Duo Café Bakery — Restaurant in Victoria

The large $6 croissant is a treat for the tastebuds and eyes. The impressive size is complimented by layer upon layer of pastry, which delightfully explodes with buttery flakes on the outside and a labyrinth of soft chewy goodness on the inside.

I said yes when the kind and friendly barista offered complimentary jam and butter. If I'm going to eat a croissant, I might as well be all in!

I washed this down with a hot comforting cup of caffeine-free deliciously spiced roiboos tea. My friend had a latte and noted the beans are from a local roaster. That's great they support local!

The dishware is beautiful. And there are clean, spacious, modern and accessible washrooms.

This sweet little cafe has a beautiful esthetic and is nestled inside the Laurel Point Hotel. So, you're not directly looking outside at the water even though the hotel has many waterfront views. There are a several seats looking out towards the hallway where the waterline can be found.

I noticed multiple people having soup and a bun. And I'll definitely be back to try one of the multiple muffin offerings. They had interesting flavors like peach cobbler and blueberry strusel.

The hotel is situated on the edge of the main tourist area downtown. It's very common for locals and tourists to go for walks in either direction from this hotel. If you walk away from downtown and stay close to the water, you'll find a very scenic walk. This cafe is...

I originally wrote a 3star review here, but decided to remove it and email the owner of my experience first. Businesses should have a fair exchange with their customers before getting a permanent low star review. Two weeks later, and never got a reply to my email. So I have come here to post an updated 1star review.

The ambience and decor of the cafe is nice, and it’s appreciated that they use a small batch local coffee roastery. But the food that we ordered was just so disappointing. The breakfast sandwich described on the menu doesn’t match the low product that we received. It’s a $10 egg McMuffin. And it seriously tastes like it’s been microwaved.

The “fresh” pastries are presented saran wrapped. I had a loaf, and it was individually wrapped, and tasted like it wasn’t baked the same day.

Honestly seems like a tourist trap taking advantage of the hotel guests. I’m a huge fan of the hotel restaurant, “Aura” - so if you are staying at the hotel, skip this cafe and just go to their restaurant.

Seriously disappointed that the management of this cafe didn’t respond...

We were looking for a little cafe to have some pastries and coffee for breakfast. At first, I was a little hesitant about the location because it's inside a hotel, but my mind was changed quickly. We sat at a spot where we're could see the water and people/dog watch. We ordered the pain au chocolate, twice baked chocolate almond croissant, and the money bread. We paired it with an americano and latte. They claimed that these would be the best croissants we ever had, and honestly, I can't remember having better. Flakey, buttery with the right amount of filling/topping. I find that a lot of places either do good coffee or good pastries, but this place does both. Coffee was excellent; smooth and rich. It was a lot of food, so we had to take some leftovers to go. The pasties still held up 10 hours later. The staff were really nice and helpful, and we never felt rushed to leave. If you like a good croissant, you definitely need to check...