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Port Coquitlam guide

Bakeries and Sweets in Port Coquitlam

From donuts on the Shaughnessy strip to Belgian chocolate on Marpole Avenue, PoCo's bakeries and dessert counters cover every occasion. A sweet-toothed local's map.

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3 min read

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Bakeries and Sweets in Port Coquitlam in Port Coquitlam BC

Every PoCo errand seems to end at a bakery counter, and I have stopped fighting it. The city's sweet trade is spread across the strips the way everything else is, but it leans European in a way that says something about the families who built these blocks: deli counters beside pastry cases, donut shops that predate the newer plazas, and chocolate makers who take the long view. This guide gathers the bakeries and dessert rooms worth planning around, from the Shaughnessy Street heritage strip to the east side, organized the way I actually use it: by what the craving is.

The Shaughnessy strip does the morning trade. Ava Bakery works the strip's commercial block with the breads and pastries that sell out on a weekend, and Goldie's Donuts & Bakery carries the donut-and-coffee habit that half the downtown runs on. Tinshin Bakery & Pastry rounds out the bakery list on the west side, and together the three give the city a proper bakery row. Further around the Lincoln pocket, Europe Old Fashion Bakery and Deli keeps an old-world counter going, the kind of place where the case is full and the service is unhurried. These are the rooms to know for birthday cakes and holiday loaves, and they are worth a phone call before you need them.

Specialty diets have their own address. Delish Gluten Free Bakery & Caffé Delish runs a dedicated gluten-free bakery on the Coast Meridian Road side, with a cafe attached, and it draws people from well beyond PoCo for exactly that reason. Over on Seaborne Avenue, Cannoli King keeps its counter going, and the name tells you everything about the case. Neither fits the old bakery-row pattern, and both are proof that the city's sweet trade keeps diversifying. If you are feeding someone with restrictions, call ahead and ask about ingredients: both rooms are used to the question.

Chocolate and frozen things round out the map. Charlie's Chocolate Factory works the McLean Avenue belt, where the bays give it room to do what it does, and Daniel Le Chocolat Belge brings Belgian-style chocolate to the Marpole Avenue blocks. Matteo's Gelato on Mary Hill Road is the bench's dessert anchor, and on a warm evening it pulls a line that spills onto the sidewalk. Crave Waffle Bar rounds out the list on the Coquitlam River side of the city. These are the occasion stops, the ones you plan a walk around rather than the other way.

The practical notes are the same as any small-shop town. Custom orders need lead time, holiday hours change, and the best pastry cases empty before noon, so plan accordingly. Ask about ordering a cake ahead rather than hoping for one, and confirm seasonal hours by phone before you cross town. Every listing here is checked by hand for the directory, and I keep the addresses and details current as the counters change. Bring an appetite, and if you find a favorite, tell the counter you read about it here. PoCo's bakeries run on regulars, and there is always room for one more.

From the directory

Mentioned in this article

Every place named above has its own page here, with the address, the hours and the nearest station.

Ava Bakery, bakery in Lincoln, Port Coquitlam BC

Ava Bakery

Lincoln

Bakery on Shaughnessy Street in Port Coquitlam, selling daily loaves, pastries and sweets, with orders by phone or online.

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Cannoli King, bakery in Glenwood, Port Coquitlam BC

Cannoli King

Glenwood

Seaborne Avenue bakery built around Sicilian cannoli, filled with sweet ricotta and boxed to take away.

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Tinshin Bakery & Pastry, bakery in Lincoln, Port Coquitlam BC

Tinshin Bakery & Pastry

Lincoln

Independent bakery in Lincoln, Port Coquitlam, where the ovens start before the street does and bread and pastry set the pace of the day.

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Fern Kellaway, Editor in Port Coquitlam BC

Who wrote this

Fern Kellaway

Fern Kellaway grew up in Mary Hill, three streets from the rail corridor, and her grandfather worked the CPR yards for most of his life. She lives near Lions Park now and has walked the Traboulay loop weekly for twenty years, which is how she knows which businesses are still there.

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Corrections welcome

Something here out of date?

Places change hands, change hours and close. If this guide has it wrong, tell me what's changed and I'll go back and check it myself.