THE MOST DOUGH-LICIOUS EAST LONDON BAKERIES
East London bakeries are as prevalent as pubs these days. Bread bakeries, donut specialists, and scandi-style pastries make East London the perfect place to indulge.
Best Bakes
Wandering through the streets of East London you’ll find every cuisine imaginable. But there will always be something special about the welcoming scent of freshly baked treats.
Plus, if you don’t start your Saturday with a baked good and a strong coffee – is it even really the weekend?
Read on for our favourite East London bakeries. Or check out more on London here.
Vegan options
Your carnivorous friends will also find options here
The Dusty Knuckle 🌱 🍗
BEST FOR: Sourdough Loaf
The Dusty Knuckle is a popular East London bakery with some of the best baked goods in the city. They offer takeout with some seating available in their café (even more in the summer in the yard).
For the perfect bougie weekday lunch their roast aubergine sandwich is the right balance of fruity and spicy. But on the weekends their Egg Chilli Cheese – a fried egg on their homemade focaccia with spicy chillis and sharp cheese, is a perfect breakfast option which highlights their baking mastery. Their bakes sell quickly, we recommend getting their early to avoid disappointment. They also offer baking and cooking lessons to encourage you to create your own bakes at home.
Pophams Bakery 🌱 🍗
BEST FOR: Marmite, Schlossberger & Spring Onion Pastry
Just above the green grass of London Fields you’ll find Pophams Bakery. A very large queue usually expands outside it most days (on form for the British) showcasing its popularity among locals. They have a good amount of seats inside. But it comes into its own on summer days when the sun allows visitors to gather on their terrace with oat lattes and fresh bakes.
They have some permanent pastries such as the salty and rich marmite, schlossberger & spring onion concoction which we love as a meatless savoury pastry option. Futhermore their overstuffed toasties filled with high-standard cheeses and other superb ingredients are a great way to enjoy their excellent sourdough.
Lily Vanilli 🍗
BEST FOR: Glitter Bombshell Cake
If you’re confident enough to have your birthday or wedding cake steal all the attention on your special day, then Lily Vanilli cakes are the showstoppers of all showstoppers. Their Glitter Bombshell cake is loudly decorated with very kitsch design – in the best possible way.
They also offer the “normal” variety of cakes. But why chose normal when you can have glittered cherries, excessive ribbon pipping, and all the colours of the pastel rainbow? The bakery itself opens only from Thursday through the weekend. Nonetheless it is possibly the best spot in all of East London for a truly sweet bake.
Jolene 🍗
BEST FOR: Wholewheat Sourdough
The original Jolene in Newington Green is part restaurant, part bakery but their locations in vibey Redchurch Street and Well Street are more concerned with serving their outrageously delicious baked goods to the masses. They bake sourdough so good even their wholemeal version doesn’t feel like you’re giving up any taste for health.
Equally important are their unique, and always well-prepared, sandwiches which are so far from the packaged efforts bought with a meal deal they deserve another name altogether. Their cakes are always changing but one of our all-time favourites is the Basque cheesecake. It will change your life (possibly).
Fabrique 🍗
BEST FOR: Cardamon Bun
Perfectly Swedish and beautifully presented. Fabrique create high quality scandi-style artisan bakes for those who prefer a posher pastry. Some pastry enthusiasts favour the famous cinnamon bun but it’s the sweetly scented and spiced cardamom baked into Fabriques iconic buns which offers a taste like no other. It’s cosy, indulgent, and unique all at the same time.
You really taste quality here, especially in their sandwiches where the ingredients change but are always the best and used well.
E5 Bakehouse 🌱🍗
BEST FOR: Tofu Bánh Mì
This trendy bakery under the infinitely cool arches of London Fields is a popular spot for locals to pick up their weekly sourdough loaf. Of course, they have the usual delectable pastries on offer and great coffee – their chocolate babka is incredible.
It can get extremely busy at the weekends but grabbing a tofu bahn mi (when on the menu) and heading to the green pastures of London Fields to eat is the perfect way to spend your lunch.
Beigel Bake Brick Lane 🌱🍗
BEST FOR: Bagels
Of course, they are best known for their (very meaty) salt beef bagel. However we still encourage vegetarians to visit for a cheap eat veggie option. Our personal favourite being cream cheese with sliced pickles. A perfectly acceptable vegetarian snack for an exceptionally good price for London. They also serve hummus bagels, cheese bagels (with a cheese slice), and avocado bagels.
Beigel Bake is an institution and has been around for many years – expect a long queue. But it is quintessential East London (before all the gentrification) and their bagels are absolutely delicious.
Yeast Bakery 🍗
BEST FOR: Cercle Swirl
Yeast makes some incredible breads and savoury dishes but really excel in moreish, outrageous sweet treats that you’d need to be a robot to resist. They have a few signatures but we most love their Cercle Swirls – otherwise known as a supreme croissant with flaky pastry layers stuffed with sweet cream and various delicious flavour combinations.
In brief, a beautiful bakery serving tasty, chic pastries.
