Introducing: Nadège Patisserie. Queen West’s prettiest pastry shop joins the five thieves in Rosedale

Nadège Patisserie’s new 700-square-foot Rosedale space

Fourth-generation confectioner Nadège Nourian won over many Toronto palates when she opened her eponymous Queen West bakery and café almost two years ago—it’s become a destination for high-end pastries. This week, Nourian, along with her front-of-house manager and partner Morgan McHugh, opened a second store in Rosedale, bringing a little bit of Paris to the gourmet strip.

Nourian credits the recently deceased Paul Oberman, who was chief executor of the Woodcliffe Corporation and owner of the restored heritage Scrivener Square properties, with making the second Nadège location possible. A fan of their products, Oberman approached the couple last December and made a compelling offer. “The location on Yonge—being between downtown and uptown—is perfect traffic,” Nourian explains. “To be with the ‘five thieves’ in this heritage building and to work with [Oberman], we knew it was an opportunity that can’t be missed.”

Nourian and McHugh designed the boutique with assistance from Toronto firm nkA, the same group responsible for the Queen location. The 700-square-foot store and matching basement confection workshop will have neither a café nor seating and will be closer to the retail concept that Nourian had envisioned for the original store.

Unlike their stark modern showroom in the west end, the new Rosedale space is warmer, with exposed brick and polished concrete flooring. Long walnut shelves embedded with LED lights are stocked full of hand-crafted products that resemble, as Nourian puts it, those of a “high-end boutique in Paris.” Below the shelves, pullout drawers reveal expandable counter space that staff use to assist customers building customized gift baskets.

A custom-designed refrigeration case dominates the north wall, with tempered glass covers appearing to float over a veined marble counter. Each of the four sections showcases Nourian’s impressive repertoire of viennoiseries ($2.20–$3.20), macarons ($2.20 each), pastries ($4.75–$7.50) and cakes ($8–$8.50). But the focal point is a new line of chocolate bonbons featured on raised glass pedestals on the centre case. At the front, a standalone refrigerated showcase holds large cakes and elaborate displays and will eventually contain chocolate sculptures.

The two Nadèges will offer identical products, and shelves will be restocked twice a day to ensure freshness and availability. A new line of pâtes de fruits, orangettes, nougat, individually wrapped toffees and other candies is launching with the store’s opening, and a greater variety of cookies ($6–$8), chocolate spreads ($12.50 for 180 grams), milk chocolate praline crackles ($7.50) and chocolate-coated nuts will be showing up on shelves over the next month.

To expedite the experience for time-pressed commuters, an online ordering service is being set up for year’s end. Beyond direct delivery, it doesn’t get any sweeter than this.

Nadège Patisserie, 1099 Yonge St., 416-968-2011, nadege-patisserie.com.

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