If you’re looking for the best cream puff in Toronto, look no further. Located at 596 Yonge St near the intersection of Yonge & Wellesley is Bloom Cafe - a shop specializing in Japanese pastries and drinks. As someone who's visited Japan twice, I’ve had my fair share of Japanese coffees and desserts, and Bloom executes them perfectly. The café has quickly ranked as one of my go-to spots for matcha and sweets, and if you like either of those things, this café should not be missed out on!
Let’s start with their desserts. The café offers a variety of sweet treats including:
· Japanese roll cake, shortcake & cheesecake
· Crunchy eclairs
· Croissants and cookies
· Daifuku mochi
· Ice cream (in a cone, puff or parfait)
· Seasonal treats
· And of course, cream puffs
Their cream puff flavours include vanilla, mocha, Oreo, earl grey, strawberry, and my favourite, matcha. Cream puffs are $3.25 each or six for $18.
Bloom also sells a $10 dessert set which includes a beverage & slice of cake. If you’re looking to go all out & try a few things from the shop, the café offers a two-person shareable platter that includes 6 pastries with either two teas or coffees ($35/$38).
Moving onto their drink menu, drinks at the café range from $3.20-$5.50. On the lower priced end of this scale are the shop’s teas and espresso, and at the higher end, Bloom’s signature tea lattes. If you’re a drip coffee fan, sorry but you’re out of luck – the café only serves espresso-based options (from local coffee shop & roaster The Library).
If you like your coffee extra strong or prefer dairy-free beverages, you can add a shot of espresso or substitute for oat or macadamia milk for $0.70. You can also substitute for soy milk for free.
For tea fans, the café offers four teas to pick from: sencha, yuzu (my favourite), genmaicha, and earl grey. As for their tea lattes, Bloom offers London fog, houjicha, matcha, or the more premium Kinako matcha. Both matcha powders are also available for sale at the shop.
If you’re a bubble tea lover, you can get these tea lattes on ice and add black crystal, matcha pudding, or milk pudding ($0.70 each). On top of these creations, the shop also sells tea and espresso floats topped with whipped cream or ice cream (+$1.75).
As for Bloom’s ambience, you can expect an airy and minimalistic feel with white and light wood furnishing throughout the café. The coffee shop is well-lit & spacious, with a decently sized seating area in the back, along with a handful of seats by the café’s Yonge-facing front windows and bar. Most seats in the café are low-levelled backless stools, and most of its tables seat two.
The coffee shop is very trendy, especially its back room with wood panelled walls. Their walls are also adjourned with simplistic decorations that seem to change with every visit. Today’s were butterflies which added to the overall whimsy of the café.
Bloom does offer free wifi, but outlets are inaccessible when dining in (AKA they’re located in awkward crannies). Therefore, come with a fully charged laptop or ditch the technology altogether and hit up the café with a date or friend. It's a shop sure to impress, especially for anyone with a sweet tooth. The coffee shop is open from 1pm-9pm daily*, however, those cream puffs go fast so don't visit too late or you'll miss out!
*Given the COVID-19 pandemic, hours and offerings depicted in this post may be skewed as businesses adapt to better serve its staff, customers, and community.