Sharing a plate of freshly-baked croissants with family on Christmas day is a wonderful holiday tradition that is simply perfection on quiet, snow-covered mornings. But the question is, of course, where to find the best croissants? And so, in homes all over the country, the hunt is on for the city’s most buttery, most flakey, most delicious croissant. It’s a daunting task but I and my team of pastry-loving judges are up to the challenge of finally, once and for all, tracking down Toronto’s best croissant, one scrumptious pastry at a time.

Our esteemed judging panel included our resident pastry expert and recipe tester Eshun Mott, fashion & culture writer Nancy Won, recent graduate of George Brown's culinary program, Julie Verbos and myself. We asked everyone we met their opinion on this controversial topic and rounded up the top picks. The croissants were numbered and their origins hidden—we each had our preconceived opinions so the only fair way to do this was to have a blind tasting. We tasted an impressive selection of croissants from these very fine (and, we couldn’t help but notice, very French) establishments: Clafouti, Le Comptoir de Célestin, Rahier, Le Gourmand, Patachou, Bonjour Brioche, La Bambouche, Pain Perdu and Patisserie La Cigogne.

These were our top four croissants….

Rahier
This was our highest scoring croissant and the #1 pick of each of our tasters. It was the most buttery croissant of the bunch, plenty flakey with lots of layers and had a slight chew that was sheer perfection. It was also one of the best looking croissants and we all agreed it was the one we’d be having on Christmas morning. 1586 Bayview Ave., 416 482-0917.

Patachou
Our next favourite croissant came from Patachou, one of Toronto’s very first French pastry shops. These classic crescents scored high on flakiness thanks to a delectably crispy outside surrounding lots of light, fluffy layers within. It had a lovely buttery taste with a hint of sweetness and lots of flavour. 1120 Yonge St., 416 927-1105.

Pain Perdu
We fell in love with these delicate, artisanal pastries on first sight! They may not look like traditional French croissants but they are definitely the ones to serve if you want to make an impression. What they lack in buttery flavour, they make up for with delightful flakiness—these little treasures leave quite the mess on your plate as they tear…the ultimate sign of a flakey croissant! 736 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-656-7246.

Le Comptoir de Célestin
These beautiful golden croissants came in at a very close fourth and are a scrumptious overall choice. The flavour is slightly more yeasty than buttery but if you like a bit of crunch with your croissant these are the ones to pick up. The outside is flakey and crisp with a slightly dense, chewy centre. 623 Mount Pleasant Rd., 416-544-1733.