Julien's

Forget starbucks - this is *the* place to stop for coffee and amazing pastries. Samosas are fantastic. Croissants are wow. They sell full home-baked bread loaves. Hours are a bit short but working-day and Saturday I make an effort to go in.

The best bread in Halifax. If you live in the GTA or in Montreal it is fairly easy to find good continental European style bread, but in Halifax it is a challenge. Julien's is the only place with which I am fully satisfied so far. I particularly recommend the Levain, a large loaf of which (approx. 830g) costs $4.75 as of January 2011, a much better deal than worse bread elsewhere in Halifax. It is a very nice French style bread made from white and wholegrain sourdough that has a wonderful crispy crust yet is nice and soft on the inside. I can also recommend their Winnipeg Rye.

Fortunately they don't ask you whether you want to have their bread sliced. Unfortunately though they give you their bread in plastic bags. This is particularly amazing since they store their bread in-store without any wrapping, i.e. they know that plastic bags destroy the crust, yet they still use plastic bags for their customers. Paper bags as used in Europe would be a lot better for the bread AND for the environment. I always open up the plastic bag for transport and take the bread out of the bag immediately when I get home and then put it in my bread box so as to preserve the wonderful crust.

For some reason I don't like to buy Julien's bread at Pete's Frootique. Pete's usually carried a rather small (and seemingly random) subset of Julien's breads, and the bread is always worse (softer) than when you buy it from Julien's directly. Probably related to storage and wrapping (see above) than freshness per se.

Julien's also sells various sweet bakeries and cakes, but all of those are rather expensive (and I find the cakes disappointing). The one thing I do like are their almond croissants. They are huge and a bit too moist, but have a wonderful taste.

You can also sit down at Julien's (they probably have six or eight tables or so) but I really use it as a bakery rather than as a café. They are closed on Mondays.

Overall I am very glad that Julien's exists. Without it I would probably have to bake all of my bread myself. Thank you for offering great bread at decent prices in Halifax!

The place is beautiful. They have a beautiful garden but the last few months the price increase a lot like if you want to have just Corazon Almagosa new pay almost like seven dollars it’s increased done before I believe it’s too much.

Wonderful place - delicious pastry - warm atmosphere! I usually don't write reviews, but I am a regular customer here, so couldn't miss a chance to leave my review. Atmosphere is absolutely filled with warmness and cheerfulness - wonderful for bold morning coffee as well as cup of tea during the rainy day. Although the service might not be the most personalized, however only because it is partially patisserie shop and cafe, I am truly fascinated with the speed and accuracy of the staff taking great care of such high flow of customers. Not to forget their variety of pastry and bread products - you can always find something for your special moment. Thanks!

I loved this little bakery, big variety of bakery items and sandwiches. Nice coffee and tea options. Quaint inside and a nice small patio outside. The staff was very polite and friendly.

We went to Julien's and we loved it! They have lots of desserts. It is difficult to choose which one you will take home. We bought the White Sourdough bread and an apple pie. The bread is very soft and the crunch crust is delicious! The apple pie has plenty of tasting, the apples are very caramelized, and crunch crust! Wow! Sorry, we didn't have enough time to take the pictures for the apple pie... we ate too fast... 🤤😋🤤😋🤤😋 It was a delightful experience. I really recommend them.

Lovely setting, with a very European feeling to the cafe. The Americano is quite nice, and the pastries are plentiful in choice, and tasty. Music being played is often French or Italian of origin, and gives a lovely atmosphere. Great spot for some solitude, or a nice chat.