Exceedingly good

Claridge’s Bakery (Mayfair)

GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Bakery

After months of delay, Claridge’s has finally opened its bakery: the debut London shop from Richard Hart, best known for his cult Copenhagen spot Hart Bageri. With its own shopfront on Brook’s Mews, Claridge’s Bakery boasts countryside-chic signage and a sleek countertop displaying baked goods like museum exhibits.

There’s no seating, so you can’t linger over coffee and a croissant, but there aren’t croissants anyway. In keeping with the hotel itself, everything here is resolutely British, from the Bakewell tart to the lardy cake to the selection of iced fingers. It’s unsurprising, given Hart is London-born – he trained as a pastry chef here before moving to California, then Denmark, and now Mexico City (where he opened Green Rhino last summer), returning to launch Claridge’s last month.

There are several bread loaves – the sourdough bloomer is the one to pick – and a sandwich and quiche of the day. But the highlights are the sweet and savoury pastries, which include a very good sausage roll, an equally impressive Scotch egg and a crisp, buttery Marmite cheese straw. Some items are less traditional. Lardy cake is flaky and buttery, rather than dense, and arrives without the usual dried fruit, while Bakewell tart is elegant and delicate, rather than rustic. Despite its location at the back of Claridge’s, the prices are somehow reasonable, making the bakery an easy, wallet-friendly crowd-pleaser. –Emily Zemler

→ Shop: Claridge’s Bakery (Mayfair) • Brook’s Mews • Mon-Fri 8a-4p, Sat-Sun 9a-4p.