SHIOK! Pâtisserie

Located in Devonshire House in Piccadilly, customers on the go can experience some luxurious patisserie; chocolate teapots for one, accompanied by bubble tea, which is growing in popularity. When Cherish Finden is not judging the Bake Off: The Professionals, she can be found creating these precise works of art. Part of Pan Pacific London Hotels, SHIOK! is home to some of the most intriguing patisseries that look like another item and it can be difficult (until you take a knife to a pastry), to determine if you are about to devour a handbag or lemon cake. Paying homage to true Singaporean flavours like pandan, SHIOK! Is in itself a beautiful, fragrant place to sit and enjoy all manner of delicate treats.

TOAD Bakery

An independent bakery in Camberwell, TOAD Bakery serves a variety of fresh breads, cakes, sandwiches and filter coffee every day. With a regularly changing menu, owners Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello strive to use seasonal fresh ingredients as much as possible. Of course, you can also find the classics such as croissants, cinnamon buns and danishes. Offering vegan alternatives, visitors can order a select number of cakes from TOAD for those special occasions, including a 10-inch meringue surprise cake.

Cedric Grolet at The Berkeley

Chef Cédric Grolet has been making a name for himself on social media for some time now; the world is hooked on his oh-so-satisfying videos of croissants becoming wonderfully crisp in the oven, perfect piping of icing on tartlets and incredibly daring chocolate creations. Having trained with Christophe Adam, he then began working at Le Meurice, the luxury Parisian hotel. With stores in Paris and now Singapore too, he has been bringing Parisian excellence to Hyde Park since 2022, unleashing his artistry onto the British and we are still here for it. The hottest seat is at his Counter at the Berkeley for £135 per person or his take on afternoon tea, or goûtea, which is his amalgamation of traditional afternoon tea and Parisian goûter.

Birley Bakery

Perhaps unintentionally, the new patisserie on Chelsea Green resembles the chocolaterie in the film Chocolat (2000); the exotic hand painted murals of East-meets-West in this very French bakery in London create an air of fragrant decadence regardless of the sumptuous pastries inside. Unlike many of the restaurants and bakeries we have reviewed that depend heavily on local produce, this is a venue that prides itself on the very best ingredients from around the world and has not let time deter them from perfecting their recipes. Owned by Robin Birley, the bakery opened earlier this year to great acclaim, with culinary stars like Nigella Lawson dropping in for a bite. Alongside bread and patisserie, Birley Bakery also offers beautiful chocolates and ice creams.

Comptoir Gourmand

Comptoir Gourmand has created four bakeries across London since 2019: Bermondsey, Maltby, Borough and their new cafe in Southwark, Comptoir Cathedral. In the Maltby branch, you can take the taste of Comptoir back home with you by ordering their dough recipes. These also come in a dry mix that you can use whenever you like. Sebastian Wind, the chef-patissier and owner of the Comptoir Gourmands places special emphasis on traditional French techniques for all their patisseries.

Toklas Bakery

Adjoining the wonderfully green Mediterranean restaurant on Surrey Street is the Toklas Bakery. It opened in May of last year and is set in a stark building that used to be a car park. However, it has been filled with modern art and bears no resemblance to its original form inside. Although the restaurant is lauded for its wonderfully crispy chips, bread and pastries are the main focus in the bakery of course, particularly sourdough. The menu is refreshingly simple and a far cry from the perfection of the other bakeries and restaurants on this list. However, the no-frills-or-flounces essence of the restaurant is to emphasise the taste of the wonderful food.