Butter Avenue Queen & Spadina

I wasn’t impressed. The flavours were not that great and didn’t suit my taste buds. The packaging was also uninspiring and cheap considering the price you pay.

The most beautiful desserts!
We got an assortment of the small tarts/​desserts to share. I thought the filling and flavoured cream in the tarts were too sweet.
We got a couple of macaroons and they were perfectly fresh and tasty.
Overall I would say the desserts, though pretty, are too sweet and pricey for my taste.

Having had Pierre Herme’s macarons, I shouldn’t even try these macarons at butteravenue.
The texture just did not taste right. A good macaron should be softer, almost melts once you eat it.
No I’m not returning even tho the macarons looked cute

I forgot to update this review. Shortly after I posted my review, Butter Avenue contacted me and told me (politely) that I didnt know what I was talking about. They claim the hard, crunchy shell on half the macarons showed how FRESH they were. Apparantly fresh macarons have hard and crunchy shells. Revised rating to one star for not owning up to their poor quality product and giving some BS excuse.

Very cute little shop that sells macaroons and mini cakes. We didn’t try any of the cakes, but they looked amazing! Expect to pay about $ 2−3CAD per macaroon (which seems like a lot, but seems to generally be the expected amount to pay for a macaroon). We tried (and loved!) the seasonal pumpkin pie macaroon and the fan-​favorite matcha green tea and red bean macaroon.

I would give this place six stars if I could!!!
Very friendly staff, convenient location, great interior, reasonable pricing, and THE BEST MACARONS I HAVE EVER HAD
I’ve had my fair share of macarons. From the grocery store ones to ones supposedly flown in from Paris daily — LA maison du chocolat and laduree. I can honestly say butter avenue beats the Parisian ones. The shells are crispy on top but gooey in the middle. Perfect balance and texture. The center is always the right temperature and consistency. They have some exotic flavors like Earl grey which is my personal favorite. If you’re not feeling too adventurous then stick with salted caramel, it never disappoints!
The box is super cute and they put dividers in so that the macarons don’t get squished and ruined on your way back home. But mine never made it back home cuz I couldn’t help but devoured all of them in 30 minutes!
If you’re ever on queen St West. This is a must!!! Go go go!

Pricey but delicious! I loved the pistachio and earl grey macarons. Also really like the fact that the macarons have tons of filling in them! I like the modern décor. Facilities were clean. Really cool that there’s an underground lounge beneath the first floor.

I’m giving this a 2 star solely on their macaroons. First off, the pistachio macaroon on this night were Terrible with a capital T. I got two of these because they are usually my favourite and obviously tried them first. The crust was hard and crunchy like day old bread, yuck. After trying the second pistachio with the same result, I tried the rest of the assorted macaroons. Thankfully, the others were not as bad which saves this from being a 1 star review.

A friend recommend this place… and one word yummy. You walk into the place and its welcoming. The staff is really nice.
All the cakes and macaroons looked so delicious. And you could tell that it was fresh. I bought myself a cake and a matcha latte and went downstairs with my friend to sit while we waited for our drinks to come.
The downstairs was nice. But not a lot of seating. It filled up quite fast so a lot of people came down wanting a seat but there was no more empty seats for them
The mango cake was delicious and my matcha latte was very yummy. I will definitely come back here again.

Do I like this place? Yes
Have I been to a more authentic spot in Toronto? Yes
Pros:
–creative flavours
–packaging is very quite
–has good seating downstairs
–convenient
–a bit cheaper than nadege (queen st west)
Cons:
–The macaron selection was quite small compared to Nadege, probably 50% less options.
–some macarons were way too sweet that the sweetness overpowered the flavour
–flavours began to all taste the same after awhile
–some tarts and desserts looked old
Don’t think I’d come back, but I’m glad I finally tried it.

On a Friday night after work, I decided to walk around the Queen Street W area after catching up with a friend around the block. Walked by Butter Avenue and saw their beautiful macaron displayed, couldn’t resist and walked in!
Staff was super friendly and when they saw me struggling to pick my 6 macarons, they were very proactive in recommending some of their favourites to me! Listening to their recommendation, I picked up 6 Macarons that consist of Pistachio, Matcha, Lavender, Secret Garden, Sea Salt Caramel and Cream Cheese Passion fruit. The package was beautiful and elegant and the macarons were decent; very soft and flavourful, but I am more traditional when it comes to macaron so I would stick with the basic flavours such as Matcha or Lavender! My friend was craving for some dessert (yes tempted by their beautifully made cakes) and got a matcha cake. At first we thought we had to take it to go because it doesn’t seem like there are seating, BUT one of the staff read my mind and told me they do have seating area in the basement and this is when my experience went to a whole new level. The basement was BEAUTIFUL! I loved the couches, the lighting, tables and wall, it was so cozy I swear I would of taken a nap if i could.
4 stars for Butter Avenue for offering great macarons and beautifully decorated seating area in the basement. 1 star deduction because the matcha cake we had although was good, it didn’t wow me to think it was well worth the $ 7+ dollar.

After lunch at Wilbur Mexicana, my friends and I were craving something sweet (Wilbur Mexicana does not have dessert options), and after doing a quick search online, we learned that Butter Avenue was not far from the restaurant. So we walked over to the Queen location and were in awe of the pretty desserts the minute we walked in. The store seemed small and most of us did not want to take the desserts to go so we inquired about dining in. They told us that their dining room is in the basement. All the desserts looked very beautiful and appetizing but in the end I decided to go with a St. Honoré. Each dessert was just under $ 10 ($ 7.95 before tax). Quite pricey, but I guess a lot of what you are paying for is the look.
My friends and I made our way to the basement once we all got our desserts, and were happy with the dining room. It was dark, spacious and cozy. We were all very excited to dig in and I was immediately disappointed. I major pet peeve of mine is when people spend most of their time and energy making something look good and not enough time on flavour and quality. Though the middle tasted good, the pastry was tough, stale and bland. So I literally ate the centre and left the entire shell behind. My friends found their desserts to be good, but they admitted that there was nothing to rave about. Those that got macarons were impressed by them.
So, if you are in the mood with eating with your eyes, then I highly recommend Butter Avenue.

I really like this place because they have a huge selection of macarons and a cute little area downstairs to eat. The only thing is that they’re SO expensive so I don’t come here as often as I would like to. I can’t remember all the names of the macarons I usually order; but off the top of my head, I recommend the cream cheese passion-​fruit, and the lychee raspberry.
Try to go early if you can, by afternoon the good flavours are usually sold out. Also if you go on one of their promotional days they’ll usually give you some hot tea so that’s always a plus.

Everything went perfectly according to plan and better. Bigger variety of desserts and flavours compared to the smaller location on Yonge street (still love that place), with equally friendly servers as the other location. Interior was clean and the seating area took me by surprise. So spacious, comfy, quiet and well displayed. The desserts are so fresh, soft and chewy and goes perfectly with the option of assorted specialty tea. I’m definitely going back and taking all my friends there! :)
Ps, washrooms are very clean and beautiful too: P

Bright, clean, tasty. I heard these macarons were really good from a friend, so I decided to check out what the hype was about. After my visit I totally understand what she was saying.
Butter Avenue has a HUGE selection of deserts. Although it is a bit on the pricier side, this will definitely satisfy your palette. They have flavours ranging from lemon to sea salt caramel, something to please everyone’s tastebuds.
I wouldn’t recommend this for someone on a budget, but if you have any extra money to spare, this place is definitely something you should check out. The servers are friendly and they have a great dining space downstairs. My favourite flavours are cream cheese passion fruit, blackcurrant and earl grey.

Came here again. Yes, I’m addicted. Not sure if many people know but there this really cool, clean seating area downstairs! I was mind blown! :P

I’m a fan of this place. The macaroons are delish! I’ll definitely come back for more because some of them were sold out :(
One of the servers recommended Earl Grey and I loved it!
Con:
The arrangement of the seatings in the basement could need some improvement.

Butter Avenue was brightly lit when my partner and I walked in. A few people were ahead of us purchasing goodies, but wait time to get your dessert was not bad. When I first walked in, the place looked very narrow. I was surprised because I had seen people sitting, but I saw no chairs or tables. Then I realize that there was actually a basement where you can sit. But since I was pressed on time, I purchased the desserts and left.
I went on Dec 31, so I wasn’t surprised that a lot of the tarts and mousse cake were sold out. I especially wanted to try the St. Honore Raspberry, but the person in front took the last one. I settled with Terre et Neige instead. I also purchased 6 macarons (lychee, earl grey, white chocolate strawberry, cassia, pistachio, chestnut matcha) I loved the lychee macaron. They are very very delicious, depending on which ones you get, some were sweet, but not sickeningly sweet. Another aspect is that some of the macarons have fillings! My favourite out of the 6 was lychee, because of the inside filling.
In terms of Terre et Neige — I had higher expectations from hearing positive feedback from all my friends. It was nothing too special in my opinion. It tasted like typical mousse cake. Although, the matcha macaron on top was pretty good. The portion size was much tinier than what the pictures look like.
All the desserts come in cute cardboard boxes which looks great when bringing as a gift to someone. I would return here again when I come back to Toronto. And I am definitely trying one of those other tarts (still have my eyes on St. Honore Raspberry)!

So happy that Butter Avenue opened on Queen St as it is more accessible for me then the midtown location. Shop is very minimalist with macarons displayed right when you walk into the store.
I picked up a pack of 6 for my friend’s birthday ($ 13.50) and there were a lot of unique flavours to choose from. I didn’t purchase any for myself to try, but according to my friend, they were deliciousss. I had their dark chocolate cake last time from their mid town location and that was one of the best dark chocolate cakes I tried. Not too sweet and yet very rich cocoa taste.
They also had great packaging as well. The only small thing I would say is that they need smaller paper bags for macarons as mine kept rolling around the big bag while walking back with it and we all know how fragile macarons are!

Preface: Came here for a UYE, so my review may be skewed.
Prior to the event, I had not heard of Butter Avenue being that their first location is not in my ‘hood AND I’m not much of a sweets person… more savoury. HOWEVER, I do enjoy the occasional pastry.
Having said that, but not tried any of BA’s competitors, I now get the trend:
1. The macarons are freshly baked here without any preservatives or artificial flavours;
2. They’re soo gosh darn pretty — single guys, hang here;
3. They’re light, not too sweet, the flavours are spot on, and just délicieux!
Store itself is brand spankin’ new. It just opened up a little more than a week ago. It’s minimalist, bright, and there is a seating area downstairs to enjoy your treat.
I had the London Fog tea latté and it hit the spot on a chilly, rainy night. No fakey flavours, not overly sweet — just riiight!
So if you’re in the popular tourist shopping area of Queen/​Spadina — right across the street from Banh Mi Boys — stop by to check this place out!