Best Bakeries in Toronto: 11 Counters from Danforth to Mimico

The best way to choose a bakery is to decide what you want to hold in your hand: a loaf for the table, a pastry for the walk, or something sweet for the person you are trying to impress.

How did we sort these bakeries?

Instead of ranking, we sorted by order. Eleven bakeries from across the city, each active on its own Instagram in the weeks before we checked in October and listed in a neighbourhood BIA directory, split into three groups. Start with the loaf, move to the pastry, and end on something sweet. The addresses run from the Danforth and Leslieville to Mimico, the Kingsway and Yonge Street, so this is not only a downtown list. Where a bakery has more than one shop, we name only the address its listing gives. For more of the city’s food, our what to eat in Toronto guide is a good companion.

Why sort this way? Because the question at a bakery counter is never “which is best” but “what am I in the mood for”. A loaf says you are staying home. A pastry says you are on the move. Something sweet says you have a reason to celebrate. Pick the mood first and the bakery follows, and you will rarely leave with the wrong bag.

Where do I find a good loaf?

1

Brodflour

Liberty VillageOfficial site Share

The Liberty Village BIA directory lists Brodflour at 8 Pardee Avenue. Its website says it sources, mills and bakes with grain that is fresh, wholesome and alive, and calls itself an urban mill and bakery in downtown Toronto. Our pick for the bread person in your life.

2

Hot Oven Bakery Café

EtobicokeOfficial site Share

The Kingsway BIA’s own listing gives 2974 Bloor Street West and says Hot Oven Bakery was established in 1957. Its Instagram bio calls it a Toronto bakery that is proudly Canadian made and owned, and its highlights include bread, pastries, pies and cakes. A good stop on a Kingsway errand, when the loaf is the plan and the pie is the temptation.

3

The Bread Essentials

MimicoOfficial site Share

The Mimico Village BIA directory lists The Bread Essentials at 406 Royal York Road. Its website describes gluten free and nut free bread, pastries, desserts and more, and says its Etobicoke bakery is gluten free. Its Instagram bio tags it as artisanal, bakery and grocery. Worth knowing about if anyone in your group shops gluten free, since a shared bakery run is easier when everyone gets a treat.

Where are the best pastries?

4

Athens Pastries

DanforthOfficial site Share

The Greektown on the Danforth BIA directory lists Athens Pastries at 509 Danforth Avenue. Its Instagram bio calls it a family-owned Greek bakery, open since 1978 in Greektown on the Danforth. Our Greek-bakery stop on the Danforth.

5

Bom Dia Café & Bakery

DanforthOfficial site Share

The same BIA directory lists Bom Dia Cafe and Bakery at 389 Danforth Avenue. Its Instagram bio says Portuguese Culture in TO and gives that Danforth address. A Portuguese café and bakery on a Greek street, which we love.

6

SanRemo Bakery

MimicoOfficial site Share

The Mimico Village BIA’s Food & Drink directory lists Sanremo at 374 Royal York Road. Its Instagram bio calls it a Mom n Pop Italian Bakery since 1969. Our pick when you want an Italian bakery with a long story to tell.

7

Choux Lab

MimicoOfficial site Share

The Mimico Village BIA directory lists Choux Lab at 386 Royal York Road. Its Instagram bio describes handmade bakery and coffee in Toronto, with French-inspired choux and pastries. Its website says its take on pâte à choux comes in several flavours and that most products are freshly baked in-house every morning. A choux pastry is a very good reason to take the long way home.

Where do I get something sweet?

8

Baked by Bean

LeslievilleOfficial site Share

The Leslieville BIA directory says Baked by Bean specialises in freshly baked cupcakes, all made from scratch and baked every single morning. Its Instagram bio gives 1238 Queen St E in Leslieville. A good stop when the cupcake is the whole point.

9

Sweet Bliss Baking Company

LeslievilleOfficial site Share

The Leslieville BIA directory lists Sweet Bliss Baking Company at 1304 A Queen Street East. Its Instagram bio mentions rotating scone flavours and only butter and organic flour. For a scone with a story, check their page first.

10

Mad Batter Bakers

Liberty VillageOfficial site Share

The Liberty Village BIA directory lists Mad Batter Bakers at 135 Jefferson Avenue. Its website says it has been making cookie creations for over 30 years, and its Instagram bio calls it a family owned bakery, established 1995. Cookies for the whole office, or just for you.

11

Bobbette & Belle

North YorkOfficial site Share

The Yonge Lawrence Village BIA store directory lists Bobbette & Belle at 3347 Yonge Street. Its Instagram bio says custom cakes and fine pastries and lists that Yonge Street address. The one to remember when the occasion needs a cake.

What is a good bakery walk?

The Danforth double. Start at Athens Pastries and add Bom Dia, both in the Greektown on the Danforth BIA directory, for a Greek bakery and a Portuguese bakery in one walk. Buy one thing at each, sit somewhere warm, and compare. It is a small, delicious lesson in how many cultures one street can hold.

The Mimico stretch. SanRemo, Choux Lab and The Bread Essentials are all in the Mimico Village BIA directory, at 374, 386 and 406 Royal York Road. That is an Italian bakery, a French-inspired pastry shop and a bakery whose site calls it gluten free, all on one stretch of street, which makes it an easy afternoon. Pair it with our Mimico guide for the rest of the day, and browse more of Etobicoke while you are out west.

The east-end treat run. Stop at Baked by Bean for a cupcake and Sweet Bliss for a scone, then carry the bag home to share. Check each page before you go, because small bakeries keep their own schedules.

The uptown cake stop. Bobbette & Belle sits on Yonge Street in the Yonge Lawrence Village BIA, a good stop when a celebration needs a centrepiece.

What should I order at a bakery?

If you want the short version, here it is. A loaf: Brodflour, Hot Oven or The Bread Essentials. A pastry: Athens Pastries, Bom Dia, SanRemo or Choux Lab. Something sweet: Baked by Bean, Sweet Bliss, Mad Batter Bakers or Bobbette & Belle. Screenshot that and you have a map for the week, and a good reason to leave the house on a grey November morning.

How do I shop like a regular?

Go early for the best choice, keep an open mind, and ask what came out of the oven most recently. A bakery is a place where the counter staff know more than any menu, and a small question opens the conversation. Bring a bag for the loaf. Eat the pastry on the walk, because that is when it tastes best. If a bakery has a second location, check its own page for where to go. Pair a bakery morning with a long lunch in a food hall, or follow it with Greek dinner on the Danforth. For more food and drink ideas, browse our eat and drink guides.

Send this to the friend you would bring on a bakery run.