By the Way Bakery

After a week of on a gluten-​free/​dairy-​free diet, I decided to pay a visit to this little bakery since dessert is at the bottom of my food pyramid. I was so impressed. First off, there was a decent variety of offerings: muffins, cookies, brownies, mini bunt cakes, and even full size cakes for walk-​in orders. Secondly, for a specialty bakery, the prices weren’t through the roof, rather on the lower end of the scale ($ 2 cookies!).
I got the sour cherry, lemon poppyseed, and apple crumb mini cakes to take home and share (The shop’s too small to eat in, besides the couple of stools in the window.). Each was great. The apple crumb was probably my favorite because it taste just like an apple cider donut. How they made this stuff without gluten or dairy is some magic because there were no weird this-​is-​not-​real-​dessert chalky flavors. Definitely a place I’d visit again!

Haven’t tried a lot of gluten-​free desserts but I couldn’t tell the difference in any case! Loved the cake of the day: coconut — which was tasty, moist, with big flakes of coconut to top it off. The samples of brownie and chocolate chip cookie were great too. If this is gluten-​free, I’m all in :)

I was very disappointed with this bakery especially after the ratings it was given. The selection was very limited and the muffins I bought definitely were not fresh which it being 10:30a on a Sunday morning was very surprising.

I loved the brownies at By the Way Bakery so much that when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to stop by to pick up a few before they closed on my last night in NYC I asked a friend to get them for me. Thankfully, they were happy to help out. Also, the samples I tried were really good. I have to admit that I was skeptical when I saw they were gluten free and was happy to be proved wrong. I will definitely be back the next time I’m in town!

The staff is incredibly helpful and accommodating. Amazingly delicious gluten free pastries and cookies. I can’t wait to try their challah!

Unbelievable how these yummy little cakes are gluten-​free and dairy-​free! They aren’t vegan but I like to get treats here for my GF and kosher friends.

Cute little bakery with amazing pastries.
I got a coconut chocolate cake for my birthday and it was a hit. I also tried the plain coconut and liked it, the red velvet, and my favorite– the chocolate.
(I had the apple cake as well and hated it, but I don’t like apples so I don’t count)
For a gluten free and dairy free cake, they’re actually really damn good.
Nice, clean store layout as well.
My only complaint is that I feel like a lot of people get tricked here. They promote themselves as dairy free, but they use eggs, I know that eggs aren’t dairy, but not everyone thinks that way and it would suck if someone spent money on a cake that they thought was vegan. The lovely cashier, Sarah, explained things to me though and how they’re kosher and eggs aren’t dairy, and that they don’t run into that problem as often as I might think– but when they do they clear it up right away. That’s good. I really enjoyed her customer service, it didn’t feel too forced or overjoyed. I was able to look at cakes without the dreaded unwanted conversations and extra details. They also sell candles!!!

Good food! Okay prices ($ 5.50 for a small bundt cake?) Otherwise, I loved the food.

SOOO happy by the way is on the UES. There are hardly any gluten free options around here and this place is truly exceptional.

Went on a trip to NYC with a group of 7 people, 4 of which are gluten free (including me). The 4 of us decided that dessert had to be bought and this bakery was only a mile from the restaurant where we had lunch, so we embarked on our gluten free dessert journey.
I was very impressed. They had samples of the lemon poppyseed cake in a bowl on the counter. Everyone loved the taste and texture of the cake. Sometimes gluten free desserts can be dry and crumbly, but nothing we got from here had that problem.
My mom and I both got brownies and they were probably the best gluten free brownies I’ve had. They were rich but not too rich and I’m still impressed at how they weren’t dry or crumbly at all. I also got a ginger cookie and it was really good too. It had a nice ginger flavor without being overwhelming.
The shop is pretty small, but I guess that’s not unusual in NY. It probably only fits maybe 10 people at once.
Both the girls that work there were really nice and they had a good selection. If you’re gluten free and visiting/​living in Manhattan, I would definitely recommend this bakery.

Ive been to both the UES and UWS locations, both have great customer service. I also do appreciate that the staff know which products have soy in them too (trying to reduce my soy intake). I am gluten intolerant, and trying to reduce my dairy intake, but I love baked goods. Ive tried many different types of GF bakeries in the city and love that these baked goods retain their moisture like the «real thing» (with gluten). For most of their products you can’t even tell its GF which I LOVE. Thank you for existing. I spoke with the owner once and she said she use to be a lawyer and then decided to pursue her passion (just like my husband). Thank you for pursuing what you love and allowing others to experience that joy!
Spectacular (it tastes like the «real thing»): almond cookie, brownie, coconut chewy, granola
Better than most: muffins
Avg: you can taste that the chocolate chip cookie is GF, needs more umph.
Just ordered a cake (the lemon bread, lemon curdle layers, cream cheese frosting) and will review later. Can’t wait to try more of their stuff. Just bought $ 90 worth of baked goods :)
PLEASE come to brooklyn heights/​dumbo!!! We need a GF/​DF/​kosher/​pareve bakery here! You will have NO competition and a huge following.

By far, this is one of my favorite bakeries plus it’s fairly close to my home :)…which is kind of dangerous. This place is packed near Jewish holidays because everyone is trying to get their challah /​dessert orders (no joke). Line was out the door the other day.
They have a list of all the ingredients for each dessert so definitely ask them if you have concerns. I am very allergic to soy, and I know that gluten free /​dairy-​free desserts tends to have them as a substitute so need to check every time. I love the lemon poppy cake, the blueberry corn muffin and their brownies. The brownies are gooey and cakey at the same time. The lemon poppy is moist and lemony with a bit of the crunch from the poppy seeds. MMMmMm.

Staff: very friendly and patient
Everything is gluten and dairy free.
Ginger cookie: soft and very sweet with a sharp ginger spice to it
Chocolate chip cookie: soft and chewy. Too sweet for my liking
Almond cookie: good, but nothing to write home about.

Awesomeness, prefecto,
In fact, the sign of the full refund means they are all about Quality and experience! Loved almond Cookie with a tint of lemon, than again, the rest were not fat behind!!!
An small note, they should consider Gluten Free French breads.

Super nice staff.
Amazing baked goods and I generally don’t like baked goods. EVERYTHING is gluten free and dairy free.
***food allergy information *** If you have a disease like celiac this place has «clean kitchen» and can show you the binder showing the source of ingredients. One guy who works here is extremely gluten intolerant and has no issues, he told me.

This place is unreal! I’ve been gf for almost 2 years and this is the only bakery I’ve found that makes gf treats that taste as good as non-​gf ones!
I brought a bunch of gf muffins to share with some non-​gf friends and now they come here to buy them on their own, that’s saying something!
The staff is kind and helpful, the shop is adorable, and the food is delicious! Can’t beat it :)

It’s a bit too sweet and not as satisfying as when I first tried it. Still good but not as excited about it as I was.

By the Way Bakery makes delicious gluten-​free and dairy-​free treats! BTW, an old-​fashioned bakery, makes everything by hand and from scratch. Its name comes from, «Oh by the way, all our baked goods are gluten and dairy free.» You would not know this because it tastes so good.
I got to try the Pumpkin and the Blueberry Corn muffins, and both were irresistible. The Pumpkin muffin packs tons of pumpkin spice flavors and is topped with sprinkles of sugar to add an extra dimension of sweetness. The muffin is moist and goes oh-​so-​well with a cup of tea/​coffee.
The Blueberry Corn was bursting with real, huge blueberries. I could taste the texture of the stoneground cornmeal with each and every bite. The blueberries, while not as many as I would have liked, are plump and ripe.

While I have been meaning to come to this bakery for a long time, this was the first time I came here. We were walking around UWS and my boyfriend realized that this place was close by. So even though I had had a breakfast at home, followed by a crêpe, we trudged our way to 90^th street determined to get some gluten free and dairy free goodies from here.
Since, I have become gluten free baked goods are not that easy to find and the ones that I do end up finding are not always that good. Usually my go to place in the city for vegan + GF goodies is Babycakes, for one it’s delicious and for two its close by (since I live in lower Manhattan).
Everything here is gluten free and dairy free, so I felt like a kid in the candy store tasting and trying and trying to figure out what I wanted to get, all the time feeling so stuffed that I possibly couldn’t eat more. They have tea breads, muffins, brownies, cookies, little cakes — really everything your little gluten free heart desires!
I ended up getting the orange cake topped with toasted almonds, this one was citrus-​y and not too sweet (perfect for my taste buds). I also got the sour cherry cake — it was tart and sweet, all at the same time. This one was sweeter than the orange cake — my guess is to balance the tartness of the cherries. Both the cakes were so moist and melted in your mouth, which was the case even a day later when I had the leftovers. It is hard to create gluten free baked goods that taste good — believe me, I bake at home and its hard to create something gluten free and still make it light and moist. It’s an art to master the balance of the GF flours with the starches with the xanthum gum — all to replicate the simple pastry flour which is used in non-​gluten free cooking.
I would highly recommend trying out this place, whether you are gluten free /​diary free or not and especially if you find yourself in the neighborhood. Definitely some of the best gluten free baked goods I have tasted!

In 2007, I had [what only I thought was] a cute sign on my college dorm room door that said GF. Everyone thought it meant girlfriend, and people seemed confused about why I would put it on my door. It was also, unfortunately, a terrible year for gluten-​free bakeries. I came back home and found few pastries to please me.
Fast forward to 2014: Everyone I know now uses the GF acronym to refer to gluten-​free food, and there are bakeries that are similarly capitalizing on acronym usage. BTW Bakery is one of these bakeries— their cleverly named bakery can convince even the least gluten-​conscious individual to enter and discover the wonder inside. Salivating yet?
Aside from having celiac disease, I also have a milk protein allergy (a rarity in adulthood, but I’m all kinds of special). BTW Bakery is both gluten-​free and dairy-​free, and many of their products do not contain soy. It’s also certifiably kosher.
What did I eat that I know it’s so good? Well, I had the orange almond cake, which is apparently a staple for gluten-​free bakeries, since I had the very same orange almond-​cake at two different gluten-​free bakeries in Massachusetts. However, if I could give an extra star for going above and beyond, I would do that. The orange almond cake here was the perfect consistency. It did not crumble, and this one was even better than the short-​lived Starbucks valencia orange cake (which was so damn delicious, BTW, I had a hard time believing it was gluten-​free).
The menu is not very extensive and the bakery is very, very small. It is, quite possibly, the smallest of the gluten-​free bakeries I have visited. However, they seemed to have a decent enough selection… and they make full cakes!!! They also had bread for sale. I stay away from pastries and bread, since it just doesn’t make sense to indulge in something that will undoubtedly be heavily processed for the gluten-​free world. But if you’re feeling really nostalgic for the brownies your mom used to let you have for your birthday in second grade, then maybe you should consider stopping by here.
The orange almond cake I had here was in the shape of a muffin and topped with almonds, and for $ 5.50, it wasn’t bad at all. It was great. The best part? No gluten-​free, dairy-​free aftertaste.
Do you believe in magic? You will when you treat yourself to something from here.