We're finally beginning to be spoiled for choice when it comes to Dublin’s bakery scene, rather than trekking for miles each weekend to stand in line because if we're doing pastry, we're only doing the best. Between new arrivals like Bold Boy and institutions like Bread 41, it’s easy to get decision fatigue trying to figure out what’s going to go best with your morning coffee (or get you past an afternoon slump), so to help you out, here’s a round up of what we think are the flagship pastries from Dublin’s best bakeries - the one product that encapsulates what these heavy hitters do best...
Scéal Bakery - Everything Croissant
Scéal Bakery started back in the Fumbally Stables in 2017, but decamped to the seaside in recent years and have been very much missed. Lucky for all of the inhabitants of Dublin 8 and beyond, they've now returned, operating out of The Wine Pair on Saturday mornings only. Their Everything Croissant is indeed everything we want in a savoury breakfast situation - flaky croissant dough topped with a perfectly piped blob of their housemade cream cheese, sweet red onions and everything bagel seed mix. Equal parts crunchy, buttery, salty, creamy and rich, with a hyper savoury allium note.
Bold Boy Bakery - PB&J Danish
Bold Boy Bakery is the newest addition to the Dublin pastry scene, and we love everything from their tongue in cheek branding to their original range of pastries. The P&B danish is everything we want from a pastry moment - nostalgic and revelatory, it takes a well known flavour combination and works a textural magic. The almost-sharp jam is offset with a rich whipped cloud of peanut butter cream, on a raft of flaky buttery pastry, and finished with a shard of peanut brittle. Joyous.
Fable Bakery - Cinnamon Bun
Fable Bakery’s focus is on perfecting and extending the concept of the Scandinavian style bun, with almond, chocolate and classic cinnamon versions, alongside savoury options like sundried tomato, an everything bagel, and a consistently delicious seasonal special. The cinnamon bun is the one to go for, and is the platonic ideal of its kind - sturdy but squidgy, sticky, spiced and deeply flavoured with little pops of texture from the sugar pearls on top.
Una Bakery - Almond Croissant
Una Bakery is everything you could ask for in a neighbourhood bakery - a well considered range of takes on classics, and a view into the kitchen where you can watch the bakers laminating and shaping the dough as you wait for your coffee. We loved their almond croissant when we visited in April, a prime example of the genre, realised with such skill that it felt a little like tasting one for the first time. Almond croissants can tend towards stodge, but this one is magically light with great almond flavour and shatteringly delicate layers.
The Bakery by the Cupcake Bloke - Mikado
The Bakery by the Cupcake Bloke is a haven in Rialto village, carrying a range of
preserves, cheese and baking equipment as well as cupcakes, biscuits and brack.
Graham Herterich is Ireland’s answer to Christina Tosi, injecting a distinctly Irish nostalgia into his recipes, and while his brack is a cult in its own right, the thing to get here is his version of the Mikado biscuit. Tangy jam, soft marshmallow and a crumbly biscuit will take you right back to childhood by way of a (slightly) more sophisticated adult palate.
Bread 41 - Custardo
Bread 41 was one of Dublin’s contemporary bakery first movers, and has firmly established itself as both a neighbourhood stalwart and a destination bakery for literally everyone from further afield. They like to keep things exciting with a rotating range of daily & weekend specials, and we almost don’t want to be prescriptive here. Getting out of bed early on a Saturday and rocking up to see what looks good is almost certainly the move, but on a weekday their Custardo is a perfect little bite every single time, showcasing both their buttery layered pastry and their attention to flavour in a rich vanilla custard.
Elliot's - Pain Suisse
There’s a sense of peace about Elliot's' two locations, even though they’re almost constantly out the door with customers. From the understated monochrome branding to their thoughtful range of bread and pastries, it’s very clear that they take what they’re doing seriously, and the proof is in the quality. Their viennoiserie is all top tier, but the one to go for is the Pain Suisse. Generous with good dark chocolate and vanilla pastry cream, the cross laminated shell is perfectly crisp, and the best bits are undoubtedly the sweet chewy edges where the chocolate and custard have oozed out during baking and caramelised on the tray.
No Messin - Cardi B
Characteristic of Dublin’s “third wave” bakeries, No Messin’ has little interest in interpreting the classics - you won’t find a croissant or pain au chocolat on the counter of Proper Order. Instead, No Messin's interest lies in creating their own brilliant hybrid creations. Their lineup includes cutely named inventions like the Almond and Chocolate Frankies, but we love the OG Cardi B - a twist of spiced filling and light and buttery brioche drenched in a syrup that keeps it moist, making it as good a decision in the afternoon as it is in the morning (if they haven’t sold out).
Hong Kong taste - Bento Cake
Hong Kong Taste is the place to go in Dublin for pillowy yeasted buns and airy delicate cakes, with the Hong Kong style of confectionary featuring cotton-light sponges filled with barely sweet whipped cream and fresh fruit. As the antithesis to the hurriedly purchased waxy and synthetic supermarket old reliables (no hate Colin), their personalised bento sized cakes are a beautiful option to take along to a birthday dinner or picnic date. Adorable and delicious
Noisette - Cruffin
Noisette’s pastries are world class, and their preoccupation with good ingredients is more than apparent in the quality of their products. Made with Isigny butter and organic flour, their range of cruffins are standout - tall swirls of croissant pastry rolled in sugar and filled with a changing assortment of seasonal flavours, like pear and caramel, pistachio cream and Black Forest.
Blossom Artisan Bakery - Tonka Bean Tart
Lucky for North Dublin locals, Blossom Artisan Bakery set up shop in Buddy’s Farmers Market in Ballymun in 2023 . Their pistachio and tonka bean tart was supposed to be a seasonal special, but people (waves) went so crazy for it that they had to make it permanent. A flaky croissant base is filled with white chocolate tonka bean cream, and finished with a pistachio crumb. Tonka bean has has the profile of a more complex vanilla, nutty, spicy and floral, and while we’re surprised more bakeries aren’t taking advantage of this beautiful ingredient, we’re glad Blossom took the lead in this utterly perfect creation.
Russell Street Bakery - Croissant
Russell Street Bakery is the place to go for classic viennoiserie - they’re playing the hits and doing so perfectly. This is for the plain croissant purists, because Russell Street’s version is exemplary - delicate honeycomb layers housed in a shatteringly tender golden shell. There’s often an issue with some Dublin bakeries who shall not be named selling stale pastries, and a croissant lives and dies by the amount of time that passes between the oven and your mouth. Russell Street have never hit a bum note in our experience, and they bake throughout the day so there’s always something fresh from the oven.
The Rock Bakery - Sausage rolls
It's almost impossible to pick one must order at The Rock Bakery, because this micro bakery in Skerries change their endlessly creative menu every.single.month. Sausage rolls are one thing that are permanent, but they're never the same - this month it's garlic and herb, last month's was black pudding, the one before that was bacon and sage stuffing - and like everything else here, they're impeccable.
