Harbord Bakery

It’s a decent sized bakery with quite the variety of baked breads. They have a good selection of yummy tarts and their pistachio cookies are to die for! I also had their almond croissant which was alright but I’ve had better. Service was quick and staff members are friendly.

Go to spot at work for baked goods for office mtgs and parties. The chocolate croissants are delectable.

My congregation ordered a slab cake before. The letters on chocolate cake was blue and it looked strange. The taste was not bad as a slab cake. Their regular breads were fine, but their pastries were expensive and their tastes were just average.

This is a nice little bakery in the Annex that serves a great selection of breads, pies, and other treats. The food is reasonably good and tastes home made, but my one complaint is that it is a bit on the pricey side — be prepared to open your wallet here.

Been coming here for years. Good quality food, good selection of baked goods, and service is always zip-​zap prompt.
I’ve given H B only 3 stars this time, since the prices are $nutty$.
If you happen to be rich, then this isn’t an issue, but I bought a cheese bagel ($ 2), and a chocolate danish ($ 9). Since when should a bagel ever be $ 2 each?
There’s a bagel shop in Kensington Market where their freshly-​made bagels, are only $ 1ish each.
Just saying… expensive!

Love this place! I’ve had the chocolate babka quite a few times from here and it is to die for! I got the chocolate brownie and chocolate croissant for a change and they were both divine! The brownie was dense and rich, just the way I like it. Will be back for sure!

One of my favourite things in life is a good challah loaf and this is my go-​to for that in Toronto. One particular experience I had solidified my loyalty to this place when on a Friday I called in to reserve myself a ‘sweet’ challah thinking this automatically meant a raisin challah. I eagerly got there to pick up my dream loaf and was devastated to learn that sweet didn’t mean raisin and the last raisin challah had walked out the door just seconds ago. I was on the verge of tears (dramatic I know) but the anticipation for this special bread on a Friday is just indescribable. The lady who worked there told me to wait a second… and somehow she did a magical switch with somebody! My Friday was saved!

Love that the place opens so early!
My mission in going to this bakery was to try Challah bread, which I have always seen but never tasted.
The bakery is much more spacious than any other downtown bakery I’ve seen, which a variety of European pastries and breads that look like very high quality.
At this point, I only bought the Challah — 5.00 $ for a loaf, which seems expensive for bread, but I guess a lot of extra physical effort needs to go into rolling and weaving challah… It was fresh and nice.
Overall, very positive experience. Will go back to try some of the their products sometime.

This is a great bakery. I buy their whole wheat bread. It is so much better than supermarket bread (with all its preservatives).

Some of the things there are phenomenal, but be warned– this place is much more expensive than you’d expect. No idea why it has only one $.
On that note, sometimes splurging is well worth it for some of their delicious chicken cutlets, cheesy bagels, spicy cheese sticks, or croissants. The staff is generally friendly too.
There are some things that I wouldn’t buy again, like the sufganyot (jelly donuts eaten over Hanukkah) or some of the cakes. Don’t miss the empanadas though! They may not be traditional South American empanadas, but they are delicious!
TL;DR– Most food is great, but it’s rather expensive. And don’t miss the empanadas!

Harbord Bakery is a Harbord St. institution. It has been here since the dawn of time. The staff are very nice and the quality of the product can’t be beat. I wish they were open later but that is just my own selfishness cause everything is so good. Don’t go too late because they can run out of stuff and are very very busy.
They have a good selection of cheese, crackers and tea as well. They have a little tucked away corner with kids toys etc.
GO GO GO!

I had my first bagel here in 1970, after 25 years of wonder bread (as in, wonder if it’s bread). The Jewish population which once supported a range of unique food shops had started moving north after the 1950s, and the stores catering to an older wave of Jewish immigrants were vanishing one at a time.
But the Harbord Bakery has remained and adapted to new waves of immigration, intermarriage within the original family, and gentrification (or perhaps, Annexification) related to the U of T and downtown youth scene. The result is typically Toronto food fusion.
A «calandria» (take out section) sells fast food that’s not junk food — empanada and spanakopita, for example (both excellent), as well as basic ingredients for prepared salads.
But much of the old Yiddish cuisine survives, including bagels, challah bread baked for Fridays and lox and cream cheese and bagel for Sundays.
Foods and cuisines are not frozen in time, and more than any other item of culture, but, as I argue in my e-​book Food for City Building, acquire the character of the place the food inhabits, even as the foods lend their character to the place.
Harbord Bakery is now co-​evolving with Harvest Kitchen across the street, and with a range of restaurants catering to the young and restless. Adding yet another reason to linger in this area, and do an edible form of archeology, excavating layers of the city’s history, while adding to the unique income and job creation stream of each village within the larger Toronto.

I was a patron of this place for over 2 years when i decided enough.
You would think that they would treat their regulars with more respect-​no!
They started to screw up my orders and i let that slip but then i started finding hair in my blintzes and that was the last straw. After several succession of this kind of thing i concluded that my money and I were not welcome.
Goodbye and good riddance to that Harbord Bakery!

I have unswerving devotion to Harbord Bakery, especially their godly chocolate figs. Think chocolate injected, chocolate enrobed figs, which transport you to magical places. They are heavenly, not too sweet but definitely an indulgence.
I love their cheese croissants as well. Unlike most places, the croissants are so fresh in the mornings that the cheese and pastry are still so crispy from the oven. Much more delicious than the cold, brick-​like option I’ve had in the past for a disappointing breakfast.
I feel like HB can do no wrong, as everything I’ve tried so far has been great. I doubt that will change. Now excuse me, I have a blueberry danish to destroy.

If I could give 5 stars to certain items, I would totally give 5 stars to the Challah bread AND my newest obsession, SCHNECKEN!
Only sold on Fridays, this wonderous thing is flakey and tender inside like a croissant, but stuffed with currants and topped with chopped walnuts and an incredible caramel glaze. Sticky and sweet on the outside, but balanced by the flakey layers of cinnamon dough below. If you love Cinnabon, you won’t love this, it’s not sweet enough for you. But if you are like me and find Cinnabon too sweet, but miss old school cinnamon buns and chelsea buns, Schnecken is the treat you MUST TRY!
Order the day before if you want to guarantee you get one, they sell out fast and don’t hit the shelves until noon or so I think.

Harbord Bakery is your average neighbourhood bakery… some decent items, some over-​rated items.
***As a note, I am presently not patronizing Harbord Bakery (although I haven’t changed their rating). They are leading the OPPOSITION to BIKE LANES on Harbord Street. If you do choose to patronize them, I encourage you to mention your support for bike lanes in Toronto.***
The HITS: I enjoy some of their small pastries and sweets. They do some lovely challah bread. I’ve also enjoyed the Danish and Ruggelach.
The MISSES: Bagels (they seem to skip the boiling step giving them a bread texture). Most of the cakes end up being oddly bland with boring cake sandwiched between even less flavourful whipped cream. I’ll also pass on the «empanada”-like pastries… anyone of Latin extraction would be a bit perplexed by these creations.
The SERVICE is also hit and miss. I’ve had the sweetest staff ever helping me. I’ve also had the bakery equivalent of an old cat-​lady grade school librarian who’s having a bad day.
OVERALL, this is a hit-​and-​miss bakery. If you figure out what’s good and what’s not good, you can rely on consistency in those items. The prices are a bit on the higher side. As I said, I’m boycotting them until they come to their senses on the bike lanes.

This place is a hit and miss. They have the best cheese blintzes and their soufganiot is worth waiting for Hannukha to come around again… but I’ve found the rest of their fare to be rather underwhelming.
It’s fresh and customer service is very kind, but on the whole I wouldn’t say it’s mind-​blowing, just your friendly neighbourhood Jewish bakery.

I like this place because it reminds me of the old Jewish delis/​bakeries back home in Vancouver. Stuffy, crampes, hot, delicious smelling.
The goods themselves though can be hit or miss and the price you pay will be slightly higher than your premium grocer.
I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way for this bakery. But I also would never pass up going in if I were passing by

Lot’s lot great treat’s.
It’s a must visit. Prices are high but well woth it.
I had the best butter cup ever…

While waiting for my friendly friend I popped in here to have a carb-​attack. Most of the choice here is pretty standard for a bakery. The staff were friendly and quick to help me. I grabbed a chocolate croissant and some shortbread. The croissant was decent. Not the greatest but hit hit the spot. The shortbread fell a little short. It wasn’t as buttery as I would have liked.
The pies and cakes in the display case looked phenomenal. I will be back to give them a try.