UPDATED : September 2026
I just spent a month in London and visited 10 bakeries !
After
spending months in London and visiting plenty of bakeries, here are my
reviews of the best bakeries in London! I have categorized them
according to if I will visit again — yes, maybe, no.
1) Don't Tell Dad
Hands down the best bakery I've visited in London in 2026. I popped by during lunchtime and was quite surprised to see the restaurant pretty packed. The food must be good I reckon. I had a hard time deciding what to choose from their selection of bakes but decided on a Ham & Pickled Tomatillo and Cinnamon Bun. The savoury creation was fragrant, had great textures, but was a tad lacking in terms of the amount of filling but I still enjoyed it. The Cinnamon Bun was the highlight though. Incredibly soft and fluffy, no hard edges at all, perfectly perfumed with just the right amount of cinnamon. The bun was good enough on its own, but oh that glorious blob of cream cheese just made it that much better.
Will I return? YES!
10-14 Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RD, United Kingdom
2) August
An honest bakery with a lovely seating area tucked at the back, August proves to be a hotspot where their savoury bakes seem to run out fast. I snaaged a corn pain suisse which was nicely crispy, and had a good ratio of cheese and corn filling. I also brought home a tomato foccacia for my family.
Will I return? Yes!
4-6a Battersea Rise, London SW11 1ED, United Kingdom
3) Mahali & Co
An interesting bakery, Mahali & Co prides itself on creating bakes and condiments inspired by various cultures. One look at the merchandise on the shelves, the flavours of the bakes, and the diversity profile of the staff, and you will know that they take multi-culturalism very seriously here. Expect to find ingredients such as sambal and pandan in their bakes, and even anzac cookies in their offerings. I really wanted to try the sambal bacon and cheese but couldn't help but be drawn to their signature banana bread which comes in different flavours. I got the original flavour. The texture was wonderfully consistent, a tad dense, not as moist as I'd liked, but it was fragrant and made for a good snack.
Will I return? Yes!
24 Battersea Park Rd, London SW11 4HY, United Kingdom
4) Wood Street Bakery
It's a tad far away, but if you're in Walthamstow, you've gotta hit them up. I got a ham and cheese croissant and despite it not being warmed up, it was incredibly crisp on the outside, buttery and fragrant, and quite a filling and satisfying treat.
Will I return? Yes!
21 Wood St, London E17 3JX, United Kingdom
5) TOAD Bakery
I
popped by on a weekday around 1230pm and half of their bakes were
already sold out. There was a constant stream of people here and I could
totally see why. I had their quiche with smoked ham hock which was just
launched recently, and it was delicious! I also had their Apple &
Custard Danish which was really good as well.
Will I return? Yes!
44 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
6) Chatsworth Bakehouse
I got there 2 hours before closing time on Sunday, and there were only 3 treacle tarts left. It was good though!
Will I return : Yes!
120a Anerley Rd, London SE19 2AN
7) Pomme Bakery
Their
Sausage Roll is one of the best I've ever had(and I've eaten ALOT of
sausage rolls). Coffee is good too, apparently they use estate dairy
milk.
Will I return : Yes!
68 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8DP
8) Arome
I
have been back many times for the Honey Toast and Egg Tart. The
pastries always look so enticing, and the nori pastry I had on my last
visit was yummy too!
9) Layla Bakery
Possibly the hottest bakery in Nottinghill, Layla Bakery has really great bakes and the best pain au chocolat I've had in London!
Will I return? Yes!
332 Portobello Rd, London W10 5SA, United Kingdom
10) Happy Sky Bakery
Note their baking hours and what time the different bakes are released. I got there about 2 hours before their closing time in the afternoon and all the items that I wanted were already sold out.
Will I return? Yes
94 Askew Rd, London W12 9BL, United Kingdom
11) Forno
The famous Maritozzi was sold out when I got there, but I really enjoyed the lemon cruffin!
12) Buns From Home
Here's
where you can get possibly the best cinnamon buns in all of London.
They come in all sorts of unique flavours here! I'm quite basic so I
always get the original cinnamon one but have also tried the pistachio
and ham & cheese one before. Will like to try the banana bread one
day!
Will I return : Yes!
13) Miel
I
bought 4 pastries from here the very first time I popped by. Everything
just looked so good! Come here if you're looking for yummy French
pastries
Will I return : Yes!
60-61 Warren St, London W1T 5NU
14) Bread Ahead
Known
for their donuts, Bread Ahead at Borough Market is no stranger to long
queues. They certainly come up with some pretty cool flavours, and the
latest creme brulee one is quite interesting.
Will I return : Yes!
15) Chestnut Bakery
Not the best photo but I found their creations to be quite unique and I'll like to try their flatbread some day!
Will I return : Yes!
16) St. JOHN
I've
only tried their sourdough bread when I dined in at their restaurant
but it
was pretty good! They're known for their donuts so I'm looking forward
to trying them! Not sure if you can get piping hot madeleines from their
bakeries as well, but if you happen to see them, make sure you get
them! I tried the madeleines at the restaurant and they were stellar.
26 St John Street
17) Cantoast
An Asian bakery in Marylebone, Cantoast draws crowds with its Asian-inspired bakes which boast ingredients such as kaya, and salted egg. I got the Spring Onion and Cream Cheese bread which had way too much filling. The cream cheese was essentially 80% of the creation. It was quite heavy, and there was just too little bread to go around. I only ate half of it and tossed it. It wasn't bad but just not quite what I was looking for.
Will I return : Maybe
21-23 Nutford Pl, London W1H 5YH, United Kingdom
18) Sourdough Sophia
This was one of the bakeries that I really wanted to visit back in 2024 but didn't have the chance to. Really pleased to see that they have expanded so rapidly and now have multiple outlets. I visited the original one, which is a pretty little outfit. I got the sausage roll, and it was a little underwhelming with a limp pastry, and a tough sausage centre that could use a little more seasoning. I sat next to a lady outside the bakery and asked how was her baked goods and she said it was "okay". Perhaps I should have gotten their popular cruffins instead
Will I return? Maybe
117-119 Essex Road, N1 2SN, London
https://sourdoughsophia.co.uk/
19) Clover
A pop up till late 2026, Clover sits quietly in Cramer Street, and you might walk past it if you're not paying attention. When I got there on a Sunday afternoon, they were pretty much sold out. They had a couple of cookies and tomato cake left. I got a brown butter cookie and it was alright. I might be a tad critical of this since I used to bake and sell brown butter cookies.
Will I return? Maybe
16 Cramer St, London W1U 4EA, United Kingdom
20) Harvey Bakehouse
A local favourite among Putney residents, Harvey Bakehouse offers quite an enticing range of organic bakes. I tried the sausage roll and scotch egg, which I asked to be heated up. The sausage roll was alright but the scotch egg had a soft and tasteless crust, and the yolks were completed cooked. I took away an apple tart and lemon madeleine. The lemon madeleine was really fluffy and soft, and had a great lemon flavour. I quite enjoyed the apple tart as well.
Will I return? Maybe
232 Upper Richmond Rd, London SW15 6TG, United Kingdom
21) Luminary Bakery
Luminary Bakery is a social enterprise in Stoke Newington that helps to create jobs and opportunities for disadvantaged women. I asked the staff which item out of 3 that I fancied would she recommend, and she said she's not tried any of them. But she helped me to decide on the cheese scone anyway. It was quite hard and dry, with a light buttery fragrance. I found it difficult to finish, and didn't manage to.
Will I return? Maybe
71-73 Allen Rd, London N16 8RY, United Kingdom
22) The Dusty Knuckle
Made
quite a journey to this hidden bakery with high hopes and got their
chicken sandwich for lunch. The bread was quite nice and fluffy but the
amount of chicken was really sad.. Maybe I should have tried their
regular bakes.
Will I return : Maybe
Abbot St, London E8 3DP
23) Chai Guys Bakehouse
24) Pophams Bakery
No
doubt one of the most popular bakeries in London, Pophams Bakery has a
few outlets (all of which are very pretty). I had a ham and cheese
croissant, which had crisp cheese bits that I like. However, the ham was
quite dry and hard and this, overall, wasn't quite the ham with melty
cheese kinda croissant that I like.
Will I return : Maybe
25) Irene
I
got all these for just 10 pounds! There was a pastry + drink deal for 5
pounds. The pastries felt a little stale (probably cause I was there
near closing time).
Will I return : Maybe
82 Bell St, London NW1 6SP
26) Le Choux
I'm
in love with choux and I especially love one with a nice crisp
craquelin. The gorgeous puffs here have pretty delightful fillings but
the craquelin was definitely lacking. The other pastries on offer look
really good and I might return to try them one day.
Will I return : Maybe
27) Comptoir Gourmand
I
got to their outlets in Bermondsey and Maltby pretty late and most
things were old out so I only got a pain au chocolat. It was alright and
I won't go back just for it but seeing how they're so popular, I might
pop by this family-run business if I'm in the area to hopefully score
their signature items.
Will I return : Maybe
28) Bageriet
Tucked
in a small alley in the heart of central london, Bageriet is a tiny
bakery that dishes out traditional Swedish pastries. Bageriet can sell
out quite early. I had to come back a second time becasue their
Kanelbulle was sold out on my first visit. I have had a great deal of
Kanelbulle when I was in Stockholm and found the ones here to be decent,
but not something I'd come back specially for. I might pop in if I'm in
the area to try something else.
Will I return? Maybe
24 Rose St, London WC2E 9EA
29) Fabrique Bakery
Will I return? Maybe
30) Burnt Arches
There weren't many savoury options available when I visited so I opted for this crisp pastry filled with corn and cheese. The filling to pastry ratio could have been better done. I was eating just pastry most of the time.
Will I return? Maybe
278 Poyser St, Cambridge Heath, London E2 9RF, United Kingdom
31) Rogue Sarnies
I visited Rogues a few years ago, and liked the food. So when I heard that they have a new spot slinging out sandwiches, I had to visit. Rogue Sarnies is know for its wood-fired sandwiches. I ordered The Chook which had quite a scary vegetable to meat ratio. I took all the vegetables out, and there wasn't much chicken to go around. I quite enjoyed the bread and sauce though. Would have gone for the Beef Dip or Oslo Open (which look to have more protein) if they were available.
Will I return? Maybe
263 Poyser St, London E2 9RF, United Kingdom
32) La Croissanterie
La Croissanterie at Pavyllon London, where the world's most Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alléno reimagines croissant and other creations, offers their signature butter croissant at 8 gbp per pop, and savoury options priced upwards from 15 gpb. I was expecting this to be the best croissant I've ever eaten in my life. Sadly, it wasn't. It wasn't bad for sure, but it wasn't as buttery or flaky or crisp as I had expected. Just look at the lamination — pretty sure we've all had way better-crafted croissants at a significantly cheaper price. If you're dining in, expect to pay an additional 15%. 9.20 gpb for this?? Save the money and head to your local bakeries which probably have a better selection.
I'm unsure about the service as well. I was standing at the front of the lounge which is just at the entrance of Pavyllon for a long time, but no one attended to me. I then walked up to the display case, and finally someone inside Pavyllon saw me and came out. I then took a seat on the nearest couch, and wasn't asked if I wanted any water or menu, and they also forgot my bill even though it wasn't busy. Leaves much to be desired I would say.
Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane, Hamilton Pl, London W1J 7DR, United Kingdom
Will I return? No
33) E5 Bakehouse
E5
Bakehouse was packed when we arrived on a Saturday for brunch. Took us
awhile to find a seat so we definitely had high expectations. The carrot
soup was actually the best item that we had. The sandwiches were sadly
not tasty at all (they felt uninspired and haphazardly thrown together).
Coffee was not bad though
Will I Return : No
396 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
34) Fortitude Bakehouse
I
seriously regretted not getting the beignet from Fortitude Bakehouse
(they looked insanely good)! I actually opted for a sticky bun because
cravings... and unfortunately, it was the hardest and driest sticky bun
I've ever had in my life. It was so bad that I threw it away after one
bite, not even kidding.
Will I return? No
35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JD
35) doh'hut
The
savoury dagel filled with cream cheese and chives was a yummy one and
the rest of the donuts were decent but did not leave an impression
Will I return? No
30 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE
36) Donutelier
The
donuts here sure are dressed to the nines. They are pretty expensive
though and I think you can get way better donuts for a cheaper price at
other bakeries. But if you're looking to impress someone with a pretty
sweet treat, this might be up your alley.
37) Cheeky Scone
I
was really excited to visit this scone specialty shop but sadly, the
huge scones were quite bland(which could be remedied by the accompanying
jams and cream) but they were pretty dry and hard as well.
Will I return? No
43 Pembridge Rd, London W11 3HG
Feel free to share your favourite bakeries with me in the comment section!
Read my article on the best restaurants in London.
This post is wonderfully insightful! I appreciate how you delve into the topic and share your unique perspective. Thank you for inspiring your readers!
ReplyDeletebmg
Great article - I always love trying new bakeries when I am in London. Do you know if any of these have an indoor space to sit down?
ReplyDeleteHey Ben, most of the venues I've listed above have indoor seating space. You can identify them from the photos of plated pastries in a cafe setting etc
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