Baking is a science, one that takes a lot of practice to get right, even with a recipe. Thankfully, there are many bakers that have practiced and practiced and once they were ready, they opened up bakeries in the Forest City to share their skill and talent with Londoners!
Baked goods can be savoury or sweet, including breads, scones, cakes, tarts. There’s no limit to the flavours you can pack into a baked good! The bakeries on this list offer unique, perfectly crafted, and fresh baked goods that are bound to tantalize your taste buds! Don’t worry about being left out, my gluten-free friends, there are many options for you too, no lie!
LYNN'S BAKERY AND DELI
Starting off way out in the east end of the city, Lynn’s Bakery and Deli is one seriously amazing bakery. They’ve got just about every baked good under the sun, and they’re always freshly baked.
At Lynn’s, there’s enough varieties of bread to make your head spin, from big loaves to individual buns, sourdough to focaccia, all baked from scratch with local Canadian flour! Whatever your bread-based needs are, Lynn’s has got you covered.
They’ve got more than just bread though. Lynn’s can satiate your sweet tooth as well. There’s everything from pies to tarts to cookies. Lynn’s is definitely never lacking in sweet treats.
The bakery is accompanied by an awesome deli, serving deli meats, local cheese, fresh soups, and sandwiches – made with their fresh bread, of course.
The bakery has been around for over 30 years, and they definitely won’t be going anywhere soon. Whether you’re going for lunch at the deli or to pick up the perfect loaf, you’ll always be amazed by Lynn’s.
ANGELO'S ITALIAN BAKERY & MARKET
For a taste of Italy in the Forest City, Angelo’s Italian Bakery & Market is bringing authentic Italian baking and cuisine to Londoners. Angelo’s is a little bit grocery, a little bit restaurant, and a whole lot of bakery, making for a multi-faceted marketplace where you can dine in, get ingredients, and grab dessert all in one place!
Bread is made fresh daily, and there’s a whole lot of it. Rustic loaves, baguettes, and buns galore! The fresh bread is always soft on the inside with a wonderful crust. There’s no doubt that Italians know how to bake a good bread.
The sweet treats at Angelo’s are just as spectacular. From their pies to their muffins, you’ll be very satisfied after indulging in one of their baked desserts. And their cakes! Angelo’s has a wide variety of cakes that will make your mouth water, from the classic black forest to a cannoli cake that you won’t find anywhere else. They even do gorgeous wedding cakes!
Angelo’s also has a variety of gluten-free options for sale! Buns, bread, brownies, and more! Just like everything else, they’re handmade and fresh daily, so have no doubts about quality if you’re celiac or avoiding gluten.
There’s a lot going on at Angelo’s Italian Bakery & Market, always bustling with all sorts of activities. Angelo’s is an awesome one-stop-shop for all things baked and delicious, and grab yourself a meal there too while you’re at it!
BOOMBOX BAKESHOP
You may know it as that bright pink building on Adelaide, but if you’ve ever stopped in the Boombox Bakeshop, you know it as cupcake heaven. Driven by a love of baking and the power of music, Boombox Bakeshop has brought amazing, unique cupcakes to London, many of which are vegan-friendly!
The unbelievable cupcakes are baked by hand in small batches every day, ensuring freshness and complete mind-blowing deliciousness. Not all flavours are baked every day, but you can always custom order a dozen (or more!) of your favourite flavour if it isn’t currently available, just give 72 hours notice.
The “White Walls” is your classic vanilla on vanilla cupcake. There’s a flavour that is almost tailor-made for Santa, the “One More Cup of Coffee,” a chocolate cupcake topped with espresso frosting – caffeine included. Embrace local craft beer with the “London Calling,” which utilizes London Brewing Co-Op’s Tolpuddle Porter in a chocolate cupcake and then topped with bourbon frosting, pretzels, and salted caramel drizzle.
That’s just three flavours of cupcakes, and there are dozens. Needless to say, you could spend hours scrolling through their website, reading through the flavours only to realize that you can’t decide on just one… You need them all!
Boombox Bakeshop also makes full-sized cakes and pies, not just cupcakes. Many of which are completely vegan – even the pecan pie, it’s crazy – and can be made gluten free!
LA NOISETTE
“Noisette” is French for “hazelnut,” a very popular ingredient for making confectionaries. Similarly, La Noisette is popular bakery in London, known for making amazing baked goods!
La Noisette offers basically anything you can bake! From bread to cookies to cinnamon buns to muffins, and so much more! Keep an eye out for seasonal treats on their social media! For instance, as Christmas approaches (I know it’s still November, but it’s coming and we are named Santa after all), they’ve added pumpkin fritters and candy cane shortbread to their menu. Delicious and festive!
One of their standouts on the menu is their bagels. Fresh, warm, and soft, a La Noisette bagel is the perfect vessel for your favourite spread, whether it be butter, cream cheese, or jam. They have even adapted their bagel recipe into the ingenious “bagel bomb,” a ball of bagel dough that has been stuffed with scrambled egg, bacon and cheese. A perfect breakfast for on the go.
La Noisette is also a deli, slicing amazing meats and cheeses for you to take home or to put on a sandwich made with their fresh bread. Combine that with a bowl of soup and a drink and you’ve got quite the lunch on your hands.
The baked goods at La Noisette are all handmade from scratch with real ingredients, which combined with the expert bakers makes for an amazing product! After one visit, it’ll be impossible to resist coming back for more.
BLACK WALNUT BAKERY CAFE
From roasting coffee beans to rolling dough, Black Walnut Bakery Café does it all for themselves. Fiercely independent and utterly delicious, Black Walnut Bakery Café is an awesome place to hit up if you’re craving a coffee and something tasty. They even have two locations – one Downtown and one in Wortley Village!
Every baked good is made fresh on-site. From biscotti to banana bread to scones, the bakery is always firing on all cylinders to get you the freshest and most delicious treats.
They even have some menu items that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the city, like the cruffin – a croissant shaped into a muffin and filled with either egg custard or whipped cream – and the Chelsea bun – it looks similar to a cinnamon bun, but is stuffed with currants, brown sugar, butter, and walnuts.
These treats are impossibly delicious. In fact, it was a Locorum go-to weekend breakfast for years when we visited Old South. Black Walnut Bakery Café is an amazing place to stop for a coffee and a baked good. Fresh, real, and local, Black Walnut is definitely one of the best.
NOVA ERA
Nova Era began in Toronto’s Little Portugal in 1991, and has spread to many locations across southwestern Ontario in the following years. London’s Nova Era is found on Egerton St., just steps from the Western Fairgrounds. Staying true to their Portuguese roots, Nova Era captures the feel and taste of Europe and drops it into their bakery and café.
The top seller at Nova Era is the famous pastel de nata, which means “custard tart” or “egg tart,” both of which are accurate. The pastel de nata is a tart filled with an egg custard that is the “15th most tasty delicacy in the world” according to the Guardian’s list.
Nova Era offers baked goods of all sorts, from croissants to donuts to a wide variety of squares – brownie, carrot cake, pineapple upside down cake, and so many more.
They also offer many varieties of breads in traditional European styles. Portuguese corn bread, rustic sourdough, and even sweet bread are all offered in loaves at Nova Era.
Nova Era’s pastel de nata, and every other baked good they make, are baked fresh every day with premium ingredients. Making these treats by hand and in small batches ensures high quality in both taste and texture. For a taste of Europe, Nova Era is the place to go. They don’t mess with tradition, sticking with classic recipes, preparation, and ingredients, but you can rest assured that absolutely nothing at Nova Era is stale.
WHOLE GRAIN HEARTH
The Whole Grain Hearth goes above and beyond just baking. They mill their own flour to ensure quality and nutritional value in their ingredients before it makes its way into their final products. This meticulous care goes into the baking process as well, ending up with the perfect loaf of bread every single time.
They have four different flours that they use in their breads: spelt, red fife, rye, and kamut. Each provide their own health benefits and advantages, and each are delicious! The breads are hearty, tasty, and healthy! But it’s important to remember that eating a whole loaf of bread is usually not a good idea, no matter how many health benefits the flour offers.
It’s not all about the bread, however. Whole Grain Hearth also offers a variety of sweet treats that utilize their self-milled flours. Cinnamon rolls, ginger snaps, and pumpkin pie! They even offer poptarts that use spelt flour so they’re gluten free! Stay tuned to their social media for flavours and special offers.
Call to place an order directly from the Whole Grain Hearth, or their products are available at a number of locations throughout the city of London: Lyn-Dys Health Food Store, Booch on Fridays and Saturdays, the Covent Garden Market until the end of October, and Jill’s Table in the winter.
THE FRITTER SHOP
The Fritter Shop is entirely focused on the Dutch delicacy, the fritter. With an ever-growing list of flavours, the Fritter Shop’s fritters are downright addictive and they have yet to disappoint.
These fritters aren’t exactly like the apple fritters you would find at Tim Horton’s. They’re filled and most importantly, they’re fresh. They’re made with dough that is filled with fruit or custard (or both!), then dusted with sugar. Absolutely irresistible.
Each flavour of fritter gets its own shape. Circles are apple, flowers are blueberry, triangles are maple pecan, and so on. Seasonal flavours appear in the diamond shape, which have previously included blueberry cheesecake, nutella, and pumpkin! This is a handy guide for you, but let’s face it – you’d be happy eating any of them, they’re all that good.
The bakery is open 7 days a week in St. Thomas, but they’re available in other places in the city of London proper. They’re available at the Western Fair Farmer’s Market, Western University, and the Masonville Farmer’s markets, as well as at the Wortley Village location of Fire Roasted Coffee.
The Fritter Shop may not have the biggest menu, but they have perfected the fritter. With new and seasonal fillings all the time, you’ll always find something that catches your eye. Check out the Fritter Shop at the next farmer’s market or head down to St. Thomas to get a taste for yourself!