Each year, we ask Avenue readers to vote for their favourite restaurants in Calgary in our Best Restaurants readers’ choice ballot. These are some of their favourite places in the city.
Winner
Glamorgan Bakery
Best known for its iconic cheese buns, this family-owned bakery has been making Calgary a little more delicious for more than 45 years. And while the buttery, cheddar cheese buns are not to be missed, that’s just the start of what Glamorgan Bakery has to offer. Customers return time after time to get their hands on more than two dozen types of freshly baked bread, cinnamon buns, cookies, doughnuts, cakes and other desserts.
19, 3919 Richmond Rd. S.W. 403-242-2800, glamorganbakery.com, @glamorganbakery
Runners-up
Begonia Bakehouse
Visit this small yet mighty Beltline bakery the next time you’re craving freshly baked bread and pastries. While classics like sourdough baguettes and milk bread are regularly available, Begonia offers special loaves on select days of the week that are worth seeking out (think apricot sunflower seed sourdough on Fridays and cherry pistachio sourdough on Sundays). Pastry options include pecan almond twice-baked croissants, sweet and savoury danishes, financiers and macarons. The bakery also serves coffee, which you can enjoy with your pastry of choice in its seating area.
1502 14 St. S.W., 587-355-7768, begoniabakehouse.com, @begoniabakehouseyyc
Mari Bakeshop
Mari Bakeshop is known for its innovative flavours and expertly made baked goods. Whether you’re popping into the Bridgeland bakery for a box of dainty choux pastries, a slice of roll cake or flaky creations like the monkey bread or beurre Normande, you won’t be disappointed. Be sure to ask about that weekend’s special flavours, which have included everything from kimchi and cheese pain suisse to tiramisu danishes in the past.
103 St. Matthew Square N.E., 403-214-0629, maribakeshop.ca, @maribakeshop
Sidewalk Citizen Bakery
What started with owner Aviv Fried delivering loaves of bread by bike has blossomed into one of Calgary’s most popular bakeries. Located along the Bow River in East Village, Sidewalk Citizen is particularly beloved for its sourdough bread, which is available in loaves or in dishes like shakshuka and rotating sandwich flavours. The display cabinet is also teeming with tempting pastries ranging from blueberry crumble cake to sticky buns, which you can enjoy inside or on the riverside patio when the weather is nice.
618 Confluence Way S.E., 403-457-2245, sidewalkcitizenbakery.com, @sidewalkcitizen
