The best bakeries in London
Elevenses and tea time have made a major comeback over the past year. Whether it’s picking up a pastry and a hot coffee to go, having a birthday cake delivered to a distanced friend or ordering a treat to perk up your workday, these bakeries are redefining the London bakery scene. So, we’ve rather selflessly tried and tested many hotspots to bring you our list of the best bakeries in London to visit ASAP.
Fortitude Bakehouse
Take-home treat: cream-filled beignets
You'll spot the queue here before you spot the bakery itself – winding along a cobbled Bloomsbury street, punters patient but eager to pick their poison from the vast counter of sourdough cakes, hand-baked bread and artisan pastries. This drafty but buzzy space was founded by Dee Rettali, who oversees a crack team of bakers who start at 4am each morning. We even named the team's cream-filled beignets one of the most iconic dishes in London.
Address: Fortitude Bakehouse, 35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JD
Website: fortitudebakehouse.com
Toad
Take-home treat: iced fingers
TOAD seems to be the bakery on everyone’s mind this year, and for good reason. The menu celebrates the UK’s seasonality, focusing on low-mileage ingredients that can bring their recipes to life. The sight of delectable goodies, baskets overflowing with treats and freshly baked sourdough is a welcome oasis from the bustling high street. This place oozes warmth and abundance, the intoxicating scents making it clear that you are in for a delicious treat. The decision is difficult, so I go home with a plum & marzipan sun bun, anise & orange blossom iced finger and a chocolate chip and soy sauce cookie. I’m taken with the fun risks they take with classic baked goods - and no doubt it pays off. The iced finger is perfectly bouncy, and the icing is thick with sweet notes of liquorice and hints of floral from the orange blossom. The cookie is a perfect balance of sweet and salty, while the sun bun is both tart and rich with nutty marzipan - a perfect balance of sweet and sour.
Address: Toad, 44 Peckham Road, London SE5 8PX
Website: toadbakery.com
Forno
Take-home treat: maritozzi
The new kid on the block, Forno, is East London’s hottest bakery, pastificio and deli dreamed up by the founder of the critically acclaimed Italian restaurant, Ombra. On an unassuming alley off the bustling Mare Street, Forno is a magical fusion of the most indulgent Italian-inspired eats and that signature East London cool aesthetic. Set in a converted railway arch, Forno stretches deeper than you expect at first glance into the archway with ample seating (much needed due to the inevitable weekend rush). If lucky enough to bag a seat, settle in and feast on the creamiest and fluffiest maritozzi or sugar-encrusted pastries oozing with the zingiest lemon curd. For a more savoury affair, enjoy fuss-free sandwiches made fresh for the day, cold cuts, fresh bread and handmade pasta to take home. Plus, it wouldn’t be an East London deli without the option to drink in or take home one of the carefully curated bottles of wine, of course.
Address: Forno, 322 Andrews Road, London E8 4RP
Website: forno.london
Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley
Take-home treat: fruit “trompe l’œil” (changes seasonally)
Cédric Grolet won best pâtissier in the world in 2018 for his iconic trompe-l’œil artistry – ultra-realistic desserts created to mimic flowers and fruits that are almost too pretty to eat. For his first venture outside of France, Grolet blessed Londoners with a Belgravia bakery at The Berkeley hotel. Only steps from Hyde Park, it’s the perfect spot to tuck into a fresh batch of flaky, buttery croissants, creamy vanilla flan and pain Suisse au chocolat – which should always be dipped in a cappuccino. The al-a-carte style Berkeley café inside stocks a variety of his sweet treats, from intricate waffle flowers topped with chantilly cream to viennoiseries galore. The marigold and lemon flower tart is a winner, but it’s the signature fruit trompe-l’œil that steals the show. Both delights for the eyes and the palate, the strawberry, peach and lemon creations are individually displayed in a glass cloche, showcasing the brilliant mastery of the Frenchman and his team. Plus, it makes for a picture-worthy shot when sliced open. To get a taste of everything, book their unforgettable pastry lab experience. An eight-seater, eight-course, seasonally changing line-up of cult classics, bespoke additions and a mix of small savoury dishes to tame the sugar rush. If you’re in Paris, pop by his other two patisseries in Le Meurice and Opéra. Zahra Surya Darma
Address: Wilton Pl, London SW1X 7RL
Website: the-berkeley.co.uk
David CotsworthSHIOK! Pâtisserie
Take-home treat: Apple Tin
Pronounced ‘Shook’, this Singapore-influenced patisserie is a newcomer to London’s bakery scene but it’s already making waves for the exotic flavours and intricate sculptures drawn from chef Cherish Finden’s childhood memories in South East Asia. Tucked under the Pan Pacific London hotel, you’ll find a dreamy line-up of handbag-inspired pastries with zingy lemon curd and raspberry compote, chocolate teapots reminiscent of her grandfather, and coconut-shaped treats infused with pandan, lemongrass and pineapple. There’s a spacious sitting area for those delicate desserts like the Paris Brest and the Apple Tin – layers of apple compote, vanilla mousse, caramel sponge and enclosed with Valrhona chocolate created to look like a tin can. And for those on the go, pick up the two Singapore staples: pineapple tarts and bubble tea. Zahra Surya Darma
Address: Devonshire House, 3 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4JX
Website: panpacific.com/london/shiok
Sam HarrisPophams Bakery
Take-home treat: laminated maple-bacon croissant
Pophams Bakery really did pop right into the heart of Islington when it opened its doors in October 2017. With major social media fame for their laminated pastries, and with the maple-bacon croissant leading the pack, Pophams have opened a second permanent spot on the Richmond Road in Hackney. There is also open kitchen along with a chef’s table and pasta bar (for a new dinner service) headed up by current baker Phil King.
VIDEO: How to make Pophams Bakery's famous Marmite and cheese swirl
Address: 19 Prebend Street, Islington, London N1 8PF
Website: pophamsbakery.com
Other locations: Hackney, Victoria Park
Stefan JohnsonSt. JOHN Bakery
Take-home treat: raspberry-jam doughnut
Fergus Henderson’s St John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields, is a classic London restaurant. Regulars visit for the nose-to-tail menu: expect bone marrow, terrine and cuts of the highest quality meat. The St John Group opened their first stand-alone bakery on Druid Street in Bermondsey in 2010 with a second opening in Covent Garden a few years later. The ingredients are sourced from local suppliers, with dairy from Neal’s Yard just around the corner. Be sure to get your hands on their doughnuts, the jam filling changes seasonally, and when Easter comes around, their hot cross buns are some of the best in the city.
Address: 3 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP
Website: stjohnrestaurant.com
Other locations: Bermondsey
Fabrique Bakery
Take-home treat: Levain with Gruyère and Kalamata olives
At this Swedish bakery, fika comes more than recommended. The buns are the specialty: cinnamon, cardamom or saffron – all of which come with gooey warm centres. The sourdough and organic rye breads are also excellent, as is the cranberry and Gouda loaf. The original outpost is tucked away below Hoxton Overground station on a perfectly picturesque cobblestoned street – a great spot to enjoy a cup of Johan & Nyström coffee and a beautifully knotted bun before work.
Address: Arch 385, Geffrye Street, Shoreditch, London E2 8HZ
Website: fabrique.co.uk
Other locations: Fitzrovia, Notting Hill, Covent Garden, High Holborn
Pavilion
Take-home treat: almond croissant
This always-bustling lakeside café dishes up an all-day breakfast menu, in which full fry-ups, Sri Lankan hoppers and classic avocado toast are among the staples. This is a place for a long-weekend morning in Victoria Park but if you’re on the go, head to their two other East London bakeries, on Broadway Market and Columbia Road, for fresh breads and flaky pastries. If you find yourself in Cornwall, their Newquay location is a pilgrimage for loyal followers.
Address: Old Ford Road, London E9 7DE
Website: pavilionbakery.com
Patricia NivenJolene
Take-home treat: fruit danish (changes seasonally)
From the team behind restaurants Primeur and Westerns Laundry comes Jolene, a bakery but also an all-day dining spot in leafy Newington Green. The focus here is on the grain, which is chemical-free. With a stone mill onsite, they make their own flour in-house using 100 per cent unaltered grains grown sustainably on farms in Sussex and Norfolk. The line-up includes raisin bread, sausage rolls, financiers, chocolate and Guinness cake and cinnamon buns. For brunch, the fried eggs with jamon and potatoes prove very popular.
Address: 22 Newington Green, London N16 9PU
Website: jolenen16.com
The Dusty Knuckle Bakery
Take-home treat: house sourdough
Two words: the sandwiches. What used to be housed in an old shipping container, behind the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, is now just across the lot in an airy brick and steel café. There is a cult following for lunchtime made-to-order sandwiches so we recommend heading there before 1pm. The fillings are inventive and favourites include porchetta, salsa verde, braised spring onion and purple sprouting broccoli, chard, olives, feta and almonds on doughy focaccia bread. Morning buns, turnovers and savoury breads are also on the menu. Look out for their recently set-up baking school, and get your hands rolling.
Address: Abbot Street, Dalston, London E8 3DP
Website: thedustyknuckle.com
Layla Bakery
Take-home treat: the sausage rolls
West London has been somewhat lagging behind East London when it comes to bakeries. Enter Layla, which opened its doors in March 2021 bringing made-on-site sourdough to Portobello Road. There’s no delivery service but it’s worth making the pilgrimage for the perfect croissants, sausage rolls and focaccia sarnies that change weekly but might be filled with roast celeriac, pickled radish, tahini and chard. Freshly squeezed blood-orange juice and coffee from Brixton’s Assembly roasters can be sipped in the sunshine from Monday 12 April, when deckchairs and tables will spill out onto the pavement in front of the bakery.
Address: 332 Portobello Road, London W10 5SA
Website: laylabakery.com
Butter and Crust
Take-home treat: caramelised white-chocolate, almond and spelt cookies
Start Saturday mornings off right with a subscription to Butter & Crust, South London’s new sourdough-by-bicycle service. Deliveries land on the doorstep between 7–9am, and you can choose between three sourdough loaves and then add Monmouth Coffee, Townsend Farm apple juice, cultured butter, seasonal jams and Husk & Honey granola to your order. Perhaps best of all are the sweet treats for which Butter & Crust teams up with top artisan bakeries to offer a different set of four pastries each week. These might include cardamom buns from The Snapery Bakery, caramelised white-chocolate, almond and spelt cookies from Maya’s Bakehouse or kouign-amann from Hedone. Having launched in October 2020, the subcription’s delivery zone is currently limited to Dulwich, Herne Hill, Peckham and West Norwood but there are plans afoot to expand soon.
Website: butterandcrust.com
Pickles and Bakes
Take-home treat: edible-paint biscuits
Natalie Lewis quickly turned to baking sweet goods from her north London home when lockdown hit in 2020, and the enterprise has since grown into a delicious country-wide delivery service. Orders grew for her fudgy gooey brownies – some mixed with peanut butter, freeze-dried fruits and CBD – fluffy madeleines and mini cakes. Now, with until-recently homeschooled children and more time spent at home than out, Lewis has devised paint-your-own biscuits. Sets come in all shapes and sizes – dinosaurs, ice-cream cones and delicate flowers – and with a small paintbrush and palette of edible paints, so all you need is a bit of water for a sweet afternoon with the kids.
Website: picklesandbakes.com
Buns From Home
Take-home treat: cinnamon buns
Having launched from a private kitchen during the first lockdown, Buns From Home is now a buzzing bakery just off Portobello that sees the Notting Hill crowd queuing along the street, waiting patiently for their chance to buy the house speciality: cinnamon and cardamom buns. There’s plenty more besides and it’s worth visiting in-person to see the counter piled with tempting buns in flavours such as tiramisu, cheesecake and pistachio and coconut, as well as savoury Croque monsieur focaccia. Alternatively, you can order a box straight to the door.
Address: 128 Talbot Road, Notting Hill, London W11 1JA
Website: bunsfromhome.com
Other locations: The crew now have locations in Holland Park, Covent Garden and the City, too.
Sourdough Sophia
Take-home treat: the N8 sourdough
In April 2020 Sophia Sutton-Jones seized the moment, turning her dining room at home into a micro-bakery and sending her husband out pedalling fresh sourdough loaves around Crouch End. Spurred on by an almighty Instagram following (100K and counting) she’s since opened the doors to a perfect pink bakery, Sourdough Sophia. From Wednesday to Saturday she does a roaring trade in baked-on-site bread, Basque cheesecake, salted pecan rye brownies, chocolate babka croissant loaves, sourdough pretzels and ‘nduja croissants. Get there as early as you can, or else pre-order online as everything tends to sell out. In-person baking workshops will follow later this year, but for now you can sign up to her online courses and find tips and tutorials @sourdoughsophia.
Address: 24 Middle Lane, Crouch End, N8 8PL
Website: sourdoughsophia.co.uk
Charlie McKayThe Proof
Take-home treat: The 'Proofiteroles'
You might have thought flyering was a thing of the past. But during a lockdown who could resist a delicious cake menu falling through their letterbox in the middle of working from home? Orders soon started flooding in for The Proof’s bespoke birthday cakes and revived retro puddings including its signature Proofiteroles, lemon-meringue tart and sticky-toffee pudding. Delivery soon went London-wide, with the option to add Hackney Gelato ice cream and Chapel Down sparkling wine to the order too. It’s not just for special occasions; you can also sign up to a subscription for eight portions of pudding delivered to your door every Saturday.
Website: theproof.com
Bread Ahead
Take-home treat: the donuts and cinnamon rolls
Bread Ahead made their name by serving bread to local fruit-and-veg suppliers in Borough Market. They are best known for their fluffy, sweet-filled donuts (salted caramel, jam, Nutella) but they also make an extravagant cinnamon roll and soft powdered amaretti that are nothing like the store-bought rocks. Head to their Soho outpost for a taste of brioche French toast and a cheesy croque monsieur or take a course at the Bread Ahead baking school in Borough Market and learn their sourdough secrets.
Address: Borough Market, Cathedral Street, London SE1 9DE
Website: breadahead.com
Other locations: South Kensington, Hampstead, Chelsea, Wembley
Violet Cakes
Take-home treat: whoopie pies
Violet has risen to serious fame after head baker and owner Claire Ptak was chosen to bake the lemon and elderflower wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding last year. Yet with all of the attention, Violet has kept its sweet Dalston charm since its days as a stall in Broadway Market. Cakes can be made to order but we suggest heading over to Ptak’s east London shop for her cupcakes and whoopie pies, two biscuity cake sides topped and filled with seasonal buttercream (salted caramel, melted Valrhona dark chocolate, fresh fruit purée) – all made with organic and low intervention ingredients.
Address: 47 Wilton Way, Dalston, London E8 3ED
Website: violetcakes.com
Giles SmithWilly's Pies
Take-home treat: the roast chicken pie
Will Lewis decided lockdown was the time to set up a pie-delivery service. A new weekly menu drops every Sunday at midday with limited numbers of pies that sell out in a flash, so you better be quick. The fillings are classic: roast chicken, wild garlic and leek; cauliflower cheese, spinach and ricotta; plus sweets such as treacle tarts and apple pies. Delivery to North and East London happens by bicycle on Wednesdays, and to South and West London on Thursdays. If launching a business in lockdown wasn’t enough, Lewis now hopes to tackle the football market and revolutionise stadium food for good. Watch this space.
Website: willyspies.com
Ed ReeveMargot Bakery
Take-home treat: tahini and halva babka
The brainchild of two locals (a baker and designer), where Muuto lamps and handmade patterned tiles cover the floor. Sourdough is the specialty and a small team of bakers take three to four days to bake each of Margot’s signature breads: sourdough staples and takes on classic ryes. This is a destination bakery with a focus on ingredients. Make your way over to East Finchley for a taste of the tahini and halva, chocolate and cinnamon babkas and the changing sourdough pastries (twice-baked apple croissants).
Address: 121 East End Road, East Finchley, London N2 0SZ
Website: margotbakery.co.uk
E5 Bakehouse
Take-home treat: the Hackney Wild
Crowds flock to this Hackney hotspot for the mistake-turned-specialty bread, the Hackney Wild, a blend of heritage and modern wheat grains, which apparently is chef Michel Roux Jr’s favourite in the city. Housed in a Hackney railway arch, the café/school is completely committed to sustainability and high-quality goods. All the bread is made by hand with organic and locally sourced ingredients and packaged in biodegradable products. The menu changes daily: from sausage rolls and spanakopita to sourdough pizzas and lemon drizzle cakes.
Address: E5 Bakehouse, Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, Hackney, London E8 3PH
Website: e5bakehouse.com