CLOSED: LPK's Culinary Groove Bakery

I was excited to find out that this bakery is now also serving meals. Unfortunately their menu needs some work. I tried their kale salad and they were big pieces of raw kale that had not been marinated or anything and included stems. It's really impossible to chew through the stuff like that and I would expect smaller, chopped pieces. I also had a daiya pizza, which was alright, but from the description I expected more greens on it. It was mainly lots of daiya on a slightly burned cracker-like bread. Not so appealing.

I must have ordered close to every vegan baked good there. Delicious.

They also offer a variety of burgers and smoothies. The burger wasn't bad, nothing special. The smoothie was pretty much undrinkable. The oranges must have been juiced with the rind still on because it was incredibly bitter. That being said I was there for the bakery.

Came to the hood to have brunch at the supposedly veg-friendly Lady Marmalade down the street. After being thoroughly disappointed there (see review), we came here afterward, and it alone totally made the visit worthwhile.

About half of their items are vegan including breads, cookies, crackers, cupcakes and other delectables.

We bought a large onion focaccia bread ($9 for an 8"), a Nanaimo bar and a caramel pecan tart ($5.75).

The focaccia was gluten-free (rice-based) and therefore distinctively textured, but nonetheless delicious. It was quite oily and flavourful, and we froze half of it after enjoying it on the advice of our server.

Their Nanaimo bars are award-winning for good reason: the richest, tastiest little bastards I've ever had. They make the ones I had as a kid taste like crap in my memory (and I used to love them).

In describing the pecan caramel tart, decadent obviously comes to mind. Craftsmanship also comes to mind. Have a look at the photos on their website. Their pastries are honestly as good as they look there, taste even better, and are priced accordingly.

A gem of a place. I would be diabetic and broke if I lived next door, no doubt.

A beautiful local establishment, I am a regular customer to both their store and to when they attend local farmer's markets. My favorites are their vegan brownies, nanaimo bars and cookie sandwiches. You really can't go wrong with anything here, I've never felt dissatisfied with anything I've bought from them. My only complaint is they're not cheap, which is less noticeable on small things but moreso when you want to buy a whole cake, which can cost twice as much as a standard storebought deal (though it WILL be beautiful and vegan!)

Be sure to order in advance for specifics, as the store changes their stock regularly. As well, going later in the day means a lot of the smaller products are often sold out (cookies, small tarts, etc) because they're made fresh.