Forno Cultura

I visited this location for the first time. They have a big production area behind where you can see people working. The sitting area is nice and comfy. They have so many kind of pastries, also they sell products like wines, condiments, pastas and so on. I liked their coffee a lot. I almost always order americano as I want to enjoy the taste of coffee. The coffee was strongly flavored and smooth that would match with all kinds of baked goods.

Forno Cultura is a total hidden gem in Queen West and absolutely one of the best spots in the city for Italian sandwiches. If you know, you know—this place takes sandwich-making seriously, and it shows in every bite. Hands down, my favourite is the roasted eggplant and zucchini sandwich on their house-made focaccia. it’s an absolute steal for the quality you’re getting. It’s olive oil-drenched perfection—packed with flavour from the roasted veggies, peppery arugula, and creamy fresh mozzarella. Every ingredient is fresh, simple, and so well-balanced. It’s the kind of sandwich that makes you pause after the first bite and just appreciate it. The vibe at Forno Cultura is relaxed and welcoming, and you can tell the staff really care about what they’re serving. The shelves are lined with imported goods and pantry staples from Italy, so you can stock up while you wait. Whether you’re grabbing lunch, taking something to-go, or just want to treat yourself to one of the most satisfying sandwiches in Toronto, this place is a must. It’s my go-to anytime I’m in Queen West—and honestly, I’d go out of my way for it.

Fantastic Italian bakery with a large variety of pastries, breads, and sandwiches. I ordered an Apollini and a mocha. Both were excellent and tasted fantastic. It was my first time having an apollini and the pastry was well balanced with the lemon cream and the crunch of choux pastry. There’s decent seating available and a large parking lot available if driving. My only complaint is the lack of a visible pricing on the tags or on a printed menu.

Visited here for lunch yesterday. Service was quick and friendly. Our sandwich was fresh and delicious. Chocolate cake desert was incredible. Based on the large sandwich and high quality, prices were very reasonable.

Delicious pastries, bread, and sandwiches. My favourite was the apollini. It was super flaky and crispy with a delicious cream inside. Sandwiches were good too however the bread was harder than what I prefer. I also wish they posted the prices for each product as there was no menu to be found.

To be honest, I love the King branch. Today was my first time here, but I couldn’t find my favorite sandwich and bread.

Excellent bakery with a vast range of sandwiches and baked goods made on site. On this visit we grabbed coffee and sweet treats, but it was exceptionally busy (not a surprise for a Saturday) and seating is limited. Everything was delicious and the staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend a visit.

This Italian bakery in downtown is a gem for anyone who loves freshly baked bread and pastries. Their selection is top-notch, with perfectly crusty bread and pastries that strike the ideal balance between flaky and soft. Every bite transports you to Italy with authentic flavors and quality ingredients. However, the ventilation and cooling inside the bakery could use some improvement. On warmer days, the place can feel a bit stuffy, which slightly detracts from the otherwise enjoyable atmosphere. Despite that, the quality of the baked goods is so good that it's worth putting up with a bit of discomfort. If you're a fan of Italian baked treats, this spot is definitely worth a visit!

So pleased that I stumbled upon this little bakery (with what I would call an espresso nook) a block or so from my hotel. It sits a bit back from Queen St so I missed it the few times I walked by. It wasn't until later when I saw it on Yelp, was I sold to go back, this time following directions. I got there on a Friday morning. It's slightly boho-ish inside. I love the arch windows and that they have a plethora of additional goods to buy. From wine to spaghetti sauce, and more, there was a lot to take in. I asked the staff about their favorites and I was intrigued by the apricot, rosemary, and sea salt bread so I got a slice along with some pistachio biscotti for my oat milk latte. The latte was creamy, the bread was divine, and the biscotti was great to snack on while continuing on my travels. If I lived in the area I could totally see this being a regular spot for me. Fresh bread, pastries, and coffee, yes please!

Love this place! Very nice sandwiches that don't skimp in the meat and cheese! Their surprise bags make my day sometimes

Forno cultura is an Italian bakery restaurant and grocery located in Queen West West. There is lots of parking at this location. The restaurant is spacious and there is a decent amount of seating. There is a very large selection of almond cookies, some Italian sandwiches, and a few other pastries. They also sell pre-packaged Italian foods pastas, breads, and preserved vegetables etc. The service was only okay, the cashier provided no frills service. I got the appolini sfoglia (lobster tail pastry filled with whipped lemon cream)-this was giant, and an amaretti (almond) pistachio cookie which turned out to be more citrus flavored than I expected. However both desserts were delicious and high quality. Prices are reasonable for the quality.

This place is fronted by a parking lot - actually, I happened to find this place when I was struggling with finding a parking space around Queen St W X Dovercourt on a busy Saturday afternoon. I found a parking space right in front of the store. When I parked there, I thought that the store in the back would be something industrial like auto-services. But after getting my parking ticket and looked over the building I realized, ohhh it is an Italian bakery! If I did not pay attention, I could have missed this place because of their minimalist look. Then I noticed that there are many groups of people sipping coffee and eating sandwiches beside the store. So, I checked this place out. Once inside, I was welcomed by yeasty aroma, and the freshly baked breads. I was surprised by the interior - bright, stylish with open kitchen - you will not imagine this interior from the way it looks from outside. They have a big serving counter where you can see many different baked goods and pre-made sandwiches - made with the fresh bread we just saw as we came in! We walked along the serving counter wondering what to choose among various items, while watching the bakers at work. They also have non-baked items like cheese (like fresh mozzarella & burrata) and canned gourmet appetizers. They also had carefully chosen canned local craft beer (like Godspeed) chilled, and of course, wines. So much temptation! - but we were very full as it was after having a big lunch elsewhere. So, this time, we bought only light dessert (for take-out) : - Ricotta Cheese cake - Rum Baba - Chocolate cake (with dark chocolate paste inside) And some beer from Godspeed and Burdock. I am a craft beer lover. Cannot resist. I recommend if you buy the chocolate cake to-go, warm up just a little bit so the inside paste gets nicely melty :) . I personally prefer that the ricotta cheese cake be a bit smoother, and wanted the rum baba to have stronger rum flavor but just my personal preferences, and they are surely enjoyable. My next mission is - to try focaccia and sandwiches!

Was here recently and enjoyed their canolli, soft shell, absolutely amazing and flakey. It's nice because when I bit into it, the shell didn't crack and break where I don't want it to. Like traditional canolli shells tend to. Instead it broke exactly where it needed to for a fair balance of filling to shell ratio. Delish! I picked up a pêche. Named that in appearance alone, as it only looked like a peach yet claimes to have apricot in it. It resembled a creamed filled doughnut in my opinion, covered in sugar. I was not all that impressed. The rosemary leaves on the top made the flavour pop. However I struggled to taste much of any apricot. I would not purchase this again. It would be nice if they had some pieces of dried apricot or some apricot preserve/jam ribboned throughout the cream. The Rosemary made this dessert for me and I am a very selective Rosemary fan. I was disappointed with this purchase. I also picked up... I can't remember the name of it, a slice of their nut/seed dessert. It tastes a bit like fruit cake. Not overpoweringly so, yet enough for it to bear some resemblance. At first because of the fruit cake comparison, I was turned off of it... yet as I ate it more I enjoyed the rich nutty/seedy component to it. Very high in protein, which is always a good thing in a dessert. Their sandwiches look great... too bad they have limited vegetarian options. I would love a sandwich on that dark bread they were offering their pork sandwich on. I would return to purchase their frozen veg lasagna for sure. Otherwise not my everyday kinda place as their prices are fairly steep. Yet would definitely try a savoury option next time. Also, their customer service. The older gentleman with the red framed glasses and bow tie, not only stylish, yet very welcoming, personable and informative. Offered a sample of a delicious pistachio melt in your mouth biscuit upon our approach to the counter. And did ask about allergies. Some menu items are only available on weekends. I am sure if you venture here, you will find something that you enjoy.

Love love love Forno Cultura! One of my favourite bakeries/cafes in Toronto. Italian style with a great selection. I've visited almost all locations except the MOCA bread lab. Out of the others, this one has to be my favourite. The design is just so nice. My go to's are the almond "baci di dama mandorle" cookie, hazelnut version of it, the pistachio cookies, gelato is great, the iced Americano, biscotti, so so good. I have yet to try the sandwiches but these look great too. Reasonably priced as well. Always a good spot to check out when in the area!

Passed by this spot and decided to pick up the Melanzana sandwich. This delicious sandwich comes with roasted eggplant, zucchini, arugula, emmental cheese, and fior di latte, all on a freshly baked loaf of focaccia. The bread was delicious and fluffy but still had that crispy crust, and the fillings inside were super tasty as well! This is a very filling option despite being vegetarian since it's pretty big, and I hope to try more of the baked goods from here since the bread was so good. There's even a parking lot at their Queen location which is rare to see downtown, it's definitely a place worth checking out.

Great bread. Olive oil chocolate cake was soft but nothing to write home about it. :)

Been here three times in the past week. I've gotten an "appolini" every time - I have never heard of an "appolini" before but it's like a small lobster tail shaped pastry that has the crunchiness and flakiness of a croissant but filled with a lemon pastry cream like a cream puff. I think it's perfect. I always eat it before I can take a photo - maybe next time I'll get a photo. I have also had their mortadella sandwich and a pepperoni pizza. The sandwiches - get them toasted!! wow I'm pretty sure the bread is focaccia so it's full of olive oil and gets really really crispy after a pass in the panini press. delicious. The pizza was a miss for me - I think it's the same type of focaccia crust but it didn't get crispy after heating :( felt a little bit soggy and oily. Their espresso drinks are legit too. Beautiful milk texture in the cappuccinos. There's a small area in the back where they put wooden planks on some concrete parking stops and you can sit there and enjoy an appolini and sando while pigeons flock to your feet to snap up any crumbs.

This is an amazing bakery in downtown Toronto. The best items are the bread and the pastry but there are amazing sandwiches to be had as well, albeit a little on the "high calorie" side of things, by way of oil, which always makes things more delicious without much effort on other sides!

I ordered on too good to go and went to pick up at their store. I brought back the bread and a puff pastry. I was surprised that this would've costed me $18 if I went into the store without too good to go. The two stars are for the decent bread. I liked it a little better than my husband who thought that the bread was way too greasy. The real downer was the dessert. The puff pastry with cream filling was so terrible that we needed to wash it down with some store bought ice cream. They put, what we're certain of, canned lychee in the puff pastry. Maybe, just maybe, if they didn't put that in, it'd been slightly better. I get the concept of too good to go is to sell what doesn't get sold at a much reduced rate but the fact that this dessert is even made shows really poor taste. Also, people like me try out different restaurants and bakeries around the city using too good to go so that we can come back if it's good. This was such a huge disappointment.

High quality bakery Love their bread and they have one of the best blue cheese in Toronto! Staff are super friendly and they always give little kids a cookie before they leave.

Forno Cultura now has a new location near Ossington and Queen. This bakery prides itself on being third generation bakers who bring the true taste of Italy to the city. Their newest location here just opened last week. The bakery has a vast variety of baked goods, sandwiches, coffee/tea, as well as other items for purchase (olive oil, honey, etc.). The space of this Forno Cultura location is modern and simple with wooden tables. The display of goodies is spread out all along the bakery which makes it a true delight to pick what you would like to purchase (lots of hard decisions!). I dropped by Forno Cultura on Thursday evening and opted for a frolle al limone (lemon shortbread) and an Americano. The employees were super friendly and gave out free cookies and other goods for everyone to try. There were even samples available. Somehow my coffee order was missed and I even got a free pastry as a token of their apology as they quickly made my Americano. The Americano was great. The store also does pour over coffee which is something that I'd like to try next time. All the pastries that had were all very delicious. Cannot wait to return to try more baked goods. There will always be a reason to go back to Forno Cultura as there is a vast variety of baked goods to choose from! Overall, friendly service, delicious baked goods, great coffee, and a light and airy space. Will definitely be back for more in the future!

Forno Cultura can be briefly summarized in two words: simply delicious. Their no fuss approach to Italian pastries and quick fare allows the customer to enjoy the true flavours that simple ingredients possess, which is the foundation of Italian culture and cuisine. In the theme of supporting local businesses during this trying time (pandemic) I stopped by today for lunch and after staring at the display like a kid in a candy store I decided on the mushroom focaccia, an Americano and a variety of amoretti cookies. Let me just say it was all fucking delicious. My only criticism comes with their stance on refusing to accept cash payment. The cashier said "because of germs" they are not accepting cash. But first and foremost, an establishment cannot legally refuse cash payment. And if employees are adhering to good hand hygiene practices then there is no problem. So, as a healthcare provider I would strongly urge them to re-evaluate this stance. In fact it may promote more frequent hand hygiene than staff are already doing and lessen the false sense of safety that they have by simply not accepting cash.

Great to have a Queen outpost. Pending who is there, one of the baristas make a killer Americans with great cream. Today wasn't great for early Sunday morning. No Frittata at this location or was I too early?

Forno Cultura on Queen offers a selection of sandwiches and baked goods. I've tried their sandwiches and breads; the foccacia used for the sandwiches is nice and my spouse likes their sourdough bread. Service was poor in my experience. Parking available on the premises. The area is served by TTC line 501. TLDR; large selection of baked goods and sandwiches, poor service, a bit pricey

Their bread AMAZING. Amazing crust and soft inside. It really doesn't get better. I would say its quite similar to the quality at prairie boy. Their focaccia is to DIE for, you have to try it!!

I love visiting this bakery! It's a beautiful space with the ever present scent of fresh biscotti lingering in the air. Friendly and helpful staff and an abundance of selection of different sweet and savoury pastries and bread. My Top Picks: *CORNETTO CIOCCOLATO Forno Cultura's take on the chocolate croissant is so delicious. I never though I would enjoy a chocolate croissant covered in poppy seeds but here I am now. You have to try it! * APPOLLINI Lobster tail pastry filled with a light lemon cream. Love the crunchy pastry shell. * LEMON CURD & ALMOND CAKE Every single person who is introduced to this cake loves it, whether they like lemon desserts or not. It is the perfect hostess gift or tea time snack. * LATTE Great latte! Alternative milk options.

Came in to get the sfogliatelle and they are out by 4pm. The person said I should come earlier. In any case we sat next to the entrance, music was so loud that it seemed we were in a club and had to speak to each other nearly screaming! Asked to put the music down they shrugged, like there is nothing they can do" it really was so annoying. The amaretti were stale. Cappuccino was excellent

Beautiful interior. The layout is very cool, creates opportunity to witness the baking and creation of the food. Biscottis a+

Folks don't let the somewhat odd exterior push you away. The inside is a clean inviting space with plenty of sunlight (unlike their original spot which is in a basement). I am a fan of their baked goods. Their pistachio cookies are amazing so are their baked breads. This trip was a quick grab &go endeavour so I just had a cappuccino with the side of a pistachio cookie. Both items were very good I enjoyed the new environment while I sipped on my cappuccino. I also spotted a bunch of new items that are targeted towards the holiday season. I think I will be back when I am in the area.

Love this location! It's such a unique space and I love what they did with the open kitchen. The giant windows and woods, a bit set back from the street. I walked out with a chocolate bar concoction with dried fruits and nuts, adding so many interesting textures to the experience. I walked in for a pre-dinner snack and half of this bar proved to be light enough. I've had their pastries before and they've always been a hit with a crowd. If I had any qualm at all, it might be that I'd like a few more savoury options but that's just my tastes. Surely everything is delicious. It's magical being able to see everyone at work, in harmony. I feel like I could spend some great times here, reading by the giant windows with some coffee.

I love this place. I love how you can see all the action happening. The smells. Definitely the goods!! You must try their various cookie selection. The cookies look hard and dry but trust me they simply melt in your mouth. My favourites are the pistachio and almond cookies Edit - updated July 2020, they now have coffee beans, sauces and even a few take home pre meals. I bought the gnocchi with pomodoro sauce, pretty good

Awesome staff!! 5 star for staff, 5 star for presentation, and 2 for overall flavour. I was happy to see that this vacant place was finally occupied again! We grabbed some desserts, none of them were anything special, especially for $5 each. We tried the beautiful peach, chocolate hazelnut cream puff, a layered creamy one and a biscuit. Overall, MEH! The squid ink baguette, was a few hours short from being a giant crouton and a huge disappointment.

Try the focaccia sandwiches here. Less focus on bread, more focus on baked goods (trust me, you'll love the spread). No visible display of a coffee menu but Forno can meet your caffeine fix. Laid back vibe, ample parking, stroll adjacently if you'd like to enjoy your sweet & savoury in the Paul Garfinkel Park. Also s/o to Olivia for being an amazing human being!!!

This was such a great experience. Really friendly man behind the counter who helped us choose pastries and sandwiches. The sandwiches are insanely good - I had been before to their other location on King St and highly recommend the prosciutto sandwich as well as the meatball sandwich. The prices are high but 100% worth it for a treat.

A bakery with Italian flair, makes everything on site, a huge assortment of options, treat yourself. A little expensive but all handcrafted

Forno Cultura - Toronto. Amazing sandwiches!! Pastries and coffee are okay and they don't have variety of teas. For sandwiches I give . I've tried the vegan mushroom one, the brioche sandwich, the meatball one and the eggplant one.

Walked in from the rain for a delicious mortadella sandwich, pastry and coffee. Key word is "fresh"...and delicious too. Open, bright and spacious vibe. Will be back to try more items as they have a lot of variety.

Picked up lunch at Forno today. When I was inside, there was a customer not wearing a mask. My partner politely asked the person serving us if he could ask the person not wearing a mask to put one on. We were told that he did not have a mask and that they could not ask them to put on a mask. We were then told that if we were uncomfortable, we could take our business elsewhere. Toronto is currently under a full lockdown with takeaway food only and mask are manditory inside businesses by law. Forno is putting the business of one customer above the safety of others.