Rising Up: Benjamina Ebuehi’s Fave London Bakeries

Mitshel Ibrahim already runs one of London’s best Italian restaurants with Ombra and now he’s got one of the best bakeries in town in Forno. The bakery, pastificio and deli has become famous for its giant maritozzi, but everything the team knock out, from cornetti and sfogliatelle to thick focaccia pizza slices, is excellent. And as well as your baked goods and coffee, you can pick up fresh pasta, cold cuts, cheeses and more Italian goodies from the fridges to take home. The original Forno is open just across the road from Ombra and there’s also a second branch in Leytonstone.

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.

Back in 2020, Maya Manwaring started a micro bakery out of her house in Brixton. It began as a lockdown creative outlet but soon became a full-fledged business and a hit with her South London community when she started selling her loaves of sourdough. She was able to move out of her house and into a dedicated bakery in Tulse Hill in 2023, where she’s been baking sourdough bread (the jalapeno, chilli and cheddar loaves have become a signature), focaccia, galettes, quiches, frangipane tarts, Basque cheesecake, spiced buns, white chocolate & almond cookies, and all manner of dangerously tasty treats.

Run by self-taught baker Jackie McKinson, Aries Bakehouse is a real Brixton gem. Locals love it – and will often be seen queuing – for the croissants, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins and sourdough loaves but it’s not just about the classics here, with Jackie also turning out bakes like jerk chicken sausage rolls and ackee & saltfish danishes. Products from small and local makers on the shelves only add to the community vibe here.

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.

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.

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.

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).

Dubbed Queen of Cakes, Lily Jones’ (aka Vanilli) bakery is a well-established East End destination for all things pastry. You can visit their location nestled in a nook just off Columbia Road and choose from a weekly rotating selection of seasonal pastries and cakes, sausage rolls and brownies. Or, if you’ve got a special occasion coming up, Lily Vanilli’s custom order cakes are things of Instagrammable dreams – always elaborately decorated in a Rococo style with bright colours, pastels and frills of icing.

After learning to bake in Lebanon, Grove Lane Deli owner Danielle Moylan moved to London with her husband in 2021 and GLD was born. The cookies she started baking built a cult following and now the people of Camberwell keep coming back for her cakes sold (like lemon pistachio, apple hazelnut, and vanilla blackberry mascarpone), pies (like chocolate pecan, tiramisu, strawberry rhubarb, and apple raspberry), cream buns, generously filled sarnies, and killer flat whites. If you can leave with only buying one slice of cake, you’re better people than us.