boulangerie guillaume

oh my god, the last time i was at guillaume, they were located in tiny cramped up digs. no longer! i had a bit of time to kill before i met up with a few friends for dinner so i decided to stop in and check them out.

the space is awesome with a wide open air front beckoning you in. while i was there, it was a constant stream of people coming in and out to grab a few things. steady and continuous - people appreciate quality local, homemade bread here.

the variety of bread and pastries is astounding. i wanted to try everything but it was just me so i settled on two things.

what i really liked about guillaume is that they actually have a couple spots inside to sit at! pretty rare for aboulangerieto have that. there's also a couple of benches conveniently situated outside if you'd rather people watch.

- bun aux pomme ($2.50) - sweet, sticky glaze. the apple bun was actually bigger than i expected. perfect pre-dinner snack.

- navette betterave/sumac ($1.50) - beet and sumac bread. i've never seen this before but the colour is gorgeous. i saved this for a midnight snack later that evening and it was good. really liked the chewy, airy texture although the beet and sumac flavour was pretty subtle.

this is one of those spots where you want to try everything behind the counter. jealous of those that live nearby and can pop in whenever to pick up bread. this would be my go to spot!

when hof kelsten is closed for vacation, i need to find my bread fix somehow. for this summer, i decided to use the opportunity to try the other popular bakery close by to see how it stacks up, so i found myself atboulangerieguillaume a little further down the main to try some different bread and goodies for a couple of weeks. the popular bakery, originally located on fairmount, moved to a bigger location on st-laurent and recently also took over the space next door where la cucina used to be.

4.5/5 forboulangerieguillaume. aboulangerieis a bakery. and this mile end bakery was voted #1 best bakery 2013 in montreal by cult mtl. it's a small shop, or at least the front is. meanwhile, there is quite an expanse of things going on behind the counter and bakers bustling about - there's a full-fledged bread factory going on back there. the variety of breads on the racks are beautiful, in all shapes, sizes and colours. it's very much a to-go operation, where you would stop in to fulfill your current bread needs and bring your purchases home. however they do offer sandwiches and beverages, just don't expect to find a table to sit down at.

i had heard that one of the most popular items in the shop is the baguettine aux figues & cheddar fort ($2.00). a small baguette with figs and cheddar inside. we brought these home and later ate them toasted with some butter. the cheese was baked to a crisp and full of deliciousness and the figs were still soft and a little bit juicy. i can see why this is so famous being that it's such a perfectly executed morsel of flavours.

i also turned my visit into more of a meal and ordered a drink. they offer a lot of different hot beverages that are mainly coffee based. it's nice to be able to grab a cup and to continue on with your day's errands. i had a mokaccino ($4.00). there wasn't much to this drink, it tasted great and it was a nice mix of coffee and chocolate. i've certainly had much worse coffee and this one was pretty decent. i'm not much of a coffee drinker so my tastes aren't incredibly discerning in this area.

lastly, i got a sandwich. it appears that they have roughly 6-8 varieties of sandwiches which they cycle through, but usually there are only two or three to choose from on any given day. i picked the vegetarian option, sandwiche feta (on olive ciabatta, tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, sliced peppers and cucumbers - $5.65). this sandwich was incredible. i was pretty blown away by the huge taste. the vegetables were so bright and fresh and i loved the saltiness and powerful flavours from the feta and the olives in the bread. the creamy tzatziki was the perfect binder to tie this mediterranean offering together. i loved this and i would buy it again and again as a snack or as an entire lunch.

this bakery is perfectly wonderful. why would anyone buy grocery store bread when bread made locally and from the heart is so readily available? the expert skills are evident here and i can't wait to try many more of their items both savoury and sweet. i've heard that their croissants are incredible - and everything else that i could see during my visit looked incredible as well.

all the breads looked and smelled so good atboulangerieguillaume, enticing fantasies of living there and patronizing this place for daily bread needs. our breakfast breads were great, and the espresso was delicious, rich and almost mud-like in thickness, in a good way. it's a cute little place with one table. you can also order simple sandwiches on their bread, like a swiss, ham, lettuce and tomato.

la meilleureboulangerieà montréal! les croissants au beurre sont fantastiques et les baguettes croustillantes et goûteuses, sans compter toutes les petite gâteries, salées comme sucrées, savoureuses et originales!