Watermill Bakery

We discovered this bakery by chance which took us almost 5 years driving by this place. It is a tiny store within a strip mall right across the Dalhousie shopping centre.
So far we have been there twice and already tried three different kinds of bread as well as some brownies. The prices are reasonable and what we had so far was great.
NEWS: we have just heard that they will open another bakery in Cochrane/​AB in April 2014!

I kept getting lost trying to find this place. It’s very hard to find, and tucked away in a tiny strip mall. Google Maps kept misleading me and I called the bakery and gave me excellent directions. I had some shortbread cookies. They were amazing! Picked up some marble cake which was incredible. Soft, fluffy, light, and not too sweet. It smelled so wonderful in there, and I could see their little kitchen where a gentleman was working away. He wakes up early to bake all these delicious goodies! I picked up a load of ‘Healthy Bread’ which was delicious. Since they use all natural ingredients, and no preservaties, the items can go bad if left out for more than a couple of days. Either consume quick, or freeze!

Small, easy to miss, but chock-​full of goodies, including preservative-​free artisan breads and pastries made fresh on-​site each day. The 50% off bin contains day-​old finds, and there are some prepackaged treats from faraway places, too.

There are some pretty decadent looking items in the display case. They also carry the milk chocolate brand Milka, which I LOVE and discovered while in Spain.
I have tried the salted pretzel, which wasn’t bad. It was a tad dry, but they are hung by the door, so it’s not a surprise. I’m not sure what they coat part of the pretzel with to make the salt stick (and I don’t know what kind of salt is used), but I had a bit of heartburn afterward, which is unusual for me.
I’ve also tried the Chocolate Surprise, which is a bizarre looking desert. It somewhat resembles a volcano and is made with some sort of cookie for the bottom, chocolate whipped cream (I think) with a hollowed middle filled with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Then to hold everything together, it’s covered in chocolate. I expected it to be amazing but it was just okay. I wouldn’t get it again.
I’ve taken home pizza buns but they are in my freezer, waiting to be eaten. However, during one visit there were samples of marble loaf, which I did enjoy.
Being that the bakery is so small, there’s no staff room and both times I’ve walked in to see the front-​line staff huddled in a small corner eating lunch and greeting me with a mouthful. That’s more unfortunate for them than me, I think.
I wouldn’t drive distances to visit Watermill and I can purchase Milka elsewhere.

This place simply rules.
The owner guy is a cool character from Slovakia, and he makes baked goods that are of the highest order in quality.
Bread, artisan buns, salted pretzels, sweets etc etc all top quality premium items. Watermill bakery items ARE available at several stores accross the city, but I highly suggest going directly to the bakery because the stores he distributes to don’t necessarily care about freshness and leave his pretzels etc on the shelf for too long. These are FRESH bakery items WITHOUT formaldehyde in them, they dont keep (The way it SHOULD BE).
Prices are very reasonable considering the premium goods you’re getting. Pretzels are $ 1, buns are 6 for $ 3 etc.
I dont know if its on purpose, but all the employees tend to be friendly super hot young ladies.

Watermill is quite a small bakery, I do agree that it is a hidden gem! They have an assortment of large loaves of bread. Sesame, healthy grains, European, flax, to name a few, most go for $ 5 a loaf. There was a selection of deserts, they had these really cute chocolate hedgehogs that went for $ 3.50 each. They have 4 different kinds of danishes, at $ 2.50 each. There are 4 different pound cakes, the orange and marble looked good, they go for $ 4 each. The woman working had just brought out some shortbread cookies, so I decided on a bag with a mix of marble, white and chocolate cookies, 200 grams for $ 5. The woman working was pleasant enough.
This is a cute bakery to check out, I found the bread a bit expensive, but their baked goods weren’t bad and looked so yummy. The cookies were delish!

Watermill Bakery is an absolute gem in our city. Hidden in a N.W. strip mall right beside the Crowchild Inn and Dalhousie LRT station, Watermill is run by Jan Petrasek, a true master of his art. Having moved here only a few years ago from Slovakia, Mr. Petrasek is one of the nicest, most honest, hard-​working business owners I have come across in Calgary. Not only is he a formidable person, but he truly is a genius baker.
Having made his big debut at The Bearspaw Farmers’ Market, and having stolen the show, Petrasek opened his own bakery, The Watermill Bakery, in the summer of 2007.
His rye bread, egg twist bread and apple pastries are some of the best baked goods I’ve ever tried, bar none.
The exceptional service and the mouth-​watering goods are all apart of The Watermill Bakery experience. You’ve got to see it to believe it so take my word for it: The next time you want authentic, homemade, mouth-​watering goods along with some of the best service in the city, head on over to Watermill.