London’s bakery scene is booming. Right across the capital, there’s world-class baking going on behind the doors of industrial units and cute little cafés. And our appetite for baked goods is at an all-time-high. Queues snake down the road and round the corner from London’s best bakeries, fuelled by seemingly neverending social feeds of ridiculously tasty bakes from around the world.
What was once a hunt for a decent sourdough or a really good croissant has turned into a city-wide obsession of the next big thing, with tiny neighbourhood bakehouses, ambitious pastry counters and destination spots popping up everywhere.
You can now spend a Saturday bakery-hopping your way around London, picking up everything from properly fermented sourdough and flaky viennoiserie to cruffins, sticky buns, stuffed flatbreads and pastries.
Whether you’re craving Japanese curry buns or seeking out the best bread in town, these are the bakeries we’re spending our dough at.
London’s Best Bakeries
Kanazawa
Tucked just off Camden Passage on Islington Green is a cute little curry bun hatch worth seeking out. Everything’s made fresh to order: hand-kneaded dough wrapped around a slow-simmered Japanese curry, then coated in panko and deep-fried for that crisp-outside, fluffy-inside bite. You’ll find the original beef curry bun alongside veggie, vegan, cheese and sausage versions.
Beyond the curry buns, don’t miss the melon pan – a light, fluffy sweet bun with a crunchy, scone-like biscuit crust. There are nama doughnuts too, filled with either Earl Grey diplomat cream or matcha cream, plus shokupan (Japanese milk loaf) to take away in small or large sizes.
Address | Unit 3, 34 Islington Green, London, N1 8DU
For more information | japanesecurrybreadkanazawa.com
Onsu
Michael Kwan, former Executive Pastry Chef at The Dorchester, has opened his own bakery Onsu, which blends his Asian background with classic European techniques. Find black sesame doughnuts, salted egg yolk mille-feuille, hojicha milk puddings, popcorn & miso caramel Paris-Brests and wagyu beef curry buns inside.
Address | 55A Dean St, London W1D 6AG
For more information | @onsubakery
HOKO
Husband and wife team Nicole Ma and Ryan Leung, the pair behind HOKO’s Brick Lane café, and more recently, Covent Garden’s Wonton Noodle Bar, have opened their third site just around the corner from the OG cafe on Bethnal Green Road, taking over the old Dinah’s Cat Emporium.
Everything is baked on site in full view of the counter, with the menu covering the usual Hong Kong bakery staples alongside a few of HOKO’s own additions. Expect Hong Kong egg tarts, Ovaltine cream buns, a garlic cone, snow crust char siu buns, a seaweed egg salad bun, swiss rolls, Hong Kong-style toast, soft milk bread and more. Drinks include a signature Hong Kong milk tea, an oat foam coffee served with a choice of three sugar levels, as well as hot tea to take away.
Address | 152-154 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6DG
For more information | @bakeryhoko
Chai Guys Bakehouse
After getting Londoners hooked on sweet and spicy chai at Spitalfields Market and Seven Dials, Chai Guys headed west to Portobello Road. Alongside their signature drinks, they serve a range of bakes and artisanal pastries made with British ingredients and quality spices, drawing on food traditions from France, India, Japan and Scandinavia.
The cardamom-infused chai spice milk bread with salted butter is a highlight, while soft-serve chai and a seasonal selection of sweet and savoury treats round out the offering. And, of course, there’s all the chai you can drink.
Address | 193 Portobello Rd, London W11 2ED
For more information | Website
E5 Bakehouse
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.
Address | Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
For more information | Website
Pophams
After winning a legion of fans in Islington for their Insta-worthy pastries – especially THAT bacon maple Danish – Pophams 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.
Address | Pophams Bakery, Richmond Road, London
For more information | Website
Luminary Bakery
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.
Address | 71-73 Allen Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8RY
For more information | Website
Farha
Husband-and-wife team Umar and Nargis transformed a disused garage in Leytonstone into Farha, a Middle Eastern bakery and coffee house. With stints at Morny, Toklas, Fortitude and Cedric Grolet, the team turn out French-style viennoiserie with Middle Eastern flavours, from banana brûlée danishes and chai-orange buns to za’atar torsades and roasted aubergine danishes. Pair them with speciality coffee or a cardamom brown sugar latte.
Address | 42 High Road, London E15 2BP
For more information | @farha.london
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.
Address | 20 Upland Rd, London SE22 9EF
For more information | Website
Lockdown Bakehouse
Lockdown Bakehouse is a family-run set of restaurants in South West London that started during lockdown and has become known for their Australian brunch. With a relaxed, dog-friendly, VERY community-heavy vibe, they’re open seven days a week, serving everything from croissants to full Aussie breakfasts to Tasmanian rolls.
Address | Ferrier Street, London SW18 1SW
For more information | Website
St. John Bakery
The St. JOHN Bakery arch in Bermondsey slings 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.
Address | 72 Druid Street, London SE1 2HH
For more information | Website
Kuro Bakery
Kuro Bakery, from the same people behind other Notting Hill spots by the same name (Kuro Coffee and Kuro Bagels), specialises in freshly baked pastries and bread with that signature Kuro minamalist look. The selection includes the likes of seasonal filled croissants, Danish delicacies and Kuro’s own Sakuras (wheel-shaped croissants filled with cream – reminiscent 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.
Address | 95 Notting Hill Gate, Notting Hill, London W11 3JZ
For more information | Website
The Dusty Knuckle
After operating out of a shipping container in the Dalston car park of the Bootstrap offices, The Dusty Knuckle has since expanded into one of those former offices, with a bakery, cafe, and a terrace where they run pizza nights in the summer and regular guest chef Dusty Dinners, and a second cafe and pizza restaurant in Haringey. The bakery turns out a range of breads and pastries, including pain au chocolat, morning buns, potato bread, and feta & honey swirls. The monster sarnies, made using their signature bubbly bread and filled with everything from lemongrass pork meatballs and sambal mayo to mapo tofu and sweet potato. What makes The Dusty Knuckle especially great is their support for young Londoners who are attached to the justice system, coming out of custody, or are asylum seekers, through their successful work experience and employment programmes.
Address | Abbot St, London E8 3DP
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 31 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RS
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 332 Portobello Road, London
For more information | Website
Edami
Edami specialises in mankoushe, traditional Lebanese flatbreads baked fresh and topped to order. The menu covers classics like za’atar, akkawi jibneh and lahm b’ajeen, alongside dips, salads and pastries, plus sweet versions topped with carob and tahini, halawa or chocolate. There’s homemade ayran and Lebanese coffee to drink, while the owner’s Senegalese roots also come through in the ice cream.
Address | 73-75 Shacklewell Lane, E8 2EB
For more information | @edamibakery
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, and have since gone on to open several locations all over London. 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.
Address | Buns From Home, 128 Talbot Road, London
For more information | Website
Sourdough Sophia
After baking bread from her kitchen and delivering it to friends and neighbours during lockdown, Sophia and her husband Jesse moved out of the house and into a proper pastel pink-fronted bakery in Crouch End. A few years on, that pink has spread across north London, with bakeries now in Crouch End (recently upsized to a bigger spot on Topsfield Parade, complete with a garden), Primrose Hill, Hampstead, Highgate and Essex Road.
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 and you’ll find all the goods lined up on the counter in each shop.
Address | 24 Middle Ln, London N8 8PL & Various Locations
For more information | Website
Wild Goose
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.
Address | 370-371 Station Road, London
For more information | Website
Bread Ahead
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.
Address | Borough Market, Cathedral Street, London
For more information | Website
Jolene
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.
Address | 67 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 9 Mercer St, London WC2H 9QJ
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 68 Moyser Rd, London SW16 6SQ
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 60-61 Warren St, London W1T 5NU
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 17-21 Elizabeth St, London SW1W 9RP
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 44 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
For more information | Website
Kossoffs
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.
Address | 259 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JT
For more information | Website
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).
Address | 120a Anerley Rd, London SE19 2AN
For more information | Website
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.
Address | 9 Surrey St, Temple, London WC2R 2ND
For more information | Website
Panadera
As part of her 1996 Group, Florence Mae Maglanoc runs Panadera in Marylebone and Soho. The bakeries serves up a range of Filipino-inspired treats including garlic cheese pandesal, strawberry matcha cookies, buko pandan frappes, 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. Pair your bakes with drinks like milo mocha, buko pandan frappes and brown sugar taro boba.
Address | 7 Picton Place, London W1U 1BN
For more information | Website
Fortitude Bakehouse
The brains behind Patisserie Organic and Fernandez & Wells, Dee Rettali and Jorge Fernandez, came together to open Fortitude Bakehouse in 2018 specialising in ferment craft baking. Their cakes made with sourdough come in flavours like Guinness & chocolate and honey & almond and there are also pastries on offer – sticky buns and danishes, or sausage rolls if you fancy something savoury. But it’s the beignets, impossibly fat and filled with flavoured cream, that have made Fortitude famous, so be prepared to queue if you want one.
Address | 35 Colonnade, London
For more information | Website
Forno
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.
Address | 322 Andrews Rd, London E8 4RL
For more information | Website
Quince Bakery
Having led the bakeries and pastry sections at places like Lyle’s, Flor and The River Cafe, and spent a season at Hamblin Bread, it’s fair to say Anna Higham knows her way around a bake. Bread is at the heart of the Quince Bakery offering, with country loaves, sourdough, whole grain miche and baguettes made from UK stoneground flour. There’s also be a changing range of sweet and savoury bakes on the counter, including brown butter buns, seasonal yeasted buns, wholegrain hand pies with seasonal fruit filling (like gooseberry in the summer and forced rhubarb in the winter), oat cookies, wholegrain palmiers, rice pudding tarts, savoury hand pies (like chicken & ham and potato & cheese), and gluten-free cakes (like quince chestnut, chocolate buckwheat and olive oil ricotta) by the slice.
Address | 267 New North Road, London N1 7AA
For more information | Website
Happy Sky Bakery
With Happy Sky Bakery, Motoko McNulty has been bringing a taste of Japan to Shepherd’s Bush since 2007, winning fans thanks to her Tokyo milk bread and other Japanese treats. At the end of 2024 she opened a second Happy Sky Bakery on Hanway Street, tucked just off Oxford Street. The central London bakery is selling the same baked goods you’d find over in Shepherd’s Bush, including the signature milk bread, Tokyo honey toast, matcha pistachio croissants, yuzu custard tarts, teriyaki chicken buns, matcha cinnamon rolls, apple tatin croissants, chicken katsu sandos, adzuki bean pan, matcha mochi ribbons, melon pan and more.
Address | 40 Hanway Street, London W1T 1UT
For more information | Website
August Bakery
This Clapham bakery only opened at the beginning of 2025 but founders Harry Robins and Florrie Beard have already made a name for themselves amongst London’s pastry lovers. The breads, which are all made with Wildfarmed flour, are excellent (the sourdough is particularly good) but it’s the range of seasonal bakes that’ll keep you coming back. The selection changes often but you can expect treats like kouign amman, chocolate hazelnut babka, orange ricciarelli, banoffee danish and ginger cookies.
Address | 4-6a Battersea Rise, London SW11 1ED
For more information | Website
