Manzano European Bakery - Burnaby

I would likeTo say Thank you to Manzano staff for keeping my Pandora bracelet. I ate cheesecake their last night and realized that I lost my bracelet when I cameHome...Love their cheesecake and cranberry muffins. Honest staff are very rare this days..

This is a European-style bakery located on the ground level of the mall, not far from The Bay. They offer a good variety of cakes, pastries, and other treats. During my visit, I had their Hazelnut Roll, Orange Ricotta Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Chocolate Truffle Cake and Lemon Tart. The cakes, while not mind-blowing, were nevertheless all quite tasty. Their prices are also extremely reasonable. This is definitely a place that's worth checking out if you're at the mall and craving some sweets.<br/ <br/ Hazelnut Roll $2.99):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ This was a piece of sponge cake enclosing cream, and contained pieces of hazelnuts inside. The cake itself was quite tender, albeit just a tad on the dry side. The cream was light and quite sweet. I really enjoyed the pieces of hazelnuts, which lent a great texture and fragrance.<br/ <br/ Orange Ricotta Cake $2.99):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ This was layers of orange-flavoured sponge cake sandwiching ricotta filling. The cake was quite tender, albeit a tad on the dry side. It had a nice flavour of orange that was not too overwhelming or artificial. I did find the ricotta filling to be just a bit on the gummy side, but still enjoyable.<br/ <br/ Pumpkin Cheesecake $3.49):<br/ 3.5/5<br/ The cheesecake was of the softer, fluffier variety. It was creamy with a nice bit of spice, and was filled with cranberries, which provided tartness. I did find it to be a tad on the bland side, and the crust was also a bit gummy.<br/ <br/ Tiramisu $3.99):<br/ 4/5<br/ The cake had a wonderful fragrance of coffee/liquor, and was light and luscious. I did find the lady fingers to be a bit on the dry side; I would have liked them to be a bit more soaked/soggy.<br/ <br/ Chocolate Truffle Cake $3.69):<br/ 4/5<br/ The cake was filled with chocolate mousse that's studded with chocolate shavings, and was coated in chocolate ganache. The mousse was fluffy and creamy, and had a fantastic bittersweet flavour. I did find the chocolate to be just a tad waxy, but still very enjoyable.<br/ <br/ Summary:<br/ Food: 3.5/5<br/ Price: 4.5/5<br/ Service: N/A<br/ Overall: 3.5/5<br/ Recommendations: Tiramisu, Chocolate Truffle Cake

The bakeries around the Metro area are mostly Chinese, with the exception of Manzano. I was craving some Western styled sweets today, so while shopping, my friend and I came by for an afternoon snack. <br/ <br/ The bakery is a small shop, but there's a small designated seating area outside. We got three items to share. First was a slice of Blueberry Yogurt cake. This has layers of spongecake, whipped cream, yogurt and gelee, topped with some more whipped cream and a blueberry. This was pretty good, not overly sweet and the yogurt was very smooth. (4/5) Next was the Pear Torte. In comparison, this was a lot sweeter. We thought the pastry was also a bit dense. (3/5) The lemon pistachio biscotti was so fragrant with the hint of citrus, but the texture was slightly too soft for a biscotti. (3.5/5)<br/ <br/ Food: 3.5/5 Service: 4/5 Value: 3/5 Ambiance: 3/5

Overall, goods aren’t too pricey and they have a good variety of tasty treats! It’s pretty awesome to have a European bakeryy at Metrotown.

It's cool. The sandwiches were pretty basic but tasty and cheap.