We came hungry. We left convinced.
Dessert is where restaurants tell the truth.
After the service rush. After the savoury fireworks. After restraint has been somewhat exercised. Dessert reveals who planned, who cared, and who understood the assignment: that the final note matters most.
The BFT team did a quiet dessert circuit across the city. Here’s where we’d go again. And exactly what we’d order.
iHalo Krunch
Female-led note: Co-founded by Charlene D’Aoust
Best dessert: Charcoal waffle with ice cream & cereal crunch
Late-night factor: Built for after hours
Dessert after 9 p.m. should feel intentional, not like a last resort.
The charcoal waffle is crisp, graphic, and structurally sound. It holds ice cream, toppings, and conversation without collapsing into chaos. Playful, yes, but controlled.
You come here because you’ve decided the night deserves a proper ending.
Why it works: Late night is a design choice.
N.L. Ginzburg
Female-led note: Co-founded by Carmelina Imola
Best dessert: Sorbetto al mango
A Toronto-based Italian-Jewish trattoria in Little Italy that understands the power of not tampering with what already works.
The sorbet is rich and unapologetically generous. No reinvention. No performance.
You take some home. That’s assumed.
Why it works: Preservation is a strategy.
Zia’s Place
Female-led note: Co-founders include Madeleine Hayles and Jess Maiorano
Best dessert: House tiramisu. Staff says: “Will be a staple forever.”
This tiramisu doesn’t chase drama.
Balanced, soft, lightly indulgent. Not too boozy. Not too sweet. It feels considered...like someone imagined how you’d want to feel at the end of the night.
An exhale, in dessert form.
Why it works: Care reads.
DaiLo
Best dessert: Off-menu Vietnamese tiramisu
This dessert assumes intelligence. Also worth mentioning that the team calls it “one of the best things on the menu right now.”
Chocolate ganache anchors the plate, while the familiar architecture of tiramisu is rebuilt — finished with a cloud of egg foam and cookie crumble for texture.
You don’t rush it.
You stay present.
Why it works: Restraint is a skill.
Mimi Chinese
Best dessert: The restaurant’s recent rebrand clarified the menu, and the standout is the banana egg waffle — caramelized sugar, banana flambé, and just enough crunch.
Comforting without leaning on nostalgia.
Thoughtful without needing to explain itself.
Why it works: Authority doesn’t over-explain.
The BFT note:
Leadership shows up in endings.
Not every dessert needs reinvention.
Not every restaurant needs spectacle.
What matters is whether the final course was designed — or just added.
These were designed.
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