Batard Bakery

3958 Fraser Street
Vancouver, BC

Ever since we fell in love with St. Honore Boulangerie in Portland, we had always wanted to seek out similar places in Vancouver. One place that comes close is Batard Boulangerie. It states itself as a "Parisian eastide hangout spot" and a French bakery. W and I arrived late noon for lunch on a weekend.

Café Latte

To start our meal, we had a latte. No perfect marks for the latte art but A for effort on the attempt!

Tarte a l’Oignon ($7.95) - Alsatian Onion Tart with Gin & Bacon

W tried the onion tart which had little pieces of bacon inside. It came with a small side salad. We were both surprised that the tart arrived looking like a lasagna. We were expecting something maybe rounder or pie-shaped? Oh well, it still tasted good. The caramelized onions were soft and sweet and went well with the smokey bacon bits.

The Breakfast Sandwich ($6.95) - Abbotsford Free Range Egg, Rosemary

Ham, Aged Cheddar & Parmesan

I was also taken-aback by the breakfast sandwich that I chose. I didn't expect it to be an open-faced sandwich! The layers of ham, egg, and cheese were placed on top of a baguette slice, however, the crust of the baguette was kind of chewy and the type of dish they placed it in made it difficult to eat with a knife and fork. Isn't that how you eat an open-faced sandwich? Anyway, there's nothing amiss with the flavours but the way it was presented made me a little frustrated.

Tarte au Citron - A tart shell filled with a tangy and sweet mix of lemons, eggs, sugar, and  cream

To satisfy my sweet tooth, I opted for the lemon tart. The aesthetics of this tart was spot on! With a golden brown shell and a bright yellow custard, the tart looked like a little round sun!

Double Baked Almond Croissant -  laminated butter dough with a layered, flaky texture. This variant has almond cream baked in the centre and on top of the croissant during its second bake and is topped with almond slivers

W and I also shared an almond croissant. This one was flaky and buttery and not overly sweet from the almond cream.

Overall, Batard's baked goods were pretty good. The atmosphere and decor really evoked a charming and homey Parisian feeling. However, it was a little pricey so this probably won't be a go-to place for us to have this sort of lunch.