Food Guides

Sourdough, wholemeal and rye; pain au chocolat, almond croissants and cinnamon swirls; brownies, doughnuts and cookies; we could go on (and on and on) because we bloody love bread, pastries and cakes, and thankfully London is chock full of places to get them. These are the best bakeries in London.

There are loads of independent and artisan bakeries spread across the city, specialising in everything from sourdough bread to cruffins (that’s croissant-muffin hybrid FYI) to whoopie pies. Morny Bakehouse in Leyton bills itself as a ‘modern Viennoiserie’ so you can expect some big twists on classic baked goods, like Nutella honeycomb nut donuts, Marmite & aged comte cruffins, matcha & miso salted caramel croissants, tropical Lamingtons, and cheesecake brownies. Layla on Portobello Road specialises in baking with wild grains and using ancient traditions, and they are all about preventing food waste, meaning you can expect sausage rolls made using left over croissant dough, Wildfarmed peanut chocolate cookies and rhubarb cardamom pastries.

If you’re looking for some baked goods from a little further afield, Panadera in Kentish Town is turning out a whole range of Filipino-inspired treats, including pandesal bread, coco bread, corned beef hash sandos, calamansi meringue pies and ube tarts. There’s also Wild Goose in Leytonstone, London’s first South African inspired bakery, where you can get passionfruit yservarkie (South Africa’s lamington), koeksister doughnuts, melk tarts and bobotie hand pies. And Arôme Bakery in Covent Garden marries Eastern and Western flavours in their selection of pastries, with signatures such as the Gula Melaka Coconut Twists, Miso Bacon Escargot and the Arôme Honey Butter Toast.

The Best Bakeries

Sourdough, wholemeal and rye; pain au chocolat, almond croissants and cinnamon swirls; brownies, doughnuts and cookies; we could go on (and on and on) because we bloody love bread, pastries and cakes, and thankfully London is chock full of places to get them. These are the best bakeries in London.

There are loads of independent and artisan bakeries spread across the city, specialising in everything from sourdough bread to cruffins (that’s croissant-muffin hybrid FYI) to whoopie pies. Morny Bakehouse in Leyton bills itself as a ‘modern Viennoiserie’ so you can expect some big twists on classic baked goods, like Nutella honeycomb nut donuts, Marmite & aged comte cruffins, matcha & miso salted caramel croissants, tropical Lamingtons, and cheesecake brownies. Layla on Portobello Road specialises in baking with wild grains and using ancient traditions, and they are all about preventing food waste, meaning you can expect sausage rolls made using left over croissant dough, Wildfarmed peanut chocolate cookies and rhubarb cardamom pastries.

If you’re looking for some baked goods from a little further afield, Panadera in Kentish Town is turning out a whole range of Filipino-inspired treats, including pandesal bread, coco bread, corned beef hash sandos, calamansi meringue pies and ube tarts. There’s also Wild Goose in Leytonstone, London’s first South African inspired bakery, where you can get passionfruit yservarkie (South Africa’s lamington), koeksister doughnuts, melk tarts and bobotie hand pies. And Arôme Bakery in Covent Garden marries Eastern and Western flavours in their selection of pastries, with signatures such as the Gula Melaka Coconut Twists, Miso Bacon Escargot and the Arôme Honey Butter Toast.

E5 BAKEHOUSE

Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH

e5 is an artisan bakery in the centre of London Fields (literally, it’s right under the station) which specialises in sourdough and rare, specialty breads. As well as being able to buy a loaf there, the bakehouse doubles as a cafe, serving toasted sarnies, soups and stews. They also do classes so you can learn how to make your own.

POPHAMS

Pophams Bakery, Richmond Road, London

After winning a legion of fans in Islington for their Insta-worthy pastries – especially THAT bacon maple Danish – Pophams has now expanded to three sites, including one in Hackney and one in Victoria Park. As well as sweet pastries such as the nectarine and custard, and the exceptional almond croissant, there’s also savoury options like the rosemary and sea salt twist, and the now legendary Marmite & Schlossberger swirl. And just to prove they can do much more than just beautiful pastries, Pophams also has an evening menu at their Hackney bakery serving freshly rolled pastas such as pig cheek tortellini and nduja scarpinocc.

LUMINARY BAKERY

71-73 Allen Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8RY

Luminary Bakery is one of our favourite bakeries in London and not only because they make some of the best cinnamon swirls we’ve ever had. The bakery is a social enterprise designed to offer opportunities for women from an economic and social disadvantage to build a future for themselves – and that means you can feast on cake guilt-free.

ERIC'S

Former Flor head baker Helen Evans has opened her own bakery, Eric’s, in Dulwich, where she’s showcasing UK-grown wheat in breads like sourdough porridge bread, seeded rolls, 100% rye tin loaves, focaccia and fruit loaves. She’s also knocking out doughnuts, croissants, morning buns, millionaire’s shortbread, and wild garlic & cheese scrolls, all of which are drawing queues around the block, and if all that pastry goodness gets you inspired to get in the kitchen, Helen’s running workshops at Eric’s too.

ST. JOHN BAKERY

3 Neal's Yard, London WC2H 9DP

As well as a perm home in Neal’s Yard, there’s a St. JOHN Bakery arch in Bermondsey too. Both sling out Eccles cakes, sourdough bread, rye loaves, raisin loves, those MEGA doughnuts and a range of other tasty pastry treats, and you can also pick up some of that St John wine too. Brownies and vino…don’t mind if we do.

KURO BAKERY

Kuro Bakery, from the same people behind other Notting Hill spots by the same name (Kuro Coffee and Kuro Eatery), specialises in freshly baked pastries and bread with that signature Kuro minamalist look. The selection is masterminded by head baker Adam Morley and includes the likes of seasonal filled croissants, Danish delicacies, Shokupan and Kuro’s own Sakuras (wheel-shaped croissants filled with cream – reminscent of the viral suprême croissant). The bakery is open from 8am every day, so if you’re after a sweet treat on the way to work, here’s where to get it.

THE DUSTY KNUCKLE

Abbot St, London E8 3DP

After operating out of a shipping container in a Dalston car park for a few years, The Dusty Knuckle bakery expanded to a corner of a brick building, albeit still in that same car park. It’s a small but nicely done space, with walls lined with bread and amazing looking pastries for you to takeaway. There’s also a big kitchen at the back where you can spy the bakers slapping out dough ready to go into the oven. What makes The Dusty Knuckle especially great is their support for young Londoners through their successful work experience and employment programmes. Plus they run regular education classes in food and baking that are delivered in schools and youth clubs.

IRENE

South London really knows how to maximise on baked goods, and new bakery and wine bar IRENE is no exception. Located in Camberwell, these guys specialise in sourdough, sandwiches and pastries to go alongside your fresh morning (or afternoon!) coffee. Every Friday and Saturday evening, their wine bar opens, where they pour organic, biodynamic and natty wines by the glass and bottle, served up with a specially selected food menu. Get a bakery that can do both. 

LAYLA BAKERY

Layla on Portobello Road specialises in baking with wild grains and using ancient traditions, so not only do they work closely with their suppliers but they are all about sourcing seasonal ingredients and preventing food waste too. And that means you can expect sausage rolls made using left over croissant dough (and HG Walter pork) on the menu, as well as other baked goods including wildfarmed peanut chocolate cookies and rhubarb cardamom pastries.

BUNS FROM HOME

After finding themselves at a loose end during (the first) lockdown, brothers Barney and Gabriel started Buns From Home, baking pastries and delivering them around town by bike. One year on and one crowdfunding campaign later, they opened their first shop in Notting Hill. On the menu you’ll find the classics including cinnamon and cardamom croissant buns, as well as other flavours like vanilla custard cream, double baked pistachio frangipane and creamy tiramisu made with their very own espresso laminated dough. They also serve up some very spesh savoury options too; think chicken caesar croissant buns and eggs & avo stuffed into buttery pastry alongside breads and babkas.

CHARLES ARTISAN BREAD STRATFORD

Having made a name for itself in Clapton, micro-bakery Charles Artisan Bread has grown in size with a second site in Stratford. Fresh loaves are baked in-house, with choices including sourdough, granary and focaccia, as are the handmade classic and vegan pastries, including cinnamon and cardamom buns and various vegan danishes and doughnuts. You can also shop local east London produce such as honey from Hackney Garden Honey, vegan cheese from I AM NUT UK and chilli sauces from Dalston Chillies.

VIOLET

47 Wilton Way, London E8 3ED

Violet is an East London institution serving up Dalston roasted Allpress coffee alongside cookies, whoopie pies and cupcakes with seasonal buttercreams. This place even has the royal seal of approval as founder Claire Ptak was the woman behind Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake. Impressive, eh? So if you’re strolling the streets of Hackney, this is where to head to for a pit stop.

SOURDOUGH SOPHIA

After baking bread from her kitchen and delivering it to friends and neighbours during lockdown, Sophia and her husband Jesse have moved out of the house and into a proper pastel pink-fronted bakery in Crouch End. Sourdough Sophia specialises in sourdough breads (duh!) made using organic locally grown milled grains and fermented for 24 hours, as well as other treats like croissants, cruffins, brownies, danishes and cheesecakes. Everything is made fresh in-house and you can see all the goods on the counter in the shop.

PANADERA

83 Kentish Town Rd, London NW1 8NY

Florence Mae Maglanoc and Omar Shah, the pair behind Filipino ‘dirty’ ice cream shop Mamasons, also run Panadera in Kentish Town. The bakery serves up a range of Filipino-inspired treats including the classic pandesal bread, coco bread, corned beef hash sandos, calamansi meringue pie, ube (that’s the purple yam that’s been turned into ice cream and stuffed into doughnuts at Mamasons) tart, and drinks like milo mocha and brown sugar taro boba.

WILD GOOSE

370-371 Station Road, London

Wild Goose is London’s first South African inspired bakery, offering locally sourced and seasonal goods. Husband and wife duo, Vernon and Kristin, founded Wild Goose after building respective careers in the hospitality industry and together they’ve built this community bakery in Leytonstone. Expect the likes of passionfruit yservarkie (South Africa’s lamington); pork, apple & paprika sausage rolls; koeksister doughnuts; melk tarts; bobotie hand pies; and apricot bread & butter pudding. These guys are a social enterprise too, giving at least 360 eggs to a local food bank every week.

BREAD AHEAD

Borough Market, Cathedral Street, London

They may have bread in their name but the thing Bread Ahead has become most known for is those doughnuts, generously filled and topped with the likes of velvet chocolate, sea salted caramel & honeycomb, lemon curd and raspberry jams. If you don’t go nuts for doughnuts, fear not, because Bread Ahead is also slinging out pain au chocolat, chocolate brownies, cinnamon buns, babka buns, carrot cake, sausage rolls, wholemeal bread, raisin loaves, baguettes, and more. You can even get slices of pizza, stuffed rolls and sarnies – yep you won’t be going hungry here. And if you want to learn the secrets behind Bread Ahead’s baked goods, join one of their baking workshops and have a go yourself.

JOLENE

67 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ

After starting life as a bakery and restaurant on Newington Green, the Jolene family has grown to include Big Jo in Hornsey and satellite bakeries in Shoreditch and Islington. Regenerative farming is key to Jolene so they work closely with Wildfarmed to make everything from lemon tarts, cardamom buns and custard slices to sourdough loaves, sausage rolls and nduja honey buns.

AROME BAKERY

Arôme Bakery in Covent Garden marries Eastern and Western flavours in their selection of pastries, having been co-founded by French pastry chef Alix Andre and Singaporean restaurateur Ellen Chew. Occupying a space in central London, Arôme can be your spot for your morning croissant or pain au chocolat on the way to work, or an afternoon hangout with one of their signatures such as the Gula Melaka Coconut Twists, Pistachio Chocolate or Miso Bacon Escargot and the Arôme Honey Butter Toast.

CUT THE MUSTARD

Loved by locals for their freshly baked sourdough loaves, Cut the Mustard has two locations (both in Tooting) where they also pull salted caramel rye brownies, triple chocolate fudge cake and black pudding sausage rolls out of their ovens. You can get the likes of wild mushrooms on toasted porridge sourdough with herby mushroom butter, fried purple sage & crispy egg, and homemade baked beans with crispy layered potatoes, house brown sauce & poached eggs to takeaway.

MIEL

Tucked away on a serene side street off of Euston Road, Miel is an independent bakery inspired by French boulangeries and patisseries. Among the rows of pastries you’ll find the classics – almond and ham & cheese croissants, pain au chocolats, cinnamon buns, sourdough loaves, cookies and madeleines – as well as some more speciality options like cardamom buns, Iranian pistachio and praline rolls, kouign amann and canelés. Owner and pastry chef Shaheen Peerbhai also hosts baking workshops at the Fitzrovia location, sharing her experience and training with Londoners who want to hone their baking skills.

CHESTNUT BAKERY

Chestnut Bakery in Belgravia celebrates international baking with its wide range of pastries, cakes and bread from around the world, set a beautiful open space where you can peak into the kitchen to see bakers rolling croissants and laminating pastry next to the clay oven. Among the baked goods on offer are bagels, monkey bread, focaccia, ka’ak, sourdough loaves, tomato fougasse, vegan cinnamon rolls, krembos and aubergine parm croissants, and that’s before you get onto the flatbreads and sarnies. YUM.

TOAD

Londoners Oliver and Rebecca are behind this South-East London bakery and they are serving up innovative pastries using intentionally-sourced ingredients, UK-grown grains and high-welfare dairy. Think almond croissants with wholemeal butterscotch frangipane; marinated courgette and pecorino pastries; slow braised goat, Guinness and smoked cheddar croissants with a BBQ glaze; and potato and sauerkraut sourdough, alongside the classic bakery suspects too.

KOSSOFFS

259 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JT

Established back in the 1920s by Jewish refugee Wolf Kossoff, this independent artisanal bakery is now located in the heart of Kentish Town and run by great-grandson Aaron. These pastries are probably the butteriest you’ll find in London (bold but true) and feature the likes of miso and chive swirl; twice-baked hazelnut croissant; kimcheese claw; and Earl Grey swirl amongst others. There’s also a lovely line-up of sarnies, salads and sourdough to tuck into too.

CHATSWORTH BAKEHOUSE

Getting your hands on Chatsworth Bakehouse’s weekly sarnie special is tougher than securing Glasto tickets. Yep, this neighbourhood small batch bakery in Crystal Palace is selling out of their sarnies in as little as five minutes and it’s no surprise when they’re slinging the likes of Only The Bravas (stuffed with Jersey Royals, romesco, fried almonds and alioli); the B(urrata).L.T, and a Tasty Tonno – all whacked inside their signature freshly baked focaccia. At the weekends it’s slabs of focaccia pizza and sweet treats all the way (hello dulce de leche basque cheesecake).

TOKLAS BAKERY

Toklas, renowned for its delish Mediterranean menu, has a fine bakery located in the same building. On the bakery menu you’ll find a whole range of classics including a selection of breads, pastries, filled sandwiches and viennoiserie. Sometimes (most of the time) one isn’t enough, so make sure to grab yourself a selection – we’d recommend the laminated brioche filled with light, airy and delicate pistachio cream. 

BIRLEY BAKERY

28-30 Cale Street, London SW3 6PT

From Robin Birley, the founder of 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s, Birley Bakery is a modern take on a traditional French boulangerie pâtisserie. It comes as Birley’s latest project with long-time collaborator and executive pastry chef Vincent Zanardi, who launched L’Atelier de Robuchon along with Joël Robuchon in 2006. Among the pastry options on offer are a selection of French classics – such as croissants, madeleines and sablé biscuits, all baked on-site – as well as some signature treats. There’s also freshly baked bread, including sourdough, rye, tapenade rolls and seeded baguettes, that you can take away. Otherwise, you can also grab some cakes, such as New York-style cheesecake and banana bread, and fine chocolates.


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