Nordic Bakery

Stepping out of the anarchy of Soho, pushing open the heavy wooden door and crossing over into Nordic Bakery’s calm, ordered world gives you a rush of reassurance that everything will, in fact, be alright. You’ll be greeted by attractive smiling servers and cocooned in a warm wood-lined interior where everything, from the Alvar Aalto furniture to the Helvetica signage, is clean of line and muted in tone. Even the sandwiches look pretty – neat circles of dark rye supporting Scandinavian staples such as gravadlax, brie and lingonberry, or the delicious combination of vinegary herring with soft egg and a smooth mustardy mayonnaise. Or try a karelian pie – a traditional Finnish rice or potato pasty, perhaps with a bottle of Nordic’s in-house blueberry cordial. Get there early if you want to get your hands on one of the famous cinnamon buns, though the squishy, sugary butter buns are pretty addictive too.