Cafeography
London

Bakery cafés in London

Pâtisseries, Swedish buns and sourdough counters, with coffee alongside.

Photo: Lina Kivaka, Pexels License

London's oldest pâtisserie still trades in Soho. Maison Bertaux was founded in 1871 by a Parisian communard named Bertaux, at 28 Greek Street next to the Coach and Horses pub; sisters Michele and Tania Wade have run it since 1988.1 It opens daily 09:30–18:00 and has tables outside.

The newer bakeries are about laminated dough and queues. In a 2025 vote of more than 100 industry specialists compiled by British Baker, Arôme, a French-Asian bakery in Covent Garden and Mayfair, placed fifth in Britain, the highest of any London bakery; Bread Ahead came 12th.2 The bakes singled out at Arôme were its honey butter toast, miso bacon escargot and apple miso danish.2

Local tip: Bageriet's semlor appear only in the weeks before Easter; the rest of the year, go to Rose Street for the Swedish breads, princess cakes and almond tarts.3

Where these cafés are: Covent Garden & Holborn (8), Hackney & London Fields (6), Chelsea, South Kensington & Knightsbridge (6), South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey (6), Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town (6), Soho & Fitzrovia (6), Kensington, Earl's Court & Fulham (5), Marylebone (4), Notting Hill (4), Battersea & Nine Elms (3), St John's Wood, Maida Vale & Kilburn (3), Shoreditch & Hoxton (3), Spitalfields & Whitechapel (3), Paddington & Bayswater (3), Elephant & Castle & Walworth (3), Westminster, Victoria & Pimlico (2), Islington & Angel (2), New Cross & Deptford (2), King's Cross (2), Peckham & Camberwell (2), Bloomsbury (2), Bethnal Green & Mile End (1), Wapping, Shadwell & Limehouse (1), The City (1), Kennington, Vauxhall & Stockwell (1), Mayfair & St James's (1), Rotherhithe & South Bermondsey (1).

At a glance

87Cafés listed
37With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 106 Baker Street, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–17:00).
  • Closes latest: Corner Cafe, until 23:00 (Mon 10:00–18:00 · Tue–Sat 10:00–23:00 · Sun 10:00–18:00).
  • Most listed streets: Fulham Road (2), Lower Marsh (2), Wandsworth Road (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (39%), indoor seating (25%), wi-fi (18%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in London.

Covent Garden's bakery streets

Covent Garden & Holborn has the most bakery cafés, with Soho, Hackney, Camden, Chelsea and South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey level behind. Arôme's shop at 9 Mercer Street opens Wednesday to Saturday 08:00–17:00 and Sunday 09:00–16:00. Bageriet, a small Swedish bakery at 24 Rose Street, bakes its own breads, including a blackcurrant rye, and before Easter sells semlor, cardamom buns filled with almond paste and whipped cream.3

Amelia at 9 Monmouth Street opens at 08:30 on weekdays, and WA café at 5 New Row runs 10:30–19:00 every day. Fantail Cafe at 1 New Oxford Street keeps weekday hours only, from 07:30 Tuesday to Thursday.

London's bun habit

Buns are where London bakeries compete. A 2023 Stylist round-up singled out the cardamom buns at Pophams, made from leftover croissant dough with cardamom, orange and brown-sugar butter, the morning bun at The Dusty Knuckle in Dalston, and Fabrique's stone-baked Swedish knots in cardamom, saffron and walnut.4 Buns From Home, which began in its founder's home kitchen, had 12 London shops by then.4

Buns From Home's Notting Hill shop is at 128 Talbot Road. Nearby, Maison Puget is at 148/150 Portobello Road, The Butter Bakery at 219 Westbourne Park Road, and Panache at 182–186 Kensington Church Street, open until 20:00 Monday to Saturday.

Borough Market and Lower Marsh

Bread Ahead was founded in 2013 in the Borough Market building it still uses, on Cathedral Street. The bakery opens Tuesday to Saturday 09:00–17:00 and Sunday 10:00–16:00, closes on Mondays, and runs a baking school five days a week.5

Behind Waterloo, Lower Marsh has Little Bread Pedlar at number 20 and Balance at 42–43, which opens at 07:30 on weekdays. On Bankside, Corner Cafe at No. 53 stays open until 23:00 from Tuesday to Saturday.

Bakery café hours

Bakery cafés keep shop hours. Maison Bertaux, Lumi at 82 Camden High Street and WA Bakery on Thayer Street all close at 18:00, and Arôme on Mercer Street opens only Wednesday to Sunday. For a pastry after dark, Fuwa Fuwa at 57a Dean Street in Soho serves until 22:30 daily, and the Whitechapel Gallery café stays open until 23:00 Thursday to Saturday.

Sources

  1. Maison Bertaux, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Three London artisan bakeries have been crowned the best in the UK for 2025, Time Out London (India Lawrence, January 31, 2025), accessed October 2026
  3. Bageriet, Time Out London (review, March 11, 2020), accessed October 2026
  4. These are the best buns in London: from Swedish kanelbullar to chocolate, cardamom and more, Stylist (Annie Simpson, September 19, 2023), accessed October 2026
  5. Bread Ahead Borough Market, Bread Ahead, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse London

Specialty coffee

29 cafés

Outdoor seating

364 cafés

Wi-Fi

123 cafés

Brunch

47 cafés

Open late

69 cafés

By area: Soho & Fitzrovia Covent Garden & Holborn Shoreditch & Hoxton The City Spitalfields & Whitechapel Islington & Angel Bethnal Green & Mile End Hackney & London Fields Camden, Primrose Hill & Kentish Town South Bank, Borough & Bermondsey Notting Hill

FAQ

Bakery cafés in London: questions

What is the oldest pâtisserie in London?

Maison Bertaux at 28 Greek Street in Soho, founded in 1871 by a Parisian communard named Bertaux, is the oldest pâtisserie in London. Sisters Michele and Tania Wade have run it since 1988. It opens daily 09:30–18:00 and has tables outside on Greek Street.

Which London bakeries are known for cardamom buns?

A 2023 Stylist round-up singled out Pophams' cardamom buns, made from leftover croissant dough, The Dusty Knuckle's morning bun in Dalston, and Fabrique's Swedish knots in cardamom, saffron and walnut. Bageriet on Rose Street in Covent Garden sells semlor, cardamom buns with almond paste and whipped cream, before Easter.

Which London bakery ranked highest in the UK in 2025?

Arôme, a French-Asian bakery with shops in Covent Garden and Mayfair, placed fifth in British Baker's 2025 list of Britain's artisan bakeries, voted by more than 100 industry specialists. It was the highest London entry, and Bread Ahead was 12th. Arôme's honey butter toast, miso bacon escargot and apple miso danish were the bakes singled out.

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