Tatin Bakehouse

Croissants on one side, curry puffs on the other

The case at Tatin Bakehouse works in two accents at once. On the French side there is the crème brûlée croissant, a custard tart and flan patissier; on the Asian side, curry puffs and a chicken pie. None of the pairing is decorative. It is how the Oakville bakery defines itself, and the signature list is short enough that the whole identity fits on one shelf. The two accents are the reason to make the trip rather than a quirk on the side. It is a chef-owner operation, which is the other reason the list stays tight: one kitchen, a compact run of bakes, and no attempt at a full café menu.

The signatures, in order

Start with the crème brûlée croissant. It is the item the bakery is best known for and the clearest example of what the two-accent idea actually produces on a plate. The sweet three work as a sequence rather than as alternatives. The custard tart is the next sweet order, smaller and simpler, and flan patissier is the third, the thick-set French custard tart that rewards a slower eater. It is the bake that shows the most technique, because a set custard with a pastry base has nowhere to hide. Between the three you have the entire sweet argument, and none of them repeats another.

Something savoury, and how to plan a visit

The savoury half is where the Asian side is most obvious. Curry puffs are the item to add if you want something hot to eat standing at the counter, and the chicken pie is the more substantial of the two, closer to a meal than to a snack. They also make the bakery usable at lunch rather than only at the pastry hour, which is not true of most laminated-dough shops. Because the shop is small and the list is short, the sensible approach is one savoury and one sweet rather than a survey of the case. Order both if you are feeding two people, and the croissant if you are feeding one. What is out on a given day is essentially what the kitchen decided to bake, so it pays to choose from what is in front of you rather than to arrive with a fixed order.