The Best Croissants in Herne Hill (and the Brilliant Bakeries Nearby)
Introduction
There is a particular kind of Saturday morning in South London that feels like it was designed specifically for walking somewhere slowly with nowhere urgent to be. The sun is doing something promising over Brockwell Park, there is coffee somewhere in your future, and if you time it right — if you really pay attention — there is a laminated, buttery, shatteringly crisp croissant with your name on it. The only question is where to find it. For anyone chasing that perfect weekend breakfast delivery London moment without leaving the neighbourhood, Herne Hill and its surrounding streets punch well above their weight. This corner of SE24 has become one of the most exciting patches of artisan baking in the city, with queues forming before shutters are even raised and Instagram feeds filled with flaky, golden proof. Here is where to go.
The Best Croissants and Pastries Near Herne Hill
1. Dough Artisan Bakehouse
Herne Hill, SE24 0EZ · Rating: 4.5 · Mon–Fri 7:30am–6pm; Sat–Sun 8am–5pm
If Herne Hill had a civic bakery — the kind of place the whole neighbourhood quietly depends on — it would be Dough. Open seven days a week, this community-rooted artisan operation bakes everything fresh daily, and yes, the croissants are very much part of that picture. Slow-fermented sourdough loaves share the counter with flaky pastries, cakes, and freshly made sandwiches, and the whole thing is anchored by a cup of genuinely excellent artisan coffee. It is the sort of place you pop into for one thing and leave twenty minutes later having had a proper conversation and acquired considerably more than you planned.
2. Bunhead Bakery
Herne Hill, SE24 0NG · Rating: 4.9 · Thurs–Fri 9am–4pm; Sat–Sun 10am–4pm
Technically, Bunhead is not a croissant destination — it is something far more singular. Founded by Sara Assad-Mannings, this female and Palestinian-owned bakery has become a genuine South London icon for its heritage sourdough buns infused with Middle Eastern flavours: rose and cardamom, baklava-inspired swirls, spiced Medjool date, za'atar and cheese. The queue forms before opening on weekends and the buns routinely sell out, which tells you everything. If you are doing a Herne Hill pastry crawl, start here — you will not find this particular kind of magic anywhere else, and the Good Food Guide 2025 Top 50 listing is entirely deserved. The Guardian, Time Out, and the New York Times have all taken notice too.
3. Aries Bakehouse
Brixton, SW2 5TU · Rating: 4.6 · Thurs–Fri 9am–3pm; Sat 10am–3pm; Sun 10am–2pm
A short walk from Herne Hill over on Acre Lane, Aries Bakehouse occupies a handsome Georgian terrace and has the kind of deeply local energy that only comes from being genuinely rooted in a place. Brixton-born owner and baker Jackie fills the counter with freshly baked sourdough, inventive pastries, pistachio doughnuts, and artisan cookies — plus rotating daily specials including her celebrated jerk chicken sausage rolls, which have no business being as good as they are but absolutely are. Time Out, Hot Dinners, and Cozymeal have all flagged it as one of the best bakeries in London in 2025. Worth every step of the walk.
4. Irene Bakery
Camberwell, SE5 8RS · Rating: 4.6 · Mon–Fri 8am–5pm; Sat–Sun 9am–5pm
On Denmark Hill, Irene has cultivated a cult following by doing two things extremely well: artisan sourdough by day, natural wine by Friday and Saturday evening. During daylight hours it operates as a proper bakery — freshly baked loaves, pastries, sandwiches, good coffee — with the kind of intimate neighbourhood warmth that makes you linger longer than you meant to. Then, as the weekend evenings arrive, the shelves of organic, biodynamic, and natural wines take centre stage. It is a genuinely lovely dual identity, and London food writers have been championing it accordingly.
5. Maya's Bakehouse
Tulse Hill, SW2 2TJ · Rating: 4.8 · Wed–Sat 7:30am–3pm
One of the more charming origin stories in South London baking: owner Maya began feeding people from a dining-room micro-bakery during the pandemic, built a waiting list through Delli drops, and by 2023 had opened a permanent shop in Tulse Hill. The signature move is seasonal savoury brioche buns with rotating fillings — pulled pork with pickled jalapeños, pumpkin and lamb shoulder, cheesy leeks with béchamel and crispy kale — all of which sell out at speed every weekend. The 4.8 Google rating is not an accident. Come early and come hungry.
6. Old Post Office Bakery
Clapham North, SW9 9PH · Rating: 4.4 · Wed–Sun 7am–3pm
Baking since the 1980s, the Old Post Office Bakery is one of London's longest-established independent artisan bakeries, which in an industry that churns through trends like croissant dough churns through butter is genuinely remarkable. Their organic, handcrafted bakes have anchored the Clapham community for decades, and the pain au chocolat and celebrated date and walnut loaf remain the kind of reliable, craft-first baking that keeps people coming back year after year. In a landscape full of newcomers, there is real comfort in a place that has simply been excellent for forty years.
7. The Dulwich Bakery
West Dulwich, SE21 8BW · Rating: 4.4 · Tues–Thurs 7am–3pm; Sat 8am–3pm
Established in 2008, The Dulwich Bakery has spent over sixteen years making the case for stone-ground organic flour and properly slow baking in West Dulwich. The bread range spans white, wholemeal, and seeded sourdough loaves alongside freshly made baguettes and paninis, with homemade soups and pies rounding out the savoury offering. Pre-orders on celebration cakes and doughnuts are a local staple, and the bakery's longevity in a fiercely competitive market speaks more clearly than any award about the quality of what they put out every morning.
8. Eric's Bakery
East Dulwich, SE22 9EF · Rating: 4.8 · Thurs 8am–5pm; Fri–Sat 9am–3pm
Founded by Helen Evans, former head baker at the celebrated Flor restaurant, Eric's has become one of the most talked-about neighbourhood bakeries in South London — and the queues around the block on Upland Road confirm it. Evans's commitment to UK-grown wheat runs through everything, from the sourdough porridge bread and 100% rye tin loaves to the focaccia made with British-grown grain. The pastry counter is equally serious: croissants, morning buns, doughnuts, millionaire's shortbread, and wild garlic and cheese scrolls that are as good as they sound. The Good Food Guide 2026 Top 50 listing, alongside features in the Guardian, the Telegraph, and Time Out, tells the rest of the story.
What If Getting There Is Not Always an Option?
Here is the honest truth about South London's artisan bakery scene: most of the best places keep short hours, have limited stock, and reward people who arrive early and leave nothing to chance. On a rainy February morning when the park is more mud than magic, or during the relentless chaos of a family weekend, the prospect of queuing on a cold pavement before 9am loses some of its romance. That tension — between wanting brilliant bread and brilliant pastries and simply wanting them at home, still warm — is exactly what has driven the extraordinary growth of artisan breakfast delivery London services in recent years.
The shift is real and it is not a compromise. A new generation of bakers and food businesses has recognised that a bread subscription London model, or a pastry subscription UK delivered to your door before the weekend kicks off, can carry the same craft and intention as anything you would find behind a bakery counter. The best of these operations are built around sustainable food delivery London principles — zero food waste through bake-to-order models, bike delivery food London routes that cut unnecessary emissions, recyclable packaging that does not leave you wondering what to do with a tower of polystyrene. It turns out that eating well and doing so thoughtfully are not mutually exclusive ambitions.
Butter & Crust: Artisan Baking, Delivered to Your Door
If the bakeries above have made you hungry for something you can enjoy without leaving the house, this is where Butter & Crust comes in — and it is worth knowing about. Butter & Crust works directly with the finest local artisan producers in London to put together a weekend breakfast box that genuinely rivals anything you would queue for: sourdough loaves, flaky pastries, and carefully chosen breakfast goods, all delivered to your door by 9am every Saturday and Sunday morning.
In inner London, deliveries arrive by bicycle — a zero waste bakery London model where everything is baked to order, which means no surplus, no waste, and nothing sitting in a warehouse overnight. Packaging is fully recyclable, because good food and good principles should go together. The subscription itself is entirely on your terms — pause it, skip a week, or cancel whenever you like, with no awkward hoops to jump through. Coverage spans most of London zones 1–3, with more neighbourhoods joining regularly. If you have ever wished that a Saturday morning croissant could simply arrive — warm, perfect, and requiring nothing of you but a good cup of coffee — this is exactly that.
Find out more at butterandcrust.com
Sources
Bunhead Bakery — Herne Hill, SE24 0NG | bunheadbakery.com
Dough Artisan Bakehouse — Herne Hill, SE24 0EZ | doughbakehouse.co.uk
Aries Bakehouse — Brixton, SW2 5TU | aries-bakehouse.square.site
Irene Bakery — Camberwell, SE5 8RS | irenebakery.co.uk
Maya's Bakehouse — Tulse Hill, SW2 2TJ | mayasbakehouse.square.site
Old Post Office Bakery — Clapham North, SW9 9PH | oldpostofficebakery.com
The Dulwich Bakery — West Dulwich, SE21 8BW | dulwichbakery.com
Eric's Bakery — East Dulwich, SE22 9EF | ericslondon.com
Editorial sources:
Good Food Guide 2025 — Bunhead Bakery Top 50 listing
Good Food Guide 2026 — Eric's Bakery Top 50 listing
Time Out London — Bunhead Bakery, Aries Bakehouse, Eric's Bakery features
The Guardian — Bunhead Bakery, Eric's Bakery features
The Telegraph — Eric's Bakery feature
New York Times — Bunhead Bakery feature
Hot Dinners — Aries Bakehouse feature
Cozymeal Best Bakeries London 2025 — Aries Bakehouse
London On The Inside — Irene Bakery feature
