By now, most of Sydney knows a croissant from a pain au chocolat, tea cake from tiramisu, the difference between rye, wholemeal and country-white. But that could be a bakery menu from two decades ago.
In 2026, our artisan bread shops, patisseries, dessert stops and pie makers are places of shokupan, fougasse (so much fougasse), ube-flavoured mochi and panna cotta capybaras.
The city’s bakeries and patisseries have never been more delicious and diverse, and while researching the 100 Essential Sydney Cafes and Bakeries of 2026 guide, we saw a growing number of places focussing on doing one thing (or very few things) well.
Cinnamon scrolls are popping up like cupcakes in 2010, Portuguese tarts have a new generation of fans, and the croissant’s world domination is near. Hot prediction for next year? Sydney’s first dedicated pandan scone shop.
Here is a selection of amazing bakeries and patisseries in our 100 Essential guide. You can explore more on the Good Food app.
Abla’s Pastries
Sydney is blessed with dozens of Middle Eastern sweet shops, but there are none quite like family-owned Abla’s Pastries. This sugar-spun wonderland of Lebanese patisserie has been serving plates of freshly made baklava, semolina knafeh and its famous znoud el sit (golden “ladies arms” of fried filo pastry, velvety ashta cream and sugar syrup) since 1984.
It recently expanded from Granville to a second location in Dulwich Hill. Staff are eager to help you navigate the beautiful (but unmarked) displays, recommending the best of a 200-strong product line that now includes ice-cream, cake and specialty coffee until 10pm daily.
52 Railway Parade, Granville; 449 Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill, ablaspastries.com.au
Ard
On weekends, long queues form outside Christiana Daaboul’s first bricks-and-mortar bakery in Stanmore, lured by beautiful Instagram photos of Earl Grey black sesame sponge cake, shokupan fairy bread, pistachio banoffee pie and tiramisu.
The small, light-filled space on Stafford Road sells around 15 different slices, cakes, buns and breads, along with coffee and specialty drinks such as an iced creme brulee matcha, and a tahini caramel Mont Blanc.
Good to know: Outside, there are enough wood benches and stools to seat about 15 people.
2A Stafford Street, Stanmore, instagram.com/ardsydney
Arta Atelier
Harley Davidson-riding pastry chef Armin Begovic has transformed a former pizza shop in Sydney’s south-west into the gallery-like Arta Atelier. In a display case fit for jewellery, you might find hazelnut, chocolate and orange teacakes, or tarts with vanilla mousse and strawberry slices so thin they could be a glossy photograph.
Begovic also whips up buttermilk scones, frangipane tarts, madeleines and two kinds of chocolate-chip biscuit, plus and outstanding spinach and cheese burek inspired by his grandmother’s recipe.
Must order: Anything with hazelnut – Begovic is devoted to the flavour.
Shop 7/1-15 Murray Street, Camden, artaatelier.com.au
A.P Supply
A.P Bakery harnessed Sydney’s love of artisan bread and pastries, and turned it into an obsession. Head baker Dougal Muffet uses heritage NSW wheat and house-milled grain to create a formidable offering, from rustic loaves of sourdough to delicate tarte tartins.
They’re all behind the cobalt blue takeaway window at A.P Supply, plus one exclusive item: an incredible puff of craquelin choux pastry, pastel-green and piped to order with fresh matcha and white chocolate cream. Sure, there’s no rooftop view like at A.P House down the road, but there’s hardly ever a wait.
Shop 2/106/112 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, apbakery.com.au
Baker Bleu
The partnership with Neil Perry is no more, but the lines persist. It’ll give you time to take in the pretty view over Guilfoyle Square and to decide what to order from the digital menu board.
Should you splash $20 on a heritage sourdough loaf, get a peppery mushroom and gochujang toastie, a strawberry cheesecake tart with a croissant crust, or a buttery pork and fennel sausage roll?
Baker Bleu may be among the priciest bakeries in Sydney, but it’s also one of the best, where long fermentation, a commitment to old-school methods and sandwiches over-flowing with fillings are king.
Good to know: Come early as the weekend bread lines can stretch.
2 Guilfoyle Avenue, Double Bay, bakerbleu.com.au
Bobo Bakery
These are the cinnamon scrolls dreams are made of. Warm, pillowy dough, softened by gooey cinnamon sugar. Vanilla cream-cheese frosting, settling into each fold. A little sprinkle of lemon zest.
It took owner-baker Rowan Attwell more than a year of recipe development to strike that magical balance between levity and indulgence, and you’d be hard-pressed to find better anywhere in Sydney. The Kingsford store opens exclusively for pick-up orders on weekdays, but you can also find Attwell at Maroubra, Paddington and Bondi Markets.
Good to know: Attwell makes far more than cinnamon scrolls these days — check out her lemon meringue or carrot cake next time.
124 Gardeners Road, Kingsford, bobobakery.com
Cherry Moon General Store
There’s a certain storybook charm to Cherry Moon. It’s the lone cafe on a pretty, tree-lined street, with a hardworking wood oven at its heart that seems to live and breathe. It’s the oven’s heat that coaxes raw pastry into crisp, flaking layers and gives fig-leaf sourdough its spring.
On weekends, the queue snakes past mismatched chairs and shelves cluttered with house-made condiments, toward a cabinet filled with fairy biscuits and bountiful savoury tarts. The decision paralysis is real, but don’t skip the sourdough brioche cinnamon bun – it’s surely the best in town.
Good to know: Inspired to bake your own sourdough? Starter is for sale in the fridge.
77 Nelson Street, Annandale, cherrymoongeneralstore.com.au
Dawn Baked Goods + The Little Marionette
Dawn is one of those bakeries where cakes and pastries appear as art: two neat lines of viennoiserie piped with pistachio cream, topped with torched meringue, or sweetened with seasonal fruit, alongside savoury things like garlic knots and chorizo croissants, all encased in glass.
The space is shared with specialty coffee roaster Little Marionette, both rooms bright in morning light, with simple birchwood seating and a lively concrete courtyard shaded by trees and umbrellas, overlooking Rozelle’s burgeoning hospitality hub of converted warehouses.
4, Unit 14/26 Mansfield Street, Rozelle
Flour
Flour is tucked away on a quiet suburban street, but you’ll have no problem finding it – just follow the long procession of cars. This sunbathed cafe-bakery makes excellent breads, sausage rolls and sandwiches, but most people come for the pastry cabinet.
It’s a butter-laden dreamscape of lemon meringue doughnuts, Iced VoVo-inspired finger buns and bruleed custard tarts, plus regular seasonal specials. When the crowds abate, the communal table is a comfortable place to enjoy a specialty coffee, with front-row seats to the glass-walled kitchen.
Good to know: Flour closes at 2pm, so you’ll have to hustle.
277 Willarong Road, Caringbah, weareflour.com.au
Flour and Stone
For an international tourist in Sydney, Flour and Stone’s panna cotta lamington should be as essential as an Opera House visit or buying knock-off Ugg boots.
The clientele at Nadine Ingram’s tiny bakery is often more local, though – here for the signature lemon drizzle cake, brown butter tarts, scones, her glorious flourless chocolate cake and so much more. Everything that comes out of the oven is cosier than wearing sheepskin boots on a Sunday morning.
Must order: The lamington or lemon drizzle if you’re a F&S first-timer, but ask about the monthly cake specials too.
53 Riley Street, Woolloomooloo, flourandstone.com.au
Flour Shop
Just when you thought the soft, seeded Jerusalem bagels had run out, another tray comes out of the oven. They have gentle indents, rather than holes, each filled with savoury seasonal ingredients such as mixed mushrooms or cheesy rosemary roasted potatoes.
Owner Anu Haran and her team bake their sourdough bread and pastries throughout the day so there’s always something warm on the counter. Some days, it’s Swedish tosca buns scattered with candied nuts. Others, it’s vanilla brioche stuffed with quince-skin jam or longganisa sausage croissants slicked with sweet-soy caramel.
16 Princes Street, Turramurra, flourshop.com.au
Goodwood Bakeshop
In a city of great bakeries, Goodwood has quietly become one of the best. Owner-bakers Jamie Goodin and Alex Alewood favour sustainability and seasonality on their weekly menu, using heritage NSW flour to create sour cherry and fennel sourdough in spring, and quince danishes with orange ricotta custard in winter.
Outstanding croissants are available year-round, stuffed with ham and gruyere, or twice-baked with smoked cheddar and jalapenos. Arrive early and expect to queue – shelves often become bare around midday.
Good to know: The plain croissant ranked first in Good Food’s 2025 blind taste test.
297 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, goodwoodbakeshop.com.au
Happy Alley
Happy Alley is a playful remix of artisanal bakery, fast-food restaurant and Levantine flavours, and there’s nothing else like it in Sydney. Brekkie kicks off with house-made spiced sausage on cheesy egg muffins, revving up to crumbed fish sandwiches and “happy pattie” burgers for lunch.
The strength of its in-house bakery grows each year, launching a pistachio kataifi honey cake so good it almost rivals those soft, warm cookies served with swirls of vanilla soft serve.
Good to know: Expect slim pickings within an hour of closing.
13 Bay Street, Rockdale, *happyalley.com.au *
Home Croissanterie
Arrive early at Home Croissanterie, lest you’re met with empty shelves. Specials like the strawberry cream croissant disappear first – they are brushed in rose syrup, with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream and strawberry compote-marinated strawberries.
No matter, the staples are as solid. Potato and sea salt croissants are the signature; sausage rolls are flaky and generous; and matcha (from Simply Native Japan) is among Sydney’s best when served as a creamy cold-foam latte. Outdoor seating is limited, but nearby green spaces are aplenty.
Shop 1/418 Darling Street, Balmain, homecroissanterie.com
Iggy’s Bread
Eighteen years since it opened, Iggy’s remains the benchmark against which all Sydney bread is measured. Second-generation baker Sonya Ivanovic and partner Matt Carter took over operations from Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic last year, continuing the legacy of sourdough loaves, rolls, bagels and impressive bread-roll wheels with glorious chew and depth-of-flavour.
They sell out early on weekends, so don’t dawdle – but you’ll be rewarded with warm croissants and bread, and often the soothing sounds of vinyl.
Must order: Their sourdough croissants have a gentle, buttery earthiness, and ranked seven on our taste-test challenge.
131 Macpherson Street, Bronte, iggysbread.au
Khanom House
Self-taught Thai baker Yeen Veerasenee is a market stall success story. Buoyed by the popularity of his matcha Basque cheesecakes, Veerasenee opened his first brick-and-mortar in a light-filled corner of Chippendale in 2025.
Returning customers will note some welcome changes since then: more outdoor seating, more drinks, and more pastel green in the pastry cabinet. Veerasenee has a penchant for pandan, using the tropical plant’s natural dye and earthy vanilla flavour to make seven-layer honeycake, custard-filled doughnuts and cream buns. You can even try it in Khanom House’s signature drink, paired with matcha foam.
Good to know: There’s barista-made coffee to pair with your cake.
15 Meagher Street, Chippendale
La Paula
La Paula is Sydney’s oldest Chilean bakery and a western Sydney institution. You might have heard about its empanadas, parcels of deep-fried pastry and molten mozzarella; or the hot dogs, piped with mayonnaise like a vintage birthday cake; but don’t overlook the pastry cabinet.
Recipes, passed down through generations of the founding Casanova family, often feature manjar, a fudgy Chilean dulce de leche. Chilenito blanco is a classic, layering manjar with biscuits and meringue; but if you love a millefeuille you must try the Latin American version, miljoha – rich with caramel, just as delicious.
9 Barbara Street, Fairfield, instagram.com/la_paula_syd
Lode Pies and Pastries Rozelle
It was a sad day for Ligurian food fans when ReccoLab served its last focaccia in Rozelle last year, but at least the back-street site was replaced with a bakery equally dedicated to artisan dough work. Many locals come here daily for a post-yoga strawberry matcha, a deeply flavoured Khorasan baguette for home use or a full breakfast with especially silky scrambled eggs.
Other Lode locations stock a similar range of flaky meat pies (go for the bolognese), beautifully laminated pain au chocolat and fat cookies, but this is the biggest and brightest of them all if you want to eat the twice-baked almond croissant at the source.
Good to know: For a bakery, the hot chips are disarmingly good.
Shop A4/120 Terry Street, Rozelle, lodepies.com
Lune Croissanterie
Sydney waited five years for this world-famous croissanterie to open. What’s a few more minutes in line? Any queueing you do will be rewarded with warm, buttery croissants, caramelised kouign-amanns and tangy lemon curd-filled cruffins. Former Formula One aerodynamicist Kate Reid has engineered each pastry with precision, resulting in crisp, golden layers and a light, airy centre.
The flagship Sydney store, inside Rosebery Engine Yards, is a fitting choice for the brand’s trademark industrial styling. Seating is limited, but there’s a sculptural standing bar with views of the baker’s kitchen, encased in glass.
Good to know: There’s also a Lune in Martin Place.
Entry via Mentmore Avenue, 115/151 Dunning Avenue, Rosebery, lunecroissanterie.com
Lusinata
The pasteis de nata (Portuguese tarts) here may not come with fancy toppings, but you can match the “tiny scorched suns” with dessert wines and cherry liqueur. Or, you could just order half a dozen to take home for the pinnacle of couch snacking.
Fernando Ferreira has spent four decades perfecting traditional Portuguese pastries, biscuits and cakes, and Lusinata is a co-production with his son, Andre, who is passionate about continuing the family trade. When they opened in 2024, they sold tarts and only tarts, but the range has expanded to include Portuguese chorizo bread, almond rolls and sponge “napkins”.
Best for: A quiet moment with coffee, sweet wine and custard-filled pastry
Madame and Yves
Before opening this small shop with wife Jennifer in 2019, classically trained French-born pastry chef Yves Scherrer created the signature desserts at fine-dining restaurants including Est. and Berowra Waters Inn.
Of course, the primary school kids that pile in after class don’t know any of that, they’re just here for scoops of creamy house-made gelato, eclairs glistening with Valrhona chocolate and flaky croissants.
They probably also aren’t aware that the croissants take three days to make and were ranked among Sydney’s top 10 in Good Food’s blind taste test. There’s also excellent quiche Lorraine, tarts filled with lemon curd and seasonal sweets worth crossing town for.
343-345 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, madameandyves.com.au
Maggio’s
If a new Sydney airport expansion (inside T3) is a sign that Maggio’s is on a growth path, the queues in Cammeray are signs that the original – founded by three brothers in 1998 – still has its eye closely on the ball. Swing past the cafe and all-day breakfast staples join a stacked panini menu; hit the bakery and pasticceria and the Italian-accented cakes (try the ricotta cheesecake), pastries and biscotti catch the eye. And don’t forget an espresso, made on Maggio’s own signature blend. Also in North Ryde.
Must order: Pasta and hefty sandwiches are also on the menu, but it’s the Italian eggs poached in tomato and basil sauce that’s our go-to.
457 Miller Street, Cammeray; 463 Miller Street, Cammeray; Unit 8/144 Coxs Road, North Ryde, maggios.com.au
Pantry Story, Stanmore
Parramatta Road has livened up since Mutiara Sucipto and Hari Wibowo opened their cheery bakery Pantry Story in 2024, with branded signage featuring their pug, Taro.
Most people come for the evolving menu of Asian-inspired sweet treats: a decadent tabletop procession of electric-green pandan mochi cookies, miso butterscotch croissants and wobbling chocolate panna cotta capybaras (the latter available only on weekends). Keep an eye on socials for seasonal specials like banoffee croissant pudding or Indomie pies.
Good to know: Dine-in seating is limited to a few stools and covered milk crates.
336 Parramatta Road, Stanmore, pantrystory.com.au
Pioik
Pyrmont locals have it good. On a lazy morning they can roll out of bed and wander down to Pioik, where former fine-dining chef Shady Wasef has baked another delicious dilemma. Do they choose the almond croissant with brandy-boozed cream? The egg sandwich, stacked with fluffy omelette and jammy tomato chutney? Or the Simit – a sesame-crusted loop of bread dipped in pomegranate molasses? The winner is then bundled away, enjoyed back home with a takeaway cup of Primary Coffee.
Best for: Rustic loaves and baked delights inspired by the owners’ Egyptian roots.
176-178 Harris Street, Pyrmont, pioikbakery.com.au
Rollers Bakehouse
Bakehouse by name, bakehouse by nature, Rollers built its reputation on one thing and one thing only: all-butter croissants laminated with Isigny Sainte-Mère butter.
The classic is just the beginning, though, with charcoal-tinted pains au chocolats, and monkey bread, crafted from croissant-dough scraps, flavoured with banana, cardamom and cinnamon and glazed with spiced icing, frequently selling out.
Drinks don’t have the same focus, but the Palm Springs via Manly aesthetic means the vibes are high, and the cinnamon scrolls have become the stuff of legend.
19 Rialto Lane, Manly, rollersbakehouse.com
Self Raised Bread Shoppe
You’re knee-deep in suburbia, on a quiet street lined with single level federation homes. There’s the usual suspects: a fish and chip shop, a convenience store. Then, you notice all the people: families, couples, all ages, queuing outside Self Raised Bread Shoppe for Boston cream doughnuts, stacked ciabatta sandwiches and Milo topped with cold foam.
This is quality fare, minus (most) of the fads, and its launch in 2023 heralded a period of strong westward growth in Sydney’s cafe sector.
Good to know: Sister shop Self Raised Snack Shoppe can be found in Bexley North.
45 Jubilee Avenue, Carlton, selfraised.com.au
Shadow Baking
A trio of Messina chefs have pivoted from gelato to pastry, bringing the same bold creativity to croissants, tarts and scrolls in Darlinghurst and Marrickville.
Danishes are regularly on display: golden, flaky nests filled with confit tomatoes, fanned with caramelised fruits or topped up with a Thai milk tea sabayon. Just like the Messina mothership, new specials are created weekly and the pastries sell out within hours.
Best for: Croissant dough, done differently.
Staple Bakery
Marketer-turned-baker James Partington’s bread is a bona fide staple of the Northern Beaches. The bakery, started in 2018, uses stone-milled organic flour from Wholegrain Milling in Gunnedah to create naturally leavened, long-fermented sourdough with a chewy just-charred crust, light interior and memorable depth of flavour.
But that’s just the start: special loaves (including one with olives, rosemary and sunflower seeds) riff on the classic, while its range of cakes, pies and pastries have a rustic, almost country, charm. Try the bee-sting croissant, featuring a crisp golden edge and creamy honey filling.
Good to know: Staple Bakery has stores in Seaforth, Manly, Mosman, Cromer, Curl Curl.
1/20-28 Montauban Avenue, Seaforth, staplebakery.com
Sundays
Some people wait up to an hour to get their hands on the cinnamon scrolls at Laetitia Loefti’s micro-bakery. The pillowy swirls of soft, sweet dough, slathered with spoonfuls of vanilla and cinnamon cream-cheese icing, are worth every minute.
Loefti ensures customers try her scrolls when they’re at their best, with constant batches coming out of the oven, and maybe even her mum on hand to carefully temperature-check each one.
Must order: Don’t sleep on the pistachio scroll special if it makes an appearance.
211 Bondi Road, Bondi, instagram.com/sundaysbondi
Thoroughbread
You know a bakery is good when it’s this busy after more than 12 years of operation. Owners Nick and Emma Tabet are known for making exceptional sourdough, using organic flour and slow fermentation to create a loaf with greater levity and flavour than most.
The sweet potato rye is the go-to, only available Saturdays, but it’ll be difficult to walk out without a treat from the pastry cabinet – maybe a doughnut, plump with poached rhubarb, tart and sweet, or the miniature pecan pie, a rare find in Sydney.
Good to know: Marrickville cafe Angus is co-owned by the Tabets.
19 Monro Avenue, Kirrawee, thoroughbreadbakery.com.au
Tuga Pastries
Come for the cinnamon-dusted pastel de nata, but stay for the hunky three-cheese and truffle toastie, choc-filled doughnuts and crunchy croissant sandwiches. Tuga might be known as a top purveyor of Portuguese tarts, but everything here is a banger, particularly “Mama’s beef and potato pie”.
Owner Diogo Ferreira is bursting with ideas, which makes it tough to choose from the exciting array of sweet and savoury goodies. Friendly staff are on hand at the Clovelly and Alexandria locations to help make the hard decisions. There’s also a cafe at Clovelly, and it’s great, too.
Must order: Any of the pies.
Shop 6/231 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, tugapastries.com.au
Can’t see your favourite bakery? Chances are it’s in another category. Explorethe full list of the 100 Essential Cafes and Bakeries of 2026 in theGood Food app. It’s available as a standalone subscription and is included in premium digital Sydney Morning Herald subscriptions. Download it from the Apple App Store or theGoogle Play Store.
Good Food reviews are visited anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the 100 Essential Cafes and Bakeries guide.
More:
- Essential cafes and bakeries
- For subscribers
- Cherry Moon General Store
- Goodwood Bakeshop
- Pioik Bakery
- Rollers Bakehouse
- The Little Marionette
- Bakeries
- Good Food recommends
- Self Raised Bread Shoppe
- Baker Bleu
- Shadow Baking
- Pantry Story
- Lune Croissanterie
- Iggy’s Bread
- Tuga Pastries
- Bobo Bakery
- Lusinata
- Arta Atelier
- Thoroughbread Bakery
- Dawn Baked Goods
- Staple Bakery
- Madame and Yves
- A.P Supply
- Lode Pies and Pastries