Crispy. Flaky. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury. In many ways pastries are one of life’s greatest joys, and they’re certainly central to British culture.
From steak pie to apple crumble, we can thank bakeries for some of our very best national meals. Not all bakeries, however, were created equal. That’s not to slate a certain Geordie sausage roll vendor – there’s a time and a place for a cheese and bean bake – but sometimes you’re after something a little more artisan. That’s where the Good food Guide (GFG) comes in.
The GFG does exactly what is says on the tin. The publication is dedicated to finding the very best of British cuisine, whether that be fancy restaurants, pub grub, or bakeries. The GFG just released its top 50 bakeries in the UK for this year, and there’s some great picks on there. Some of the picks are so great, in fact, that here at Time Out we also put them on our list of the 21 best bakeries in London. Dusty Knuckle, Bunhead Bakery, Toad, Toklas and E5 Bakehouse; we’re looking at you.
The list takes you right across the UK, right from the fields of Cornwall to the top of the scenic highland mountains. No matter where you are in the nation, there’s a near 100 percent chance that you’re within an hours’ drive of one of these bakeries. Unless you’re in Northern Ireland, where there are zero. Sorry, NI. Better luck next time.
Eight of the 50 are in London (read more about those here), and there’s also a surplus in and around Bristol. It seems the south is the place to be for expert baking.
The GFG doesn’t list these bakeries in order, as they’ve all got their own individual strengths. For instance Bristol’s Farro mills its own flour, and The Garage Bakehouse in Leicestershire is beloved by locals for its speciality sourdough. Each brings something different to the world of baking, so trying any of them out is a treat.
Without any further ado, here is the full list of the GFG’s top 50 bakeries in the UK at the moment:
The best bakeries in the UK, according to the Good Food Guide 2025
- Almond Thief – Dartington, Devon
- Aran Bakery – Dartington, Devon
- Bake Shop – Ely, Cambridgeshire
- Bakers Yard Bakery – Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Beefcake Café – Glasgow, Strathclyde
- Bostock Bakery – North Berwick, Lothians
- Bunhead Bakery – Herne Hill, London
- Cereal Bakery – Lairg, Highlands & Islands
- Company Bakery – Musselburgh, Lothians
- Crwst – Cardigan, Ceredigion
- E5 Bakehouse – Hackney, London
- Eric's – East Dulwich, London
- Farro – Bristol
- Field Bakery – Bridgwater, Somerset
- Flint Owl Bakery – Brighton, East Sussex
- Gorse Bakery – Newquay, Cornwall
- Grain & Hearth – Whitstable, Kent
- Hart's Bakery – Bristol
- Haxby Bakehouse – York, North Yorkshire
- Hearth – Hackney Wick, London
- Hobz Bakery – Edinburgh, Lothians
- Kanto – Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
- Landrace Bakery – Bath, Somerset
- Lannan Bakery – Edinburgh, East Lothian
- Levain & Cherry – Birmingham, West Midlands
- Lockdown Loaves – Winterbourne, Bristol
- Long Boi's Bakehouse – Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Longstraw Bakery – Wiveliscombe, Somerset
- Lovingly Artisan – Kendal, Cumbria
- Mabel – Downham Market, Norfolk
- Mhor Bread & Store – Callander, Stirling
- Nova Bakehouse – Leeds, West Yorkshire
- Oast – Margate, Kent
- Pipit Bakery – Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
- Pollen Bakery Kampus – Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Rye Bakery – Frome, Somerset
- Six Chimneys – Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
- Small Food Bakery – Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
- Tarn Bakery – Highgate, London
- The Angel Bakery – Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
- The Dusty Knuckle – Harringay, London
- The Garage Bakehouse – Market Harborough, Leicestershire
- The Old Store – Snettisham, Norfolk
- The Wild Loaf – Liverpool, Merseyside
- Toad Bakery – Camberwell, London
- Toklas Bakery – Temple, London
- Tough Mary's Bakehouse – Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
- Twelve Triangles –Edinburgh, Lothians
- Wooster’s Bakery – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
You can read all of the GFG’s individual bakery reviews here.
Eating in the UK
Want something else to sink your teeth into? We also recently revealed our favourite restaurants in Manchester. We’ve also uncovered some secret foodie locations that you might not have thought of and have lists of the best restaurants in the country, as well as our picks for the most romantic places to eat in Britain.
ICYMI: The UK’s 72 best places to live in 2025 – full Sunday Times list.
Plus: Britain’s 15 poshest towns in 2025.
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