Bread and Sons Ottawa Review – Disappointing Pastries That Didn’t Live Up to Expectations – Average EV Score: 5.5/10
Reviewed by Tastes of Ottawa
Each dish is rated using our EV Score (Enjoyment-to-Value Score), based on enjoyment, price paid, and benchmark pricing.
Table of Contents
Bread and Sons Overview
195 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1W7
Bread and Sons is a small bakery located on Bank Street, known for offering freshly baked breads and pastries. The setup is fairly simple and straightforward. It’s not a large café-style space where you can sit and relax for long periods — instead, it feels more like a quick stop for baked goods.
There are only about five tables available, so seating is quite limited. During busier times, you may not even be able to find a place to sit, which naturally pushes this more toward a grab-and-go spot rather than a destination to linger. The small footprint isn’t necessarily a negative on its own, but it does mean the focus really has to be on the quality of the baked goods to make the visit worthwhile.
Given its reputation and the fact that it specializes in baked items, expectations were fairly high. When you walk into a bakery like this, especially one that highlights fresh baking, you expect strong execution on the fundamentals — particularly classic items like croissants.
What stood out most from this visit was how much it didn’t match my past experience. I remember Bread and Sons being noticeably better several years ago, with pastries that actually delivered on texture and flavour. This time, however, it felt like a step down.
Unfortunately, the overall impression from this visit was disappointing, and it didn’t leave much reason to return.
Would return? No
Butter Croissant
Enjoyment: 5.5/10
Price Paid: $4
Benchmark Price: $4
EV Score: 5.5/10
Order Again? No.
The Butter Croissant from Bread and Sons is one of the most basic items you can order at a bakery, but it’s also one of the most telling. When done right, it showcases technique, quality ingredients, and proper execution.
A good croissant should have a golden, flaky exterior that shatters slightly when you bite into it, revealing a soft, airy, and buttery interior with clearly defined layers.
This one missed those marks.
The exterior wasn’t particularly crispy or flaky. Instead of having that delicate layered texture, it felt more flat and underwhelming. There wasn’t that satisfying light crunch you expect when biting into a well-made croissant.
The inside also didn’t deliver. It lacked the soft, buttery richness that should define the centre of a croissant. Instead, the texture felt more dense and less airy than expected, which made it less enjoyable overall.
What made this more disappointing is that I remember this exact item being much better in the past. That contrast made the decline more noticeable.
In the end, this was a very average croissant, which is not what you expect from a bakery that focuses on fresh baking.
Chocolate Croissant
Enjoyment: 5.5/10
Price Paid: $4
Benchmark Price: $4
EV Score: 5.5/10
Order Again? No.
The Chocolate Croissant from Bread and Sons was even more underwhelming.
Right away, the exterior stood out — and not in a good way. Instead of being flaky and crisp, it had a stretched, slightly tough texture that didn’t resemble what a proper croissant should feel like. It lacked that delicate layering and crispness that makes each bite satisfying.
The inside didn’t improve things. It wasn’t particularly soft or airy, and it didn’t have the rich, buttery feel you expect. The balance between exterior crispness and interior softness just wasn’t there.
A chocolate croissant should feel indulgent — the pastry should be light yet rich, with the chocolate complementing the buttery layers. Here, the pastry itself didn’t provide that foundation, so the overall experience fell flat.
This ended up being a below-average pastry, especially considering how standard this item is across most bakeries.
Final Thoughts
Bread and Sons has the setup and reputation of a bakery that should deliver strong results, especially on classic items like croissants. The location on Bank Street is convenient, and the concept of freshly baked goods is always appealing.
However, based on this visit, the execution simply wasn’t there.
Both the Butter Croissant and Chocolate Croissant lacked the defining characteristics that make these pastries enjoyable — namely a crisp, flaky exterior and a soft, buttery interior. Without those, even the most basic bakery items feel underwhelming.
The fact that these are staple items makes the experience more disappointing. If a bakery can’t deliver on its core offerings, it becomes difficult to justify returning, especially when there are other bakeries in Ottawa that execute these basics much better.
Between the limited seating, average pastries, and noticeable drop compared to past visits, this is not a place I’d be looking to revisit.
If you’re looking for more bakeries in Ottawa, check out my other reviews: