Blackbird Baking Co. Riverside

Not the most fair review, because all I got was a croissant. Came to $4. It was handed to me with no offer to heat it up; almost felt rushed. It was alright, nothing to write home about. I loved the atmosphere and it’s located in Riverside which is a great Toronto neighborhood. it’s only fair to mention as I was walking in, someone coming out told me it’s a great bakery.

I've had quite a lot of croissants in my life and the almond croissant I had here was not buttery or soft, very crispy. I don't think this is one of the best bakeries in the city. The lemon tart was OK and the chocolate caramel tart was slightly better. Nothing spectacular. I had high expectations because of all the reputation associated to this baker's name. Maybe this was an off day.

This place was recommended by so many, I had high expectations, but it was such a let down. The guy at the counter wasn’t super friendly- I had a question about the sandwiches (turns out they were displayed in the case + written on the wall with no substitutes but it was my first time there so how would I know?) and he answered it very curtly. I wasn’t going to let that deter the recommendations from others so I proceeded. I ordered a Harissa chickpea sweet potato sandwich (which they warmed up) and an almond croissant (I’m obsessed and I try them at every bakery). It was $18!! At that price I said no to a coffee or anything else. Loaves of the focaccia were $8.50… Hopes were still high. The sandwich was poorly presented and the taste was very meh. The toppings were just thrown in there and nothing kept them inside so when it was handed to me in a vertical position, all toppings fell to the bottom of the bag. The harissa flavour was not balanced so there were some spicy flavourful bites and others with no taste. I managed to get some back in the sandwich but it was very messy. I ate it in the car because there was no where to sit. A couple of stools awkwardly against a wall with many items on the narrow counter so it didn’t look like a spot to eat, just to wait. The bread was a 1.5/5 at best. It had no flavour, only tasted fresh because it was warmed.. super disappointing. The almond croissant was not the worst I had but certainly at the bottom of the list. It had an overwhelming vanilla extract flavour which overpowered any almond taste. It was thick with the layers clumped together. I ate it 10 min after buying it so it was fresh and should have been at its peak. Such a disappointment overall and an expensive one at that. I’m giving it 2 stars because it was edible and clean but will absolutely not return and will share my disappointment the next time this place is recommended.

The daily baked bread in premises is the best this side of Queen Street. Delicious deli sandwiches, fresh baked croissants and pastry are worth the stop. Highly recommended 👌

Follow @bredgyeats for yummy food pictures! Blackbird's foccacia lives up to its hype with its spongy and airy texture, whose crispiness is revived with a quick toast in the oven that brings out the fragrant olive oil aromas as well. To complement the bread is a combination of cheese, prosciutto, arugula and marinated olives and peppers.

Have returned. One of my favourite bakeries in Toronto. They occasionally have savoury pastries, which are among the best I've had around the world, super flavourful. Raisin is a classic. Almond Croissant is one of the better ones. Focaccia is also amazing. Takes AMEX. Approx $4.5+ per pastry.

Their baguette and sourdough breads are good, I buy them whenever I am on this side of the city. Croissants are just okay, and don't live up to to the hype. Decent sandwiches for a quick lunch.

Chocolate cork is excellent. Granola is a major disappointment. Sourdough bread is good. Mortadella pistachio sandwich was great.

I'm so grateful for Blackbird! I live nearby, and it's so convenient to stop and pick up some delicious bread for dinner. I usually get the Kensington loaf. Staff are really nice! Never seen a huge line. Ambiance is very cute and fits well with Riverdale.

I love to check out bakeries in various neighbourhoods and unfortunately the service at this one fell short. We stopped in for a quick snack on the way to dinner and asked for the croissant we ordered to be cut in half. The employee actually rolled her eyes like we just inconvenienced her entire life. There was no line up, the store wasn't anywhere near closing time and we asked politely. The interaction was off putting and hopefully this feedback can help with some staff training.

I love this bakery. I have a B&B and every week I make the trek for my supply of sourdough bread, buns and my special treat - a large lemon tart that is made like a crème brûlée. The friendly staff will prepare my order ahead and it's always worth the trip from OAKVILLE, which is no small distance.

This place has been featured in many well-known local media - always been introduced as one of the best bakeries in the city, especially their Sourdough breads are raved! We visited the Queen St E. location. Finding a parking spot in the area is a bit tricky as it is on a busy stretch. Recommend you try finding a spot on Carroll st, across the street beside Dark Horse Espresso Bar. It is free for a short period of time. Our goal today was to get "Kensington White Sourdough Loaf". I am a Sourdough lover. We also bought a canelé and a butter croissant. The Kensington White Sourdough was incredible. It had a hearty golden crust. Cutting it open - I saw promising big air holes! Biting into it, at first I felt just a subtle sour flavor and hard crust, but as I chew, more tastes (tangy sourness, saltiness, nutty taste of wheat) comes out. That is how a good sourdough bread should taste (in my opinion). The croissant was satisfyingly buttery, flaky - good but a bit dry. Canelé had thinner caramelized crust - I wanted the shell to be thicker with more crispiness and bitterness. The interior was nicely moist with rich custard flavor. Not the best, but satisfying. We debated whether to buy leaf shaped sourdough - but saved it for the next time. I know I will come back!

DAMN YES. I am so glad I found this place while just walking by. What caught my eye was a long line up and I saw lots of baguettes. Well, if you want a sourdough heaven this is the place. I bought a few to try out, and all of them were spectacularly tasty to the point of me being so happy that day. Great treats like that can help with bad mood during lockdown. Thanks to the bakers, they made a damn good bread and croissant!

My YEA and I really wanted to take a trip out over the weekend to pick up some goodies from Black Bird Baking. We wanted to try their prepared sandwiches that uses their freshly baked bread. We ended up going with the chicken ceasar sandy plus the mortadell & giardiniera relish one too. Both were really flavourful and awesome on that stretch focaccia. Of course, you can't get to the cashier checkout without passing by their baked goods section and we were enticed by the chocolate cork and almond croissant. Bottom line, the service is quick even though there can be a bit of a line on the weekends but it's worth the wait if you like your bread and pastries fresh and yummy.

Kouign-aman was ok. We expected to be as good as the place in Montreal. The little dessert was $4 and not as great. The famous place in Montreal was bigger, cheaper ($2 for a slice) and more chewy and yummy.

Located in TorontoThis bakery bakes fresh loaves of bread, pastries and sandwiches daily. In our visit we tried their Strawberry Danish, Sanagan's Roast Beef & Horseradish Sandwich on a baby baguette, and the Turkey & Feta on Focaccia. The Strawberry Danish was our favourite item. It had strawberry filling in the middle and was topped with fresh strawberries. The danish was super light and flaky. We loved this flavour combo! The Sanagan's Roast Beef & Horseradish Sandwich came on a baby baguette. We found the baguette pretty hard to bite into. The sandwich came with gruyere cheese, arugula, roast beef and horseradish mayo. They flavour of the sandwich had a nice mix and we would order this again. The Turkey & Feta Sandwich came on a Focaccia bread. It was filled with spinach, oven roasted turkey, feta, toasted sliced almonds, green olives, parsley and onions. We enjoyed the flavour but also found the bread a bit tougher to eat. 7/10

Have been a long time fan of blackbird in general and this location in particular. I am usually in there a couple of times a month. Baked goods all excellent - most recently got the seeded sourdough which has a nice strong flavour that stands up well to hearty stews etc. I have also picked up meals and sandwiches from time to time; most recently the thai roast beef with pickled carrot (the pickled carrots were a nice addition) and a mortadella sandwich. The packaged goods available are also great especially like the blackbird granola and local honey

I love sourdoughbreads, and I'm glad there's a bakery close to me that bakes and sells them. The popular loaf is the Kensington Sourdough. They also sell pastries as well! Overall, delicious flavors and great service!

Are you in search for artisan sourdough bread and other baked goods? This is your place to go! I was just passing by when I saw this beautiful bakery and couldn't resist going in and now I buy my sourdough bread here every week! My favourite one is the Kensington, but their baguette is also amazing. Besides bread, they also make pastries, sandwiches and dips. They also have a small variety of groceries, like butter and flour and everything is such great quality! Usually when I go there, there is a line, but it's not too long and it goes by quick. They work until 5pm, however, I recommend shopping earlier in the morning because pretty much everything gets sold out by 3pm. Such a wonderful place and the staff are always super nice - I definitely recommend this place!

Visited on their opening day in new Riverdale neighbourhood to pick up some pastries. Thier new location seemed 10 times bigger and way more slick than OG Kensington Market location. Another plus is they have Sam James coffee available!! Also there was displayed area that you can purchase varieties of their merchandise. Congratulations on your growing to provide such a good quality baked goods!!

Yummmm I loveeee this place! Everything from the design of their bags, boxes and interior to the bread and pastries Came here early on a Saturday and got two of the twisted baguettes (not sure what the actual name is lol), the turkey and sauerkraut sandwich (omg this was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had), pear and almond Danish, some croissants and a couple of the Kouigan Amaans! I wanted to try their caneles but they only make them in the afternoon so go late if you wanna this dessert! Everyone was super nice and I gobbled up the sandwich and Danish right away!! Totally going back to try the caneles and more stuff!!! Definitely recommend

This spot ought to be rated on two levels. One is baked bread (good) and other is pastry (not so good). I have tried a few of their bread offerings from time to time (now more frequent as the stores nearby offer it) and am a fan. I would say they are among the top purveyors of bread in the city and this location is a welcome addition to this area as it gives one an option to pass by instead of the original spot (which is closer to moi but the parking is a nightmare there). The space though having a smaller front end shows the back end of their products as most of it is dedicated to the baking area. Kudos for keeping it very nice and clean. They carry a bunch of other items like compote, jams etc. though they are priced on the higher side (great for gifts) Now comes the pastry part hmm I had tried a couple on their original location but none of them hit the spot. Things haven't improved here as well. Kougin Amman was mediocre (why oh why can't this city get this amazing dessert right). So I guess I will solve problem as don't want to pull down their rating. Just come here for bread and maybe gift or two. Patry items don't bother.

I absolutely love this bakery, they have hands down the best sourdough baguette in the city, and really the best bread in the city too, hefty praise, i know, but in my humble opinion, it's earned and well deserved. Crispy, slightly well done make for an incredible flavour and texture for the crust. I could literally eat a whole baguette for dinner. Not going to try it, but i don't think it would be too hard to either, just a fantastic bread and bakery. Super delicious! Now they are even closer to me, so i can hit this place up much more often, they also make excellent croissants and other baked goods, really nice staff too.

Best bread in Toronto Canada World...? Baguettes are phenomenal Crunchy ends And as good as a TREAT, better....

First time checking this place out after a recommendation. Got a seeded sourdough, focaccia, strawberry Danish and roast beef sandwich. Total was about $27. The sourdough is very soft and paired well with the spinach dip I made at night. Focaccia can be eaten straight away - it was a bit chewy but still somehow soft and the herbs / cheese on it made it a must buy - esp if you warm that baby up. I can imagine topping it with some pizza toppings, which would have probably been a great idea if I hadn't eaten half of it with a dip (yes that was a good idea too). The strawberry Danish was VERY good. It was so soft, creamy in the centre and the strawberries were perfectly ripe. I could have definitely enjoyed a few more strawberries, but you can't even complain because the Danish itself was soft and delicious. Now the best part of the whole purchase.... The roast beef sandwich. In the pic it looks just like a stuffed arugula sandwich but trust me, that baby was also packed with some good meat and sauce. The bread was a bit chewy but the overall taste of the ingredients was something you'd go back to buy again. They take about 7 people inside (a line still up to the front register) and they have spots to line up outside. It goes by fast so you're not standing for too too long.

Look no further if sourdough bread is your favourite. Blackbird is more than just sourdough bread, they also carry croissants and scones along with housemade granolas and some jams. Let's just put it this way, be prepared to come with decision making skills, cause even just for sourdough bread they have at least 5 types for you to choose from. Make your trip worthwhile.

My friends raved about this place. I finally tried it. I bought 3 Kouign Amann, 2 chocolate peacan twists, 2 cinnamon buns and a pain au raisin. I had very high hope for the Kouign Amann. Sadly, I was disappointed. I'm not surprised it didn't measure up to the DKA at Dominique Ansel Bakery. But it didn't even stack up to the ones at a Chinese bakery inside Singapore Changi Airport. To be fair, the rest of the items were fine but nothing spectacular.

This shop is super cute and also super popular. Since it opened up in my neighbourhood, it has been attracting a short but steady line of customers. Recently we lined up and bought a sour dough loaf to make corn beef sandwiches. That bread is seriously dynamite! I get why people are okay waiting in line. Yum!!! Totally worth it!

I called & placed my order in advance- after listing the items I knew I wanted I asked the girl who I was speaking with if she recommended anything else I didn't already request - she suggested the chocolate cork was one of my favourites along with the canele but really everything was great. My pickup experience was also fantastic. I highly recommended Blackbird Baking Co!

Got there about an hour before they closed so there wasn't much selection left. Decided on a chocolate croissant which tasted burnt, definitely not worth the $4. Good service and clean shop.

I really love the bread and all their products but the location staff were quite unfriendly on Sunday. I was trying to ask a question about their products but couldn't hear them because of their mask. I asked them to repeat a few times and the cashier got really upset that I couldn't understand her. All I wanted to know was if it was organic grains and she wasn't even able to give me a clear answer. Would really appreciate a bit more tolerance since I have a bit of a hearing problem and because it is quite difficult to hear through masks. I definitely won't come back to this location.

OMG. This morning I went to Blackbird for the first time and had a caramelized croissant (I don't remember it's proper name) and it was pure heaven. Absolutely outstanding quality and fantastic service. Highly recommend.