R Bakery

R Bakery is everything i love about living in the city.
Located at the midpoint of Marlee Avenue, R is a storefront in a series of strip malls, tri-​plexes and tear-​downs between Lawrence and Eglinton. If you drive by, you’ll surely miss it-​most probably because a) you’re just taking a shortcut North or South, or b) from the outside, it’s easy to get lost when most of the area’s retail is taken up by dive bars and laundromats.
If you did drive by, you’d be making a mistake. At walking speed, you’d notice that R is almost always full of locals enjoying strong cups of coffee and delicate pastries, from first thing in the morning until well into the evening. The clientele shifts throughout the day; waves of stroller-​moms and dads give way to retirees and local tradespeople, eager to crash out on overstuffed window seats, or couples on quick dates huddled at the few two-​tops.
They’re not really there for the atmosphere; a flat screen TV blares CP24 from open to close. They’re not there for the service, which is plenty friendly, but rooted to the counter. They’re there for a convenient spot to enjoy good company and to relax… and oh yeah, for the food.
The room itself is a slender band of windows, behind which you see a glass case full of pastries. Whole cakes are available, along with enough varieties of «dessertlets» to host a wedding. Maybe it’s because the neighbourhood’s pretty diverse, but a good swath of Europe is here in cake form. Craving a trip to Austria or Germany (Black Forest)? Italy (Tiramisu)? The Netherlands (carrot cake-​seriously, look it up if you want to know why carrots are orange)? Proud West Coasters will find fudgy Nanaimo bars and Down-​Easters can get their butter tart on as well. They’re all cute, and all tasty-​with deeper flavour than most (I often find mini-​desserts to be little more than sughar bombs).
The highlight is the Portuguese custard tarts, which may best be described as what would happen if crème brûlée and a mille feuille had a delicious, delicious baby. Crisp puff pastry holds wiggly custard baked to brown caramelized goodness on top. I am advised that they’re not actually baked in-​house, but are delivered each day by R’s sister bakery. I’m docking them a star for that, but they’re still awesome.
Off to the side you’ll find a small bakery section; options are pretty much limited to white or whole wheat buns in round or torpedo shapes, from dinner rolls to full baguettes and loaves. They have short shelf-​lives, but when eaten fresh are pillowy malty goodness. Crusts are thin and crispy, and crumb is light, lending itself to sandwichification (there’s a full sandwich bar on-​site, but I live close enough that I can make my own). A weekend bakery run for a random lunch has convinced my wife and I to make R’s rolls the lynchpin of our strategy to bring the sandwich back. A few weeks ago, it was grilled chicken salad. Last week they held up to homemade roast chicken clubs. Tomorrow, fake crab gets the star treatment as I reinvent Subway’s lost Seafood and Crab. If you’re driving by, slow down; jump out of the car, and buy some bread.
Coffee suits me just fine; brewed, it’s about as expensive as Timmy Ho’s, but with more punch. Espresso drinks are even better. Pulled from a proper counter top machine, milk and coffee combine in different proportions for strong, sweetly-​balanced bevvies. a few cents less expensive than the big chains.
Order a macchiato and a custard tart, and talk shower reno cost overruns with your contractor. Amazing how even less pleasant conversations become more manageable…
Seriously; get out of the car and go for a walk. Let your curiosity guide you into random places. Welcome to the neighbourhood. Welcome to R.

I normally pick up Portuguese tarts and pecan tarts from this bakery. They are pretty great, there are definitely better tasting tarts available elsewhere but not walking distance for me. Their croissants are decent as well. 5 to 6 2 person tables available if you decide to eat in

I love this bakery … I always buy bread, buns, bagels from them — always fresh, has that nicely fresh cooked smell and the texture isn’t heavy nor too light. Price is really good too.
I’ve tried the cake pieces the price I believe is slightly lower compared to other bakery/​cake stores I’ve been to. They have the standard European cakes which is why I love this place, no more basic Black Forest, vanilla, or strawberry shortcake (although I’m sure they are able to make it). The cakes are more towards creams, caramels, and nutty favours. Think opera, Napoleon, etc worth to try if you like European cakes.
They also have a small deli section, seating for a coffee and a sandwich that they can make.

Great croissants.
There’s a mean service person here… me no likey! I haven’t been back since, which is sad. But it was very stressful and awkward having to deal with her the first thing in the morning… every morning.
Sorry, but there are so many places I can get baked goods from.

The Custard tarts are pretty good so I’ve given them 2 stars. Other than that don’t bother. The cakes are not fresh and are totally not worth the calories in my humble opinion. The staff could also stand to be friendlier.

Great place, staff, atmosphere, food! If your tea is too hot, ask to put cold water, if your latte is warm, ask ahead to have it hotter than usual. Staff accommodate any concerns and I’ve never had any when visiting. Loved every experience and go back often. Anyone bashing this place must b jealous, because its a gorgeous place and exactly what the neighbourhood needed.

Got stuck in the neighborhood early in the morning, so opted for R instead of the usual Starbucks which is a few blocks away, wish I didn’t.
Décor: simple and a little on a diner side, there is only one washroom, a few tables and not much else.
Tea: horrible, served boiling hot, the brand of tea they use is quite disgusting, not sure I had worse bagged tea, I mean Red Rose is even good in comparison.
Chocolate croissant: don’t you dare calling this crescent shaped piece of baked dough filled with brown filling of some sort a chocolate croissant, it is not and never will be, no matter how much powdered sugar you sprinkle on top.
Sandwich: the only OK part of the meal, I had prosciutto-​provolone one, which was alright even though the bun was too think for my liking, so I had to discard the top half.
Service: if I am usually quite delirious in the morning, you should have seen the young lady serving me today. I don’t think I have to repeat myself as many times to my bf as I have repeated and explained things to her, sometimes it is easier to just do it yourself, isn’t it?
Bill: $ 15 for 2 teas, sandwich and 2 pastries. Certainly not bad, but considering out of all this I only finished half a sandwich, it is a good reason for me to never be back.
From the looks of it, desserts on display did not appear fresh at all, fruits on some of them were beginning to develop an old edge, creams on others slightly dripping.meh.

This review is based on the desserts only.
I bought the Portuguese custard tart, brownie, chocolate éclair, large cannoli, and a tiramisu.
The brownie didn’t even taste like a brownie. It was like a bland tasting light chocolate cake.
The chocolate éclair was not impressive. The filling was horrible.
The cannoli… don’t get me started about the cannoli. I really tried to force it down my stomache, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t even finish a quarter of it.
The tiramisu was delish. It really hit the spot for me. I wish the portion wasn’t so small.
The Portuguese custard tart was AMAZING!!! I had a few over the years and this one is my fav. It wasn’t too sweet and the crust (if that’s what it’s called) was perfect!
Overall, I wish I didn’t waste my money on the brownie, éclair and cannoli and just bought a bunch of Portuguese tarts and the tiramisu. I will definitely be going back here whenever I’m in North York. YUMM!

Good pasteries, amazing bread. Their fruit and nut loaves are sweet and satisfying and can be eaten at brunch on its own. They would get an extra star if all their pasteries were homemade. I suspect about half are not, but what they do make is great.

Nice operation. Want a coffee and a sandwich, or indulge in a pastry.
If you like your latte hot, make sure to specify that, or it may be lukewarm,
as has happened to yours truly a few times.
Really, what a great neighbourhood bakery, café should be.
Friendly staff! Keep up the good work.
PS Oh yeah, its clean too! Definitely a plus for fussy diners like myself… lol

I love this place! The food is delicious and very well priced. The people are friendly and the place is really clean. Lots of people will go there for breakfast or a quick lunch. It has a real feeling of a neighborhood Bakery. They have all kind of pastry that can be sold as individual small portion or larger cakes. They sell coffee and latte. The make their own sandwich on site, with your choice o cheese, meet, topping. All breads are freshly bake, and they will sell 1-​day-​old bread for half price. They also have really good muffin, tiramisu, etc… We tried a few items and LOVED them! Really good service, really people oriented. They even have a few parking spots on the back of the building if you just need to stop by to pick up something for breakfast or a cake before going to someones house. You will not be disappointed to try this relatively new business (and no, I am not the owner of the place, I just like to share the good places in Toronto). A definitive must of the area!

Awesome bread, coffee, espresso, desserts, sandwiches, deli and great service!