Don’s Bakery of Bala

Fantastic donuts amd excellent coffee. Great sharing choices. Definitely a focus on sweet vs savory but the garlic cheese bread is yummy.

Dons is a well known establishment in bala. They have plenty of delicious treats that they bake daily. As you enter the store you’re welcomed by a wonderful aroma of all the daily baked goods. It can be very hectic In the store in the mornings since everyone runs to grab the fresh products being they run out (which happens especially with the sticky buns). Service is very friendly and every item is worth every bite! Best to drive to because it’s harder to find docking space, but it is available. It’s a must go when in bala and visiting the Muskoka lakes.

A must when in Muskoka. Best baked goods I have all year. Love the scones and chocolate chip cookies. Get there early… they run out other good stuff quick.

Great coffee, wish they had better cups though. Lots of tasty looking pastries, hoped for some healthier alternatives. Friendly staff and amazing date squares.

Don’s is a Muskoka staple. The place is always busy with cottagers buying scones and tarts.
My family has been getting baked goods from Don’s for decades, and we have come to depend on the same dependable taste of their baking.
Many of my family members cannot even leave Bala without bringing a dozen or so scones (not what you’d think are scones — they are really just flour dusted buns) with them to freeze to enjoy for the coming months.
A benchmark in bakeries for me.

Don’s is a must-​have for any Bala experience.
We were in the area for girls’ cottage weekend. Stopped in on a Saturday morning to pick up some world famous cinnamon buns. Bakery was pretty busy and we were told that the buns usually sell out before noon. Also grabbed a bag of cheese scones and a baguette.
Service is friendly and crowds are kept organized with a take-​a-​number system.
We love Don’s for fresh baked goods that are essential to a cottage breakfast.

Last summer, new owners took over Don’s when the original owners retired. They kept everything the same last summer, much to everyone’s relief. Don’s has been serving up their phenomenal baked goods in Bala for over 60 years, and no one wanted new ownership to change that.
This summer, however, Don’s is rocking a new, more streamlined look, and a slew of new baked goods — on top of the much loved staples including scones, eclairs, and butter tarts. But they’ve added (to name just a few):
— Chop Suey bread
— Sausage rolls
— Boston cream donuts
— Bala Bites (small old-​fashioned donuts)
— Coconut cream pie
— Bath buns
— Cinnamon crullers
— Eccles cakes
— Apple canoes
— Chocolate babka (the superior babka!:
)
So improving on the near-​perfect *can* be done…

My family has summered in Muskoka since my father was a child. Growing up, Don’s was as much an embodiment of summer as bathing suits and canoes, and gave me, my siblings and my cousins just as much joy.
The happiest mornings of my life began when mom or dad come home from Bala early in the morning with little white boxes containing treasures for little kids and big kids alike –my grandparents and great-​aunts/​uncles loved Don’s as much as I do! As a child my brother and I literally wrestled for the last sprinkle donut or special-​ordered chocolate éclair. Family on their way up from Toronto all have their time-​honored Don’s favorites that are reserved in advance. Three generations of Canadians (and Canadian-​Americans!) in my family have considered Don’s a summer dessert staple — from their frozen brie puffs, when I first learned to appreciate cheese at 12, to their tarts, to their much-​loved chelsea buns.
So: make you and your family happy. Get up at the crack of dawn, drive over to Don’s, and you certainly won’t regret it.

If you happen to be searching for the perfect Butter Tart made up of a subtly sweet brown sugar center with a flaky buttery crust then look no further your search is over my friend.

I’ve only been going to Don’s for 25 of their 60 years in business, but what I know is that there is nowhere on this planet that makes better Butter tarts.
If you are a tourist visiting Muskoka, you owe it to yourself to try them at Don’s.
If you are a Canadian, and have lowered your standards down to Loblaw’s packaged butter tarts, then next summer, get in the car, get yourself to Don’s and remind yourself what it really means to be Canadian.
There’s few better symbols of what Muskoka is truly about, than Don’s Butter Tarts.
(yes, I really do like them that much. Sad, I know…)