To Live For Bakery & Cafe

One of the best cafes in Vancouver - innovative and delicious food, warm customer experience and chill ambiance!

A busy cafe on a sunny Sunday but for good reason! All vegan, everything tasted amazing, staff were kind and organized. If they were stressed by all the people in line it didn’t show - they handled the line like champs and it moved fast! So, if you show up and there's a line don’t let that scare you away. Seating was a bit limited but enough people coming and going that we were still able to find a place to sit. A kids table in the middle of the seating area if that matters to you! Haven’t really seen that elsewhere. Also a big window to look into watching the kitchen make their desserts. Owner definitely takes a lot of pride in the cafe and it’s evident (: saw her out and about taking photos of new baked goods!

This is the type of place I've dreamed of. An all-vegan bakery that has equally amazing savoury and sweet items, with a vibe and aestetic that I want to be in. (The sausage rolls beat any of the one's I've had in the UK). I also like how nothing overtly says it's vegan, because 'vegan food' is just food with compassion. Taste and quality is not compromised in any way.

I've been here maybe a dozen times so far and it delivers everytime. I've brought a handful of non-vegans in who are all just as impressed with the baked goods, coffee and take-home cakes - comparing it to some of the best non-vegan options they've had. My co-workers have been equally impressed since I've made this the new office treats supplier. My absolute favourite has to be when a non-vegan has one of the croissants and says "How can you make such an amazing croissant without butter" and I smile and say "vegan magic! ":)

My favourite vegan bakery in Vancouver! I have visited a couple of times now and am always impressed with the variety of baked goods available. I also got to try the vegan soft serve, which was delicious and just like I had remembered. The pricing here is super reasonable for a bakery in Vancouver. It’s definitely much quieter visiting during a week day compared to the weekends where seating may be more limited. Excited to see what new items TLF comes up with in the future.

Lovely vegan bakery! Friendly staff, reasonable prices, cute ambience and delicious pastries! As a mom, I appreciated the family friendliness- from providing a kids table with books and toys to kids priced soft serve and staff opening the door for my stroller. My daughter and I tried the banana bread, pop tart, cheese and onion scone and soft serve. We both left with happy bellies! Also loved seeing Erin, the owner, walking around and checking in with guests. We’ll be back very soon!

Have followed Erin for years, shared a commissary kitchen with her when she was doing her breakfast cookie. Never really understood the hype but had big hopes for the brick and mortar location but I have to say I was beyond underwhelmed. We tried a few items between friends to share and as a collective felt everything was okay but not incredible or anything to write home about. I was happy to see someone other than Erin there as it’s quite unappetizing the way she slops everything around the kitchen. I would recommend it to anyone who visits places to appreciate the aesthetic.

The food was amazing as well as the coffee, great variety, some of the best vegan treats I’ve had!
The staff however all seemed unhappy and none of them were very friendly or helpful. They didn’t ask us if it was to go or for here, and they gave us in a takeout cup and we asked if we could get a mug to put it in and they gave us a tiny dirty mug and seemed like it was a big task to give us a new clean mug, no one seemed to be smiling or happy.

To Live For is a great addition to the community. I consider myself vegan curious and this place has me coming back over and over again. The owner puts so much effort in what she does and there is real love and care in the products they offer. This a great coffee and pastry shop full stop.

Amazing cheddar scones, the chocolate cookie was divine, and lavender latte was just sweet enough. Absolutely love coming to a bakery where everything is cruelty free!

The quality of the baked goods and coffee is excellent. We have always gone with our children who make a new friend or two coloring at the kids table. It has a great vibe but I recommend going during the weekday and specifically in the morning when it's less busy and you can chill out a bit.

Almost all the pastries are amazing and if you’re not vegan, you would have a hard time telling the difference. The banana bread is moist and my friend always asks me to pick her up a piece of carrot cake.

The strawberry filled croissant wasn’t so great and I would love to see the greens put into the breakfast sandwich after they heat it up, as the greens wilt in the heat and become chewy.

I highly recommend visiting this location and picking up some extra pastries for friends

This is my first-ever online review, but I had to do it, because this place is unmatched. I’ve been vegan for almost 28 years and I’m admittedly pretty sceptical when a new vegan place opens, because the majority of them are overpriced and underwhelming. For that reason, I tend to go to non-vegan restaurants that have vegan options. I’d rather support fully-vegan establishments, but I’d also rather eat good food and not pay $20 for a sandwich. I’m not into sweets, so I can’t speak to TLF’s deserts, but their savoury offerings are a game changer. Whenever I’m in the UK, I basically live off of Greggs’ vegan sausage rolls and now I have a local place whose rolls by-far trump theirs. For those complaining about TLF being too small or busy, just get the food to go and be grateful that somebody finally opened the best vegan business in Vancouver. Thanks for existing

Editing this to give my 3 star reasoning.

We had a Nanaimo bar, a drip coffee and a flat white. The Nanaimo bar tasted good, the flat white was great! But the drip coffee was terrible. Like coffee that sat out for a few days that lost all its flavor.

Other then that, the atmosphere was great and the staff are awesome!

The name is spot on! A Vancouver community magnet where the desserts, sandwiches, coffee and more will not disappoint. Kids and adults can watch the bakery team in action who are working hard “visibly” behind the scenes on the days tasty treats. We were impressed with the owners “open the door for you” service. Great culture, clean, comfortable and top of class desserts! Nanaimo St is alive and well with this added value to East Van

I ordered custom cupcakes here and was beyond happy with them! They tasted so good and the presentation was, as you can see, soo beautiful. The kids absolutely LOVED them and especially enjoyed the strawberry filling that oozed out from the middle of each cupcake after the first bite. They had so much fun eating these. Was the perfect amount of sweetness and a complete hit. Highly recommend!

Wonderful energy and spectacular treats, all vegan! A full sensory experience and possibly the best Flat White in Vancouver. Matcha cupcake is out of this world delicious! Have 2!

Just wow and WOW. Everything is absolutely delicious and proper! Friendly service and lovely vibe. The coffee was also so good. I wish they had more branches in other areas!

To Live For is our favourite please to grab a quick breakfast while adventuring in the city. The breakfast croissant is AMAZING. We have not been disappointed in trying any of the baked good like the cheese scone or cinnamon buns. They always have fun feature items, like the Peach Pop Tart!

Their cakes are delicious! My daughter recent had a birthday and she really wanted a Highland Cow Birthday Cake. We are so grateful that the cake decorators were able to pull off this elaborate design. My daughter was in love with it and our guests couldn’t believe a vegan cake could taste that good.

First time at this bakery while visiting a friend who lives nearby. He said he had delicious cupcakes from here so we walked up for a breakfast snack. I tried the breakfast cookie and he had a scone and both were delicious. I bought a slice of lemon loaf and banana loaf for my kids back in Nanaimo, they were devoured when I got home. It is hard to believe everything is vegan. The prices were very reasonable. An employee or owner asked how our coffee was when we were done, which is a rare customer service gesture. We will definitely be back, thank you.

Overall a good place that has good food. Only street parking but there's lots of inner streets to find a spot to park. Food is solid. My thoughts:
• Chocolate hazelnut mousse cake - buy extra 10/10
• Carrot cake w/ cream cheese icing - gets sweet quick 9/10
• Monthly feature item (april-may) :
- Lemon meringue croissant - good 8.5/10
- Matcha cruffin - 9/10

The people working are friendly and professional and there is lots of love behind every creation.
I have never been crazy for scones but these ones are AMAZING! The cheese scone is my favourite right now.

I have brought several non vegan people and everyone was satisfied and happy!

Really delicious pastries! But please please install a bike rack out front. Annoying to have to lock bikes to poles and benches and keep an eye on them the whole time. Otherwise loved the food!