Newly Opened: Forêt Noire Pâtisserie

Newly opened on West Broadway is Forêt Noire Pâtisserie, a modern bakery-cafe serving French-style treats. The shop caught my attention with their vibrant magenta balloons displayed in front as I was driving along West Broadway. As a lover of French pastries, I was curious about what they had to offer and decided to visit the shop this weekend.

Forêt Noire Pâtisserie Vancouver West Broadway

Note: This is not a sponsored post. None of the food and drinks in this review were complimentary.

Interior

As soon as I entered the door, I was greeted with a tantalizing, long display of desserts and viennoiseries. The front area also features a variety of pre-packed confections to enjoy yourself or for gifting.

The patisserie boasts an eye-catching interior design with bright whites accented by magentas, pinks and reds. There are several dining tables inside and outside where customers can relax and enjoy the treats.

Forêt Noire Pâtisserie Menu

Leading the kitchen is Executive Chef Christian Lai Chun, a former pâtisserie & chocolatier artisan from Ritz-Carlton Hotel and instructor at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts.

On the menu are a variety of French desserts (eclairs, tarts, cakes and so forth) as well as vienoisseries (croissants, quiches, pies and so forth). The desserts are priced between $7-$8 while croissants are around $3.50.

Coming soon are baguette sandwiches like BC smoked salmon and tuna. For the drinks menu, they offer a range of hot and cold espresso-based drinks as well as teas.

What I Tried

I ordered a few desserts from their display to try as well as latte.

Signature de Forêt Noire ($7.20)

Made with Almond Gyanaja chocolate sponge, Valrhona dark chocolate 61%, white chocolate kirsch, cremeux, amarena cherry in kirsch and chocolate streusel.

I liked that this was an elevated interpretation of a traditional Black Forest cake. The cake, which was nicely moist, was wrapped in chocolate that is decorated to resemble tree bark to compliment the chocolate trees on top. I liked that the amarena cherries were rich in flavour but not overly bitter nor sweet.

Mille Feuille ($7.20)

The Mille Feuille was on point with alternating layers of light, crispy caramelized puff pastry and vanilla cream. The cream had a nice, smooth texture and vanilla flavour.

Exotic Flower ($7.20)

Made with mango mousse, hazelnut praline feuilletine, coconut dacquoise, fresh mangos, white chocolate chantilly, and passion fruit cremeux.

This dessert boasted citrusy flavours from the mango complimented by the nutty flavours from the hazelnut praline feuilletine.

Pain au Chocolat ($3.50)

The Pain au Chocolat was solid being buttery, flaky, and golden brown. I liked how the croissant did not leave much grease on your hands. And when you first bite into it, there is that wonderful crunch sound.

Cafe Latte

I went with a light roast for the latte as they did not have medium roast. The latte was good and did not have a bitter aftertaste.

Overall Impression

All the items from Forêt Noire Pâtisserie were very good and seemed to have a good amount of creativity, complexity and quality ingredients (for Vancouver standards). The modern and chic interior made for a nice space to gather with others over delicious treats. For me to rate them higher, I need to see even more innovative flavours and uniqueness in their menu items. Rating: 3.5/5

Forêt Noire Pâtisserie
236 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC
www.foretnoirepatisserie.com