O&B Artisan

I love coming here for a business meeting as well as to catch up with friends.
It’s right on the subway, and it’s got that homey cozy feeling to it — it’s beautifully designed.
The sandwiches are awesome and the coffee even better.
I would give it 5 stars, but come summer, I’d like to see some of that sun and given that it’s on the lower level of the Bay, it gets none.

I was craving for macarons so I decided to buy them at $ 2.25 each, which was not worth the price at all because it tasted purely of sugar and had giant air pockets in the macarons. The cassis & black currant was too sweet for my taste, but the salted caramel was only slightly better. My bf had the $ 2 cookie but it was brick-​like, I tried some and did not like it. The edges were particularly difficult to bite but the middle was bearable because it was slightly softer.

Hard to find really soft baked Chocolate Chip Cookies in this city. I am also a snob when it comes to this. Thankfully this spot delivers well in particular for soft chocolate chip cookies. Presentation, texture, taste, portion size… all fantastic!!!

Maybe I should have ordered my gelato with toppings, but my experience here was pretty average. I just got madagascar vanilla, nothing else added. It tastes like high-​end grocery store ice cream.
Which isn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing. Maybe if you mix in some other toppings it will taste better.
If you’re up for good ol’ ice cream though, then this place isn’t bad.

Located on the lower level of The Bay on Queen Street adjacent to the Food Wares Market is an exquisite little gelato shop operated by O & B.
Let’s get this straight though, this ain’t your typical gelaterie, no no no, they only have SIX Flavours on hand but 6 of the most decadent refined versions of the classics:
–Chocolate
–Madagascar Vanilla
–Almond
–Mango
–Raspberry
–Lemon Sour Cream
But what they lack in flavours they definitely make up for in Mix Ins… yes you read right Mix Ins! Think Cold Stone Creamery gone Gourmet!
Here’s a sampling of the gourmet mix ins they have to offer:
–Chocolate Covered Butter Toffee
–Roasted Slivered Almonds
–Granola Clusters
–Dark & Milk Chocolate Nibs
–Dried Coconut
–Chocolate Chip Cookies
–Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
–Whole Roasted Peanuts
–Macaroons
Yes Macaroons! Which come from there adjacent O & B Artisan, a chocolate making shop offering hand-​crafted chocolate bars, truffles, micro-​batched chocolate, and cookies. Both shops offer products produced by SOMA Chocolatemaker but made on-​site by O&B in there shared kitchen which is located directly behind the gelato counter enclosed by glass walls so you can watch the live production.
1 scoop = $ 3.00 2 scoops = $ 4.50 3 scoops = $ 6.00 Toppings = 0.50 cents each
Besides getting it in a cup they also offer fresh made sugar & waffle cones.
Naturally I went with Two Scoops (Chocolate & Almond) and Two Toppings (Macaroons & Whole Peanuts)
For $ 5.50 My portion was HUGE and definitely worth every last penny just by the looks of it alone but then after my first delicious bite I felt like I was in total Bliss!
The gelato really is top notch quality, just super delicious yummyful! The chocolate was the perfect balance of milk & dark just the right amount of sweetness, exactly what I would want as a chocolate lover. The almond had this amazing flavour reminiscent of almond essence & vanilla bean without being so overbearing, again right amount of sweetness and depth and a perfect creamy smooth finish.
And then the toppings, they just don’t add a spoonful of each topping… you definitely get more than 50 cents worth of toppings, they filled my cup with a delicious assortment of macaroons which included flavours like white chocolate passion fruit, cassis & black currant filling, dark chocolate hazelnut, & milk chocolate salted caramel and then poured over the whole peanuts.
Then they carefully mixed my cupful of toppings into my two rounded scoops of gelato and packed it back like a mountain into my cup.
And the taste. ooo my the taste! Everyone needs to experience the mouth watering goodness of having macaroons mixed into your gelato! The crispy and chewy textures with the burst of different flavoured macaroons is soo exciting and just down right delicious plus the crunchy and salty provided by the peanuts It just ignites all your taste buds at once!
You definitely gotta make your way to the Bay on Queen Street and take that escalator down to the very last floor and get your self some O&B gelato! It’s something everyone needs to experience! And don’t worry they have ample seating so you can sit back, relax and savour every last bite!

I went to Paris last month and I’ve been craving macarons since I returned, so when I saw them here for $ 2 apiece, I decided to give them a try.
The texture was pretty decent. The Salted Caramel flavour was alright, but it was too sweet for my tastes, while Pistachio just tasted like pure sugar with just a hint of pistachio flavour. Either way, for Toronto, they’re passable macarons.
I also had a dark chocolate black sesame truffle, also $ 2 apiece, which was actually pretty good and leads me to believe that their other dark chocolate truffles might be promising.
I won’t make a habit of coming here, but I might try it again if a macaron craving strikes again.