In crust we trust: Toronto's best bakeries for weekend treating

With three locations in Kensington Market, Riverside and St. Lawrence, Blackbird is a perfect excuse for a weekend stroll in town, looking for delicacies and comfort food for those you love. Opened in 2011, Blackbird Baking Co. is one of Toronto's most beloved bakeries, with its several types of sourdough bread (the multigrain baguette is delicious), seasonal bites and French-inspired viennoiserie. The secret of this bakery lies in its respect for time, tradition and craft. Follow the scent of fresh bread drifting from the storefront, get in and enjoy. [Various locations]. 

Named after the azure bluet flower, native to Canada's east coast and known for its resilience, this small-batch bakery in Cabbagetown is a cosy, welcoming spot dedicated to speciality coffee, matcha drinks and handcrafted desserts. Here, everything is made with attention and care, which you feel as soon as you step in. The menu changes often, surprising you with ever-revolving cookie flavours, mousse desserts, tiramisu, honey cake and cheesecakes. Don't leave without trying the cinnamon buns, caramelised on top and soft inside. Yummy. 

Tucked away on the corner of Dovercourt Road and Queen Street West, Castle & Coal is the kind of neighbourhood bakery you get addicted to. Behind it is Junelle Casalan, a globetrotting pastry chef who settled in Toronto with the dream of creating a shop that feels like the warm cafés her aunt used to take her to in the Philippines. The menu changes with the seasons, but two things are unmissable here: the kouign-amann, a Brittany speciality made airy and light, and the cannelé, a classic from Bordeaux that Castle & Coal serves in its purest form. Go hungry! 

Circles and Squares is one of the best places to get a proper brunch in Toronto. With three locations (East York, Davisville and now downtown on King Street), this bakery has been perfecting the art of weekend comfort food since 2005. The coffee is great and the food menu is generous: cinnamon buns, breakfast bowls, shakshuka brioche, sourdough bread, scones and cakes. But the real reason to come here is the award-winning butter tarts, baked on-site daily and unmissable in several flavours. Just drop in, order generously and let the weekend begin properly. [Various locations]. 

There are bakeries, and then there is Forno Cultura. This Italian bakehouse has become a true Toronto institution over three generations, feeding the city with the true taste of Italian bread across its several locations. The shelves tell the story: sourdough bread with crackled crust, mortadella-stuffed focaccia, pistachio amaretti and much more. Choose a table in the spacious coffee shop, order a proper Italian espresso and enjoy the vibe. The cornetto cioccolato e mosto (chocolate and grape must), dark and buttery, is not to be missed. [Various locations]. 

Goûter by RA transports you to Paris without leaving Toronto. Not a simple bakery, but rather a café-pâtisserie-boulangerie-chocolaterie born from the Parisian training and obsession of pastry chef Rodney Alléguède. Back in Toronto in 2016, he opened this temple of French classics, revisited with a modern twist. Freshly baked baguettes, buttery viennoiserie, éclairs and chocolates, all crafted in the finest traditions of French pastry-making and chocolaterie. A must-try? The perfectly layered croissants that will immediately transport you to the other side of the Atlantic. Délicieux! 

Set on King Street East in Corktown, this joyful spot is what happens when a couple of Michelin-trained chefs open a bakery. After working in the finest Parisian kitchens, Stephanie Duong and Bruce Lee got back to Toronto with a mission: to make people happy through desserts. On a weekend morning, join the queue (yes, there is often one here) and let the buttery smell guide your choice of French patisserie and viennoiserie-inspired sweets with a local twist. A must-try? Their cloud-light éclairs and choux, whose flavours change with the seasons. Only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

Sourdough baking can become an addiction. Sourdough Garden was born out of love for the process of making bread. Kirsty Leith's micro-bakery, settled in Etobicoke since late 2025, started as a farmers' market stall and quickly became one of the neighbourhood's most talked-about spots. The concept is simple: organic flour, precision and care are the secret ingredients of naturally leavened sourdough loaves, bagels, focaccia and much more. You can even take home a jar of sourdough starter and begin your own… addiction.