La Bamboche

La Bamboche is a beautiful shop. They have comfortable seats and inside is bright and sunny. They have excellent macarons and coffee. I tried Yuzu macaron and it was fantastic. Their pastries are pricey, but it is worth of trying.

This shop has been one of my favorite places for sweets since even before they moved to their current new location. Decent macarons, great pastries and desserts. I love the Japanese Influence in many of the creations which make the desserts slightly lighter and more subtle in flavors. My favorite is the edamame mouse dome, I don’t know if they make it anymore.

I’ve read about this place since I started following food bloggers back in 2010. I finally stopped by to check it out!
Located in such a busy district, we had to pay for parking a little further from the shop. Going into the shop, there were many wooden tables and chairs set for people to enjoy their food. It felt quite spacious for a sunday afternoon.
I’ve came here particularly for the macarons. I got raspberry, lavender, pistachio, strawberry champagne, hazelnut and green tea. The macarons appeared as those they were refrigerated and defrosted cause the first bite felt like it was missing the small cracking sound when you bite into a fresh one. The size of the macaron was fairly large. I felt that the raspberry, pistachio and hazelnut macarons were average. Green tea was created very well, where it tasted strong, but had no bitter aftertaste. Lavender was extremely strong, it literally felt like you were biting into a flower. My favourite was the strawberry champagne, it had a very crisp and clear taste and i actually did taste champagne and strawberry.

My biggest pet peeve is when the person handling my macaron puts on a glove then touches her phone. (The phone carries the most bacteria). That happened when I went and it turned me off. When you handle food and beverage that’s what you don’t do.
I was also disappointed in the service because I also had to wait because owner /​food handler was talking to some man for 4 minutes sitting down, before I was served. I didn’t even know she worked there because she acted like a patron.
The macaron was not worth the wait or taste. It certainly didn’t taste like the flavor.
I will not be back.

I received some macarons from my friend as a birthday gift so I can’t review my experience on service or atmosphere here. However, I loved the macarons! If you like them oh so soft and with a lot of filling, you will love these. Definitely recommend.

I’m shocked that I have never written a review for this place as it’s a favorite place of mine. This bakery is the real deal. They aren’t overstocked with food and once they are sold out of something that’s it for the day but everything is so good.
My favorite thing to order are their croissants or their Quiches. I place those two items in the same category as the crust for their Quiche is the same batter as their buttery croissant.
I have close family friends who are French and I never hesitate to bring them treats from this place when we get together.
Loyal customer and I highly recommend it!

Macaron Day TO — extended cut
I evaluated macarons from the following establishments: Petit Thuet, Bobbette and Belle, Daniel et Daniel, Butter Avenue, Nadege, Moroco Chocolat and Ruelo Patisserie. Today, I’m adding La Bamboche to the mix. Please note that I did NOT visit LaBamboche ON Macaron Day, it was a few days after. Each location was graded on their atmosphere, service, selection, packaging, and of course, macarons. Please check out my profile for reviews of the other locations.
La Bamboche
Location: 1712 Avenue Road (Just south of Hwy 401. Street parking available for about $ 2/​hour.
Atmosphere: «Homey» café feel, slightly outdated but it’s not an eyesore. Very very quiet when we came. Not a lot of seating available.
Service: Only one staff member was behind the counter. She was pleasent. Nothing above and beyond.
Packaging: $ 2.50 per macaron. 6 or more is tax free. 3 macarons packaged in a small see-​through plastic baggie. 6 — 12 macarons are presenting in a small cube box with a see-​through top window. It’s fairly basic.
Selection: When we went, there were only about ⁷⁄₁₀ flavors available (3 sold out) and only about 5 of each left. We arrived in the afternoon (around 3 pm). Knowing La Bamboche was the origin of Macaron Day, I was very disappointed in the selection when I arrived at their location. It was overall, very underwhelming. I tried their 4 flowers tea which was nice, although I’m not sure it was worth the price. Basically a bagged tea in hot water.
Macaron: La Bamboche’s macaron shells are a little too crumbly and dry. I prefer something with a pinch more moisture to give just the right resistence to the shell. However, their ganache filling was very light and fluffy. A welcome and flavourful delight. La Bamboche’s macaraon is a little «taller» than wide, and the ganache to cookie ratio is just about even. The choice of colours were very nice, nothing too bright and artificial. Some of them even had a lovely «garnish» on top (i.e. crushed nuts on top of the hazelnut, or some lavender on top of the lavender macaron).
Conclusion: I was very underwhelmed by the experience. Although LaBamboche’s macarons were nice, I expected more from the service and atmosphere. I tried the Lavender, Hazelnut and Salt and Caramel macarons and couldn’t recommend one over the other. I suppose «nice» is just the right word for the entire experience. Not sure I would return unless it was convenient.
I give La Bamboche a B-​.
My final thoughts: Out of all the macarons and locations I’ve tried (and ensuring to cleanse my palette with water after each bite), the top two contenders have to be Ruelo and Butter Avenue. Both establishments made macaroons their specialty and both execute them incredibly well. You honestly cannot go wrong with either of them.
Nadege is a good alternative and if you’re looking for a dine-​in experience to try other nibblets. La Bamboche is nice on the go. Moroco Chocolate and Bobbette and Belle are also both worthy choices. I would avoid Daniel et Daniel or Petit Thuet though I heard good things about their other ventures and products (macarons are definitely not their forte).

My favourite macaron destination in Toronto. They have the perfect combination of excellent flavour selection and depth, size, texture and sweetness. I’ve been to other macaron spots where it was either too crunchy, too soft, too sweet, to bland.

One of the best macaron places I’ve tried in Toronto. A nice variety of options, including ganache and unique jam filled macarons instead of the usual buttercream.

My wife has always had a sweet tooth and occasionaly I indugle her buy purchasing Macarons! That’s right… Flower are very yesterday!
La Bamboche has a wonderful variety of flavors and the staff are very friendly.
The price for a Macaron is typically more expensive than other cookies but the price is comparative to other establishments that sell Macarons. Also, unlike other cookies, a lot of time and effort go into making the perfect Macaron which you will realize once you take your first bite!

The coffee and croissants are good (not great), but the ambiance is lacking. The displays were almost bare when I visited (around 10 am on a Saturday). Overall, the pictures posted here on Unilocal make the place out to be much more attractive than it is. The staff were more interested in talking about what shows they watched the night before and they just didn’t look like they wanted to be there. It was pretty hot and humid inside as well. As I was walking here down Yonge, I passed by a Starbucks that was full of people and wondered why the locals would spend time at a chain café when there’s such a lovely French bakery just down the street. Now I see why.

Best Macarons I’ve had here.
That is all.
Tried the lavender, salted caramel, chocolate, & espresso.
Can’t wait to go back and enjoy the other flavours!

The macarons here are one of the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s not too sweet just about right. They only had a few flavours left when I went (￣^￣)ゞ but overall the remaining flavours are pretty good. Especially the strawberry champagne one. My favourite so far.

Adorable little spot for tea and macarons. Flavours are delicious and staff is very friendly. Their lemon macarons are amazing! Tucked away on a side street near Yonge/​Eg, overall quiet café to relax at. Haven’t tried their other desserts, but the presentation of them sure is inviting!

It was my first time being at La Bamboche. I like the place because it’s a small café like restaurant. The service is quite friendly and when I went, they helped me a lot. The only thing I purchased was the macarons. I have to say that they are really good. Well balance of crunchiness and creamy filling. What I didn’t really like was that when I came here, there was not much variety. There were maybe 3 or 4 pastries for each type and there were barely any macaron flavours, maybe about 6 or 7. If there were more variety, I would come here often. Overall, I liked it.

Went recently and was a little disappointed against high expectations. Full disclosure, it was early on a Sunday morning, but still, they’re open, right?
Staff was clearly having a little trouble getting going in the morning, which was too bad. Had a quiche which was a pretty blah example — dense and bland, though it looked different and interesting. Pain au Chocolate was quite good, denser than usual, but very tasty. Tried some spicy chocolate cookies too, which were pretty solid.
If I was in the neighbourhood, I’d try it again, but not worth another trip out of my way.

So Far this place has the BEST macarons I have ever tasted, and I have been to a lot! trying to find the best! Their butter croissants are delicious also, crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. I need to come back for more food! I haven’t tried the cakes yet, but I always seen tons of people buying it every time i’m there.

As I’ve previously stated, La Bamboche produces in my opinion the most delectable macarons that a Torontonian could ever desire to O.D. on, but did you know that La Bamboche is also a place that provides oral pleasure… let me explain! I work close by and when sugar withdrawal sets in and the thought of freebasing with a spoon and stray packets of Starbuck’s saccharine seems a little too… ghetto, I make my way over to La Bamboche as they’re my pusher of choice.
The dealers, erm… servers are always pleasantly congenial (who wouldn’t be surrounded by all this sweetness) and deal out macarons, madelines and petits gateaux of supreme quality. For this visit, want something a little more full bodied with a longer lasting buzz than the little flavour tokes that I usually get from the macarons so I order 3 petits gateax (go ahead, call me greedy) the Yuzu Sacha, the Kyoto and the Taste of Japon.
The Yuzu Sacha and the Taste of Japon are respectively delicious,
but the Kyoto is full body shudderingly good! I mean seriously if orgasms have a flavour than this is it!!! The multi-​climax inducing Kyoto is pale caramel miso mousse domed with a jellied caramel shell and a scroll of white chocolate for garnish. I’m wishing this taste of heaven in my mouth would last forever. Only sex with David Beckham could be sweeter than this!
So there it is La Bamboche, their divine gateaux/​narcotics will cure your sweet tooth withdrawal, dessert depression and sexual dysfunction in one fell swoop!

This is the second location of Le Bamboche in Toronto. I like this location better because of the more open design and how the storefront facing Avenue Road, letting me to people watch while sipping my coffee and enjoying French pastry on this Sunday afternoon.
The display case full of different flavours of macaron really catches my eyes… and so the nice staff saying oh buy 6 and no taxes! Hey how can I resist the bargain! (FYI, I ate all 5 of them without sharing!) Love all the flavours I got! And the size… and how when it crumbles on the outside and nice/​soft inside… and the flavours so intense!
Chocolate Croissant is A-​OK! Flaky and light with oh yummy rich chocolate filling, went so well with my cappuccino! Quiche. I never really like sun dried tomato in any form. but the quiche base is excellent, nice and moist.
I did have fun Eyeing the starting at $ 800,000+ 2 bedroom low density condo building across the street… daydreaming that maybe one day…
BTW, Le Bamboche is named after a French restaurant in Paris.

La Bamboche even though I’m not sure what that means en Francais, I kind of like saying it to others whatever it is. I doubt I’ll ever meet someone I yell to that would know what a Bamboche is anyways. Bamboche?
Although this shop doesn’t show signs of an outdoor area while being in a neighbourhood with Parking restrictions, it’s a good addition here that match it’s community and other independant shops nearby. Once again you will notice the Macaron Trees that they showcase on their Davisville location.
The display of Macarons here within the cold case is so much more appealing than their original store. It allows you to glance across the whole display of their Signature Cakes and their Seasonal Items (i.e. Chocolate Tree) that I can’t stop but admire. Why buy a REAL Christmas Tree when you can get a Chocolate Tree?
New Chicken Sundried Tomato Quiche ($ 5+) did have a nice Quiche base however neither the Chicken (Tough) nor the Sundried Tomato had my interest. I would be happy with just a plain Quiche actually. I might go for the Vegetarian ones next time around.
Pain au Chocolate was more of the common Buttery Croissant I’m used to but then I’m not Parisian. Just enough Chocolate inside to consider this a light treat. No sugar overload here.
Cappuccino was nicely made that compliments the edible consumptions here while you drift away into your Sunday afternoon nap… Until a BRIGHT light awakes you and tells you to move on to the next stop of the day.