London's Best Bakeries

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 the working-from-home routine, these new bakeries have seized the moment and launched in lockdown. Let’s hope they’re here to stay. Keep scrolling for more of the best bakeries in London.

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.

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. There’s currently free delivery to many London postcodes from Wednesday to Sunday.

The 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.

St. 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.