Batard Boulangerie & Cafe Moderne

Incredible French bakery with a ton of classy character. I recommend trying their in-​house jams, although, their bread is so good that you can eat it without anything on it. All the pastries are good as well. Great spot for loading up for a potluck or lunch/​dinner party!

We are always looking for a new coffee shop/​bakery. Having sampled their baked goods at the local farmers markets (very nice) we decided to give them a try.
Very nice location. The room is a little strangely shaped, it’s a U shape, but it works well. The coffee is very good and all the baked goods we have tried have been good to excellent. I’m knocking it down one star because prices are high, even by Vancouver standards — 3.50 for a plain croissant is a bit much. Does Vancouver have to be more expensive for everything :)

I really like what this place has going on. They have neat things for sale inside. Like specialty vinegars and trinkets. Fun stuff. Wish I looked around more before I left. I purchased a egg nog crème puff. It was exactly like I wanted it. Nice crunch with lots of crème. Very tasty. Will be back soon.

Well hello there Pain au Levain!
I cannot tolerate a lot of bread but once in awhile i MUST have a good sourdough. And when i say sourdough, i mean REAL sourdough. No added yeast. Fermentation at LEAST 20h ideally more.
Usually my go-​to is Terra. They have quite a few options which is always nice. But Batard is a bit more authentic… i think a longer fermentation process so the bread tastes more sour, chewier, the flavours are more complex and the crust is yum. Basically it’s one of the best butter vehicles i’ve ever tried!
I originally wrote a longer review but it got lost somehow so i’ll keep it short.
This is my new go-​to.
Try the Levain bread to taste what bread is supposed to taste like.
Apparently thurs-​sunday they make a rye levain which i cannot wait to try!
⁴⁄₅ because i have literally only been in here for 5 min picking up a loaf so no idea what anything else is like! service was great, fast and efficient and the staff seemed aware of what was going on behind the scenes.
I’ll be back!

Surprisingly, the pumpkin rosemary cake has more rosemary taste than pumpkin taste, and I didn’t see the caramelized white chocolate cinnamon crunch on top of their cream cheese white chocolate glaze, as that is what their facebook photo has shown. The cinnamon orange morning bun is crunchy — croissant texture. You can taste the orange oil with the cinnamon in the bun. The flourless chocolate cake with raspberry top is chocolate mousse layered with flourless chocolate cake, covered with chocolate ganache. It looks fancy and the chocolate tastes bitter with a little of espresso taste.
I like how their cakes and pastry are not that sweet, the staff is friendly, and the place is full of French artistic ambiance with the décor and the paintings on the wall. However, with their high price, I expect they have appropriate size of boxes for the baked goods and plastic bags for customers to carry the baked goods. They put the three baked goods into a large box in which the baked goods move inside the box when I carry them because they didn’t have a plastic bag for me to carry the box. It’s better for them to put the baked goods into separate paper bags or small boxes so the baked goods will remain intact. This is important for them to consider if they are making themselves a high-​class bakery.
I would go back only if they have baked goods or products that are exclusive to them. Otherwise, I won’t go back because there are similar style of bakeries/​cafes elsewhere in Vancouver.

I like to this place and good to have French bakery shop on Fraser street. They serve great selection of quality pastries!
We went there for breakfast twice before I’m writing this review.
Blueberry Muffin — It just fresh baked and got it out from oven. It smelled and tasted so good. It very moist in the middle but a bit sweet.
Pain Au chocolate — It’ quite fluffy and good.
Double Baked Almond Croissant — It’s alright but not outstanding.
The coffee was good and staff was friendly.

My favorite bakery in Vancouver. Their bread is fantastic, but does sell out, so go early. Their Chocolate Salted Rye cookies are the best cookie I have ever had, bar none. They also have a small selection of charcuterie and local cheese for sale. They have an entire café section that I have never gone to, but it is consistently full of very happy looking folk. Do yourself a favour and visit.

Beautiful exterior, great atmosphere, good music, good service. Chocolate mousse cake was light and delicious, delightful! Love all the jams and cheese and premade foods, like a deli. Lovely addition to the neighborhood.

It’s got the feel of walking into a shop in France. There are various condiments and local goods for sale near the front of the store. The fresh baked breads are crusty and brown and very good. The display of tarts, croissant and other baked goods is beautiful. Sandwiches and soup and pastries are available as are espresso-​based drinks. There’s a long communal table, some patio tables outside and smaller bistro tables inside.

Nice roast beef dip but a little shy with the au jus. Looks like they had some nice variety. This is the kind of place the neighbour hood needed.

Food
— Almond Financier: It had blueberries in it, yet the label said «almond financier». Blueberries in a financier, no. Just no. About 1 – 2 inches high, tasted more like a muffin. Not crunchy on the outside, a little too dry in the inside.
— Chocolate raspberry torte: Moist & good.
— Ginger/​green tea: Way too sweet, had to cut it with half water. Didn’t end up drinking the rest (and I don’t waste food!)
Biggest reason I wouldn’t come back is the service. The cold drinks in their side refrigerator were all mixed up, and they drinks had no labels so I asked which one was the green tea. The cashier replied «*sigh* Please look at the labels. The bottles in the row labeled green tea is green tea.» Suggestion: label your drinks if you can’t spend the time for your customers who are confused.
I honestly can’t be bothered to go back to environments that offer poor service.

Almond Financier $ 4 3.75÷5 — It looked more like a blueberry muffin. The centre was very moist. Just less sugar needed. I think the icing sugar on top was totally presentational.
Kouign Amann $ 4 ⁴⁄₅ — I would come back just because of this. It has a crispy outer shell with a soft and moist centre. It wasn’t as sweet as expected because of the glossy finish. It was still sweeter than how I wanted it.
Orange Cream Rhubarb Meringue $ 5 ³⁄₅ — One of the staff told me they will not have the St Honor for a while. I’ve decided to get this instead. Less of the sugar can be used. It was alight but not excellent. There were decent amount of rhubarb on the meringue too.
I’ve seen Batar Boulangerie in the Winter Farmers’ Market with a lineup. They were more focused on breads instead of pastries. I also really like the idea of the grocery and cheese side of the café (especially there isn’t much around). I’m glad to see this new addition in the neighbourhood along with Earnest, Graze, and Le Marche St George. I saw there will be a new coffee shop across the street soon. I’m sure I will be visiting more often.

Sometimes a place comes along that I desperately want to love. I had driven by this place for months and stared longingly at it. I’m not sure what took so long, but last weekend I finally went in and unfortunately I was left disappointed.
It gets 3 stars for it’s ambience only. The coffee was only so-​so, they haven’t mastered the art of an almond milk latte and the brew itself was bland. There was nothing gluten-​free to nibble on, so I could only watch as my daughter inhaled a yummy-​looking pastry. The staff were friendly, but seemed overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle. It isn’t likely I will return since there are so many other wonderful cafes to choose from in this city.

I saw this posted on the front page of Unilocal on January 24, 2015 and thought about checking this out. I appreciate how this hood is getting more and more really cool coffee shops aren’t town. They seem to be getting a make-​over in the right direction (the area that is). I just can’t believe that it took me almost 3 months to get here… shame on me.
The inside is nice and spacious. Lots of room to sit. When I arrived they were already sold out of most bread and the soup was all gone by 3 pm on a Tuesday.
Pastries were good, however, very slim on the choices.
They sell a few local groceries and super inflated prices, therefore, couldn’t take home any of my favorite local brands this time around.
My open faced veggie and cheese sandwich was awesome.

Awesome americano’s, loafs of bread, and desserts. Try their kouign amann — so delicious. Love the décor. Wish they were open later :)

Try to avoid the weekend lineups and everything will be okay at Batard. Delicious epicurean meats, cheeses and pastas to take home but also delicious sandwiches to eat in. Their breads are a piece of art — stunning. Their coffees are very good, too.
Unfortunately with only 1 till, service is much slower than your average neighbourhood coffee house. But good things come to those who wait! 5 stars if it wasn’t for the long lineups on the weekends!

What a cute little place for lunch and coffee/​tea! My cousin and I came here for lunch, and we shared their beef dip, and dill shrimp (openfaced) sandwich, $ 10 each. Both items came with a side of salad. Its not exactly cheap for what they are, but you’re paying for the atmosphere, and its a touch on the pricey side.
Their beef dip was just OK I thought, I felt it needed a kick, with sharper cheese, or sauteed onions. Size-​wise, I felt it was a bit small. As for the shrimp sandwich, I’m usually not a fan of the baby shrimp in general. If its not super fresh, it carries a funny smell :/​But I absolutely loved the sandwich here, it was so tasty, and came with a few slices of hardboiled egg on top. Yum! Under normal circumstances, I’d always choose a meat over baby shrimp, but for this place, I’ll only come back for the latter.
We went back for dessert, but most of the options were already sold out, and it was only 2pm on a Thursday afternoon! Missed out on the apple and goat cheese scone :(But we did get to try the pear tart (a bit too sweet, IMO), and the St Honore cake, which was really tasty, not too sweet. Both were $ 5 each, a touch pricier, but the atmosphere was really sweet and nice. I’d definitely come back here to sample more of their goodies, and for their shrimp sandwich!

We were excited about trying this new boulangerie this Sunday morning.
The space is warm and inviting and the staff appeared pleasant and accommodating as well. Somewhat inexperienced though.
However, the jambon fromage was excessively buttery, so much that it oozed liquid and we could not finish. We also had an order of toast with their homemade pear jam. While very tasty we were struck by how little there was…2 ½ pieces of toast. Afterward we noticed that other people who appeared to have ordered the same received double the amount. As we were ready to leave it was not worth the effort to raise with them.
As a result, we are not likely to return.
Oh, and a tip, the cups do not fit the saucers and accordingly, it is very easy to spill your coffee.

Note: we didn’t have a full meal experience here, just wandered in for a quick bite and coffee.
Brand spanking new french boulangerie/​mini grocery on Fraser Street!
According to the owner’s daughter, they just opened on Jan 7^th! I don’t think this place is going to remain a hidden gem for long… despite having a fair sized dining area for a coffee shop, it was already packed when we got there!
I was told that everything from the breads to pastries to preserves are homemade. As of now, the pastries are different fron day to day. The chocolate almond tarte was delicious and vanished into the depths of our tummies in seconds. While I waited for my latte, I saw a drool worthy beef dip sandwich surface on the counter and my eyes tracked it to a table where it joined an equally luscious looking open faced shrimp/​egg sandwich and cup of creamy soup… mmmm…
When my latte arrived, it was just right. If you are only craving a coffee, they serve a rich, chocolatey italian blend called Umbria… nothing crazy, just simple and good.
Also worth mentioning is that they have a small self serve area with quick to-​go meals and also a nice assortment of meats and cheeses to go with that special bottle of wine.
Ill be back here for the full experience soon!!! :)

This is a new joint-​venture between Chris Brown (owner of Rise Artisan Bakery) and Bruno and Sally Born.
Went on a weekday morning to grab a coffee and a pastry. The place is an interesting mix between a shop and a café. Large space and would be great for groups, or if you’re totting a stroller along with you.
I had a Rustic Scone, with raisins and a hint of anise. The texture wasn’t scone-​y, and was more of a bun. BF said «you can’t have scones without cream» but I would have settled for it just to be heated up a little. I also had an Americano (made with Umbria Coffee) which was great and a full-​bodied flavour. No bitter aftertaste. They didn’t have soy milk, only almond milk.
BF had a apple-​cranberry galette with a hint of (maybe) rosemary. He said it was good, but fairly standard. He was really impressed with his Chocolat Chaud – said it reminded him of skiing on the French alps.
We’d be interested to try the sandwiches and the bread, which it looks like it is baked on-​site. The shop portion had preserves from Bruno’s Best and The Bitter End and fresh cheese from The Farm House, cured meats from Oyama. I’d definitely go back for lunch!
3.5−4 stars