Winnipeg Bakeries
Gâto
Gâto’s owner and viennoisier Laura Gurbhoo came to Winnipeg from Mauritius, first working at Frenchway for several years before opening Gâto in the West End. Her specialty is eco-conscious creations, with a dazzling array of plant-based and vegan pastries, along with plenty of buttery staples too like Paris brest, croissants and cronuts.
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Crumb Queen
Considering it’s the only counter service restaurant to ever land on Air Canda’s Best New Restaurants (#10 in 2024), you could say that Crumb Queen/Andy’s Lunch’s “legendary local status” has gone national. Owned and operated by culinary power couple Cloe Wiebe and Andrew Koropatnick, whose Instagram game (opens in new window) is nearly as tight as their sandwich game, lineups regularly form in the morning for Wiebe’s insanely flaky laminated pastries and famed crullers, or at lunch for Koropatnick’s house made pastas. They only use local organic wheat from two producersand the Bianca bread sandwiches might drop you to your knees in the street after your first bite.
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Tall Grass Prairie
A true pioneer on the Canadian baking scene, Tall Grass has been milling local organic heritage wheats for more than 30 years, beginning with their small shop in Wolseley in 1990, then expanding to The Forks in 2002 and Saint-Boniface in 2024. All three locations stock a variety of breads and their legendary cinnamon buns, while at The Forks location you can see local grains like red fife and spelt being milled before being turned into sourdough. There’s also no shortage of sweets and buttery numbers too, including smoked gouda croissants from Loic Perrot, their fifth-generation head baker from Brittany, France, to cinnamon croissants and countless cookies. In autumn, the selection of pies is staggering.
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Le Croissant
This much-loved artisan bakery recently changed hands to the owners of Juneberry, one of the city’s top brunch spots. Head baker Jérôme Boulanger –– a multigenerational baker from Alsace, France –– stayed on board to share the recipes while the young baking team started to widen the scope to include very well executed classics like madeleines, gâteaux, éclairs and palmiers – all of which are Instagram worthy, along with St. B’s best under the radar brunch options, like serious croque monsieurs and breakfast sandwiches. The completely redesigned room is as attractive and inviting as the pastry cases.
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Hildegard’s Bakery
At Hildegard’s, everything starts with bread. Long fermentation, locally sourced ingredients and organic flour milled right in-house come together to create loaves locals truly love. The space is bright and welcoming during the day, then takes on a special kind of magic in the evening as pizzas bake away in the wood-fired oven. Pastries also fill out the menu, including some seriously gooey, generously filled butter tarts that just might be the best in the city. When pie season hits in summer, the Saskatoon-lemon is as good as it gets. The pie crusts — which also hold those gooey butter tarts — are remarkably buttery and flaky.
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The Cottage Bakery
Cottage Bakery’s roots date back all the way to 1932. All three locations serve freshly baked breads and a colourful spread of classic pastries. Their Napoleon is a standout with crisp, flaky layers stacked generously with rich pastry cream. They also offer all-day breakfast.
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Crusty Bun
Owners Frieda Brandt and Andi Ingenfeld hail from Germany. Before moving to Winnipeg, the couple also baked in Switzerland, Great Britain, and Japan, before opening their first Crusty location in 2009. They specialize in long proofed breads, buns and pastries, with German tea cake, hazelnut twirls, croissants, cream busters and their famed bee-sting cake –– a pastry filled with cream and topped with honey glazed almonds –– finding a devout following that has long since extended past Winnipeg’s extensive German community. There are daily soups and made-to-order deli sandwiches, along with impressive pretzels and even schnitzel too.
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Friend Bakery
This fun little Jewish bakery is by Max Palay and Drew McGillawee. Arrive when it opens at 8 a.m. to get a coveted Cinnamon Knot Cindy (most of the pastries have cutesy names), along with a brown butter chocolate chip cookie to dunk in your morning coffee. The much-in-demand sourdough pizzas start at 5 p.m. –– it’s best to call ahead around 4:30 p.m. to reserve one –– as they only make 40 each night. The dough rocks, being both crispy and chewy and generously seasoned, plus they make their own mozza and the little shop smells like magic.
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Gunn’s Bakery
Winnipeg’s oldest Kosher bakery is also its oldest continuously operating bakery. It was started in 1937 by Polish immigrants Morris and Florence Gunn, whose family continued to run it until 2019, when local chef Jon Hochman took over its storied operation. The bagels, Apple Jacks and doughnuts are legendary, and the bakery supplies many local restaurants with breads. It’s a proud North End business, and they also sell great hats.
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Forgotten Flavours
Forgotten Flavours is all about wild yeast doughs that are fermented for 48-hours before baking. The result is outstanding –– a crust that’s thin and crisp with an airy interior, be it sourdough or a classic French baguette. They also make excellent pastries using local products.