There’s no doubt about it– metropolitans love a fancy dessert place, and Toronto is full of them. It’s hard to decide where to get your sugar fix when ice cream shops and croissant bakeries are seemingly on every corner. We’re name-dropping some of the city’s best spots, so you can choose from a list made up of only winners.

Best Restaurant Dessert 🏆

Piano Piano (88 Harbord St)

Piano Piano is a high-end Italian spot in a beautiful building near U of T and the Royal Ontario Museum. Their lauded carrot cake for two is visually spectacular. The rectangular slice is surrounded by ginger-flavoured creme anglaise, and topped with an upside-down vanilla ice cream cone. Toffee-like rum raisins and salted caramel give way to a light and fresh carrot flavour in each bite of this rich and decadent cake.

Machino Donuts

Best Donut 🏆

Machino Donuts (1556 Bloor St W)

Handmade from scratch with plant-based ingredients, Machino makes over 24 donut flavours daily. Try out their filled banana pudding donut with Lotus cookie crumbles, or a bruleed donut with ube cream. They also make a classic apple fritter with maple dip; you can get as lavish or simple as you want here. Although their flavours pack a punch, the donuts themselves aren’t overly sweet. The best part is, everything is priced between 3 and 5 dollars!

Ice Creamonology

Best Ice cream 🏆

Ice Creamonology (250 Queens Quay W)

Picking Toronto’s best ice cream spot feels like choosing the world’s cutest dog breed. It’s apples and oranges, and it will always be controversial. Ice Creamonology rises above many of the rest for how simple, yet quality their ice cream is. Using Canadian dairy, seasonal fruits and imported nuts, they carry about 12 flavours at a time (including a seasonal variety). Turkish Coffee (made from real aromatic beans) and Pistachio (with house-made pistachio paste from imported nuts), are their most popular flavours. They also make fresh sorbets with three ingredients only. 

Lost in Tokyo Café & Bar

Best Dessert Cafe 🏆

Lost in Tokyo (636 Queen St W)

A 90s-inspired retro cafe and sake bar known for their dessert parfaits, Lost in Tokyo will transport you across the world to a quiet spot in Japan. Vintage and antique items line the walls of this one-of-a-kind destination in Downtown Toronto. With limited space and extreme popularity, your parfait date for two will likely have to be reserved days or weeks ahead of time. If the exclusive, speakeasy-like environment wasn’t intriguing enough, the desserts are also pretty marvelous to behold.

Bakerbots Baking

Best Dessert Bakery 🏆

Bakerbots Baking (1242 Bloor St W)

Stocked with goodies in the window, Bakerbots is a small cafe and bakery offering fresh cookies, cinnamon buns, tarts, cakes and ice cream sandwiches, as well as coffee and tea. It’s a spot beloved by regulars, and operated by a young couple and their staff. People say no item here is a mediocre bite. Between the mastery of baking techniques, variety of treats and general inviting vibes, Bakerbots pulls out all the stops.

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