London isn’t short on pastries. But Nordic baking plays by its own rules—spice over sugar, sweetness in check, and a bread culture rooted in sourdough and rye. Here are five London addresses offering a proper Scandi fix in the British capital.
This is as close as London gets to that classic Swedish experience where the scent leads you in from the street. Step inside their Covent Garden location and you’ll find everything is baked downstairs, daily, on site. It’s small, busy and gloriously to-the-point—more working bakery than lifestyle café. Expect the staples, done right: buns first (of course), then the cakes that slow you down—especially prinsesstårta (princess cake), which Bageriet treats as a true flagship, not a novelty.
One to bookmark if you want your Nordic bakery to multitask. It’s a café for coffee, fika (a deliberate, often daily, break to enjoy coffee and a sweet treat), and light snacks. But also, a small yet well-stocked Scandinavian grocery, ideal for picking up pantry essentials you won’t find elsewhere. For lunch, try the smørrebrød (Danish open sandwiches), then take a turn around the shelves. If Swedish semlor are in season, don’t miss out: The classic version comes with a light cardamom bun, filled with almond paste and whipped cream, finished with a dusting of icing sugar. Or go for one of the creative special semla the team creates in the lead-up to Shrove Tuesday (such as chocolate- and cherry-flavored ones). The original ScandiKitchen site is in Fitzrovia, with a second café and shop in Victoria.
Söderberg keeps it clear-cut. This is Scandinavian baking with a focus on sourdough and Swedish staples, served with coffee roasted to their own recipe: caramel and chocolate notes, designed to pair neatly with the in-house made cinnamon buns. In London there are two branches, both open all day for baked goods, cakes and a broad breakfast-brunch-lunch menu of filled sourdough baguettes, toasties, and open sandwiches. The East Dulwich location has the most extensive line-up: Swedish meatball brunch, Scandi waffles, sourdough pizzas, classic chocolate balls and kladdkaka—Sweden’s answer to the brownie, only gooier, denser, and proudly underbaked.
Fabrique is for those who care about the how: traditional methods and natural ingredients. And it shows—in pastries that are restrained rather than flashy, and in sourdough that’s central, not an afterthought. You come for the famed cinnamon bun (London has collectively agreed on this), but what makes Fabrique indispensable is its consistency across six branches. It’s your go-to when you want something familiar and reliably good. For visitors, the central Fitzrovia location is likely the optimal choice.
HJEM is a Danish coffee shop and bakery with a comfort-first approach, with two locations in London. The Kensington café—its original home—is still the best bet for first-timers, while a second outpost in South Kensington brings the same calm interiors, thoughtful sourcing, and a menu built around proper Danish rye. Naturally, there’s smørrebrød on wonderfully dense dark bread—basically the opposite of generic café filler. Other signatures include cardamom buns and the kind of Scandi cakes you order just to try. Such as drømmekage, a light, buttery vanilla sponge topped with a deeply caramelized coconut crust.
