I had the pleasure of spending a bit of time on Vancouver Island this week, in Victoria. On this particular morning, it was cool and drizzly but the weather soon cleared up as you’ll see from some of the pictures in the other places I’ve posted about it.
I did a google search to find a place that made nice pastries and coffee/tea as we were hoping for something light that we could take down to the breakwater on Dallas Road and enjoy. Let me tell you that this place delivered! First, I will get the practical bits out of the way.
Things of note:
- This cafe is a bit hidden and there is limited street parking. We were lucky to grab a spot very close, but I imagine that it may be difficult to find parking nearby at busy times of day.
- It is located in a sort of sunken location from the sidewalk, with 8 stairs leading down to it. There is a metal railing but the railing was very wobbly and needs to be properly secured.
- That being said, there is a sign next to the stairs indicating that you can circle around the back and use a ramp to get to the cafe if you require that.
- There is one step up into the cafe so even if you used the ramp for wheelchair access, I imagine it would be difficult to enter the cafe itself. The ramp would certainly allow you to access their outdoor seating area, though.
- There is a single bathroom.
- The outdoor seating area has tables and chairs that can be moved around. The chairs do have arms that I’m entirely certain would have pinched my hips quite a lot (I didn’t sit in them because it was raining and they were all wet).
- There are a few spots to sit inside and those chairs don’t have arms but the space is very small and I wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting there because I would be blocking the flow of people as they were ordering and leaving with their goodies.
Here are some pictures of the inside, including some of the delicious offerings:
I realize that the bullet points aren’t painting a great picture in terms of accessiblity and comfort. What I do want to emphasize is that even if you aren’t able to access the place on your own, I suggest that you enlist everyone you know to bring you the delights that this place has to offer, or bring a friend who can go inside and order for you while you enjoy your treats in the outdoor seating area.They have mad baking skills! Here is a picture of the outdoor sitting area:
I ordered a London Fog made with skim milk and an almond croissant and I cannot stress to you enough how good the croissant was. I’m still drooling over it. I practically want to make the 12-hour (return) trip right this minute just to get another one. BEST ALMOND CROISSANT EVER! It was so flaky on the outside and loaded with rich almond paste inside. The almonds on top were toasted and crunchy. It was perfection. This is a terrible picture in that I’d already torn a big piece of and eaten it, the perspective makes it look as though the croissant was small when, in fact, it was quite large, and it does not do any kind of justice to the glory of this pastry. Eat all the things from this place!
The London Fog was not really sweet, so if you’re fan of the sweeter latte drinks you might want to add some type of sweetener. I enjoyed it as it was very much. I was also pleased to see that they use compostable lids on their to-go drinks!
Here is a rainy picture from inside the car as we enjoyed our breakfast:
I have some trips to Victoria coming up in the future and I certainly plan to go back to the Cottage Bakery & Cafe. Maybe next time I’ll try the chocolate croissant…if I can resist the siren call of the almond one, that is.
If anyone has recommendations for great places to eat in Victoria, please let me know in the comments so that I can check them out!