If you love the seasonal delights of hot cross buns then now is your time to enjoy them. We've picked some of the best in London along with a selection of hot cross bun-flavoured treats too.
Fink's
Highbury - 70 Mountgrove Road, London N5 2LT
A local bakery for us, Fink's buns are always worth waiting for. This year, they're made from Earl Grey-soaked currants and golden Turkish raisins, candied Amalfi lemon, candied blood orange, candied orange and candied bergamot, all glazed with a lemon and vanilla marmalade.
Follow on Instagram: @finks.london
Quince
Islington - 267 New N Rd, London N1 7AA
Anna Higham's Quince bakery's buns feature home-candied citrus, spices and organic dried fruit soaked in Barry's Tea, before being glazed with their own quince and damson jelly. The bakery will also be selling seasonal simnel cakes.
Follow on Instagram: @quince.bakery
Maya's Bakehouse
Tulse Hill - 37 Tulse Hill, London SW2 2TJ
This bakery comes from Ballymaloe-trained chef Maya Manwaring who went from home baker to bakery owner following a successful crowdfunding. Here, the buns are Earl Grey hot cross buns filled with candied peel, golden raisins, sultanas and currants and double-glazed with their homemade blood orange syrup.
Follow on Instagram: @mayasbakehouse
Tarn Bakery
Highgate - 83 Hazellville Rd, London N19 3NB
Tarn is a Highgate bakery where the owners have Flor, Pophams and St Barts experience. This year, their buns are made with soft, enriched dough using cultured butter and are full of dried fruits and honey alongside their own candied citrus peel and spice mix.
Follow on Instagram: @tarnbakery_
Miel Bakery
Fitzrovia - 57 Warren St, London W1T 5NR
This French bakery in Fitzrovia comes from a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and the buns here are brioche hot cross buns, infused with whole orange paste, candied oranges and a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
Follow on Instagram: @mielbakery
Eric's
East Dulwich - 20 Upland Rd, London SE22 9EF
Baker Helen Evans had a great reputation as a baker at Flor before opening her own bakery which quickly became a huge hit. This year's batch features a mix of UK wholemeal flours, organic currants and raisins and candied citrus which includes blood orange, Pursha lime, Rangpur lime and Amalfi lemon.
Follow on Instagram: @ericslondon
August
Battersea - 4-6a Battersea Rise, London SW11 1ED
August Bakery in Battersea is doing something a little bit different, launching Hot August Buyns topped with a big A. These buns are rich in ginger and citrus as well as lots of dried fruit, before being finished with a wash of ginger syrup for a sticky-sweet spicy finish.
Follow on Instagram: @august.bakery_
Pophams
Hackney, Islington, Victoria Park (and delivery in London)
This year's Pophams buns by baker Philip King are once again croissant hybrids. With an eye on low-waste, he reuses surplus mincemeat from Pophams’ mince pies in each bun. In the buns you'll find raisins, currants, sultanas, candied peel, apple, mixed spice, King's Ginger and cinnamon and the whole thing is brushed with a citrus, maple and cardamom glaze. This year they'll also be selling a Hot Cross Bun Hamper, which comes with six buns, cheddar, Pophams raspberry & ginger jam and a sabre butter knife (£52).
Follow them on Instagram: @pophamsbakery
The Dusty Knuckle
Dalston, Islington and Green Lanes
This year, Dusty Knuckle have turned their hot cross buns fully vegan and they say they have "just the right amount of zest and spice to tickle those tastebuds". They'll be available at both of their bakeries and the van parked near Highbury Fields.
Follow on Instagram: @thedustyknuckle.
Baudry Greene
Covent Garden - 20 Endell St, London WC2H 9BD
Baudry Greene comes from the same team as The Ten Cases (which is next door) and Head Chef Kate O’Sullivan (ex-head pastry chef at Noble Rot) is using a mix of spiced orange dough, with currents and mixed peel. And as they're well-known for their bacon sandwiches here, a special hot cross bacon sandwich is on the menu making this a must-have for any hot cross bun fans.
Follow on Instagram: @baudrygreene
Toad Bakery
Camberwell - 44 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
A favourite spot in Peckham, Toad is run by bakers Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello who honed their craft at the likes of Ottolenghi and Fortitude Bakehouse. This year, their hot cross buns are made with Earl Grey tea, currants and mixed peel along with their own special spice mix.
Follow on Instagram: @toadbakery
The French Market
Finsbury Park - 16 Blackstock Road, London N4 2DW
This Finsbury Park bakery comes from the same people behind Tufnell Park bakery Authentique (where these hot cross buns are also available). The buns have candied ginger and sultanas for the fruits and have some cinnamon in the spice mix and have been officially described by The French Market to us as "quite gingery", in a good way.
Follow on Instagram: @thefrenchmarketlondon.
The Spence Bakery
Stoke Newington - 161 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0UH
With a perma queue at the weekends, Stoke Newington's Spence Bakery makes its buns with an enriched dough (milk, eggs and honey) and adds in fresh and candied citrus (lemon and orange), sultanas and mixed spice.
Follow on Instagram: @spencebakery
Comptoir Bakery
Southwark, Bermondsey and Borough
What was Comptoir Gourmand now has a new name putting their bakery side front and centre. They originally started baking under the arches in Maltby Street in 2010 and added two more sites since. Their buns are made with their signature buttery brioche with an Easter twist, rich spices & candied lemon & orange peel. Currants and raisins are folded through the enriched dough before being finished with the signature cross. They say they're best enjoyed with lots of butter!
Follow on Instagram: @comptoir_bakery.
Fortitude Bakehouse
Bloomsbury - 35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JA
As you would expect, from a bakery devoted to all things sourdough, the buns at Fortitude Bakehouse in Bloomsbury are a little different to the norm. They're made using a two-day ferment and packed with orange peel and sultanas, before being brown sugar-glazed.
Follow them on Instagram: @fortitudebakehouse
Gail's
Various locations
To add to your indecision when you go into any branch of Gail's their hot cross buns are now on offer. This year, the buns are made with candied peel, cranberries and sultanas and spiced with cinnamon, mixed spice and grains of paradise. Straight out of the oven, they're glazed with a syrup of clove, star anise and nutmeg. Their buns have won Taste Awards before, so are worth picking up.
Follow them on Instagram: @gailsbakery
Pump Street Bakery
Delivery to London
Pump Street isn't actually a London bakery, but one of the best in the country that also delivers to London so it's well worth noting. Their buns are scented with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and studded with sweet currants. And if that isn't enough, you should really order their Hot Cross Bun Chocolate, which is also studded with currants, while you're at it.
Follow them on Instagram: @pumpstbakery
Hot cross bun spin-offs
The Waitrose Hot Cross Bunettone
We were sent the entire Waitrose hot cross bun range and while we were rather taken by the chocolate versions (which can get very messy), we became rather partial to their main setpiece for 2025, the hot cross bun spin on a panettone. It's a spiced Italian cake with butter and a very generous helping of sultanas and candied orange peel with a cardboard cross included so you can pour cinnamon icing sugar on top for that cross effect. Much better than it has any right to be, in our opinion.
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
