BonBon Pastry & Cafe | Cleveland, OH

BonBon Pastry & Cafe (Facebook / @BonBonBakeShop)
2549 Lorain Ave. (map it!)
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 458-9225
Open Mon, 6:30a-3p; Tues-Fri, 6:30a-8p; Sat, 7a-8p; Sun, 7a-3p
Accepts cash & credit/debit
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free? Y/Y/Y
Kid-friendly? Y

Visited: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.

For our last official meal stops on the Positively Cleveland #HappyinCLE bloggers’ weekend, our guides polled the group for Sunday brunch, and the group wisely chose BonBon in Ohio City. We had been near BonBon the day before, when we toured the West Side Market and walked to the Ohio City Farm, but today we had a chance to be treated to brunch at the cafe.

BonBon’s beautiful corner space is bright and welcoming. The cafe counters are made of marble, with lots of wood accents.

From what I’ve read, the business started as a market stall with baked goods, and transitioned into a brick and mortar space two years ago. So not surprisingly, pastries, donuts, rolls still feature strongly on the menu.

It’s almost unfair, walking into the restaurant on an empty stomach and being faced with a giant tray of cinnamon rolls. Unfair, until you realize that you can order one of those bad boys.

We started with coffee, and then moved quickly into brunch.

BonBon’s brunch menu is eclectic and creative, one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen in recent months. You can find your standards like omelets, breakfast sandwiches, and eggs benedict, but there are some more unusual scores, too, like breakfast nachos and morning tacos.

On the suggestion of our guides, the table started with a plate of cinnamon sugar donuts. These little lightly-fried nuggets are served with sides of mascarpone, chocolate sauce, and preserves, and they had just the right sugary crunch.

Maybe it was the whole pastry theme, but I was in a sweet mood, so the vanilla bean French toast stood out to me. What also caught my eye was the toppings of blueberry compote, mascarpone, and corn. Maybe putting corn on French toast might seem strange to some, but after years of eating Jeni’s sweet corn and black raspberry ice cream, it makes perfect sense. Like Jeni says, it’s just like putting jam on cornbread.

I got to photograph and sample some of the other bloggers’ meals, too. BonBon certainly knows how to plate their brunch, and how to work up some interesting combos. For instance, the corned beef hash loaded with brussel sprouts, egg, potatoes, mushroom, onions, peppers.

Or the silver dollar pancakes with real maple syrup and cider bacon.

Or the breakfast sandwich with a big, homemade maple sausage patty, eggs, cheddar, tomato and a side of sweet potatoes. I tried a bite of this sandwich and really loved it – the sausage is terrific. I’d order this the next time I visit.

All in all, our brunching at BonBon was excellent. Good service – able to handle our large table with ease. And some delightfully creative and tasty brunch dishes. If that’s not reason enough to visit, consider their breakfast happy hour: Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 3-8pm, you can get their breakfast entrees for $5.