The Best Bakeries in East London
Introduction
Picture a Saturday morning in Hackney: the Overground rattles overhead, someone's dragged a reusable bag out of their coat pocket before they've even crossed the road, and the smell of butter — real, European, laminated-into-a-hundred-layers butter — is drifting out of a railway arch at eight in the morning. East London has always attracted people who care fiercely about what they make and where it comes from, and nowhere is that more obvious than its bakeries. From century-old beigel shops on Brick Lane to micro-bakeries hidden inside climbing gyms in Walthamstow, this is one of the most exciting bread and pastry destinations in Europe. If you're considering a weekend breakfast delivery London-wide, you'll want to know your landmarks first. Here are the ones worth going out of your way for.
The Best Bakeries in East London
1. Beigel Bake Brick Lane
Whitechapel, E1 6SB | Rating: 4.3 (Google, 5,000+ reviews) | Open 24 hours, 7 days
There is no more democratic food institution in East London than the white-fronted shop at 159 Brick Lane. Since the 1970s, Beigel Bake has been feeding City workers, market traders, clubbers, and curious visitors at all hours — cash only, no fuss, no Instagram aesthetic. The salt beef beigel, stuffed with slow-braised beef and a lick of fiery English mustard, remains one of London's great edible experiences, and at prices that haven't really caught up with London's gentrification. Over 5,000 Google reviews and a 4.3 rating for a cash-only bakery that never closes — extraordinary.
2. Rinkoff Bakery
Whitechapel, E1 3BS | Rating: 4.4 (Google) | Mon–Fri 7am–5pm; Sat–Sun 8am–3pm
Hyman Rinkoff arrived from Ukraine in 1911 and opened a bakery in the East End. More than a century later, his descendants are still baking from the same neighbourhood, and they've added something rather ingenious to the canon: the Crodough. Part croissant, part doughnut, filled with pistachio, salted caramel or Biscoff, the Crodough has drawn queues from across the city to the modern Jubilee Street shopfront. But don't overlook the challah, the babka, or the slab cakes — the depth of a four-generation Jewish baking heritage is in every one of them.
3. e5 Bakehouse
London Fields, E8 3PH | Rating: 4.4 (Google, 1,600+ reviews) | Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm; Sat–Sun 8am–5pm
Founded by Ben Mackinnon in a single railway arch beneath London Fields station in 2010, e5 Bakehouse has grown into a three-arch complex that is one of the most influential artisan bakeries in the country. What makes it genuinely singular is the stone grain mill: e5 grinds its own flour from UK-grown organic wheat every morning before anyone else has opened their eyes. The Hackney Wild sourdough and dark rye are landmark loaves; the cardamom buns and almond pain au chocolat are the kind of things that make the detour entirely worthwhile. Baking courses, a vibrant café, and a near-religious devotion from the Hackney community complete the picture.
4. Pophams London Fields
London Fields, E8 3NJ | Rating: 4.6 (Google) | Mon–Fri 7:30am–4pm; Sat 8am–4pm; Sun 8:30am–4pm
The Saturday morning croissant queue outside Pophams' London Fields site is as much a feature of the E8 weekend as the park itself. Founded in Islington in 2017 by Ollie Gold and Lucy McWhirter, Pophams changed the way Londoners think about viennoiserie — the bacon and maple syrup croissant, the marmite and cheddar twist, and the sauerkraut and gruyère creation are not gimmicks; they are genuinely, brilliantly conceived. The London Fields café also doubles as an Italian pasta restaurant on select evenings. If you haven't had a Pophams pastry, you are missing one of the city's essential food experiences. Good Food Guide 2025 Top 50.
5. The Dusty Knuckle
Dalston, E8 3DP | Rating: 4.6 (Google, 1,500+ reviews) | Mon–Sun 8am–3:30pm
Born in a shipping container in a Dalston car park in 2014, founded by Daisy Terry, Rebecca Oliver, and Max Tobias with an explicit mission to employ and train vulnerable young people, the Dusty Knuckle is the artisan social enterprise done properly — not as a marketing story, but as the actual point of the whole thing. The potato sourdough is astonishing, the oversized sandwiches are the best argument for skipping brunch, and the organic focaccia could convert even the staunchest supermarket loaf loyalist. Third place in the Baker's Dozen 2024 — the highest-ranked London bakery in the country that year.
6. Forno
London Fields, E8 4RP | Rating: 4.5 (Google) | Mon–Fri 7:30am–4pm; Sat–Sun 8am–5pm
Mitch Ibrahim, founder of the acclaimed Italian restaurant Ombra, opened Forno in a vaulted railway arch near Regent's Canal in 2022 and East London has been making pilgrimages ever since. The maritozzi — Rome's cream-filled answer to the doughnut, plush and custardy and deeply indulgent — are the headline act, but the gianduja chocolate rolls, veneziana buns, and rosemary focaccia pizza by the slice are equally compelling. Add a beautiful Italian deli counter and one of the most joyful bakery atmospheres in E8, and you have one of East London's finest Italian food destinations. The Infatuation gave it 8.1/10.
7. Violet Cakes
Hackney Central, E8 3ED | Rating: 4.6 (Google) | Mon–Fri 8am–5pm; Sat–Sun 9am–6pm
American-born baker Claire Ptak moved to Hackney and started baking seasonally, beautifully, and with an obvious sense of joy. Her Wilton Way shopfront — a converted terraced house with a café on two floors — produces some of the finest layered cakes and cupcakes in the city. And then, in 2018, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose Claire to make their royal wedding cake: an elderflower and lemon creation that brought global attention to a Hackney bakery. The fame was well-deserved. Claire also runs a Saturday stall at Broadway Market, and her approach to seasonal British baking remains one of the most honest in East London.
8. Yeast Bakery
London Fields, E8 4QS | Rating: 4.6 (Google) | Wed–Fri 8am–4pm; Sat–Sun 9am–4pm
Since 2011, Yeast has been operating from a canal-side railway arch on Sheep Lane with a singular, almost monastic purpose: to perfect the hand-laminated croissant. They have been very successful. The seasonal pastry flavours change with genuine imagination, and the kouign amann is the kind of thing that takes hold of you. The Regent's Canal setting is idyllic, the operation is small and focused, and the bakery supplies several of East London's top restaurants. Open only Wednesday to Sunday, which makes the weekend visit feel like something of an occasion — as it should.
9. Hearth Bakery
Hackney Wick, E9 5LN | Rating: 4.5 (Google) | Wed–Sun 9am–3pm
Maisie Collins runs Hearth as a CIC — a Community Interest Company — from inside the creative complex at Hackney Wick, and everything about it reflects a genuine commitment to doing things properly. The wholemeal sourdough loaves are made using exclusively locally and ethically sourced organic flour, the seasonal lunches are built around regenerative agriculture, and the bakehouse is visible from the counter. It is a hidden gem in the truest sense: not hidden because it's trying to be exclusive, but because Hackney Wick rewards the people who seek it out. Championed by both The Infatuation and the Good Food Guide.
10. Wild Grains
Walthamstow, E17 6DP | Rating: 4.7 (Google) | Mon–Tue 8am–3pm; Wed–Fri 8am–4:30pm; Sat–Sun 9am–6pm
Wild Grains operates from inside Yonder, a climbing and yoga centre on Hooker's Road in Walthamstow, which tells you something about the kind of joyful, genre-defying independent food scene that East London produces. The bakery specialises exclusively in heritage grain sourdough — rare and ancient varieties that produce loaves of extraordinary depth — alongside a rotating pastry menu that includes The Infatuation's celebrated curry-filled bear claw, one of the most creative and genuinely delicious bakes in E17. A pilgrimage destination for serious bread lovers, and not only the ones doing bouldering sessions upstairs.
11. Wild Goose Bakery
Forest Gate, E7 0AB | Rating: 4.5 (Google) | Tues–Sun 8am–3:30pm
Three railway arches on Station Road, Forest Gate — and inside them, the only South African-inspired artisan bakery in the UK. Vernon and Kristin have built something genuinely one-of-a-kind: koeksister doughnuts soaked in sticky syrup, melktart (South African milk tart), bobotie hand pies, pork and paprika sausage rolls, and sourdough loaves alongside gluten-free and vegan options throughout. Wild Goose is a community bakery with a passionate mission and a programme of bakes you simply will not find anywhere else in London. The Elizabeth Line has made Forest Gate far more accessible — there is no better reason to use it.
12. Breid Bakery
Bethnal Green, E2 6JG | Rating: 4.9 (Google) | Mon–Fri 8am–6:30pm; Sat–Sun 9:30am–6:30pm
Breid — from the Scottish word for bread — has already achieved a 4.9 Google rating from a rapidly growing band of devotees, making it one of the highest-rated independent bakeries in East London. Housed in a Bethnal Green railway arch at the corner of Vallance Road and Dunbridge Street, Breid is primarily a wholesale bakery that also welcomes the public, producing wild yeast sourdough loaves across an inspired range of grains alongside stunning patisserie and exceptional specialty coffee. The space is honest and characterful, the baking is exceptional, and the critical reception since opening has been immediate and enthusiastic.
