Best Bakeries of the Inner West
Warning: Only read this article on a full stomach – it contains descriptions and photos of delicious baked goods that may cause the reader to overeat!
It’s no secret that the Inner West is home to some of the best bakeries in Sydney, so we thought why not try a couple – all in the name of research, you understand – and make a handy list for our community? The things we do…!
Bakeries and patisseries are a big hit with the whole family as there’s always something for everyone – whether you love savory or sweet baked goods come in all shapes, tastes and sizes. From artisan sourdough to gluten-free doughnuts and buttery croissants, here are some of the best of the Inner West!
This article was first published in August 2020 and updated in June 2023 and June 2024.
🥐 A.P. Town, Newtown (Surry Hills and Redfern locations)
[Hazelnut Praline, Buckwheat, Cream and Rhubarb Danish – photo courtesy of A.P. Bakery]
On an assuming corner just off the pointy end of King St is this blink-and-you’ll-miss it outpost of the popular A.P. Bakery in Surry Hills. Known for milling their own grains into flour, which the good folk at A.P. Bakery say produces a tastier and more nutritious loaf of bread (or pastry), the Newtown operation serves up a flaky pain au chocolat (perfect washed down with a cup of their Reuben Hills coffee), moreish Basque cheesecake (available by the slice or whole), and a hot and tasty Sri Lankan chicken pie. They do fantastic seasonal pastries too – right now we’re loving the quince, ricotta and rosemary danish.
Address: 1a Bucknell St, Newtown
Email: hello@apbakery.com.au
Website: www.apbakery.com.au
🥐 Baked by Keiran, Dulwich Hill
[Canele – photo courtesy of Baked by Keiran]
Baked by Keiran is a tiny bakery in Dulwich Hill; famous for their 72-hour sourdough, which flies off the shelf before midday. After working in high-end restaurants, Keiran started his own bakery and they have now opened their second store in Elizabeth Bay – but their plan is to keep it small and stay unique. They offer a range of bread, cakes, pastries, pies and sausage rolls. All freshly made by hand. Aside from their 72-hour sourdough, our hot tips include: raspberry mousse lamingtons, canele, lemon tart and salted caramel chocolate tart.
Address: 455 Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill
Email: Orders@bakedbykeiran.com
Website: www.bakedbykeiran.com
🥐 Black Star Pastry, Newtown (and other locations)
[Strawberry Watermelon Cake – photo courtesy of Black Star Pastry]
Black Star are the creators of the famous and probably the mos ‘grammed cake in Sydney – the Strawberry Watermelon Cake. Layers of almond dacquoise, rose-scented cream and watermelon, topped with strawberries, pistachios and dried rose petals. It has now become a national treasure! They also make delicious savoury goods – like the fabulous slow-cooked lamb-shank pie. All pastries are made by hand, using fresh seasonal ingredients. Our hot tip: whilst you’re indulging in the Strawberry Watermelon Cake (which is a one-person, non-sharing portion!), the kids will love the Ginger Ninjas!
Address: Shop 1/325 King St, Newtown
Phone: 9557 8656
Website: www.blackstarpastry.com.au/
🥐 Bourke Street Bakery, Balmain & Marrickville (amongst others)
[Sausage rolls – photo courtesy of Bourke Street Bakery]
Now an established heavyweight on the Sydney foodie scene, Bourke Street Bakery has opened up multiple branches in the last few years. Thankfully the inner west is home to two! Favourites include sausage rolls filled with lamb and harissa, chicken and pumpkin, pork and fennel to sweet treats including the lemon and ricotta slice, chocolate sour-cherry cookies and pear Danish. Bourke Street Bakery also offers a range of organic sourdough in flavours such as apple and raisin, fig and cranberry, and potato and rosemary. You can also get fresh loaves of brioche on the weekend. Top tip: They have a great catering menu for mini-sweet and savoury pastries, which are a great for birthday parties!
Address: 330 King St, Newtown
Phone: 9517 3877
Website: www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au
🥐 Brooklyn Boy Bagels, Marrickville
[Bagel selection – photo courtesy of Brooklyn Boy Bagels]
If you’re looking for the best bagel in the Inner West, then head over to Brooklyn Boy Bagels drive-through in Marrickville! Here, they use traditional New York City methods to guarantee that bagels are perfectly chewy with great flavour. There’s a huge selection of bagels to choose from including poppy, sesame, onion and our favourite – the Everything Bagel. Top tip: they also make fantastic, traditional Challah bread – which is great to eat fresh, toasted or if you’re feeling ritzy, make French toast with!
Address: 19 Carrington Rd, Marrickville
Email: orders@brooklynboy.com.au
Website: www.brooklynboy.com.au
🥐 Buttercrumbs, Five Dock
[Buttercubes – photo courtesy of Buttercrumbs]
Remember walking along the Seine with the other half (pre-kids of course), munching on the best croissant in the world? Well, the bad news is flights overseas are challenging right now. The good news? Five Dock is home to this fantastic croissant-specialist! Using only the best and freshest ingredients, they serve up all the classics like pain au chocolat and almond croissants to sweet, savoury and everything in between. Our top tip: they bake a special cube croissant called ‘Buttercubes’ – choose from vanilla, matcha, pistachio and strawberry yoghurt.
Address: Shop1/189 Great North Road, Five Dock
Email: butter_crumbs@hotmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/buttercrumbscroissant/
🥐 Fabbrica Bread Shop, Rozelle
Pop into Maloneys Grocer on Darling St and you’ll head out with more than your shopping list. Home to Fabbrica Bread Shop, where you might find a silky Basque cheesecake one day and a Banoffee tart on another, it’s a strong woman who can resist their buttery croissants. Or a savoury bite for that matter. From chewy house-baked focaccias – plain or garnished with toppings like potato, confit garlic and rosemary or cacoo e pepe, pork sausage and chilli honey – to delightful focaccia sandwiches filled with LP’s mortadella, Vannella stracciatella and agrodolce, there’s a brunch or lunch snack freshly made and ready to go.
Address: 733 Darling Street, Rozelle
Website: www.ciaofabbrica.com/venues/fabbrica-bread-shop
Email: aldente@ciaofabbrica.com
🥐 Flour and Stone, Orange Grove Market – Lilyfield
[Pannacotta Leamington – photo courtesy of Flour & Stone]
Whilst their HQ is located in Woolloomooloo, Flour and Stone are regulars at Orange Grove Market every Saturday and their panacotta lamington is simply spectacular! Vanilla sponge soaked in pannacotta, berry compote centre, dark chocolate and flaked coconut, you will be going back again and again.
Other favourites include: flourless (and gluten free) chocolate, raspberry and buttermilk cake and lemon drizzle. Top tip: be quick, because the lamingtons sell out early!
Address: CarriageWorks, Redfern – Saturdays 8am – 1pm. Bakery – 53 Riley St, Woolloomooloo
Website: www.flourandstone.com.au
🥐 Hearthe, Stanmore
[Geraldton Wax Cheesecake – photo courtesy of Hearthe]
Tired of your daily Danish? Peeved by your pain-au-chocolat? This artisan bakery, cake shop and cafe in Stanmore is just the place to sample something truly unique. Christopher Thé, who brought us the internet’s most ‘grammed gateau (the Watermelon Cake) launched Hearthe in early 2023 heroing Aussie ingredients. At Hearthe you’ll find hibiscus, wattle seeds and paperbark scattered generously across the sweet and savoury offering. And whilst there are fab baked breads by the dozen, it’s show-stoppers like the Paperbark Dacquoise – a classic layered mille-feuille with the rich, syrupy and chewy texture of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern desserts – that have the locals coming back. There’s also a cracking eat-in menu with dishes like flatbread with white bean puree and octopus, and a rice congee topped with barramundi dumplings, that make this a must-visit cafe when you’re in the area.
Read our full review of Hearthe here.
Address: 16 Douglas St, Stanmore
Website: www.hearthe.com.au
🥐 La Bancz, Rozelle
[Pastries- photo courtesy of La Bancz]
A visit to La Bancz is like stepping foot into a Parisienne boulangerie, sans airfare! Step inside and you’ll find glass cabinets lined with trays of fantastic French pastries. The menu is traditional and includes French favourites such as plain croissants, almond croissants, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisin and rhubarb Danishes. There’s also a wide bread selection including sourdough rolls, multigrain and spelt loaves and baguettes that are baked in-house daily. Savoury options include classics like chunky beef pies, croque monsieur and a selection of baguettes, salads and quiches. Bon appetit!
Address: 719 Darling Street, Rozelle
Phone: 9818 8449
Email: info@labancz.com.au
Website: www.labancz.com.au
🥐 Mezzapica, Leichhardt
[Cannoli – photo courtesy of Mezzapica]
When something is this good, you don’t need to change it! The almost 70-year-old family-owned Italian cake shop in Leichhardt still uses Mezzapica’s original recipes from 1952. Mezzapica sells a range of traditional Southern Italian sweets including the deliciously crispy custard or ricotta-filled cannoli. Top tip: if you are looking for a special celebration cake, Mezzapica Cake Studio is their sister store and sells the most amazing masterpieces!
Address: 130 Norton St, Leichhardt
Phone: 9569 8378
Email: info@mezzpica.com.au
Website: www.mezzapica.com.au
🥐 Nutie Donuts, Balmain (also in Surry Hills)
[Cherry ripe doughnut – photo courtesy of Nutie Donuts]
A feast for your eyes and your stomach! Nutie bake coeliac-friendly gluten free and vegan doughnuts. Their most popular items at the moment are the banana puddings and dessert tubs, their baked cake donuts and the Twix. They have an evolving range of over 30 options every day, so there’s always something exciting to discover. All of Nutie’s doughnuts are baked not fried – so there are no nasty oils. Nutie uses only the best ingredients which makes sure that their delicious treats can be enjoyed by every tummy! Each batch is made fresh daily and hand dipped and decorated!
Address: 13 Beattie Street, Balmain
Email: hello@nutie.com.au
Website: www.nutie.com.au
🥐 Miss Lilly’s Bakery Cafe, Newtown
[Sausage Rolls – photo courtesy of Miss Lilly’s]
Come for the pies and stay for the delectable pastries! Miss Lilly’s on the south end of King St are masters of savoury pastry – pick from classics like beef & mushroom pie, or pork & fennel sausage roll, and work your way to their more gourmet options like the fish, pea & potato pie or the pumpkin & feta quiche. Those who prefer a vegan diet are also catered for with options like the lip-smacking Mushroom Bolognaise and Eggplant & Potato Curry pies. Need dinner in a jiffy? Grab a family shepherd’s pie. Prefer a sweet treat? Grab a slice of their sour cherry pie or heavenly chai spiced carrot cake – available whole too if you’re feeding a crowd.
Address: 571 King St, Newtown
Email: info@misslillyskitchen.com.au
Website: www.misslillyscom.au
🥐 Pantry Story, Stanmore
Kimchi focaccia? Pandan cronuts? Mochi biscuits? We’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. At Pantry Story you’ll find a playful menu of baked goods inspired by desserts from the Indonesian archipelago with hints of Japanese flavour. Don’t know where to start? Pop into the store and you’ll be met with an beautiful display of each day’s baked goods offerings simply arranged around a marble white table (the gorgeous floral centrepiece is courtesy of the florist a few doors down). With an ever-changing menu you might find prawn and chicken rolls with honey yuzu sauce one day or a brisket hand pie the other. But there are a few perennial staples (for now) like the almost neon green pandan cookies inspired the chef’s husband’s favourite Javanese dessert. Bite into this crisp biscuit and you’ll find a hand stretched mocha filled with palm sugar. Fancy eating in? There’s matcha lattes and coffees aplenty.
Address: 336 Parramatta Road, Stanmore
Website: www.instagram.com/pantrystory_sydney/
🥐 Pasticceria Papa, Haberfield & Five Dock
[Cannoli – photo courtesy of Pasticceria Papa]
Simply an institution in the Inner West! With bakeries in Haberfield and Five Dock (and now further afield in Bondi), Pasticceria Papa’s famous homemade ricotta cannoli are out of this world. They are also home to Sydney’s famous ricotta cheesecake – made with short pastry casing and soft ricotta centre, finished with icing sugar and cinnamon. For those with less of a sweet tooth, their pistachio biscuits are a top choice.
Address: 145 Ramsay St, Haberfield
Phone: 9799 9531
Website: ppapa.com.au
🥐 Penny Fours, Balmain
[Toffee apple croissants – photo courtesy of Penny Fours]
2023 was a big year for Penny Fours. After celebrating 10 years, this bakery owned by an ex-Tetsuya’s pastry chef turned baker, relocated to Balmain after a fire caused significant damage to their original Leichhardt store. But the buns, pastries and croissants, which have earned Penny Fours a cult following in the inner west, are back and better than ever. From tarte tatin, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate finger buns with peanut butter frosting to delicious sourdough and quiche, Penny Fours is well-worth a visit. Our top tip: try the almond and raspberry croissant but once you’ve had one, you may not go back to plain ever again.
Address:485A Darling St, Balmain
Phone: 9572 8550
Email: pennyfours@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PennyFours/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PennyFours/
🥐 Self Raised Snack Shoppe, Bexley North
The little sister to Carlton’s Self Raised Bread Shoppe, this retro style bakery and cafe tucked away in a car park off busy Bexley Road is a tad out of the inner west – but worth a pit stop if you’re in the area. Drop by in the morning and you’ll be treated to breakfast focaccias – crispy Turkish bread rounds filled with haloumi, za’atar, freshly sliced tomato and olives or egg, cheese and potato hash in a milk bun. Yum. There’s also pistachio and raspberry filled buns, Boston doughnuts, pain au chocolat, haloumi za’atar swirls, and croissants and danishes aplenty.
Address: Shop 4, 8/20 Sarsfield Circuit, Bexley North
Website: selfraised.com.au
🥐 Sonoma, Glebe (amongst other locations)
[Miche bread – photo courtesy of Sonoma]
Sonoma’s compact branch in Glebe is well-positioned across from Foley Park. From the wide selection of artisan sourdough breads (now in several supermarkets), to a range of handcrafted pastries and muesli, everything is created with fresh, wholesome ingredients. The chocolate croissants, fruit Danishes and the banana bread are excellent. Their impressive range of bread made a daily includes the regular country white sourdough, soy and linseed, kalamata olive and wholemeal polenta loaves.
Address: 215A Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
Phone: 9660 2116
Email: info@sonoma.com.au
Website: www.sonoma.com.au
🥐 Sweet Belem, Petersham
[Pastries – photo courtesy of Sweet Belem]
Another Sydney institution and a reminder that France certainly does not have the monopoly on baked goods! Sweet Belem is a Portuguese pastry boutique specialising in traditional and modern Portuguese tarts and pastries. Once you bite into the flaky outer shell of these Portuguese tarts to the warm custard inside, you’ll understand why people queue around the block for these on weekends! There are many other delicious options, such as Portuguese donuts, brioche croissants, corn bread and many of the traditional cakes. Top tip: early bird catches the tart!
Address: 35B New Canterbury Road, Petersham
Phone: 9572 6685
Email: basia@sweetbelem.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetbelem/
🥐 Victoire, Balmain & Rozelle
[Chocolate croissants – photo courtesy of Victoire]
Victoire has a loyal following of customers and are recognised for their heavenly sourdough loaves and baked goods, favoured by some of Sydney’s top chefs and restaurants. From rustic baguettes, savoury pastry tarts, stone fruit croissant pastries, Danish tarts and all the classics including cinnamon scrolls and palmiers. There are often special French treats like jams and cordials in store. Also, check out their cute, very photogenic bakery van in Balmain.
Address: 660 Darling Street, Rozelle
Phone: 9818 5529
Facebook: www.facebook.com/VictoireBoulangerie/
Honorable mentions:
- Bowen Island Bakery, Drummoyne
- Brickfields, Redfern
- Cherry Moon, Annandale
- Pasticceria Tamborrino, Five Dock
- Pasticceria Volare, Dulwich Hill
- Pioik Bakery, Pyrmont
- Textbook Patisserie, Alexandria
- Two Chaps, Marrickville (Note: this is a café but with outstanding house-made doughnuts, cakes and baked goods)
- Shenkin, Glebe, Erskineville & Surry Hills (Note: also a café, however they have sensational pastries)
- Short Stop Donuts, Barangaroo (the Australian Honey Doughnuts will have you going back for more!)
- Strawberry Fields, Dulwich Hill
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