London’s Best New Bakeries, Cafes and Casual Eateries of 2026 (So Far)

There’s been an enormous amount of high-profile restaurant openings this year already – from Meedu Saad’s live-fire restaurant Impala (which more than lived up to the considerable hype) to Nick Jones’s glamorous Cafe Clement.

But it would be remiss not to celebrate the casual eateries, bakeries and cafes that make everyday life in London so delicious. Below and in no particular order, you’ll find our favourite openings of the year so far, including a Welsh spot in Peckham, a Middle Eastern bakery in a former Leyton garage and a stylish Berlin-inspired, late-night kebab shop.

Forget rock-hard scones, soggy sarnies and stale sponge cake: Cafe Jikoni is doing the museum cafe differently. Chef-owner Ravinder Bhogal has brought her hallmark “borderless” cooking to the landmark new V&A East Museum, and it’s reason enough to brave the Central line, even if you’re not on your way to an exhibition. It acknowledges classic museum cafe tropes with its sausage roll – but dials up the x-factor with the warm spice of baharat. And there are so many sandwich varieties it could exist solely as a sandwichery: curried egg mayo and green chutney are held between brioche, and a cheddar toastie is made way more exciting with a hit of aubergine pickle. Don’t miss out on the sweets, either – particularly the banana cake with miso frosting, which nods to Jikoni’s fan-favourite cake with miso butterscotch.

South east London has been blessed twofold by Toad Bakery, a community-minded business by Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello, which opened as a hole-in-the-wall spot on Camberwell in 2022. Since then, it’s become the type of bakery you’d plan a whole Saturday around, whether you’re based locally or not – particularly for its everything bagel croissant, seasonal danishes and ridiculously good bread. Earlier this month, the pair opened a second site in nearby Deptford, granting them a larger space to expand their creative approach to baking (plus an espresso machine) and the people of Deptford an incredible new spot to buy affordable, top-notch bread and pastries.

It’s heartwarming when neighbours stick together. Toad Bakery’s original Camberwell location sits right next door to Mondo Sando, the wildly popular sandwich diner born during lockdown as a series of pub residencies. In April, Mondo Sando co-founders Jack Macrae and Viggo Blegvad opened a second site in Deptford Market Yard – mere metres away from the former rectory that ultimately became Toad Bakery’s sequel. In a diminutive, primary coloured spot, Mondo to Go pumps out sandwiches so good that you can’t help but close your eyes on the first bite and bank the moment in your memory. The rotating menu includes favourites like the Mondo Frango (a sesame sub roll with peri-peri chicken thigh, pea salsa verde and matchstick fries) and its Deptford-exclusive A1 Beef Dip, packed with roast beef dipped into savoury beef shin stocked and layered with provolone cheese, beef shin and onion jam and pickled mustard greens. Heaven.

We love a new bakery as much as the next city guide publication – but when we heard about Edami, a new Lebanese bakery in the heart of east London, our ears pricked up. It specialises in manakish, Lebanese flatbread, that’s topped to order with za’atar and cheese, minced meat and other combinations. As founder Adam Cherkawi told Broadsheet when he opened Edami a few months back: “There are a lot of Lebanese bakeries in west London, but not really in east London.” Edami and its flatbreads make a welcome new addition to the capital’s growing index of fantastic third-culture bakeries. Keep ‘em coming.

There’s always room for another kebab shop in London – especially when it comes with sexy, curved brushed-steel counters, high-quality speakers and ice-cold Martinis on tap. Kiez Kebab could be the spot you hit up for a snack after the party – or it could be the party. Its sleek, neo-industrial interiors feel very Berlin, echoing the shop’s signature kebabs, which, as in the German capital, are served in pide rather than wraps. The veal kebab is a favourite, which is packed with fresh fennel, sliced red cabbage, tomato, red onion, cucumber and parsley.

Cecily Dalladay and Zoë Heimann want to change how Londoners view Welsh food. And judging by the queues at their charming new Peckham cafe Bara, they’re doing a bang-up job. It’s a gorgeous celebration of Welsh ingredients and dishes. A cheekily named Caerphilly cheesesteak loaded on a bun will expand your concept of what a Welsh hard cheese can do, while its bara brith – Welsh tea bread – is a far cry from the slightly stale, stodgy tea bread you’re likely used to. Beyond their hits-loaded breakfast, lunch and in-between menus, Dalladay and Heimann are working hard to embed Bara in the community; they’ve just started hosting monthly dinners, and have just launched their first weekend residencies.

You know you’ve done something right when your cafe seems to have firmly made its way into locals’ weekend itineraries. A walk through London Fields; a quick peep into Hackney City Farm; browsing stalls at Broadway Market; and crucially, an aubergine and kofta pita sandwich from Logma. Inside its striking red shopfront is a hugely inventive concept by couple Ziad Halub and Farsin Rabiee, who draw on their collective Iranian and Iraqi heritage to create beautiful dishes using seasonal British produce. Their sandwich may have initially gone viral, but it’s also well worth visiting for the monthly changing menu which could feature Persian stews, cured trout with pickled mango and saffron rice pudding from Iran. Those queues are worth it, we promise. And if you’re lucky, you could also nab a table at the cafe-bistro’s weekly dinner series, Logma Lates.

“Mayfair hotel opens surprisingly accessible, nostalgic treat-peddling bakery led by star baker” sounds great on paper. And thankfully, thanks to Claridge’s dab hand – and Richard Hart, the star baker in question – it works well in the real world, too. Hart is a Noma alumnus who founded Copenhagen’s Hart Bageri, which is loved for its near-perfect sourdough loaves and beautiful pastries. At Claridge’s, he’s looked to his British background for inspiration – so expect rustic favourites like sausage rolls, iced fingers, bakewell tarts and Jammie Dodger tarts. There are even loaves, which lean more British: country bread, bloomers and a granary loaf. Despite its hoity-toity location (and, sure, prices a bit above your local bakery), this has all the feel of a truly excellent neighbourhood bakehouse.

We love it when our favourite little eateries expand to bigger venues – and we love it even more when that venue is moments away from a beautiful park. Last month, Banook Bagels moved from a hole-in-the-wall setup to a butter-yellow home near Peckham Rye (and there’s ample seating in the cafe, too). Here, you can sink your teeth into what its co-owners, couple Ashley Mah and David Dalrymple, call “the south London bagel”, which combines “the fluffiness of a New York bagel and the denser chewiness of a Montreal-style bagel”. There’s a range of toppings available, including the Fish One, with smoked chalk stream trout.

Want a Welsh rarebit custard Danish? Or maybe a kimchi loaf? You’ve got it at Burnt Arches, which has seen popular Shepherd’s Bush cafe Burnt launch its first outpost in the east. It’s a bounty of bakes harnessing seasonal produce – including Burnt’s best-selling pistachio croissant – and, during the season, an asparagus and cheese tart. As for brunch, it’s steering clear of the expected, which equals a bunch of things we want to eat all the time: a crab omelette with a parmesan crust; eggs with guanciale, wild garlic and chive flowers; and aloo gobi fried eggs with coriander salsa. In a city overloaded with brunch and bakery options, Burnt stands apart.

Okay, so technically Farha opened at the end of last year, but we’re sneaking it in here as opened too late to make our 2025 “best of” list. Locals of Leyton have wholeheartedly embraced this Middle Eastern bakery, located in a former garage. Farha is Arabi for “joy”, and the name couldn’t be more apt. It’s the passion project of couple Nargis Shaikh and Umar Raza, who dreamt of building a community around a warm and welcoming space serving seriously creative pastries. Fan favourites include the chai orange bun, filled with vanilla and orange marmalade and chai-spiced custard; and (for the savoury-lovers) the za’atar cruffin with whipped feta and sumac pickled onion.