New crêperie opens on Queen West

What happens when two ex-Montrealers take on Queen West? A unique twist on a crêpe shop, that’s what. More specifically, a shop that’s full of sweet and savoury crêpes at affordable prices (most items are under $10), along with decadent hot chocolates, salads tossed with house-made dressings and more.

Husband-wife team Dewey and Kim Truong opened up Chococrêpe on Queen West in the old Modrobes space in late December, after selling their Mississauga business Edible Arrangements.

“This is our life,” Dewey says. “We sold the other business and put everything here.”

Dewey created the menu from scratch, while Kim designed the store’s interior. For two months, the couple clocked 19-hour days, gutting the old store’s interior to create an airy, bright and comfortable space.   

“This Saturday, we had 200 customers,” Dewey says. “It felt like the birth of our restaurant.”

A popular (and fairly healthy) option is the chicken chipotle crêpe ($9.25), which comes with oven-baked chicken breast, arugula and house-made chipotle mayo. As a garnish, the dish comes with some tossed salad.

“The garnish is important,” Dewey tells us. “It gives a little extra presentation and helps quench your palate.”

He’s right. The chipotle packs a kick, and the garnish is just enough of a side to provide refreshment after the spice. The salad’s house-made French dressing, which is a mix of ketchup and apple cider, has a sweet, subtle flavour. Meanwhile, the crêpe (all of Chococrêpe’s savoury crêpes are buckwheat, and the dessert crêpes are white flour with a dash of vanilla) is slightly sweet, and blends well with the tender chicken and arugula.

The apple cider ($3.00), is one of Dewey’s favourites. He’s been drinking it for years, and buys it twice a week from Brampton’s Apple Factory, a place he discovered a few years ago. It’s refreshing, not too sweet and excellent hot or cold.

Dewey stresses the quality of all his ingredients. An admitted produce snob, he’s kept the same fruit and produce supplier, Di Liso’s Fine Foods, he used at Edible Arrangements. Chococrêpe uses three kinds of Valrhona chocolate, imported from France: the Manjari chocolate blend (64 per cent dark chocolate, made with cacao beans from Madagascar), Ivoire, a white chocolate blend and Caramelia, a milk chocolate with hints of caramel.

“We pay more for our supplies than what you’d pay at Loblaws,” Dewey says. “My friends call me crazy, but that’s what I like.”

The chocolate can be thoroughly enjoyed on the berry banana crêpe ($8.75), which is served open-style with fruit, or the chocolate fondue for two, ($14.50), which comes on two enormous plates, packed with fruit drizzled with chocolate.

Coming soon will be pulled pork crêpes and Thai green curry crêpes, both of which we’ll be back to try.

Chococrêpe, 620 Queen St. W., 416-855-5601

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