The best croissants in Archway

The best croissants in Archway

The best croissants in Archway

There is a particular sort of London morning that begins with the smell of butter escaping from a bakery doorway. Around Archway, it might lead you along Hazellville Road, towards Highgate, or north into Holloway in search of crisp, golden layers and a coffee strong enough to make the day feel intentional. Whether you are after an almond croissant, a twice-baked beauty or something still warm from the oven, this corner of North London is having a very good pastry moment.

Here are the bakeries worth knowing for croissants in and around Archway — plus a few excellent detours for sourdough, buns and the sort of breakfast that makes staying in bed seem like a missed opportunity.

Where to find the best croissants near Archway

1. Tarn Bakery

Location: Archway, N19 3NB
Rating: 4.8/5
Opening hours: Tuesday 8:30am–2:00pm; Wednesday–Friday 8:00am–3:00pm; Saturday 9:00am–3:00pm

Tarn is the tiny Archway shopfront with an outsized reputation. Opened in December 2023 by Florin Grama and Felix Ortona Coles, both of whom trained at some of London’s most respected bakeries, it takes a fiercely thoughtful approach to ingredients. The almond croissants are a clear reason to visit, but do not ignore the cardamom buns or seasonal pastries either. This is small-batch baking with the volume turned up on quality.

Visit Tarn Bakery

2. Sourdough Sophia Highgate

Location: Highgate, N6 6JS
Rating: 4.6/5
Opening hours: Monday–Saturday 8:00am–4:30pm; Sunday 9:00am–4:30pm

Sourdough Sophia’s Highgate shop is the largest of its four locations, with communal tables, outdoor seating and even a children’s play area. The hand-laminated croissants are part of a broader menu that includes sourdough loaves, matcha chocolate slices and spinach and feta swirls. It is a particularly good choice when breakfast needs to accommodate a group, a buggy or a leisurely second pastry.

Visit Sourdough Sophia Highgate

3. Margot Bakery Highgate

Location: Highgate, N6 4EJ
Rating: 4.6/5
Opening hours: Daily, 8:00am–4:00pm

Michelle Eshkeri’s Margot Bakery brings its Jewish baking heritage to Archway Road in the form of sourdough challah, babka, bear claws and excellent almond croissants. The display has the sort of variety that makes choosing one thing feel unnecessarily restrictive, especially when cinnamon buns and seasonal cakes are also involved. Come for the flaky layers; leave with something braided for later.

Visit Margot Bakery Highgate

4. Kossoffs

Location: Kentish Town, NW5 2JT
Rating: 4.6/5
Opening hours: Monday–Sunday, 8:00am–6:00pm

Kossoffs is a modern continuation of a 100-year-old Jewish baking dynasty, revived by fourth-generation baker Aaron Kossoff. Its twice-baked hazelnut croissant is the one to seek out: richer, nuttier and gloriously committed to the idea that breakfast can be dessert in disguise. The miso and chive swirls, kimcheese claws and sourdough make this Kentish Town bakery a compelling stop for anyone who prefers their pastry counter with a little mischief.

Visit Kossoffs

5. Holloway Model Bakery

Location: Holloway, N7 8HX
Rating: 4.6/5
Opening hours: Daily, 9:00am–3:00pm

Holloway Model Bakery is a friendly community bakery and café founded by Michelle Eshkeri, the baker behind Margot. Its menu moves with the seasons, but you can expect croissants and pain au chocolat alongside babka, almond bear claws, apple custard danishes and cinnamon buns. It is the kind of place where a simple pastry run can become a full bag of provisions before you have made it back to the door.

Visit Holloway Model Bakery

6. Bread By Bike

Location: Tufnell Park, N7 0DD
Rating: 4.6/5
Opening hours: Daily, 8:00am–4:00pm

Bread By Bike began with founder Andy Strang, a former physicist who started baking during his PhD, and has grown into a distinctive zero-emission bakery. Its naturally leavened sourdough and focaccia are the headline acts, while the artisan pastries make a strong case for arriving hungry. Much of the bakery’s output travels by cargo bicycle, giving your breakfast a pleasingly low-carbon route from oven to plate.

Visit Bread By Bike

7. Jolene Big Jo

Location: Holloway, N7 7HE
Rating: 4.5/5
Opening hours: Monday 8:00am–3:00pm; Tuesday–Sunday 8:00am–4:00pm

Big Jo is the expansive Hornsey Road sibling of Jolene’s Newington Green bakery, combining a large bakery counter with all-day dining. The group mills its own flour from ancient, non-hybridised grains grown using horse-drawn machinery, so even a pastry stop comes with a strong sense of provenance. It is a good option when one person wants a croissant, another wants lunch and everyone wants to sit down.

Visit Jolene Big Jo

8. Sourdough Sophia Crouch End

Location: Crouch End, N8 8PL
Rating: 4.7/5
Opening hours: Daily, 8:40am–4:30pm

The original Sourdough Sophia began in Sophia Sutton Jones’ dining room during lockdown and has since grown into a four-location North London bakery. At the Middle Lane shop, hand-laminated pastries share the counter with sourdough, iced cinnamon buns, matcha chocolate slices and spinach and feta swirls. It is a reliable destination for a croissant with delicate layers, followed by something sticky that was absolutely not part of the plan.

Visit Sourdough Sophia Crouch End

What if getting there isn't an option?

Sometimes the best bakery in London is the one that arrives before you have found your shoes. The appetite for proper artisan breakfast delivery London has grown for good reason: beautifully made bread and pastries are no longer reserved for a Saturday queue or an ambitious cross-town expedition.

There is also a welcome shift towards more thoughtful systems — sustainable food delivery London, zero waste bakery London practices and bike delivery food London all make the journey feel better as well as shorter. For regular pastry people, a pastry subscription UK or bread subscription London can turn the weekly question of “what shall we have for breakfast?” into a much more delicious one. And if Sunday deserves a proper spread, weekend breakfast delivery London is a very persuasive tradition to begin.

Butter & Crust: bakery mornings, brought to you

For food lovers who want the quality of a great local bakery without crossing North London before breakfast, Butter & Crust is well worth knowing. It partners with some of London’s best artisan producers and brings together sourdough, pastries and breakfast goods, delivered by 9am every weekend.

The practical details are reassuringly thoughtful: bicycle delivery covers inner London, packaging is recyclable and everything is baked to order, helping keep food waste at zero. Subscriptions are flexible too, so you can pause, skip or cancel whenever life gets in the way of your usual pastry plans. Coverage currently spans most London postcodes in zones 1–3, with more areas being added.

In other words, if Tarn’s almond croissants or Kossoffs’ hazelnut layers have inspired a serious pastry habit, Butter & Crust offers a way to keep that habit going at home — with the spirit of artisan sourdough London and a little less queueing.

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