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Having planned to spend a day in North Vancouver, of course I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to visit Thomas Haas. This patisserie has many accolades under its belt, including the most recent “Best Last Course” from Vancouver Magazine’s 20th Annual Restaurant Awards and owner/pastry chef Thomas Haas being one of the latest inductees into the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame.

The Lunch

We ordered a couple of sandwiches to start. I had the Vitello Tonato. I’ve got to say, sandwiches is probably not their forte. While the sandwich itself was good, there’s nothing special about it. I guess it also has to do with the fact that watercress isn’t my favourite vegetable. However my friend ordered the Moroccan Chicken Panini and he really enjoyed it. He said the combination of apples, almonds and chicken was really interesting and it was good.

The Sweets

Of course, the “main course” of this visit was to try its desserts. To go with my dessert, I’ve ordered a cup of Mocha. Boy, was it rich. Chocolate-rich. And with that, I went for something light. I tried the Exotic Cheesecake, and I’d say, good call on my part. Even though it’s basically a classic cheesecake, it’s light and creamy, and balanced the richness of my mocha. It just worked out perfectly for me. The passionfruit and mango on top added a little tartness to the cheesecake, which added an extra layer of flavour to the cake.

My friend picked the Milk Chocolate Passionfruit. And it just satisfied my call for some more chocolate. According to the “Average Joe”, i.e. my friend, this cake is like a sophisticated KitKat bar. I say he’s wrong, well half-correct. It’s a sophisticated KitKat bar with an exotic twist. The surprise was with the passionfruit cream. Although it’s also passionfruit, its texture is different from the cheesecake and you wouldn’t taste it until you got to the centre of the cake. It’s smooth and tart and it balanced the richness of the chocolate in a different way.

Final Thoughts

We’ve counted. There were 13 kinds of cakes for you to choose from. We’ve tried two. That means we have a reason to return. And before we left the store, we picked up some chocolates to take home as well. Gooooood stuff. They will be opening a store on Broadway and it will carry product freshly made at the North Van location. I will definitely check it out when I’m in the area.

Thomas Haas Patisserie & Cappucino Bar
Price Range: $10 or less
#128 – 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver
604-924-1847