There is not much to say, except that there is only room for one European old school bakery in my heart and Notte’s Bon Ton Pastry and Confectionary has got dibs.

The Bon Ton has been around forever. I remember going in there as a child with my mother – back when it was still on Granville by Robson St, and the back room was dark and magical with it’s pseudo brick walls, faux and surreal blue sky painted through.

Now they’re on West Broadway (between Trutch and Balaclava) but nothing else has really changed. Their easter eggs are just as magical, their pastries are still as decadent, and their back room is still a lovely space to have a cup of coffee ($1.85), enjoy a pair of perfect sausage rolls ($1.55), and a motley assortment of delicious french pastries ($2.20).

If you’re so inclined you can even shell out $10 to have Nasreen read your tea leaves or tarot cards.

In any case, the model wedding cakes are just as indulgent and conjure up what one might imagine if the Disney castle came in a wedding cake version. And the edible ones are laced with butter cream, booze, and layers of flaky pastry. My personal favorite is the Diplomat ($16), a rotund and debonair fellow containing various layers of crisp pastry sheets, butter cream, sponge cake, and icing sugar. He’s topped with a cherry and tailed with a layer of rum soaked pastry.

It should be said, with sadness, that the joint is a death trap for anyone with a nut allergy. Tant pis.

Notte’s Bon Ton
3150 West Broadway, Vancouver
Telephone: 604.681.3058
Website: nottesbontonpastryconfec.supersites.ca
Hours: 9.30am – 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday; Closed Monday & Sunday.