Cannelle Ann Arbor — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

Here is a short version: It taste good, it looks good, it is legit and a little bit pricey. They deserve five stars.

Now the long version and this will probably be the longest review I ever wrote. A little background, I grew up in France and spent most of my life in Paris having the chance to experience some amazing dessert daily.

The place have a French name (cinnamon!), The dessert are all inspired by French one, some have French name, some other have "approximative French name", some dessert looks like legit french one. When they open, they got a lots of traction and hype...

So when I walked in for the first time - I had the utmost expectation. Those were drove higher due to the price point.

Let me give more details in Paris France for roughly $8.5 you can get an Ispahan from Pierre Hermé - witch is arguably one of the fanciest regarded dessert from 2010-2014. It looks like a fancy looking 3inch wide and tall macaron. Cannelle have some look alike Macaron priced in the same realm. However the one at Cannelle lack a bit of refinement in the details and the execution.

First you experience the food with your eyes, and the smell. This inspire you to choose witch dessert you want.

Don't get me wrong all the dessert are well executed but they look more like a low 1st tier or high 2nd tier dessert. Most of them are well presented and colorful - a very few made me want to try them.

If I was in France, I would certainly find most of the dessert a little over priced for that section of the market. You are going to tell me "But this is Ann Arbor", the truth is outside of their unique pâtisserie everything seats on the high end of the local market by 0.50cts or more! So I would clearly avoid the simple pain aux Chocolats, Croissant and other classic to focus on the more unique -for Ann Arbor- gâteau.

These made it complicated, I probably walked in with unfair expectation (after all I am a snobby Parisian at heart!) - and the price irked me especially since the look did not fully convince me. Maybe to be fair this lowered my expectations a little.

Side note about the service. The person who served us was able to answer some of our most complicated questions - giving us precise informations about taste, component and texture. i was impressed. For a moment I sneakily looked to see if the informations we're displayed on the back of the wooden display for the name. It was not. And this shows you the dedications and loved for the culinary art and culture. Chapeau ! (Hats off!).

If you have not given up reading this is the good part, the legit part:

Then you enjoy, appreciate, "déguste" with your hands, fingers, fork or spoon... The texture, the intensity, the density, the lightness, the creaminess are all important - and experienced in those moments. Let's be French, I mean Franc - I was positively surprised in that regard by every one of the dessert I tried. Pleasantly surprised. No doubt.

And last your taste buds. The conclusion - finally: The most important. Oh My ! Everything is just intensively prime. Amazing and a real ... I mean. If your taste buds are functioning you are in for some delicate, precise and beautiful taste. This won't be the best in your life time but this will definitely last with you for a moment.

Please appreciate those delicate piece of heaven. This is amazing.

I'd be back, and I'll gladly give my money for some of those perfect dessert. And boy I had very high expectations, I was sure I'd be disappointed and I was so wrong about it.

Maybe a little over priced, but in the end this provide me with so much...

Update 11/1/2022:

I visited Cannelle again after one of my friends recently came by this place and was raving about it all day. I ordered the plum tart and the croquet chocolate. In short, both were excellent. I do still think their items are a bit overpriced, as I’ve had better French-style desserts at more accessible prices (in Bay Area/NYC/Philly tho), but I guess this is the best you can get in Michigan — at least they do not disappoint.

The plum tart comes in a perfectly-baked shell, is filled with raspberry jam and vanilla custard , and then topped with a generous layer of beautifully sliced fresh plums. The level of sweetness is not as overpowering as I remembered from my last visit, which is a great improvement. I appreciate the delicate balance of flavors, which at the same time allows the star ingredient - the plum - to shine through.

The croquet chocolate, on the other hand, is a lot more decadent. It is a bit sweeter than I’d like, but I think the bitterness of the chocolate balances this well. There are a layer of smooth chocolate ganache and a layer of chocolate cream mousse on top of the traditional croquet, plus some sort of tasty addition of crumbs in the chocolate almond cake itself. It has layers of different textures and richness, which all come together nicely. Scrumptious!

Original review below (visited on 1/5/2022):

They offer a surprising variety of beautiful pastries but nothing here worths the price. The pastries are mediocre in texture and overly sweet in taste.

The croissant is far beyond what I would call excellent, and the surface was brushed with syrup (for the color and walnuts I guess?) instead of egg wash, which makes it irritatingly sweet. The passion lemon tart, likewise, is simply too sweet and offers no hints of either lemon or passion fruit. Mille feuille and caneles are just hopeless. The only thing that’s somewhat impressive was the pistachio eclair - intricately put together with complex flavors and textures, though the pate a choux (pastry shell) was a slight letdown.

Also, staff here is unprofessional. They couldn’t tell what’s in each item besides what the name suggests, and know little about the taste of what they offer. Plus, they can’t even pronounce the pastry...

This is my second time visiting Cannelle The first time was when the place opened. I don't remember what I ordered that time. But this time I ordered 2x lemon tarts with my grandmother. And some licorice ,clove tasting sponge cake. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the bite ..My granny loved all of it. I have to say, I had the Best dirty chai, that I've ever sipped. The nice worker, made it so delectable...Her and the other staff member were welcoming..But there was an employee with darker hair, and a scarf on. She seemed as if she might have been the boss. The other two, were busy, and she was ringing up people. My grandmother and I were looking at the delightful pastries. I could see her watching us. Her side eye seemed quite judgeful to me. And we came in a couple hours before closing. Me being observant. It finally took a second to realize the store was actually closing. They were nice about it. Bon appetit,.Another thing. My grandmother. Has a walker. It's not that big. If you're looking to get around comfortably- with a walker with wheels. Good luck, some of the consumers, / customers, did not want to scoot over. Just 1 inch. Nobody's gordo. So it wasn't like we were taking up the...