Kostas Greek Bakery

Bakery: Kostas Greek Bakery
Address: 265 Ellesmere Rd, Scarborough, ON 
Website: https://www.kostasgreekbakery.com/
Style: Greek
Price: $$ 

Though the meat market and deli of the same name located right next door seems to enjoy more renown and crowds than its neighbour, Kostas is a well-stocked bakery filled with one glass case after another of both traditional Greek pastries and desserts - both perennial classics and more unique sweets you may not find at all Greek bakeries - along with a lovely array of more pan-European cake slices. Honestly, Kostas is one of these rare bakeries where you have such a hard time picking out one item, simply because everything looks good. The prices being fairly reasonable, you do have some leeway when it comes to getting more than you initially came for.

 Every trip to a new Greek bakery merits a slice of classic baklava ($2.50).  This one was oozing in honey syrup and had a nice amount of nuts in between the thin layers of filo dough. The bottom layer got a little soggy, but it was nonetheless an excellent example of what makes Greek baklava the best.

I also gave a slice of ravani ($2.50) a try. I've seen this semolina-based cake in its original variety before; it's certainly more prominent in Lebanese bakeries than in Greek, but I've never seen any different versions. This one had the same syrup-soaked semolina sponge cake with a hint of orange and it was that orange that really set it apart. There was indeed a reason why the tin was almost empty!

That should have been it had I not spotted the sugar doughnuts ($2.00) at the cash. Literally the size of a dinner plate, these doughnuts are huge! Granted the whole in the middle is larger than average, but that thinner, less puffy dough allowed the doughnuts to be nice and crispy with every bite. What a find - so glad I unexpectedly stumbled on this bakery!

Rating: ***1/2