Croissant Crawl highlights Metro Vancouver’s local pastry scene

The Metro Vancouver Croissant Crawl is making a return for its fourth year from Nov. 1 to 16, offering self-guided tours of croissant spots in Greater Vancouver.

Croissant options and vendors vary from Matchstick’s pumpkin cheesecake croissant in Vancouver, to banana bread croissants from BjornBar Bakery in Coquitlam and North Vancouver, and Richmond-based Daan Go Cake Lab’s Mont Blanc Saint-Honoré croissant, among others.

Croissant Crawl founder Laura Wong-Thompson says she was eager to find her favourite croissant spot in the city after moving to Vancouver, so she invited people to join her — and it turned out to be a fun day.

“I was surprised that Vancouver had so many spots to go to. You can hit up multiple quite easily, and I wanted to make it something that other people could enjoy as well,” she says.

The event offers a print-at-home map this year, allowing participants to collect stickers after visiting each location. After collecting at least three stickers, they can enter a contest to win gift cards from vendors or 100 Evo Car Share driving minutes.

People can also enter the contest by following the Metro Vancouver Croissant Crawl on Instagram and sharing a picture from their croissant tour by tagging @vancouvercroissantcrawl.

Canadian breakdancer and Olympic gold medalist Phil “Wizard” Kim will also be part of the event as a judge who will select the Most Creative Croissant award.

“He’s known for liking pastries,” Wong-Thompson says. “Obviously, he’s a creative person, so it felt like a really good fit, and I’m excited to have him.”

The Croissant Crawl also has a drink-pairing option at select locations this year, where visitors can pair their croissant with a drink. 

Jack’s Spot in Vancouver offers a hojicha chai latte to pair with its black sesame praline with matcha ganache croissant. Surrey’s Sweet Revenge Bakery & Cafe offers a mini honey butter croissant with a corn matcha macchiato.

“I just thought that could be a fun way to experience the croissant the way the creator imagines you to enjoy it at its peak,” Wong-Thompson says.

She tries to look for new vendors on Instagram, she says, adding that when she started the crawl, the tour only included the city of Vancouver.

Today, the crawl has expanded beyond Vancouver to include locations in Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, the Tri-Cities, North Vancouver, New Westminster, and Pitt Meadows. 

Wong-Thompson says the crawl also features spots near Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Richmond and Surrey campuses.

She also plans to host two pop-up events, which are mini tours with other fan enthusiasts to visit three stops together. 

“Sometimes you don’t have your go-to foodie friends yet, so you can come meet new people and try out croissants,” Wong-Thompson says, adding that the crawl is a fun experience with friends to create memories. 

“It’s always been almost as equally about croissants as exploring with friends. So I’m hoping that carries through. Like for me, once the list was out, sending it to different group chats, saying, ‘Hey, which ones do you want to go to together?’”

For more information about the Croissant Crawl and its vendors, visit www.vancouvercroissantcrawl.com.