Every year, CityBeat publishes the Best Of Cincinnati®, wherein readers and staffers alike pick which bars are the booziest, which people are the coolest and which shops are your best bet for dropping a pretty penny. When it’s time to treat yourself and you need a little sugar rush, Greater Cincinnati’s bakeries got you.
From rich, velvety cheesecakes and melt-in-your-mouth cookies to sugary donuts and ube-flavored delights, there’s no shortage of spots serving up tasty desserts to satisfy that sweet tooth. Keep scrolling to see the best bakeries in town, according to our readers.
Editor’s Note: North College Hill Bakery placed No. 6 on the overall list, but has since closed to walk-in customers. As a result, we adjusted the rankings accordingly.
No. 10 Best Bakery for Sweets: Makers Bakers Company
Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine
Must-Try: The handmade cinnamon roll.
No. 9 Best Bakery for Sweets: North South Baking Company
39 W. Pike St., Covington
Must-Try: The rose-pistachio croissant.
No. 8 Best Bakery for Sweets: Sebastian Bakehouse
10269 Summit Parkway, Blue Ash
Must-Try: The Strawberry, Pandan & Coconut Croissant.
No. 7 Best Bakery for Sweets: Happy Chicks Bakery
4035 Hamilton Ave., Northside
Must-Try: The orange-lavender or blueberry lemon cupcake; Or, on Saturdays only, any of the special donut flavors. (Everything is vegan.)
No. 6 Best Bakery for Sweets: Wyoming Pastry Shop
505 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming
Must-Try: Grab a dozen of any of their cake donuts.
No. 5 Best Bakery for Sweets: Cafe Mochiko
1524 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills
Must-Try: The ube croissant — a buttery, fluffy croissant stuffed with a subtly sweet, ube-flavored (a purple yam native to Southeast Asia) cream.
No. 4 Best Bakery for Sweets: The Cheesecakery
4825 Whetsel Ave., Madisonville
Must-Try: The Buckeye Cheesecake cupcakes.
No. 3 Best Bakery for Sweets: Brown Bear Bakery
116 E. 13th St., Over-the-Rhine
Must-Try: The Salty CCC (Chocolate Chip Cookie), featuring Valrhona chocolate and flake salt.
No. 2 Best Bakery for Sweets: Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli
Must-Try: One of the European-style pastries and desserts, like the croissants, eclairs or cannolis, or one of the enormous sugar cookies topped with a ton of buttercream frosting in cute designs.
No. 1 Best Bakery for Sweets: The BonBonerie
2030 Madison Road, O’Bryonville
Must-Try: The famous Opera Cream Torte, naturally.