Sweet as sin bakeries in Victoria
If buttery pastries, dainty cakes and artisan breads make your mouth water and your heart sing, add these bakeries to your must-visit list. They’ve perfected the art and science of baking, and the guilty pleasures that line their shelves are worth the calories. Just follow your nose - there’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked goodies.
Wild Fire Bakery
1517 Quadra St, Victoria BC V8W 2L3Wildfire has been baking artisan bread for more than 20 years, and they’re still one of the best in town. Using a stone mill imported from Austria, they mill their own whole grain flours on site. The bread is baked to perfection in a wood-fired brick oven, along with their popular lunchtime pizzas. Wildfire also serves up fresh homemade soups and sandwiches with a focus on organic and local ingredients, and their Sunday brunch is a little-known gem.
Bon Macaron Patisserie
1012 Broad St, Victoria BC V8W 1Z9This super cute French bakery offers nothing but melt-in-your-mouth macarons. The shop is a delectable rainbow of the miniature meringue treats, and each one promises to whisk your taste buds away to Paris. The one-bite morsels are bursting with inventive sweet and savory flavours, including white truffle and sea salt, blue cheese and pear, lavender chocolate, pineapple and basil and chili tangerine. You’ll be amazed how much flavour is packed into such a small - and gluten-free - treat.
Dutch Bakery & Diner
718 Fort St, Victoria BC V8W 1H2Famous for its mouthwatering mocha-flavoured pastries and cream-filled cakes, The Dutch Bakery has been a downtown Victoria landmark for more than 50 years. The sweet treats are as pretty as they are delicious, and you’ll have a hard time choosing just one. They create goodies such as creamy vanilla slice, strawberry shortcake, black forest cake, petit fours and chocolate éclairs, to name a few. The diner side of this bakery also dishes up a long list of breakfast and lunch dishes, including omelettes, burgers, wraps and homemade soup.
The French Oven
7-1701 Douglas St, Victoria BC V8W 0C1Irresistibly flaky croissants are the flagship of this European bakery in the Victoria Public Market. Made from scratch every night using a traditional French recipe, it takes 24 hours to perfect them. And, it’s worth the effort. Plain, chocolate, almond, bacon and cheddar, spinach and feta – who can stop at one? The French Oven bakes more than 100 products, including sourdough, cinnamon buns and focaccia. They even offer a line of “take and bake” products for those who want to impress their guests with fresh-from-the-oven treats.
Cascadia Wholefoods Bakery
1812 Government St, Victoria BC V8T 4N5This bakery knows how to hit the sweet spot. Their legendary treats are pure decadence. Locals rave about the peanut butter oat bars loaded with premium milk chocolate, and fruit fans crave the zesty lemon squares. If you’re feeling virtuous, try a pumpkin millet muffin. Don’t forget to grab a loaf of herby focaccia bread for dinner. If you’re lucky, you might score one of the few tables inside this small, cute café at lunchtime for delicious soup, salad, sandwiches and pizza. Plus, Cascadia caters to everyone with vegan and sugar-free items available.
Bond Bond's Bakery
1010 Blanshard St, Victoria BC V8W 2H5The bread at this downtown Victoria bakery is fit for a Queen - literally. Bond Bond’s received the impressive honour of baking bread for Queen Elizabeth II during her royal tour in 2002. And, their artisan bread really is that amazing. Using traditional European recipes and techniques, they craft a long list of delicious loaves, from honey whole wheat and Turkish flatbread to sweet brioche and a divine apple, raisin and cinnamon loaf. With no seating, it’s a quick pit stop for some memorable baked goods to savour on the go or at home.
Origin Gluten-Free Bakery
1525 Pandora Ave, Victoria BC V8R 6P9You know a bakery is a winner when customers rave about the gluten-free baking. Origin, Victoria’s first 100 per cent gluten-free bakery, is renowned for creating the most delicious gluten-free goods in Victoria. Their tasty breads and treats have drawn a loyal following among celiacs and non-celiacs alike. Take your pick from sourdough, baguettes, cinnamon buns, brownies and made-to-order cakes filled with delectable creams, curds, ganaches, buttercreams and frostings. Origin also dishes up pizza, quiche and sandwiches for lunch. Everything on the menu is a slice of foodie paradise.
Fol Epi
101-398 Harbour Rd, Victoria BC V9A 0B7The bakers at Fol Epi are obsessed with crafting incredible food. Organic heritage grains are ground onsite in an old-fashioned stone grinder, and the loaves are baked in a wood-fired brick oven to create masterful artisan bread that smells as delicious as it tastes. Come for lunchtime sandwiches and wood-fired pizza, and relax on the waterfront patio. Finish up with an obligatory cream-filled French pastry and rich espresso. Across the harbour from downtown in Vic West, Fol Epi is worth discovering.
Bubby Rose's Bakery & Cafe
1022 Cook St, Victoria BC V8V 3Z5If you have a hankering for a freshly baked cinnamon roll, look no further. Bubby’s award-winning cinnamon rolls are pure bliss. Melt-in-your-mouth pastries, fruit pies and tarts, cakes, muffins and cookies will also tempt you. Bubby’s is a trendy spot to linger over coffee, and the street front seating beckons when the sun is shining. Grab some peanut butter chutzpahs (delicious gluten-free energy balls) to snack on later, and chocolate quinoa cupcakes (gluten-free chocolate-y goodness) for dessert.
Patisserie Daniel
1729 Cook St, Victoria BC V8T 3P4Featured in Weddingbells magazine for Canada’s Prettiest Wedding Cakes of 2014, Patisserie Daniel has been whipping up decadent works of art for 30 years. Locals also flock here for fresh tarts and pies (try the banana cream), seedy nut bread and sourdough, giant gingerbread cookies year-round and French quiches and tourtiere. Daniel even works his magic to make gluten-free baking equally delicious. There’s no seating inside this small European bakery in Fernwood, but you’ll walk away with tasty treats to satisfy both your sweet and savoury tooth.
