The Best Pastries in Cricklewood
On a weekend morning in and around Cricklewood, the most persuasive alarm clock is the smell of bread. It drifts from neighbourhood bakeries, mingling with coffee, warm butter and the promise of something sweet enough to justify leaving the house early. From Jewish-heritage challah and chewy bagels to laminated pastries and inventive doughnuts, this corner of north-west London is surrounded by excellent places to start the day.
Whether you are after a box of pastries, a proper loaf of artisan sourdough London can be proud of, or a breakfast that arrives before the weekend has properly begun, these are the bakeries worth knowing.
The Best Bakeries Near Cricklewood
1. Karma Bread Brent Cross
Location: Brent Cross | Rating: 4.3/5 | Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 8am–3pm
At Karma Bread Brent Cross, the weekend bake feels like a small ritual. The second location of Tami Isaacs Pearce’s celebrated bakery brings Jewish-heritage baking to the Brent Cross Town community, with fresh challah, naturally fermented sourdough and artisan pastries made for a leisurely Friday-to-Sunday visit. It is a particularly welcome quality option for Cricklewood, Brent Cross and Hendon residents.
2. Daniel’s Bagel Bakery
Location: Golders Green | Rating: 4.3/5 | Hours: Sunday–Wednesday, 6am–8pm; Thursday, 6am–9pm; Friday, 6am–4:30pm
Daniel’s has been part of Golders Green’s bakery fabric since 1989, and its early-morning opening is made for serious breakfast planning. Handmade bagels, challah, traditional Jewish pastries, cakes and freshly filled sandwiches are prepared on the premises, with the Friday morning Shabbat rush giving the shop an especially lively pulse. Come early for a hot bagel straight from the oven.
3. Crazy Baker
Location: Kensal Green | Rating: 4.5/5 | Hours: Monday–Friday, 6am–2pm; Saturday, 7:30am–4:30pm
A neighbourhood fixture since 2009, Crazy Baker takes the humble loaf very seriously. Its handmade sourdough and country breads benefit from long fermentation, while the bakery-café also turns out rolls, pastries and deli fare. There is local delivery too, but the freshly baked smell at the Harrow Road counter is a compelling reason to make the trip.
4. Carmelli Bakeries
Location: Golders Green | Rating: 4.3/5 | Hours: Monday–Friday, 7am–3:30pm; Saturday, 7am–4:30pm; Sunday, 8:30am–4:30pm
Carmelli is the place for a proper New York-style bagel: glossy on the outside, springy and satisfyingly chewy within. The kosher bakery’s counter is also stacked with challah, salmon bagels, celebration cakes and rugelach in chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon. It has been a Golders Green institution since the late 1980s, and the enduring popularity is easy to understand after one bite.
5. Roni’s Bagel Bakery West Hampstead
Location: West Hampstead | Rating: 4.3/5 | Hours: Daily, 7am–8pm
The original Roni’s opened on West End Lane in 1989 and remains a dependable destination for hand-baked bagels, cream cheese, challah and babka. Its generous neighbourhood spirit is matched by a menu built for both breakfast and late-day cravings, with filled bagels and sandwiches ready when you need them. The babka deserves particular attention: rich, sweet and well suited to sharing, if you are feeling unusually kind.
Visit Roni’s Bagel Bakery West Hampstead
6. Coco Bakery
Location: Golders Green | Rating: 4.4/5 | Hours: Monday–Thursday, 9am–8pm; Friday, 9am–1:30pm; Sunday, 9am–8pm
Coco Bakery brings a playful streak to the Golders Green kosher bakery scene. Alongside artisan breads, sourdough, challah and celebration cakes, it is known for doughnuts with fillings such as Ferrero Rocher and white chocolate with pistachio. Everything is baked on site, making this a strong choice when breakfast needs to be both comforting and a little bit extravagant.
7. Don’t Tell Dad
Location: Queen’s Park | Rating: 4.5/5 | Hours: Daily, 8am–4pm for the bakery
Don’t Tell Dad is a newer arrival, opened in January 2025, but its all-day bakery has already made an impression. Head Baker Keren Sternberg oversees sourdough loaves, seasonal pastries, savoury croissants, ciabatta sandwiches and notably buttery madeleines, all prepared in an open kitchen. The bakery switches to a restaurant in the evening, so this is one to visit while the daylight—and the pastry counter—is still on your side.
8. Sourdough Sophia Hampstead
Location: Hampstead | Rating: 4.6/5 | Hours: Monday–Saturday, 8am–5pm; Sunday, 9am–5pm
Set in a charming alleyway between Hampstead High Street and Heath Street, Sourdough Sophia’s fourth London shop is bright, welcoming and very good at making bread feel exciting. Look for sustainably sourced-flour sourdough, laminated pastries, spinach and feta swirls and matcha chocolate slices. With communal seating, outdoor space and a children’s play area, it is as well suited to a family pit stop as it is to a pastry-focused pilgrimage.
Visit Sourdough Sophia Hampstead
What If Getting There Isn’t An Option?
Sometimes the bakery is only a short journey away, but the journey still involves a toddler, a rainstorm or the sort of Sunday morning that begins at noon. That is why breakfast delivery London is becoming less of a luxury and more of a practical pleasure: quality bread and pastries can arrive at home while the kettle is still warming up.
The best services are also rethinking how food gets delivered. A pastry subscription UK customers can pause or adjust is more useful than a rigid weekly box, while a bread subscription London households can tailor helps ensure every loaf gets eaten. Add bike delivery food London, recyclable packaging and a zero waste bakery London model, and a weekend treat starts to look rather sensible. For busy households, weekend breakfast delivery London can be the difference between a rushed cereal bar and a proper breakfast.
Butter & Crust: A Better Breakfast At Home
For those moments when the best bakery feels just out of reach, Butter & Crust is a lovely alternative. The service partners with some of London’s best local artisan producers, bringing sourdough, pastries and breakfast goods to your door by 9am every weekend.
Deliveries are made by bicycle across inner London and arrive in recyclable packaging. Everything is baked to order, helping create a genuinely sustainable food delivery London model with zero food waste rather than an excess of unsold loaves. Subscriptions are flexible too: pause, skip or cancel whenever life changes.
Coverage currently reaches most of London’s zones 1–3 and is expanding. In other words, it is a thoughtful way to keep excellent bread in the house without sacrificing freshness, flexibility or the pleasure of opening a breakfast box that smells like a bakery. For Cricklewood mornings, that is a pretty persuasive combination.
Sources
- Karma Bread Brent Cross — Brent Cross, NW2 1AJ | karmabread.co.uk
- Daniel’s Bagel Bakery — Golders Green, NW11 0DL | danielsbakery.co.uk
- Crazy Baker — Kensal Green, NW10 5NY | cafe.crazybaker.co.uk
- Carmelli Bakeries — Golders Green, NW11 8HB | carmelli.co.uk
- Roni’s Bagel Bakery West Hampstead — West Hampstead, NW6 1LG | ronisonline.co.uk
- Coco Bakery — Golders Green, NW11 9NN | cocobakery.co.uk
- Don’t Tell Dad — Queen’s Park, NW6 6RD | donttelldad.co.uk
- Sourdough Sophia Hampstead — Hampstead, NW3 1QS | sourdoughsophia.co.uk