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Monday, April 11, 2011

La Banette, Glebe

la banette

It's the smell of butter and sugar that hits me first. The heady aroma of caramelised sugar, chocolate, freshly baked bread and buttery pastries soaks its way into every pore as I stand at the doorway, on the brink of dessert delirium.

la banette
La Banette

La Banette is easy to miss if you're walking down the other side of Glebe Point Road. Once you know it's there, however, it's hard to resist a detour. This rustic French bakery is bursting with delectable treats.

This is the second La Banette bakery by husband and wife team, Vince Luong and Uyen Le, adding to their Avalon original. The Glebe shopfront gave them the opportunity to custom design the premises, a mix of butter yellow walls and distressed wooden shelving in eggshell blue.

la banette
Sultana scrolls and crossiants

la banette
Fresh breads

We've tried several of their breads, with favourites so far including the raisin bread and the rye and caraway loaf.

la banette
Ratatouille pies

A set of swing doors separate the kitchen from the service area, and freshly baked pies are often left to cool on the front counter.

la banette
Dine-in area

la banette quiche
Ratatouille quiche $4.50

Quiches, pies and pork and veal rolls are all $4.50-$5 each. If you want to eat in, you can grab a seat at one of the wooden benches, although eating with the provided plastic cutlery can be a bit fiddly.

Ratatouille pie is chock-full of chunky vegetables, and the quiche Lorraine is generous with cubes of ham sliced off the bone.

la banette beef and burgundy pie
Beef and burgundy pie $5

I'm amazed by the amount of meat packed into my beef and burgundy pie, shreds of beef that flake apart easily, although it probably could have done with a little more gravy.

la banette creme caramel dessert pastry
Creme caramel and mille-feuille

We're tried more desserts than I care to confess. I went for the giant almond biscuits featured in the first photo, crunchy with flaked almonds and slathered on the base with dark chocolate. Giant fluffy white meringues are folded over with flaked almonds too, the insides soft as marshmallow.

The tart shell holding the creme caramel makes for easy transportation, and the mille-feuille is a sigh of flaky pastry layers and smooth vanilla custard. One day we had an amazing coffee gateaux. The signature addition to most desserts is a garnish of green tea chocolate.

What's striking about this shop is the care and pride in every dessert, and the consideration given to how each one is placed on display. This isn't a manufactured attempt to create a stylised experience. It's all about the food, and the love put into each and every product.

We're slowly making our way through every dessert. I know we'll get there. Staff were very friendly about allowing photos, so here's just a taste of what's on offer:

la banette chocolate cake dessert
Flourless hazelnut chocolate cakes

la banette green tea cake dessert
Green tea cake

la banette strawberry cake dessert
Strawberry cake

la banette lemon tart dessert
Lemon tarts

la banette walnut tart dessert
Walnut tarts

la banette macaroons
Macaroons

la banette desserts pastries
Pastry display case

la banette tarts desserts and pastries
Mille-feuille, chocolate fig tarts and lemon meringue tarts

la banette

la banette chocolate raspberry cake dessert
Chocolate and raspberry cake

la banette almond biscuits
Almond biscuits

la banette chocolate eclairs
Chocolate eclairs

la banette almond crossiants
Almond crossiants

la banette petit fours desserts
Petit fours $12 a box

la banette creme caramel dessert
Creme caramel

la banette tarts dessert
Strawberry tarts and mixed fruit tarts

la banette tarts dessert
Customer samples

la banette lemon meringue tarts dessert
Lemon meringue tarts

la banette chocolate eclair dessert
Chocolate eclair

la banette


View Larger Map

La Banette Patisserie on Urbanspoon


La Banette Patisserie Boulangerie
18 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
Tel: +61 (02) 8095 9688

Opening hours:
Tues-Fri 7am–7pm
Sat-Sun 7am–5.30pm
Closed Monday


Also at:
28 Avalon Parade, Avalon
Tel: +61 (02) 9918 2948
Open Tuesday to Friday 7am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday 7am-5pm
33 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 4/11/2011 01:47:00 am


33 Comments:

  • At 4/11/2011 1:58 am, Blogger Phuoc'n Delicious said…

    AWESOME! Must visit this place when I feel like procrastinating at uni. YES! This is a good excuse! Thanks Helen! Everything looks marvelous! I love the offer of samples :)

     
  • At 4/11/2011 7:39 am, Blogger joey@forkingaroundsydney said…

    Great photos! I love the smell of a fresh bakery. ;-) And that's a lot of meat in a $5 pie, but it does look dry as you said.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 7:42 am, Blogger Unknown said…

    Oh, this place looks great. So close to work - how did I miss it?

     
  • At 4/11/2011 7:51 am, Anonymous Dumpling Girl said…

    I keep forgetting about this place, thanks for the reminder :)

     
  • At 4/11/2011 8:26 am, Blogger Maria said…

    What an adorable rustic place! I love the look of it!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 8:42 am, Anonymous Tina@foodboozeshoes said…

    Oh yummo. I saw the ratatouille pies after I'd already had lunch - which was rather saddening. Great pics of the selection!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 9:09 am, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    oooh the almond croissant is calling to meeeee

     
  • At 4/11/2011 9:16 am, Anonymous ragingyoghurt said…

    mmm. i've had that walnut tart. actually, the counter girl gave it to me for free after i ordered one, because she said the caramel had crystalised that day and she didn't want to see them. of course, it was still delicious.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 9:31 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Savouries look great! I had a sugar high just by looking at the desserts. I think I'd have enough with a couple of samples :)

     
  • At 4/11/2011 10:26 am, Anonymous Emily@NeedsMoreSugar said…

    THIS IS JUST CRUEL.

    Monday morning, post weekend sadness, almost elevensies - and you post this. *sobs into hands*

    ..*licks screen*

    Amazing!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 10:33 am, Blogger Stephcookie said…

    Oh my god. I want everything!!! Especially that green tea cake. Drooling all over my computer screen right now.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 11:33 am, Anonymous Jacq said…

    Love this place! Everytime I walk past I can never resist the buttery smells coming from it and I have to buy something. I haven't tried any of their savouries but their sweet pastries and tarts are awesome!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 12:10 pm, Blogger Mel said…

    Dessert delirium indeed. I've walked past this place SO many times but I won't let myself go in as I'd have no self control...

     
  • At 4/11/2011 12:30 pm, Anonymous Aimee said…

    Thanks Helen! You've helped me decide what Friday lunch will be. Ah the perks of working in Glebe - so many good places to try.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 1:01 pm, Anonymous idontcryieat said…

    Wow! what a gorgeous place! I'm drooling over your beautiful photos of the meringue pies! Thanks for letting us know about this little gem :)

     
  • At 4/11/2011 1:22 pm, Blogger muppy said…

    Everything looks so perfect, I think i better avoid it - maybe line it up as a reward treat when i reach a weight loss goal. The quiche looks amazing.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 2:22 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    Dear Helen,
    I would like that entire basket of almond biscuits and a trayful of the lemon meringue tarts, but I think the walnut tarts look like brains.
    Love,
    Hannah

     
  • At 4/11/2011 4:08 pm, Blogger Viv said…

    i LOVE the look and feel of this kind of rustic french bakery...and can only dream of opening a place like that one day (good to know they don't necessarily have to be opened by the french too lol!) creme caramel in a tart shell...ohh my. i must go to glebe soooon! even those samplers look amazing!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 4:43 pm, Anonymous Nic@diningwithastud said…

    I swear, I could stare at pastries all day long. But as your pie experience goes, I guess looks can be deceiving :(

     
  • At 4/11/2011 8:08 pm, Blogger Jen said…

    This place looks so sweet. The green tea cake looks amazing.

     
  • At 4/11/2011 8:09 pm, Blogger missklicious said…

    It's always the smell of a bakery that gets me in :)

    The ratatouille pie looks amazing, and the petit fours are so cute too! I'll have to go in and get a box. All the cakes look sooo good as well!

     
  • At 4/11/2011 9:49 pm, Anonymous Adrian @ Food Rehab said…

    gaawwd. I feel I'm on the verge of getting diabetics just looking the the pics! I was planning on hitting up Glebe last time I was in Sydney but ended up at Bourke st bakery instead! LOL

     
  • At 4/11/2011 9:49 pm, Blogger YaYa said…

    Love the rustic fitout but those photographs are making me drool all over my laptop!

     
  • At 4/12/2011 12:32 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Ahh seen this palce a few times when I go to the glebes. Shall have to try some of their tasty wares now mmmmm

     
  • At 4/12/2011 1:53 am, Anonymous pierre said…

    can you believe that this is my daily routine?
    How funny this week i make a tribute to the aussie chefs on my blog!!
    Pierre de Paris

     
  • At 4/12/2011 7:09 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Having frequented the Avalon establishment over the years, I give them a thumbs down...sorry!

     
  • At 4/13/2011 1:55 pm, Blogger susan said…

    That place looks amazing, sort of a giorgio beverly hills theme to the curtain trim. I love places that give samples too!

     
  • At 4/14/2011 4:30 pm, Anonymous Emma said…

    The food looks mouth-watering. I have a friend’s birthday coming up and now I know the place to buy the birthday cake for her.

     
  • At 4/16/2011 10:30 am, Blogger Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said…

    Beautiful, rustic-looking breads and pastries. No air of pretension at all.

     
  • At 4/17/2011 10:38 pm, Anonymous Louise said…

    Oh, this place looks amazing. I lived in Glebe for 10 years, but haven't made it back in quite a few years, will have to seek out the changes. I need one of those lemon meringue tarts.

     
  • At 4/17/2011 11:49 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Thanks everyone for your comments!

    Hi ragingyoghurt
    - Ah I'm sure the walnut tart was still good. They looked amazing.

    Hi lateraleating - I think that's why they limit it to one sample per person. lol.

     
  • At 6/16/2011 11:12 pm, Blogger Mary said…

    oh YUMMM. I have to ask though; did they let you just walk in and start snapping away with your camera? I always feel kinda awkward about doing that!! :D still, I live just around the corner - I really should go sneak a taste!

     
  • At 6/17/2011 1:18 am, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Mary - I tend to ask permission before taking photos in bakeries. La Banette were happy for me to snap as many photos as I liked.

     

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