The Toledo area boasts local businesses that specialize in sweet goodness and homemade treats to dazzle the taste buds and warm the soul. From creamy gelato to designer croissants, Toledo’s sweet shops can make your Valentine’s Day (and beyond) special.
Melt Crepes & Gelato
Melt Crepes & Gelato4405 Talmadge Road, Toledo
419-517-9911, meltcrepes.com
Melt Crepes & Gelato owner, Yaser Rifai, fills a sweet—and sometimes savory—niche in Toledo. Tired of trekking to Detroit for authentic Middle Eastern-style crepes, Rifai, originally from Jordan, opened his own shop. “I was driving more than an hour to Dearborn or Detroit for crepes,” explains Rifai. “And I love Italian gelato, but I couldn’t find the authentic product here. So I came up with the idea to combine them.”
The result is Melt, a sweet Mecca in Toledo where devoted disciples go for fresh gelato, trendy Dubai-style crepes, boba tea and milkshakes. Try the Marvelous Bueno Crepe, made with bueno sauce (a delicious cocoa concoction), Nutella, crushed Kinder Bueno candy bars, then drizzled with white chocolate and bueno sauce.
“Our menu is always changing, we don’t want to get boring,” said Rifai. “We’ll be coming out with all new menu items very shortly.” For a delicious virtual tour of the menu, visit meltcrepes.com.
So Sweet Lebanese & French Pastries
So Sweet Lebanese & French Pastries4038 Talmadge Road, Toledo
419-474-5445, sosweetpastries.com
“Leave the gun, take the cannoli,” is a famous quote from “The Godfather,” and the cannoli at So Sweet is truly an offer no one can refuse. The French cakes, macarons, several different types of baklava and other sweets are pretty awesome, too. Owned by Aalaa Eldeib, Riyad Abdel-Ghani, and their son Muhammed Abdel-Ghani, So Sweet is a popular go-to for catering weddings, parties and other social events. They specialize in different types of cakes and their baked masterpieces are sold at other local bakeries. Their selection is top-notch, such as the Opera, a slice of layered chocolate and vanilla goodness topped with a chocolate layer topped with intricate gold frosting that spells out the word “Opera” and hte Mignon, a vanilla based cake layered with white chocolate mousse and crowned with glazed kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and wrapped with toasted almonds. Their kingdom of baklava has 10 varieties to tempt your taste buds, including the Esmaleeya, a phyllo pastry layered with sweet ashta cream and topped with pistachios and sticky sweet syrup. So Sweet delivers an array that will certainly delight your sweetie anytime, including on Valentine’s Day.
Mia Dessert Bar
Mia Dessert Bar4024 North Holland-Sylvania Road, Sylvania
567-694-1746, facebook.com/MIA.DessertBar1
Located in a strip mall on the outskirts of Sylvania, Mia Dessert Bar stands out with its large purple neon reading “Dreams Dough Come True.” This small but warm dessert destination is the result of a dream of owner Mohamed Smaili, who learned to bake croissants during the pandemic, and now bakes them for a living. Mia’s has designer croissants, perfectly spiraled, looking like baked conch shells, topped with chocolate and other delights. And you can always get just a plain croissant if that suits you.
Smaili opened Mia in June 2025 and word-of-mouth quickly traveled about the man with the magic croissants. “I try to make a bunch of different varieties,” explains Smaili. “We switch up our menu every week and are always trying new things.”
The weekly croissant menu regularly features pistachio and raspberry, choco- late cream and, for those who want something a bit more savory than sweet, the turkey, bacon and cheese croissant. Mia also offers cheesecakes, by the square or as a whole cake, along with a wide variety of macarons and cookies.
A note on the menu board encourages patrons to “Do Things With Love.” Smaili’s creations certainly include that special ingredient.
