (quite flat, not puffed with barely any filling), they look a bit weak sauce.
Why is Toronto a city full of haters, it has quite the reputation of being a city that loves to hate. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but what's with the snide remarks? So ignorant.
Those pictures have me drooling. It all looks phenomenal and I am looking forward to trying it as soon as I take a cheat day on my low-carb diet!
I have been to Nadege twice now and must attest that the cakes absolutely sublime.
The prices are comparable to other patissieres, is a reflection of the craftsmanship, and is well worth the $ and the trek.
Nadege is a wonderful addition to Toronto. I will definitely be back again soon!
Actually skeptic is only half wrong.
There is a style of white ham called Parisian. French people call it "Jambon de Paris" in France.
But he's right when he says that prosciutto can't be from Spain. Prosciutto is a certain type of ham that is from Italy exclusively (real prosciutto is pretty expensive and is meant to be cut very thinly). By extension, people call prosciutto any kind of smoked ham but it's wrong. It would be like calling champagne any kind of sparkling wine. Serrano is another type of ham: it's rawer, thicker and less sweet than prosciutto. More importantly, it's from Spain, not Italy.
Just sayin'...
Macarons are still all the rage in Paris where they love all things pretty and petite. I can't say I've had good ones here other than at Thuet.
Don't get the hate comments at all, I was totally impressed when i finally made it there this past weekend. Having spent a little time in Paris in the last 10 years or so (about 4 months in total) i have to say it nails a Parisian patisserie bang on. The Apricot tarts are perfect, The macaroons I had were excellent (I've had better maybe once, worse frequently), They even had Badoit (my fav water)
Next trip I'll try some cakes but from what i saw i don't expect to be disappointed. BTW Vanessa a really well made french cake (small pastry ) is always incredibly light
As for the Decor I thought it was brilliant, though to succeed in fickle Toronto it's obvious from the comments that wicker and endless Edith Piaf would have served them better (you likely won't see that in Paris at all anymore with the exception of perhaps a tourist trap)
come on people the place is amazing, having been there myself and the pastry chef is awesome, 10 points for ambience, 10 points for delicious decadent food and treats (homemade marshmallows are delicious)... loved it! that's all I can say!
I love Toronto's food scene, and places like Nadege (despite the price) is a big reason why.
However, I also have to add that I absolutely loathe the majority of Toronto's food scene's customers.
They treat servers and chefs with a level of bile, intolerance, contempt and sadistic expectation that would make the Nazis blush, so that we now have restaurants who focus ten times more energy on service vs. the food itself.
It's tragic. Restaurants in Toronto are fast becoming centres where people pay to satisfy their id's most evil, infantile and unethical whims, and not to eat excellent food. I would like nothing more than to see a massive sea change in this regard.
In fact, I propose an annual civic holiday in town, where those inhuman patrons get treated like they treat people in the restaurant business every other day of the year. At the end of the day, they are given the optional self-use of a guillotine. I propose to call this holiday Scum Removal Day.
I love the sound of the pastries in this article and if I weren't unemployed right now, I'd be in this patisserie tomorrow consuming a dozen pastries.
It really saddens me that people are so bitter and quick to say terrible things about such painstakingly beautiful, and (according to this article) delicious pastries!
We as Torontonians try to pass ourselves off as being so tolerant and accepting of other ethnicities and religions and sexual orientations, yet we bash other people's successes (or in this case) a new entrepreneur's attempt at being successful.
There's nothing wrong with viable critique based on facts and experience, but do it with tact and diplomacy, and do it only after you've sampled the goods.
Welcome Nadege Patisserie, I look forward to sampling your creations soon!
I am glad to see a patisserie like Nadege opening in Toronto, the "Jewelery" display concept is very common in Europe, but I think this is the first one in Toronto. Their pastries presentation is modern and simple, which is quite different to Rahier's.
I wish them the best and hope that they will continue to intrique us with new flavors and textures. I find the black currant one the best so far.
I was dissapointed with their croissant though, as the texture is like bread, not flaky at all. I hope Nadege and Morgan will try the croissants from Rahier and Bon jour Brioche, and come with an improved one!
It's sad to read such negative comments about Nadege and various other restaurants in Toronto. It's apparently so easy to pick on something different.
I think Nadege is one of a kind in the city, and has some of the most gorgeous creations I've seen or eaten since being in Paris, and studying in France.
The chef is so nice and I think she hits the nail on the head with her work. The macarons are heaven, and the shop embodies Paris.
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