Harbord Bakery is your average neighbourhood bakery...some decent items, some over-rated items.
***As a note, I am presently not patronizing Harbord Bakery (although I haven't changed their rating). They are leading the OPPOSITION to BIKE LANES on Harbord Street. If you do choose to patronize them, I encourage you to mention your support for bike lanes in Toronto.***
The HITS: I enjoy some of their small pastries and sweets. They do some lovely challah bread. I've also enjoyed the Danish and Ruggelach.
The MISSES: Bagels (they seem to skip the boiling step giving them a bread texture). Most of the cakes end up being oddly bland with boring cake sandwiched between even less flavourful whipped cream. I'll also pass on the "empanada"-like pastries...anyone of Latin extraction would be a bit perplexed by these creations.
The SERVICE is also hit and miss. I've had the sweetest staff ever helping me. I've also had the bakery equivalent of an old cat-lady grade school librarian who's having a bad day.
OVERALL, this is a hit-and-miss bakery. If you figure out what's good and what's not good, you can rely on consistency in those items. The prices are a bit on the higher side. As I said, I'm boycotting them until they come to their senses on the bike lanes.