Boulangerie Pain d'Épi — Restaurant in Montreal

This bakery is a gem in our city. Where croissants are everywhere and most are terrible. Pain d’epi croissants are consistent and buttery, they are not spongey or dense. In fact they are what you always wish a croissant to be .

Their mini quiches are AMAZING. I would recommend the mini sizes over their regular sizes, the mini quiche have a more golden and crispy crust than the large size. What is really great is that they are more than happy to prepare an order for you if you let them new a few days in advance

They make beautiful almond croissants (you have to show up in the morning to get one, they sell out quickly). Personally, I find their chausson aux pommes and Danois aux raisins to be the superstars of their Viennoserie selection.

I have been frequenting this place since it opened and i will say for a very long time they were very inconsistent in quality and poor service for a long time but i think there was a change of ownership and there is so much more consistency, every croissant is perfect, the sandwiches are far superior now and the service is far better.

My only complaints: I wish they had more stock for the afternoon/post work hours. I understand that’s a logistical nightmare but still a little disappointing. Their cakes and sweet patisserie fridge items are not at the same quality as the boulangerie items. I hope this changes.

I write this review fully aware that I can be a demanding customer. But I do appreciate their manager a great deal and the work they put into their product. It’s not easy owning a business but I am happy to continue to...

**Second update - Feb 5, 2020: So I went back after having not gone in a while, and the croissants are back to the way they used to be! There were also a lot more choices of other items that they’re selling now too. I had a really delicious puff pasty stuffed with chicken and mushrooms. That was to die for! I also bought a dessert called an Amann... that was amazing. But honestly, I miss the croissants! Please make them like you used to!

UPDATE: so I don’t know what happened to this place, if the owner maybe changed, but the croissants are terrible now. They’re no longer crisp on the outside and wonderfully soft, fluffy and buttery melt in your mouth on the inside. They’re tough and like chewing a piece of old bread. They’re also a lot shinier on the outside. Absolutely horrible. Oatmeal cookies are burnt, palmier is tough. It’s like the person baking is over-kneading everything! I’m so disappointed. I also went in at 1pm on a Saturday and there was almost no food in their vitrines, a few sandwiches without many choices.

So my favourite city in the world is Paris, and I even lived there right across the street from one of the best bakeries for a few months. I ate endless baguettes, palmiers, framboisinnes, crêpes and of course CROISSANTS! The croissants in Paris are amazing (side note: went elsewhere in France and if I could even find a croissant, it wasn't as good), but the croissants here at Pain d'Epi are truly out of this world! Never have I ever had a croissant as good as...

After scouring the city for the best croissants in town, it turns out they were in my neighbourhood at Pain d’épi. Mention spéciale for the torsades with chocolate chips. Crispy and creamy at the same time. Absolutely divine. And finally I have to commend the bûche de Noël marron et cassis (blackcurrant). An unlikely combination that is so delicious. The creaminess of the chestnut cream combined with the sweet sourness of the cassis is heaven. It was an absolute hit. I must add that everything else I’ve tried including the baguette and the tarte au citron was really really good. The simple environment makes this delicious boulangerie de quartier such a treat. Thank you and compliments...