Dining
The 7 Best Croissants in London
London's best butter and filled croissants, from a French-Asian bakery in Covent Garden to the reigning UK competition winner inside a Strand hotel.
In short: our top picks are Pophams, Arome Bakery and Maison Bertaux. 7 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
A proper croissant should shatter a little when you break it and still be soft and buttery underneath, not dense or bready. London’s bakery boom over the last few years has pushed a lot of shops to chase novelty fillings, which is fun, but the ones on this list still get the base pastry right first. Some manage both, a classic butter croissant sitting next to something stranger on the same counter.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Pophams | Islington | ££ |
| Arome Bakery | Covent Garden | ££ |
| Maison Bertaux | Soho | ££ |
| Layla Bakery | Notting Hill | ££ |
| Little Bread Pedlar | Bermondsey | ££ |
| Fortitude Bakehouse | Bloomsbury | ££ |
| Scoff at The Savoy | Strand | ££ |
-
Editor’s choice
Pophams
Why we pick itThe plain butter croissant holds its own, but the filled versions, think confit garlic and Parmesan, are what built the queue outside this corner bakery.
Bakery cafe
-
Arome Bakery
Why we pick itThe Croissant 1930 sticks to classic French technique, while other bakes on the same counter mix in Japanese and Asian flavours like miso and yuzu.
French-Asian bakery
-
Maison Bertaux
Why we pick itLondon's oldest French patisserie, open since 1871, still bakes a properly flaky croissant to go with a coffee at one of the tiny upstairs tables.
French patisserie
-
Layla Bakery
Why we pick itExpect a queue down Portobello Road for the pistachio and other filled croissants that made this a weekend fixture.
Worth knowingCome before eleven at a weekend or the best pastries are gone; batches vary between visits, and there is minimal seating.
Bakery cafe
-
Little Bread Pedlar
Why we pick itA long-fermented sourdough croissant with a proper honeycomb crumb, made by a bakery that supplies some of the capital's better restaurants.
Sourdough bakery
-
Fortitude Bakehouse
Why we pick itThe laminated pastries here sell out by early afternoon, and the plain croissant is as good as the more decorated options on the counter.
Bakery cafe
-
Scoff at The Savoy
Why we pick itBetter known for its towering scones, this hotel bakery's croissant quietly took the UK's Best Croissant title at the Isigny Sainte-Mere competition.
Hotel bakery
Before you book
Croissants are baked in batches through the morning and the good ones sell out by early afternoon, so aim to arrive before midday, especially at weekends.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Pophams is our editor's choice: The plain butter croissant holds its own, but the filled versions, think confit garlic and Parmesan, are what built the queue outside this corner bakery. Pophams, Arome Bakery and Maison Bertaux lead the guide, with 7 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
Related guides
Dining The Best Bakeries in London
Proper sourdough, perfect pastries and cult cakes: the best bakeries in London worth the queue.
5 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Coffee Shops in London
Single-origin pours and proper roasters: the best coffee shops in London for a serious cup.
5 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Brunch in London
Long, unhurried and worth dressing for: the London brunches that earn a slow weekend morning.
5 places Read guide →From the Journal
Dinner as the Main Event: The Case for the Tasting Menu
Most great dinners in London are a means to an end. You eat, you talk, you move on to the bar, the show, the rest of the night. The tasting menu refuses to be that. It is not the warm-up. It is the whole event, the curtain up and the curtain down, three hours that […]
13 Jun 2026Read →
The Enduring Ritual of London Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is not a tourist trap. It is one of the last unhurried things London does on purpose. Lunch is rushed and dinner is a production, but the hours between belong to nobody, and that is precisely the point. You sit. You stay. You let an afternoon become long. In a city that measures […]
2 Jun 2026Read →
London’s Quiet Obsession with Japanese Food
London does not fall for things loudly. It just keeps showing up. And over the last decade or so, the city has shown up for Japanese food again and again, until it stopped feeling like a special occasion and started feeling like a default. You see it everywhere now. The counter where one chef feeds […]
28 Apr 2026Read →Readers also viewed
Dining The Best Pies in London
From a Bermondsey marble counter pouring parsley liquor to a Mayfair pie room with nine in-house varieties, here are six London places that still treat the pie as a serious thing.
6 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Birthday Restaurants in London
Six London restaurants built for a birthday that people actually remember: pink rooms, jungle grills, Greco-Roman drama and two Big Mamma blockbusters, across budgets.
6 places Read guide →
Dining Romantic Restaurants in London
The rooms we send people to when the night matters, from a quiet first date to an anniversary you cannot get wrong.
6 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Brunch in Borough Market
Brunch built entirely around the market itself: wood fired grills, market produce and a rooftop view of St Paul's.
6 places Read guide →