Mon Petit Choux

Nothing special. Good coffee and sandwiches. Sandwiches are a little on the light side for ingredients and fillings. Quiche was tasty a little oily. Service was very fragmented. Not the cheapest considering how little was on the sandwich. They run out of most things Daily. If your in the mood for a simple baguette with a few toppings this is your place,

Bummed out… Their croissant was very generic and unsatisfying.
Their macaron was so dry it had to have been super old or just badly made.
For their croque madame breakfast the eggs were supposed to be over easy, but they were over cooked :(
I stole some scrambled eggs off my boyfriends plate and those were delicious. Not going to go back.

How do you run out of bread and food mid-​service? No, seriously, how do you do that on the première dining day of the week? It was then a matter of twenty questions to determine what was, or was not, available on the menu.
While we eat, the manager sat at the table next to us, and was carrying on a loud conversation with his staff several meters away in the kitchen, whilst working on his laptop.
As we eat, one of the kitchen workers (within close proximity) was mucking out the ladies’ toilet with a mop whilst the door was wide open, and with the bucket within splash distance. Perhaps he might have waited until we had either finished eating, or had vacated the table?
I had the quiche, and it made my stomach upset.
When I wanted to pay my bill, the transaction was hindered by the cashier’s lack of familiarity with the English language:
«I’d like to pay my bill please.»
–mystified look passes over the face of the cashier.
Honestly, it was like I had asked her to prove the Riemann Hypothesis, and it did take some time to get everything settled.
As we exited, I could see that the next rush of diners was going to be in for a treat: the kitchen staff were ferrying loads of recently-​purchased food items into the restaurant from Costco.
In all fairness, this was my only visit to this restaurant, and perhaps I caught them with their pants down. However, this was my lugubrious experience with «Nanaimo’s Treasure» on Commercial Street.

Food is absolutely delicious. That is the only reason they get 4 stars. I have worked in restaurants and bars for 10+ years so I am patient and forgiving with most servers… But I gotta say, their service is pretty terrible.

Had a delicious breakfast here last week. The employees were so nice. We bought some excellent pastries to go and tried our very first Nanaimo bar. Omg! Nanaimo bars are the most amazing thing ever! Wish I lived close by so I could try all the pastries at Mon Petit.

A really lovely café in a small town. Delicious latte and crazy good pastries, particularly so far from a major city.

Mon Petite Choux is a Nanaimo treasure!
We stopped here after seeing it on Unilocal and were so pleasantly surprised! The cappuccinos and lattes were smooth and creamy, the food, incredible, and the pastures, well, you will have to go and see for yourself!
We ordered the vegetarian baguette sandwich, and the breakfast muesli. They don’t have a kids menu but they were so accommodating basically telling us they would make up whatever we wanted for our son. We ordered scrambled eggs, a croissant, and a fruit cup which he loved.
The veggie sandwich was flavourful, the bread crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I couldn’t put it down.
The muesli was light, not too sweet and had tons of fresh fruit in it.
We are sad we didn’t find this place sooner or we would have eaten here every meal

This place is still the best café-​pâtisserie in Nanaimo. The location is fantastic and they serve good, simple food that’s not too expensive.

During our stop in Nanaimo, we really wanted to try the Nanaimo bars. If that’s what you want to try, this is the place to go. Though they’re around $ 5 a pop, my friend and I shared one and it was definitely very decadent. The chocolate on top was semi-​sweet, the butter icing was super rich (and super delicious), while the wafer had the perfect amount of crispiness. Definitely a recommended stop if you’re in the area.

ok here’s the thing — the food here is really good. BUT. They ALWAYS sell out of the best/​most popular items. I have been here several times and have has to re do my order or have members of my part re do their order after finding out our first choice isn’t available, and often our second choice too. It seems really stupid not to plan ahead and make extra of the really popular items.
On a recent trip here with a group of 4, 2 of us couldn’t get what we wanted, and then one person chose a different item and one person chose not to order anything at all.
To «apologize» they brought us some cookies, but only 3 cookies, for a group of 4 people. It was super awkward. I appreciate the nice gesture but that was poorly thought out.
It’s unfortunate because when I do actually get what foods I want I always enjoy it very much. But eventually it gets old, hearing «sorry we’re out of that» every time you go there.
Also, bummer for the restaurant, but the city but a large shiny metal public washroom toilet thing like 10 feet away from their patio, so it’s really unappealing to go eat outside, taking away another key factor of a nice downtown restaurant.
In addition to all that, the prices aren’t cheap… and the portions aren’t big. So you’re really paying for quality ingredients more than portion size and that’s ok, however due to other things mentioned in this review, I doubt I’d choose to come here again. I may go if it’s early in the day but they’ve lost my business past about 11am when lunch happens and they are unprepared yet again.

Breakfast was delicious. All breads and pastries are done in house. Will be back again and again. Portions aren’t huge but match the price appropriately.

We stopped here for a light lunch and coffee. The croissants are just the way I like them, crusty on the outside, flaky inside, not greasy at all, and baked fresh same day. They use organic flour, and mostly all other ingredients are organic and locally sourced. The veggie quiche was light, with a delicate puff pastry crust. I also had a cup of tomato soup, which tasted good and was made in-​house. The portion was very small, however, in a small caraf, likely only half a cup, which is not worth the $ 5 price. The seating was spacious, and service was efficient and friendly. I would come again, but won’t order a cup of soup, though!

Great sandwiches! The staff are also very friendly.

Good espresso, French baking and food but don’t get a small latte, you would have to buy another one. So small for a huge price.

Ordered the Quiche, salmon omelette and two nanaimo bars. The food was really good, but the servers had no focus or organization. Meal was done and we were patiently waiting for our nanaimo bars when our server decided to go on a break. The next sever had no idea about the rest of our order. Went to the register to pay and got our nanaimo bars to go when the woman at the till asked what else we ordered, not satisfied she asked if my two kids had croissants and that she was sure she thought they had. Ugh no lady if you failed to serve us our dessert what makes you think our kids got one?!

Great little spot– excellent coffee and pastries and light breakfast. Service an staff very friendly. Only negative is if you have an early morning they don’t open until 8

Lovely spot for a coffee/​tea date with a friend. Shaped like a slice of pie with two long walls of windows, during peak hour buzz in here you can imagine you’re in a vibrant city enjoying a break from the noises outside.
The baked goods here… I have tried perhaps 6 different kinds and have never been disappointed. The coffee/​espresso and tea (mighty leaf) are good. They have a breakfast and lunch menu with delicious, small european style meals. You can order at the till to go, or sit down and receive table service. Apparently they have the best Nanaimo bar in Nanaimo but I can’t attest as I’m not a fan of the dessert personally. There’s one employee or possibly owner/​manager in here who is incredibly friendly, greets everyone and seems to keep the heart of the place pumping. All the staff have been warm and attentive.

Went Saturday am at 9 for breakfast, no fresh bread, day old baggette instead of toast. No poached eggs, called basted but actually sunny side up, ordered soft got medium done. Bacon was cdn corn meal crusted
Saving grace was the croissant WOW with fresh preserves

Definitely deserving of the extra star… had breakfast here a few weeks ago and while I kept with an easy granola and fruit (which was yummy) others splurged on some pretty fine looking eggs and croque madames. My cappuccino was awesome and the baked good selection at the cash was awe-​inspiring but I left the selection to a friend who brought a care package home for the fam.
Of all the spots for breakfast in this area I would venture to say this is the surest thing.

When I walked into Mon Petit Choux it reminded me of café’s I have eaten at in France. The small marble top tables, the colours and of course the smells. My first thought was, will the quality be the same as the old country? To my surprise it is. The baked goods offered here are well worth paying for. I highly recommend the the almond croissants, the quiche, salad, muesli, bee stings, and the baguettes. I’m sure they have many more amazing offerings. I just haven’t been here enough to try them all.
I grew up in Nanaimo and have seen the city change so much over the years. Especially regarding the evolution of the variety of restaurants being run. I am delighted to have found such a great little café in the city by the sea.