Torontonicity was invited to sample the menu at Crêpe & Co., a new European café specializing in, you guessed it, crêpes situated right near the hip hotels on Toronto’s West Queen West.
We dropped by on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. in early December to enjoy crêpes for lunch. Crêpe & Co. offers 14 savoury crêpes, including three that are vegetarian, and 16 dessert crêpes. There is also a breakfast menu. The owners, Natalie and Andrey, have strived to bring authentic European crêpes to the Canadian public.
The interior reveals a cheery, open space with lots of natural light, decorated for the holidays. Heritage-style wood floors host sleek red banquettes and smaller tables for two that are spaced appropriately from others, offering a private experience to enjoy your meal. We chose to sit at a banquette.
My dining partner started with a House Blend coffee, $1.95, which was served with a cute little biscuit. A jug of water with lemons and limes was placed on our table. I opted for a Kiju organic apple juice, $3.75.
I ordered the Poulet Brie crepe with bacon and mushrooms, $11.95. All savoury crepes are served with Crêpe & Co.’s house salad. The crêpes were cooked to perfection, tasty and light and covered in a delicious Brie cheese and the portion size was substantial. Tucked inside was a winning combination of flavours of chicken, bacon and mushrooms. The thick Brie cheese was definitely the crowning glory. My only wish was that the bacon was a little more crisp, but other than that, these crêpes were so satisfying, particularly on a blustery winter afternoon.
My dining partner ordered the Smoked Salmon crepe with red onion, caper, asparagus and Dijon cream, $11.95. She also really enjoyed her crêpe and noted that the smoked salmon tasted fresh while the asparagus was the perfect choice to blend with the smoky flavours and the red onion provided a bit of bite. The accompanying salad included fresh baby spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes with a pleasing white Balsamic vinaigrette.
After eating our savoury crêpes, we did not have much room left for dessert; however, Andrey highly recommended the Chocolate Crêpe with Mascarpone and seasonal fruit, $9.95, so we decided to try one. Since my dining partner is on a restricted diet, Andrey kindly brought her a chocolate crêpe without Mascarpone, which was very thoughtful of him. One of the servers also offered to refill my friend’s coffee.
Thankfully, the dessert crêpes are much lighter than the savoury crepes. My chocolate crêpe was thin and crispy with a sensational filling of rich and fluffy Mascarpone cheese, fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, and topped with a drizzle of chocolate. Divine. I did end up taking half of the crêpe home since it was too much on top of the savoury crêpe I had eaten, but I’m so glad I was able to try this signature dessert.
What a lovely afternoon we had enjoying these European-inspired crêpes in a relaxing and pleasing atmosphere. If you’re shopping or bar-hopping in the West Queen West neighbourhood, I definitely recommend that you stop at Crêpe & Co. for some tasty replenishment.
Crêpe & Co. is located at 1167 Queen Street West (at Northcote Avenue), 416-800-0473. Cafe hours are Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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