Five Best Sweet Treats in Downtown Victoria
We are spoiled in Victoria by the number of great eateries we have all over the city. One of my favourite things to do, especially if I have had a particularly challenging morning at work, is to venture out and get a little something sweet after my lunch. The great thing is that I don’t need to go far to find something delicious and amazing. I know there has been some focus recently, on some of the closures we have seen and one of them, Tombo, would have been on this list if they hadn’t closed last month. Still, there are so many other options that are there waiting for you to walk through the doors and treat yourself with. As such, I thought I would write about some of my absolute favourite sweet treats from in and around Downtown Victoria. If I were spreading out my view further, I wouldn’t know where to stop, I mean would it be at the Oak Bay border and leave out the butter tarts at Demitasse? Or go further and make the list really long, so I could include the chocolate brownies at the Roost Bakery in North Saanich? Instead with one minor exception, this list is all within the Downtown core. I should also say that this list is completely selfish and arbitrary based on the things I like, so don’t be too sad if you don’t see your favourite place or treat. Just be sure to tell me about it so that I can go and try it out for myself.
Bond Bond’s Cinnamon Cross
This is definitely the longest running treat on this list. I have been eating Cinnamon Crosses since I first came across them, so long ago I am not even sure when it was, decades though. They have added a bit more powdered sugar to them over the years, but apart from that, they have stayed the same. The crispy croissant pastry has just the right amount of sweetness that keeps the butteryness front and centre. They are just the right size too, small enough that you feel like you could eat another (you really shouldn’t) and big enough that you can take your time to enjoy them. Bond Bond’s is such a great bakery too. They have so many other wonderful treats. Honourable mention goes to their Pistachio Bars which is another sweet that I find myself getting quite often. Bond Bond’s is located at 1010 Blanshard and is open Monday to Friday, closed on weekends.
Empire Donut’s Jelly Doughnut
I know what you are thinking, a regular old jelly doughnut. How could something so simple make the list? Well, yes it is a jelly doughnut but it is anything, but regular. The Empire Donut Jelly Doughnut is really one of my absolute favourite things on this list because it is a simple treat, done perfectly. While all the doughnuts at Empire are great, when I am walking past and see the jelly doughnut there, it is hard for me not to stop and get one. The outside has a delicious white sugar coating and the strawberry jelly on the inside is usually voluminous. I will give a shout out to the new pumpkin stuffed doughnuts that came out recently at Empire, they are amazing. Yet it is the simple jelly doughnut that I think reigns supreme here. Empire Donuts is located on the View Street end of St. Andrews Square at 736 View Street. They are open Wednesday to Sunday here and open at 9am and close when they run out of doughnuts which is usually just after noon though sometimes earlier.
Crust’s Lemon and Passionfruit Slice
Crust is one of those places that you can’t help to stop at just because of their window display. All of the little squares, tarts and cookies lined up calling to you as you try to walk past. Really, the only reason that I don’t go to Crust sometimes is because the line of other people going to Crust is too long and I don’t have time to wait before getting back to work. Of course, when I do have time to wait in the line, I definitely do. There are a dozen items at Crust I could have put on this list and many people would agree and understand, but the one thing that I get, if I can’t decide or just because I have been thinking about it is the Lemon and Passionfruit Slice. I honestly wish it weren’t so good because as far as treats go, it is maybe the most inconvenient of any at Crust and definitely of any on this list. You can try to eat one of these slices with no cutlery (and I have), but you risk both losing a part of the treat and getting your fingers very sticky. Eat it with a spoon and truly enjoy this. The Lemon and Passionfruit Slice is a rectangular treat in a stiff wax paper box. The bottom is a graham cracker crust and the main part is a stiff lemon and passionfruit custard that explodes with flavour. There are three small merengues on the top to finish it off. If you like a lemon merengue pie, you are going to love this treat. Crust is located at 730 Fort Street just up from the Dutch Bakery. They are open everyday 8am to 4pm.
Oso Cafe’s Bomboloni Doughnut
Oso cafe is newest place on this list and even in the short time it has been in Victoria, it has had two locations. When I first became aware of Oso, they were located in the Victoria Public Market. It was making me walk through the market on a more regular basis because every time I went by they had such an amazing selection of sweet delicacies. In the last few months they have moved to a more permanent location in the Bay Centre Food court. I know that may sound like an odd place to find an amazing goodie, but I can completely assure you that getting to the food court to try pretty much anything they make will be worth it. My favourite treat they have is another stuffed doughnut, but instead of the simple jelly doughnut, it is an Italian Bomboloni doughnut. They usually have a variety to choose from. The one pictured above is a Mango Coconut. The owner says that term bomboloni is used by Italian bakers due to the flavour bomb the doughnuts provide. It could equally refer to the sheer amount of custard that the doughnut is stuffed with too. These doughnuts are decadent and so well hand-crafted that each one looks like a work of art. If you are in the Bay Centre and you have even a little room for a sweet treat, run up those escalators to Oso Cafe. I give honourable mention to their cookies as well. They sometimes have this iced cookie with strawberries on it, it is also dreamy. Oso Cafe is open 10-6 everyday except Sunday when they are open 11-5 and they are open later, till 8pm on Thursday and Friday.
Patisserie Daniel’s Cinnamon Bun
Patisserie Daniel is the only one on this list that is technically outside the boundaries of Downtown Victoria, that said, you can get there at least from my downtown office in a matter of minutes. I also conveniently walk past it twice a day on my way to and from work. Even if I don’t need to go in, going anywhere near the front door is sure to envelope you in a warm blanket of the smell of yeast and cinnamon. While like the other places on this list, Patisserie Daniel has so many amazing things to choose from, there is one, at least for me, that stands above the rest, the cinnamon bun. The Patisserie Cinnamon buns are thick and swirled on the inside with a copious amount of cinnamon and sugar. The top is coasted in a beautiful icing that makes everything sticky and gooey. If you get there early in the morning when they are fresh out of the oven and the icing just put on, it is pure bliss. I will give honourable mentions to their sour cherry danishes and the apple croissants. If you are looking for a near perfect birthday cake, the Black Forest Cake at Patisserie Daniel is maybe the best in the city as well. Patisserie Daniel is open Tuesday to Friday from 730am to 5pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm. They are located at 1729 Cook Street.
So that was my very select list and you are shaking your head as to why your favourite sweet treat wasn’t on it so let me know in the comments what it is and I will be checking it out next week!