The world’s best pastry shops have been revealed — full list of UK winners
When it comes to the world’s best pastry, obviously the crème de la crème can be found in France, but the UK is also home to some pretty spectacular bakers.
La Liste has just revealed the winners of its 2024 Pastry Awards, and one UK bakery scooped a special award, while 198 other pastry shops landed on the long list.
The only UK spot to claim an award was Darcie Maher’s Lannan in Edinburgh, which was selected as one of the winners in the Pastry Opening of the Year category.
Self-taught baker Darcie is just 26 years old and regularly sells out her viennoiseries, which include Croissants, Cardamom Buns, Pain Suisse with coffee and caramelised milk chocolate, as well as savoury bakes such as Merguez sausage rolls with braised fennel and monte enebro.
There’s also a number of seasonal specials, like Apple Pie and Custard with Kissabel apples, crème fraîche custard, cinnamon sugar, and latticed croissant pastry, and Rhubarb, Custard and Almond cake with Marcona almond sponge, rhubarb compôte, whipped vanilla custard, and toasted Marcona almonds.
Darcie, who grew up in the Scottish Borders, worked across the UK before joining the team at The Palmerston where her creative pastries garnered her a following. She then took the plunge to open her own bakery, with Lannan coming from the Gaelic word for ‘house’.
The bakery certainly has a homey feel to it, with a hatch that customers can see through to the busy kitchen, and a glass counter proudly displaying all the incredible treats on offer.
Speaking about the win, Darcie said: ‘Having been open for less than a year, it’s an honour to receive the award from La Liste for best pastry opening of the year.
‘My life long dream has been to own my own bakery and Lannan has surpassed anything I imagined it would be. To have the recognition cements all the relentless hard work that’s gone into every aspect of the bakery up until this point.’
The world’s overall best pastry shop was revealed to be in Paris, with Ritz Paris Le Comptoir and pastry chef François Perret, taking the top spot at the awards.
Explaining why it’s the number one, La Liste said: ‘The Ritz, Paris and its famous pastry chef François Perret have created a sublime pastry shop experience with Le Comptoir, a must-visit on the Parisian pastry scene and sure to remain an icon for many years.
‘Open seven days a week for eat-in, takeaway and click-and-collect, Le Comptoir welcomes a new audience to Perret’s exquisite creations, and its luxurious cream, gold, and terracotta interiors provide an indulgent and rejuvenating welcome for every visitor.
‘What’s on the menu? Chef Perret is known for his gastronomic range, from classic croissants and pains au chocolat to sophisticated sandwiches. His renowned madeleines come filled with raspberry or passion fruit; try the Tennis Balls full of sharp lemon and iced in white chocolate and, for summer 2024, the Madeleine Abricot infused with Jardin Vendôme tea.
La Liste Pastry Awards 2024, full long list of UK’s best bakeries:
The Angel Bakery, Abergavenny
The Apple Pie Cafe and Bakery, Ambleside
Grasmere Gingerbread, Ambleside
Wye Bakehouse, Bakewell
Landrace Bakery, Bath
Nash’s Bakery, Bicester
Ten Four Bakehouse, Birmingham
Loaf, Birmingham
The Flour Pot Bakery, Brighton
Julien Plumart, Brighton
Real Patisserie, Brighton
Farro Bakery, Bristol
Hart’s Bakery, Bristol
Hobbs House Bakery, Bristol
Mark’s Bread, Bristol
Wooster’s Bakery, Bury St Edmunds
Baker & Graze, Cheltenham
The Chester Grosvenor, Chester
KNEAD Cirencester, Cirencester
Peppina Sicilian Bakery, Dorchester
Grain Culture – Bake Shop, Ely
Baker Tom’s Bread, Falmouth
Rye Bakery, Frome
Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Harrogate
Sugardough, Hove
The Sourdough Revolution, Lechlade
Nova Bakehouse, Leeds
Live Love Loaf, Leek
Fiona Cairns Online Luxury Cake Shop, Leicester
Flint Owl Bakery, Lewes
Baltic Bakehouse, Liverpool
Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley, London
Tarn Bakery, London
The Connaught Pâtisserie, London
Tea Lounge – The Biltmore Mayfair, London
Afternoon Tea at Claridge’s, London
The Ritz Club – The Ritz London, London
Afternoon Tea at The Savoy, London
Lounge at The Cadogan, London
The Rosebery – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
TWG Tea, London
Philippe Conticini London, London
Rosalind Miller Cakes Emperor House, London
Cakes & Bubbles, London
Basement Sate, London
Mille Patisserie, London
Dyce, London
Crème, London
Angelo Musa – Harrods, London
The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, London
Pierre Hermé Paris Covent Garden, London
Ararat Bread – makhdoom, London
Blondies Kitchen, London
Quince Bakery, London
Eric’s, London
TOAD Bakery, London
Kova Patisserie, London
Violet Bakery, London
SHIOK! Pâtisserie, London
KURO BAKERY, London
Donutelier by Roladin, London
Cutter & Squidge, London
Primrose Bakery, London
Poilâne, London
Little Sourdough Kitchen, London
The Lily Vanilli Bakery, London
Vida Bakery, London
The Chinoiserie, London
The Hansom, London
Afternoon Tea at COMO, London
Layla Bakery, London
Aubaine Selfridges, London
Afternoon Tea at The Parlour, London
Palm Court at The Langham, London
The Dorchester, London
The Landmark London, London
Afternoon Tea at The Orchid Lounge – Pan Pacific London, London
The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason, London
Science Afternoon Tea at The Drawing Rooms (at The Ampersand Hotel), London
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea, London
Afternoon Tea at Sunborn Yacht Hotel London, London
Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea 50 Berners Street, London
The Drawing Room at Brown’s Hotel, London
Afternoon Tea at The Rubens 39, London
Anges de Sucre, London
Aux Pains de Papy, London
Baban’s Naan, London
Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery, London
Cake Boy ltd, London
Comptoir Gourmand Bermondsey, London
Dunn’s Bakery 6, London
The Dusty Knuckle Bakery, London
E5 Bakehouse , London
Fabrique Bakery Hoxton, London
Fortitude Bakehouse, London
Jolene Bakery & Restaurant, London
Karaway Bakery, London
Little Bread Pedlar, London
Pavilion Bakery, London
St. JOHN Bakery Neal’s Yard , London
WA Cafe (Ealing), London
Birley Bakery, London
Pophams, London
The Old Post Office Bakery, London
Chinatown Bakery, London
Le Deli Robuchon Mayfair, London
Margot Bakery, London
Miel Bakery, London
Aries Bakehouse, London
Ole & Steen, London
WA Cafe (Covent Garden), London
Buns From Home, London
Söderberg Soho, London
Luminary Bakery, London
Alma Mill & Bakery, London
The Proof, London
Sourdough Sophia, London
Cake & Flowers, London
Whipped London, London
Chestnut Bakery, Covent Garden, London
Tetote Factory, London
Yasmina Restaurant and Bakery, London
Patisserie Sainte Anne, London
Little Bread Pedlar – Pimlico, London
Bageriet, London
Bake Street, London
Wood Street Bakery, London
Arôme Bakery – Covent Garden, London
Happy Sky Japanese Bakery, London
Afternoon Tea at The Goring, London
Karma Bread Bakehouse, London
St. JOHN Bakery, London
Cliveden House, Maidenhead
The Waterside Inn, Maidenhead
Long Boi’s Bakehouse, Manchester
Pollen Bakery Cotton Field Wharf, Manchester
Companio Bakery, Manchester
Teatime Collective, Manchester
Alex’s Bakery, Manchester
The English Rose Bakery, Manchester
The Black Cat Cakery, Manchester
Barbakan Delicatessen Ltd, Manchester
Oast, Margate
Kuma-San Bakehouse, Matlock
Northern Rye, Newcastle upon Tyne
Bread Source, Norwich
Hamblin Bread, Oxford
Ben’s Cookies, Oxford
Gatineau Artisan Patisserie & Bakery, Oxford
GAIL’s Bakery Summertown, Oxford
Proof Social Bakehouse, Oxford
DoreDore Bakery&Cake, Oxford
GAIL’s Bakery Jericho, Oxford
Millefeuille, Oxford
St Agnes Bakery, Saint Agnes
St Ives Bakery, Saint Ives
Sol Bakery & Cafe, Salisbury
Forge Bakehouse, Sheffield
Oxfords, Sherborne
The Almond Thief, Totnes
Da Bara St Mawes, Truro
St Mawes Bakery, Truro
The Italian Bakery, Wareham
Stoberry House and Gardens , Wells
Grain & Hearth Bakery, Whitstable
Haxby Bakehouse, York
Cosgriff and Sons, York
Bluebird Bakery, York
Little Arras, York
Ursa Minor, Ballycastle
Cookie Jar, Newcastle
The Earth’s Crust Bakery, Castle Douglas
ARAN Bakery, Dunkeld
Bostock Bakery, East Linton
Twelve Triangles, Edinburgh
Hobz Bakery, Edinburgh
Lannan Bakery, Edinburgh
The Pastry Section, Edinburgh
The Palmerston, Edinburgh
Bakhoos Bakery, Fortrose
Cottonrake Bakery, Glasgow
Partenope, Glasgow
Bad Girl Bakery Cafe, Muir of Ord
The Newport Bakery, Newport-on-Tay
Bostock Bakery, North Berwick
Birch Cafe, Portree
Bandit Bakery, Aberdeen
Two.Eight.Seven, Glasgow
Outlier 38, Glasgow
kaf Coffee, Glasgow
La Barantine, Edinburgh
HAVN, Stirling
The bakery by Zique, Glasgow
The Bakehouse & Crannog, Mallaig
Falko, Haddington
Brød – The Danish Bakery, Cardiff
Ground Bakery, Cardiff
Crwst, Cardigan
Popty’r Dref, Dolgellau
‘There are exceptional pâtisserie from the signature Mango Coconut Ritz au Lait to the Hazelnut Marble Entremet, along with all kinds of cookies, cakes, mille-feuille and pioneering pastry drinks. Along with César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier, François Perret is a name bound to Le Ritz, Paris, forever, and Le Comptoir a testament to his incredible vision in the pastry shop landscape.’
Other notable award winners include Bastien Blanc-Tailleur from Paris, who was named the World’s Most Creative Pastry Chef, The Royal Tea Room at the Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, which was crowned the World’s Best Afternoon Tea, and Dominique Ansel in New York, which was celebrated with the PAstry Game Changer award.
Lannan made it on to the long list of exceptional pastry shops and bakeries from around the world, as well as 198 other spots, including a number of iconic London spots such as Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley, The Connaught Pâtisserie, Philloppe Conticini London, Blondies Kitchen, Crème, Donutelier, Cutter & Squidge, and Fortitude Bakehouse.
Outside of London Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms (various locations) also made the long list, as well as Bread Source in Norwich, Hart’s Bakery in Bristol, and Wooster’s Bakery in Bury St Edmunds.
