The province of Ontario has just announced stage 2 of reopening and it looks like dine-in service at restaurants will soon be allowed to resume, although on outdoor patios only. Unfortunately for Torontonians, we are stuck in a holding pattern at stage 1 so eating out and getting my mop of hair cut will have to wait a little while longer.
While the lockdown continues, most of our favourite bakeries and ice creameries in Toronto have remained open for takeout and we have been supporting local business by maintaining our patronage, while expanding our waistlines. There are lots and lots of great dessert places in the city, but I’ve narrowed down my list to five that are worth checking out when you’re craving a sweet treat in T.O.
Roselle
📍 108 Dovercourt Rd, Toronto, ON M6J 1H8
Roselle is a French-inspired bakery that we have frequented many times as it is a fairly close walk from our home. We enjoy their cakes and I particularly like their house-made caramels. Over Christmas, we brought their earl grey bûche de Noël (Yule log cake) to our family dinner and it was a big hit. They currently have two locations: one in the Queen West neighbourhood and one on King East. Both locations have been formally closed throughout lockdown, but they have maintained a weekly pop-up at their east end location. We just put in an order for this week’s special – pavlova with seasonal and tropical fruit. Looks and sounds so delicious. I’m looking forward to it!
Update 29/06/2020: Roselle West is closing! 😢
Mabel’s Bakery & Specialty Foods
📍 1156 Queen St West, Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1J5
I’ve mentioned Mabel’s before in my post about our recipe for salted chocolate chip crinkled cookies. Those home-baked cookies were yummy, but I am still a big fan of the chocolate chip cookies from Mabel’s. I don’t know what they do, but they somehow get them perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. They serve lots of other pastries and good fresh bread, too. Located just a short distance from Roselle in the Queen West neighbourhood, this place is a mandatory stop if you’re in the area. They also have several other locations around the city’s west end.
Glory Hole Doughnuts
📍 1596 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6R 1A8
Glory Hole Doughnuts is an institution in the neighbourhood of Parkdale (with a second location in the east end), known for their creatively flavoured doughy treats that are hand made fresh each day. My favourite is the ‘Toast and Butter’. We like to grab a half dozen variety box when we’re in the area, usually when we go on our annual Momo Crawl in the summer – another foodie event in Toronto that we highly recommend.
Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery
📍 93A Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON M6J 2Z2
Bang Bang is a super popular ice creamery steps away from one of our favourite Vietnamese restaurants in the west end. By super popular, I mean super popular. This spot is easy to identify by its line snaking down Ossington Avenue, especially as the weather gets warmer and ice cold treats beckon. Their specialty is ice cream sandwiches featuring a variety of unique ice cream flavours that you can enjoy between baked goods ranging from profiteroles to bubble waffles. I like to keep it simple with just a scoop in a cup, preferably the ‘Bellwoods Beer n’ Brown Bread’.
For some reason, the Bang Bang Instagram page is set to private so I’ve linked to Bakersbot, the sister bakery run by the same owner.
Ruru Baked
📍 859 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1A1
We actually haven’t been to Bang Bang for awhile, now that we’ve discovered Ruru Baked. This is a top notch ice creamery that specializes in made-to-order small batch concoctions that you need to pre-order online for pickup when they are released once per week. It takes some planning and a lot of rapid clicking to secure an order, but it’s worth the effort for a pint of their Miso Butterscotch.
Header image: Photo by Ju00c9SHOOTS on Pexels.com
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