The Best Bakeries in Sydney
Head to these carb-laden spots for rustic sourdough loaves, flaky croissants and everything in between.
The Best Bakeries in Sydney
Head to these carb-laden spots for rustic sourdough loaves, flaky croissants and everything in between.
These days, the best bakeries in Sydney are in hot competition for your dough. There aren't many that are just churning out simple white sandwich loaves — now it's all about sourdough, fruit loaves and the three CRs (croissants, cronuts and cruffins).
While the local mum-and-dad bakery will always hold a soft spot in our hearts, there are some Sydney spots that are really taking the art of bread and pastry-making to a whole new level. We've compiled a list of where to find the butteriest croissants, softest sourdough and most innovative sweet treats around the city.
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The woodfired breads at Cherry Moon are so good, the Sydney bakery regularly sells out. But inner west locals don’t just flock to the venue for its doughy goods — the cafe and general store also has impressive house-made fermented wares, pickles and tasty brunch fare. The 20-seat venue is run by long-time hospitality vet and pastry chef Kimmy Gastmeier (Rockpool, Tetsuya’s and The Porteño Group) and her friend Aimee Graham, with a little help from Aimee’s husband Kenny Graham (The Lansdowne and The Unicorn). All of the bread is made using stone-ground flour from Gunnedah’s Wholegrain Milling Company and baked in a traditional 19th-century scotch oven. In said oven, Cherry Moon also bakes pastries, galettes and fruit tarts, along with Italian-style cream puffs and custard tarts. On the general store shelves, you’ll find Aimee’s fermented goods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, keffir and tonics.
Image: Kitti Gould
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When you’re used to having only one option on a menu, it’s easy to be struck by indecision when you actually have to make a choice. So be patient if the queue sometimes stalls at Wholegreen Bakery — everything here is 100-percent gluten-free. Owner Cherie Lyden got into all things gluten-free when her daughter was diagnosed as coeliac and needed to eliminate gluten from her diet. It took Lyden and her team of bakers around six months of testing and tweaking to get the sourdough recipe right: crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, and without the use of preservatives and gums. At the shop she sells straight-up loaves alongside seeded, fruit and olive varieties, as well as baguettes and rolls. And, yes, there are pastries. Pastries! The kitchen team rolls out mounds of flaky, glossy croissants (plain and almond), pain au chocolats, pain aux raisins, fruit danishes and caramel twists. Savoury pastries abound, too, with sausage rolls, chicken and mushroom pies, and spinach and feta pasties served hot.
Image: Kitti Gould
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In the middle of Pyrmont you’ll find family-run Pioik Bakery. Inside? Breads, cakes, meringues, frittatas, pastries, tarts and any other baked good you can think of. The Harris Street local started off with the mission to create simple, great food. Think: flatbreads topped with veggies and egg sandwiches, plus sweet treats like croissants, cinnamon scrolls and orange cake. But, it’s the bread that’s put Pioik on the map. First up, there’s Epooro (The King), which is two kilograms of organic whole wheat dough. The Aftonf is a classic sourdough, Kemo is a dark rye style, there’s a fruit loaf dubbed Owtah and The Etyoo has five grains: organic-sprouted rye grain, fermented whole oats, whole spelt, freekeh and pearl barley. You can get baguettes, focaccia and gluten-free loaves, too. It’s easy to see why it’s one of Sydney’s best bakeries.
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This Chippendale cafe and bakery is a go-to for any inner-city local. For sweet tooths, Brickfields’ cabinet boasts the likes of passionfruit and white chocolate lamingtons, black sesame cookies, Persian love cakes, date and custard tarts, and croissants — which often sell out by lunchtime. Bread-wise, there’s everything from milk buns topped with sesame to stone-ground sourdough, spelt and honey sourdough, Danish rye, focaccia, ciabatta, an olive loaf, and one loaded with fig, raisins and walnuts. The beloved Sydney bakery is the brainchild of Simon Cancio (Luxe) and Paul Geshos (Mecca Coffee) so you can expect a winning bread/coffee combo, too.
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Woolloomooloo favourite Flour and Stone expanded its digs in early 2020, opening a takeaway-only cafe — dubbed the Annexe — just a few doors down Riley Street. Known for its top-notch pastries, delicious sandwiches and carb-laden comfort food, Flour and Stone has a regularly changing menu. Its counter treats are baked daily, including salted caramel and chocolate tarts and iced madeleines, as well as zucchini, chilli and gruyere buns, and spanakopita. If you’re after something more substantial, there’s also a range of freshly made sandwiches — think smashed egg, aleppo pepper, kewpie mayo and paprika on ciabatta — plus plenty of gourmet meat pies and sausage rolls to tuck into. And, be sure to leave room for the lemon drizzle cake when visiting the Sydney bakery.
Image: Destination NSW
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It wouldn’t be a complete list of Sydney’s top bakehouses without Bourke Street Bakery making an appearance. The bakery chain now has 12 Sydney locations, and while they all have the ginger crème brûlée tart, chocolate and sour cherry cookies and amazing sandwiches, this Surry Hills gem is the OG. Located on Bourke Street (hence the name), the Sydney bakery is filled with fresh loaves, beef brisket pie, lamb and harissa sausage rolls, and pastries. And it always has a line on weekends, so prepare to wait.
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If not for the queue running out the door, Iggy’s Down Under would be easy to miss. But if the queue of ga-ga customers somehow fails to catch your attention, the wafting aroma of freshly baked bread certainly will. Iggy’s is not to be underestimated. Its breads are regarded as some of the best in the area, if not the entire city. Once you navigate the line, the options may overwhelm. Don’t worry your hungry head, however: at this bakery, you can’t make a wrong decision. Iggy’s operates under the principle of honest quality, producing nothing short of delicious perfection.
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Nowadays, bakeries specialising in sourdough are a dime a dozen. Twenty years ago? Not so much. Infinity Bakery in Darlinghurst, originally led by baker Phillip Searle, was a rare find for organic sourdough in the inner city. And while the Sydney bakery scene has shifted dramatically in the proceeding years, Infinity — now led by brother and sister duo, William and Sophie Peterson — is still the go-to for locals seeking authentic (and crazy delicious) baked treats. The business, which now also has outposts in Manly and Homebush, is all about following traditional Parisian baking practices. Alongside its range of sourdough — white, whole wheat, rye and country grain — you can find expertly made pastries, from croissants and banana bread to piping hot pies, plus cakes, tarts, cinnamon scrolls and a brownie that can’t be beat.
Image: Trent van der Jagt
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You may have seen them in cafes across Sydney: huge, pudgy scrolls covered in a blanket of icing sugar. Hidden within are layers of buttery dough and a secret spice mix created by Tony Jabbour, owner and chef of Oregano Bakery. These signature scrolls came about as a result of a rough start to a pizza business. A few years ago Oregano Bakery was a Lebanese pizza store — but boredom led to sugar cravings, so Tony started making his favourite sweet. Enter the cinnamon scroll. Starting with ten units a day, he now produces thousands a day and the family-run business is distributing its famous oozing scrolls to cafes across Sydney. It’s not just the cinnamon scrolls that sell out: mocha, tahini, apple and cinnamon, red velvet, banoffee, cookies and cream and fairy bread are also jaw-droppingly good. With sweet, syrupy goodness swirled into each crevasse, they really are morsels of joy worth cradling. Despite the scrolls stealing the limelight, the core of the bakery is still all about the pizza. The Jay’s Special is flat bread piled with yoghurt, olives, tomato, mint and cucumber, and the simple za’atar pizza with cheese is the pick of the lot.
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Sonoma sourdough may be a staple on breakfast menus throughout the city, but if you want to try its signature miche loaf, slow fermented baguettes or flaky pastries you’ll need to head straight to the source. Of the eight Sydney locations in the Sonoma family, the Alexandria shop remains the most impressive. Set within a converted warehouse, the shopfront boasts high, slanted ceilings and a sleek monochrome fit-out, with shelves stocked with loaves like a gallery for gluten. Fresh-baked loaves aside, you can chew your way through croissants and French patisserie items including sticky cinnamon ‘morning buns’, glazed pain au chocolat and mixed berry muffins.
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Revitalising the old greasy Chick-a-licious chicken ‘n’ chips shop on Redfern Street, Breadfern is known for its organic, handmade rye breads, chicken and mushroom pies and banoffee tarts, as well as its hefty lineup of gluten-free options. This over-the-counter affair is perfect for takeaway park lunches in Redfern Park over the road. Whether you’re after a hot flaky pastry for lunch — such as a hearty pie, a spinach and feta roll or a simple toasty, Breadfern has you covered. And when you’re in need of something sweet, the danishes glistening with homemade glaze is a must-try.
Images: Trent van der Jagt
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This well-loved Bondi Junction establishment is a mecca for eastern suburbs sugar fans. And boy, can they make a good doughnut. Several, actually. The vanilla custard and raspberry jam is heaven, but prepare for a very messy, multiple-napkin eating experience (even those of you who pride yourself on eating tacos neatly). The Sydney bakery also has a nice lineup of savoury options, including mine and cheese, beef and ale, and ratatouille pies, as well as tarts, frittatas and granola. And the flourless chocolate cake slaps.
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Min Chai and Eddie Stewart are on a mission to make the humble lamington famous with pop-ups in Singapore and Tokyo. Here at the Newtown outpost, you’ll find wildly inventive takes on the classic Australian dessert. While there is the classic chocolate and coconut-covered treat on the menu, you’ll also find fairy bread, yuzu meringue and banana caramel lamingtons. While the lamingtons are the centre of attention here, you can also get tarts, quiches and next-level pies. The curry chicken pie comes with a sweet crumble on top, while the eggplant, sweet potato and miso pie is like nothing else you’ve tried.
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This famed Sydney bakery is whipping up towering cakes, flaky pastries and fairytale-like desserts at The Rocks. For lunches and brunches, you’ll find croissants, cruffins, matcha Basque cheesecakes and savoury focaccia topped with potato, rosemary, garlic, blue cheese and mozzarella.. Cakes, while rotating often, include the likes of a tiramisu tarte, lemon meringue tear drop, piña colada mousse cake and Thai milk tea eclairs. You can get those in single-serve portions and, for celebratory occasions, whole towering cakes such as caramel toffee, black forest, cookies and cream cheesecake and strawberry sponge numbers.
Images: Kitti Gould
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Bo Hinzack (of local coffee shop Showbox Coffee Brewers and Mosman’s Penny Royal) and James Sideris (Butter Boy Bake) teamed up to bring you Rollers Bakehouse, located along Rialto Lane mere footsteps from the beach in Manly. Patrons can expect plenty of croissants ranging from buttery classics to more out-there creations like the pineapple lime cheesecake croissant. A mix of sweet and savoury items that change daily rounds out the menu. Some potentials include stuffed bagel rolls, bacon-topped savoury danishes and confit garlic, herb and parmesan twists. Sausage rolls and meat pies are also be on offer, including Greek-style lamb rolls with house-made tzatziki and veggie and lentil-heavy pies.
Images: Kitti Gould.
Top image: Breadfern by Trent van der Jagt
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