In London, you don’t need to go far to happen upon a good bakery. So you know it’s good when Londoners are willing to go well out of their way for a bakery. Layla Bakery is nestled at the far end of Portobello Road, drawing people up past the vintage stores and street market to line up for perfectly laminated pastries and crusty sourdough loaves. The corner shop has a modest footprint, but a larger than life presence with an ever present halo of bakery lovers hovering around.

Inside, the rustic bakery is a constant flutter of activity. The warm aroma of fresh baked goods wafting through and the rhythmic hum of bakers stacking up trays of beautifully crafted pastries to restock the pastry case. It’s instantly comforting, and immensely tempting to get one of everything (you really should). The quality and craft puts it up at the top tier of bakeries in the city, and the seasonal, locally sourced ingredients make it a place worth coming back to again and again.