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.