TAKSIM Sweets & Bakes (Kanata)

EDIT: To address the response from the café (they clearly don’t like to be called a restaurant)… quite frankly, whether or not the item is Turkish or “Western” is irrelevant. Good food is good food and bad food is bad food, and this was BAD. I write a lot of reviews (many of them favourable). I won’t let this establishment try to spin my review into anything other than what it is intended to be: an honest take on an all-around poor dining experience. Their response just proved my point.

——

The worst $17 (plus tax and tip) I’ve ever spent at a dining establishment.

I ordered the “Smoked” Turkey Sandwich. It took an unusually long time to arrive, and when it finally did, I was genuinely shocked. What was served was processed lunch meat (NOT quality smoked turkey), processed cheese (Kraft-like slices, and for what it’s worth, was not even a listed ingredient in the description), bread soaked in mayonnaise, store-bought hummus still packaged in a plastic container, and tortilla chips. When ordering, I had asked if vegetable slices could be substituted for the chips and was told this wasn’t possible.

Tortilla chips… at a Turkish café?!?

I’ve been to Istanbul multiple times, and this felt about as far from Taksim as one could get.

I’m shocked that this is the quality being served — and that the restaurant has the gall to name itself what it does. The photos speak for themselves. I took two bites and left the rest untouched.

It was the best Middle Eastern dessert I’ve tried so far. I tried almost everything with pistachios in it, and they were crispy with a generous amount of pistachio filling.

We also tried the pistachio cheesecake. The cheesecake itself was really good, but the chocolate made it too sweet and overpowering. You also had to wait for the chocolate to melt, which took more than 15 minutes.

Overall, the prices there are quite expensive…

Charming little Turkish café with a cozy atmosphere. The coffee is aromatic and the pastries are delicious. I tried the shakshuka, which was very tasty, and the soft bagel with olives was absolutely divine—could eat it all day!
Perfect spot for a relaxed breakfast or coffee break.

I recently visited Taksim Sweets & Bakes in Kanata and was really impressed. The pastries are fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care — the baklava and borek were both excellent. They also have a great variety, from traditional sweets to savory options and even full Turkish breakfast plates.

I just came back from Istanbul, and stepping into this shop made me feel like I never left. The flavors, the atmosphere, and even the way the desserts are presented brought me right back — it’s a little taste of Turkey here in Kanata.

The shop itself has a cozy, welcoming vibe, and the staff are warm and attentive, happy to answer questions and help you choose. Portions are generous, and everything I tried tasted authentic and high-quality.

Whether you want to sit down for coffee and dessert or pick up a box of pastries to share, it’s a spot worth visiting. I’ll definitely be back.

This weekend we found about this café by chance, while it has been opened since January (10 months ago). The food is exceptional, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is modern and welcoming.

As the pictures show, we tried a variety of items, from sweet to savory, and every single item was flawless. The food is prepared authentically, respecting traditional recipes and flavors, and the desserts are so decadent with obvious use of quality ingredients. It was also the first time that I ever try a mastika version of Turkish coffee, and it was amazing. Not to mention their baklava, it’s exquisite and the Dubai chocolate version of their San Sebastian cheesecake is a true delicacy.

The service was genuinely friendly and came with big smiles. The interior decor is trendy and it’s a beautiful mix of traditional and modern Turkish vibes.

I gave TAKSIM all 5 stars because it deserves every bit of it. That being said, I do have a couple of suggestions for improvement. First, they need to change the shop sign that’s above the entrance, or at least make the name bigger. It’s not obvious that a beautiful café is located in that strip mall … you can easily pass by and ignore it. Secondly, and more importantly, they should get rid of that station where it’s insinuated that you need to bring the plates/cups after you’re done. When customers give a tip, they expect full service. Plus, I’ve been to TAKSIM Street in Turkey and there’s no way that any café in Istanbul would suggest you do this. That’s not part of the Turkish hospitality and tradition, so it would be important for a Turkish themed café here in Ottawa to maintain that as well.

I highly recommend you visit TAKSIM Sweets and Bakes. It will definitely become one of your favorite spots in the west end.