11 spots where I'll never skip on dessert

When you're in dire need of a sweet treat post-dinner

Nov 15, 2024

I’ll start this off by saying that I’m generally not a dessert person.

Besides my weekly gelato stops in the summer (Bar Ape & Futura mainly), I much prefer the savoury food. I’m rarely out seeking dessert when I’m out at a restaurant, and if I am, just know they made it sound reallllllly tasty on the menu.

But, there are a good handful of dessert dishes in Toronto I can just never turn down. No matter how stuffed I am—belt unbuckled and I’m already thinking about my post-dinner digestion walk, I will almost always find a way to shovel these desserts into my body.

These desserts are almost worth skipping every dish that precedes it. Am I alone in this fight?

Tiramisu Soft Serve - Porzia’s

You can find a boat-load of great tiramisu in the city, but tiramisu soft-serve? Very few do it in general, so maybe my sample pool isn’t all too impressive, but Porzia’s rendition is a total winner.

Photo: @tastetoronto

HK French Toast - Sunny’s Chinese

After eating my heart out at Sunny’s, I have to vigorously fight the urge to get the HK French toast. I’m down 0-4 so far.

Photo: @hungry_wongs

Sticky Toffee Pudding - Maple Leaf Tavern

This one deserves every ounce of hype it gets. I could body 10 of them.

Photo: @eatzoftoronto

Basque Cake - Bar Isabel

While the basque cake at Bar Isabel doesn’t look all that impressive, you’ll quickly change your mind after one bite.

Photo: @bar_isabel

Sticky Ginger Cake - Union

Yes, I just ate my body weight in steak tartare, sourdough and potatoes, but I’m not leaving here until I have this sticky ginger cake!!

Photo: @union_restaurant

Coconut Cream Pie - Alder

Once you have the Alder coconut cream pie, you’ll never think about the Aloette lemon pie ever again.

Photo: @aldertoronto

Babka - Linny’s

Linny’s on Ossington may only be a month old and this babka could be, like, a top 5 dessert in Toronto.

Photo: @tastetoronto

Apple Pie Milkshake - The Lakeview Diner

When it’s not sold out, crushing this milkshake at 2 a.m. is goated.

Photo: @thelakeviewdiner

Ice Cream - Taverne Bernhardt’s

Whatever seasonal flavour of ice cream Bernhardt’s has on any given night, just know I’m coming for it.

Photo: @brenda.s.lee

Tiramisu Pancakes - Viaggio

Tiramisu in pancake form has saved me more than once.

Photo: @viaggiorestaurant

Banana Foster Pudding & Saturday Cruellers - Burger Drops

My friend Duncan has been asking me for months to go back to Burger Drops with him––not for a burger, but specifically the banana pudding. Do yourself a favour and go on a Saturday for a fresh crueller too.