Villagio Cafe

This cafe is located near some docks in Coal Harbour, and has a nice view of the ocean. I went to this cafe not for their scenery however, but for their desserts: they have a pretty impressive assortment of cakes and pastries. I picked up a few cakes (Cappuccino Cake, Chocolate Cheesecake, and Chocolate Swiss Roll) and two croissants (Hazelnut Chocolate and Almond). The cappuccino and chocolate swiss roll weren't very good; I found them to be stale with a freezer-burned flavour. The cheesecake was fantastic however, and the croissants were also tasty (not as good as the ones from top tier bakeries like Thomas Haas), but still tasty. The prices here are quite reasonable, and the staff is friendly. This is a good place to hang out and enjoy some treats as well as the scenery, especially if the weather's nice.

Cappuccino Cake ($5.00):
3/5
According to the description on their label, this consisted of hazelnut daquoise, coffee cremeux, and vanilla custard. The layers of cream and custard were rich, creamy and quite sweet, with a nice fragrance of coffee. Unfortunately, I found the chocolate that they used to be somewhat waxy and had a pretty strong, stale flavour that I found to be somewhat off-putting.

Hazelnut Chocolate Croissant ($4.50):
4/5
This is a double-baked croissant that's filled with a chocolate hazelnut paste and topped with flaked almonds. While the croissant was not as crisp and flaky as the ones from the top tier bakeries (Thomas Haas, Chez Christophe ect), it was still quite rich and buttery, with a nice fragrance from the almonds. I don't know if they make the filling in house, but it's not nutella (as I had expected), but rather a ground nut paste mixed with chocolate. It had a nice fragrance of almonds; I couldn't really detect much hazelnut in it however. They also have an almond version of the croissant, and I got one for my mom. She absolutely loved it.

Chocolate Cheesecake ($5.50):
4.5/5
This consisted of a layer of cheesecake that's topped with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy, with a nice mild tang. I do find it to be a bit too soft for my liking - I prefer firmer New York Style cheesecakes - but that's just a personal preference. I was a bit nervous about the layer of chocolate ganache as I found the chocolate in their cappuccino cake to be stale and waxy; fortunately, the chocolate here however was good; smooth and rich with a prefect bittersweet flavour. This is a solid cheesecake; I actually prefer it over the ones from Trees Organic.

Chocolate Swiss Roll ($4.50):
2.5/5
This consisted of chocolate cake filled with marscapone cream. I did not care for the cake itself: it had an odd chewy, gummy texture and was almost completely flavourless, and seemed to have a bit of a stale, "off" flavour. The cream filling was quite good however: it was light, soft and creamy, and seemed to be quite fresh.

Not bad at all. Stopped by for a late breakfast. My latte was excellent. The croque monsieur good, although I'm used to having the egg of the outside of the sandwich, not within it. Wouldn't have a problem recommending this place.

Relaxing with a great view. The food is surprisingly outstanding. Recommended.