Duo Pâtisserie & Café — Restaurant in Markham

Duo has good pastry but unacceptable customer service. We ordered a whole cake (Fei) by phone from Duo Patisserie (Commerce Valley) one day in advance and paid in full over the phone. We're told that by paying in advance we wouldn't have to lineup if they're busy. We did not need any writing on the cake so it's just a regular cake. A receipt was texted to our phone. When we went to pick up the cake this morning, it was not busy at all, but staff at the front desk could not find our order on their handwritten list on a clipboard. When we showed them the receipt on our phone they told us we made a mistake and the order was placed with their Leslie cafe. We asked whether we could pick up a Fei at their location and cancel the other one since it's just a regular Fei, and they said no because the two locations were "separate" and we must pick up from the Leslie location. So we drove all the way up to the Leslie/16th Duo Cafe, just to be told that they don't even sell regular cake like Fei there. We showed them the receipt and they said that staff at the Patisserie was wrong and the order was indeed placed with Duo Patisserie at Commerce Valley, so we asked them to call Duo Patisserie to confirm before we had to drive all the way back. When we got back to Duo Patisserie at Commerce Valley, they did find our cake, but they blamed their "new staff" for the mistake. First of all, how could they have taken an order and also accepted payment in advance, but not written down the order on their paper list? It's unbelievable that don't have a proper way to correctly track their orders? And blaming "new staff" for their poor organization is not a fair business practice. Management is ultimately responsible for training and supervising their staff, new or experienced. If their "new staff" did not have the proper training/knowledge to serve customers, they should not be placed in the position to deal with customers, period. They really need to improve how they track their orders and train and support their staff, and not to blame staff for management's poor organization...

Delicious savoury Japanese-French fusion pastries with a price tag ($$).

Large selection of pastries and desserts. Tried a couple of the pastries and the one to write home about is definitely the "roast beef croissant" 👌🏾. First, the croissants are very buttery and airy soft, melts right in your mouth. The roast beef was done perfectly, moist, tender and also melts in your mouth at the same time as the croissant so the flavors dissolve on your tongue simulataneously. Definitely one of their best pastries at duo Cafe!

Mixed feelings on the "honey twist". It was very sweet and sugary in a good way but I feel the pastry itself could be a little bit more moist to make it more memorable.

The almond croissant is my usual go-to croissant and on first bite, it was definitely delicious but could be epicly better if they went a bit more generous on the almond paste inside. The almond flavor is there but a little suppressed by the buttery flavors of thr croissant.

The apple croissant was OK. If you order this definitely ask them to warm it up and eat it immediately as I think it would have tasted better warm.

Lastly, I also tried their black sesame latte. Nothing to write home about on this one, wouldn't order it again. It's basically the Chinese black sesame paste soup dessert made with latte milk. I would go to ten rens down the road to get the roasted sesame bubble tea if that's the flavor you're going for.

Overall, the atmosphere is super adorable and is a perfect place for a date, first date or even a get together catch up with friends. The store looks big but has limited seating so be sure to get there early in case you have to wait.

I would definitely come back for the plain croissants and want to try the matcha/green tea flavored one next time. The prices are a little on the high end but once in awhile is worth the trip, just maybe not your everyday Tim Hortons doughnut...

I can't think of a better 𝗗𝗨𝗢 than coffee and pastries! Words truly cannot 𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢 how you shouldn't make plans with their pastries because they are super 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗬 (𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺) 😂

-[𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘] $𝟰.𝟳𝟱 ☕ If you've never tried black sesame before, it tastes similarly to a milder peanut butter ☕ Made out off black sesame paste and sweetened condensed milk but it's still not too sweet! ☕ I could easily drink a litre of this even given the opportunity...

-[𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗬 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗘] $𝟰 🌹 Made out of a flaky pastry and topped with strawberries, raspberries, and a rose paste (that tastes like lychee to me) 🌹 Would definitely go amazingly with a cup of coffee! 🌹 One of their sweeter desserts but definitely still very yummy despite its sweetness

-[𝗬𝗨𝗖𝗢 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗞𝗘] $𝟳.𝟳𝟱 🥥 A light yuzu cheesecake made with coconut nectar and a yuzu mango confit all cushioned by an almond crust that gives it a nice added texture! 🧀 Definitely a delicious and light dessert if you're a fan of coconut like I am 🍰 A relatively light-flavored cheesecake so it could be considered a good introductory cheesecake if someone is not the biggest fan of them yet

-[𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗞𝗘] $𝟴.𝟮𝟱 🌹 Base of this cheesecake is ROSE flavored 😍 🍓 Notes of strawberry and raspberry within the cream in the cake! 🌹 Finished off with a crispy crust as well ~

-[𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗘] $𝟯.𝟳𝟱 🍞 Okay, so I REALLY like black sesame and especially if something has a very strong flavor of black sesame but I am sorry to report that this brioche just didn't cut it for me as the flavor was quite weak 🥐 The brioche itself was flaky as expected but when the title of the pastry begins with 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘, I would prefer if the flavor would have been stronger ☕️ Still a good way to start the day if you pair it with a coffee or a latte though ☺

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿...