22 bakeries worth the trip across Canada, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Canada guides.
Carousel Bakery ★ 4.8 · Toronto
financial-district · 93 Front Street E, St Lawrence Market Upper Level 42, Toronto, ON M5E 1C3
Carousel Bakery in St Lawrence Market Upper Level 42 has run the city's reference peameal bacon sandwich since 1977, the Biancolin family the operators.
Tip: Closed Mondays with the market. The kaiser is soft; the bacon stack mountains. Featured on Bourdain, Food and Wine and the NYT four times.
Livia Sweets ★ 4.8 · Vancouver
strathcona · 1399 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC V5L 3X7
Livia on Commercial Drive from baker Cynthia Rogerson is the city's reference Italian-leaning patisserie since 2018, sourdough panettone the calendar event.
Tip: Panettone pre-orders open in October for December; the daily ricotta cakes and brioche turnover sell out by lunch.
Beaucoup Bakery ★ 4.7 · Vancouver
south-granville · 2150 Fir Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3B1
Beaucoup Bakery on Fir Street is Vancouver's reference French laminated pastry shop since 2012, the gold-standard almond croissant plus daily seating.
Tip: Almond croissants sell out by 11:00 on Saturday; weekday morning is the calmer queue.
Batard Boulangerie ★ 4.7 · Vancouver
kitsilano · 2737 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 2G4
Batard on West Broadway is Vancouver's reference natural-leavened bread bakery since 2017, the daily baguette pulled hot at 11:00 the city standard.
Tip: Baguettes pulled fresh at 11:00 and 14:30; the kitchen sells out by 15:00 on Saturday.
Blackbird Baking Co ★ 4.6 · Toronto
kensington-market · 172 Baldwin Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1L8
Blackbird Baking on Baldwin in Kensington is baker Simon Blackwell's sourdough bakery since 2014, 23 varieties of bread including 10 sourdough loaves.
Tip: Murray, the sourdough starter, was the first Canadian inductee to the Puratos International Sourdough Library in Belgium in 2018.
Thomas Haas Chocolate and Pastries ★ 4.6 · Vancouver
kitsilano · 2539 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 2E9
Thomas Haas Chocolate and Pastries on West Broadway since 2009 is the Master Chocolatier's Vancouver branch, the double-baked almond croissant a calendar.
Tip: The North Van Park Royal flagship has the chocolate counter; Vancouver branch has tables for a quick croissant.
Nadege Patisserie Queen West ★ 4.5 · Toronto
queen-west · 780 Queen Street W, Toronto, ON M6J 1G2
Nadege Nourian's flagship patisserie on Queen West has run French pastry since 2009, macarons and seasonal entremets opposite Trinity Bellwoods park.
Tip: Second branch at 1099 Yonge in Summerhill. Lunch counter does croque-monsieur and quiche.
Forno Cultura King West ★ 4.5 · Toronto
king-west · 609 King Street W, Toronto, ON M5V 1M5
Forno Cultura on King West is baker Andrea Mastandrea's Italian bakery since 2013, the King location the main production house for breads, open kitchen.
Tip: Sister Queen West branch at 1056 Queen carries the same loaves. The biscotti and panettone are seasonal worth the trip.
Wanda's Pie in the Sky ★ 4.5 · Toronto
kensington-market · 287 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2M2
Wanda's Pie in the Sky on Augusta in Kensington Market has run the city's reference butter tart counter since 1989, baker Wanda Beaver's pies.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The cherry pie is seasonal in summer; the pumpkin pie in October.
Tre Mari Bakery ★ 4.5 · Toronto
little-italy · 1311 St Clair Avenue W, Toronto, ON M6E 1C2
Tre Mari on Corso Italia has been the Deleo family's Italian bakery since 1960, cannoli filled to order, sfogliatelle and panettone at Christmas.
Tip: Cash and card. The deli counter at the back has hot porchetta sandwiches by the slice.
Purebread Gastown ★ 4.5 · Vancouver
gastown · 159 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4
Purebread's Gastown branch is the Whistler-origin bakery's Vancouver outpost since 2014, the sticky cinnamon brioche the kitchen's calling card.
Tip: Boxed pastry-of-the-day samplers from the counter; the Granville Island branch has more daily varieties.
Small Victory Bakery ★ 4.5 · Vancouver
yaletown · 1088 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2W9
Small Victory in Yaletown since 2014 is a French-leaning bakery and cafe, plus newer Burrard and Mount Pleasant branches and a reference almond croissant.
Tip: Croissants sell out by 11:00 on Saturday; the Burrard branch is the calmer seat.
Lucky's Doughnuts ★ 4.5 · Vancouver
mount-pleasant · 2902 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 3G3
Lucky's Doughnuts inside 49th Parallel Coffee on Main Street is Vancouver's reference doughnut shop since 2009, fritters fried fresh through the morning.
Tip: Persian rosewater and the daily fritter sell out by lunch; the West 4th branch is the calmer seat.
Cadeaux Bakery ★ 4.5 · Vancouver
chinatown · 172 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1G1
Cadeaux Bakery on Powell in Railtown from baker Eleanor Chow Waterfall is a French pastry counter since 2015, layer cakes and viennoiserie the calling card.
Tip: Pre-order layer cakes 48 hours in advance through the website; the counter does smaller picks daily.
Bakerbots Baking ★ 4.4 · Toronto
the-annex · 205 Delaware Avenue, Toronto, ON M6H 2T6
Bakerbots on Delaware in Bloorcourt is baker Rosanne Tang's ice cream sandwich shop since 2011, cookies pressed around housemade ice cream daily.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The space is small; takeaway only on weekends.
Caldense Bakery ★ 4.4 · Toronto
ossington · 1209 Dundas Street W, Toronto, ON M6J 1X3
Caldense Bakery on Dundas West has run Portuguese pastries since 1968, the pastel de nata baked through the day plus full savoury counter with rissois.
Tip: Take a number from the dispenser at the counter. Multiple Caldense locations across the GTA including Symington, Eglinton and Royal York.
Bonjour Brioche ★ 4.4 · Toronto
leslieville · 812 Queen Street E, Toronto, ON M4M 1H7
Bonjour Brioche on Queen East in Leslieville is owner Tom Rea's French bakery since 1995, the city's reference almond croissant and an all-day brunch counter.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Weekend brunch the busiest; 09:00 the cleanest window.
Siegel's Bagels ★ 4.4 · Vancouver
kitsilano · 1883 Cornwall Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6J 1C7
Siegel's Bagels on Cornwall in Kits since 1995 is Vancouver's wood-fired Montreal-style bagel shop, sesame and poppy hand-rolled and boiled in honey water.
Tip: Bagels are fresh through 10:00; the Granville Island branch has the lox bar and sit-down counter.
Anchor Bakery ★ 4.4 · Vancouver
mount-pleasant · 184 East 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5V 2N1
Anchor Bakery on East 28th in Riley Park is a wholesale-leaning sourdough kitchen with a small public counter since 2017, country loaves and rye the standard.
Tip: Limited public hours; pre-order through the website for Saturday pickup. The whole-wheat loaf is the better keeper.
Benna's Bakery and Deli ★ 4.3 · Toronto
roncesvalles · 135 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, ON M6R 2L2
Benna's on Roncesvalles is the family-owned Polish bakery and deli, paczki and pierogi alongside in-house smoked meats and European groceries.
Tip: Fat Thursday before Lent (late Feb) is paczki day; lineup runs 90 minutes. Polish Festival in September anchors the Roncesvalles strip.
Brick Street Bakery ★ 4.3 · Toronto
distillery-district · 27 Trinity Street, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
Brick Street Bakery on Trinity Street in the Distillery District has run rustic European-style bread and pastries since 2003, sticky buns and savoury pies.
Tip: Cash and card. The Distillery flagship is the original; smaller satellites at Roy Thomson Hall and Front Street East.
Future Bistro ★ 4.0 · Toronto
the-annex · 483 Bloor Street W, Toronto, ON M5S 1Y2
Future Bakery on Bloor in the Annex has run since 1982 as the city's cafeteria-style Eastern European bakery, hot meals plus a cake counter to 23:00.
Tip: Open 365 days, late night until 23:00. The cake counter holds 20+ slices fresh-cut.