Best hot cross buns in London 2019: Where to try the capital's tastiest Easter treats

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Ailis Brennan17 April 2019

Believe it or not, it is possible to have too much chocolate, even over the Easter weekend.

For those whose idea of the perfect bank holiday treat involves salt and spice as well as sugar, nothing beats a buttered hot cross bun.

They're just as popular with London's restaurants and bakeries, with many of them concocting up their own special recipes.

From traditional time-honoured recipes to those soaked through with booze, these are the hot cross buns you need to try in London this Easter weekend.

St. John

St. John has a track record of doing traditional English recipes considerable justice. Hot cross buns here are simple but carefully executed – a long proving time enhances the fruit and spice flavours, a little bit of crystallised ginger gives an extra kick. They are available across all St. John sites, from the Michelin-starred restaurant to the Bermondsey bakery.

EC1, E1, WC2, SE1, stjohnrestaurant.com

Bread Ahead

Borough Market bakery sensations Bread Ahead are detouring from their famous doughnuts to serve up some fruit-packed hot cross buns this Easter. These buns feature raisins, currants, apple, mixed peel, and are covered with a sticky mixed spice and cinnamon glaze. They are available at all sites, but only until Easter Saturday.

W1, SW1, SE1, breadahead.com

Gail’s

Can’t choose between a bacon sarnie and a hot cross bun for your Easter breakfasts? Gail’s Bakery is combining the very best of both worlds with its bacon-filled take on the seasonal favourite. Deliciously sticky, the sweet-meets-salt creation fills citrus peel, sultana and cranberry buns with free-range bacon drenched in maple syrup.

Various locations, gailsbread.co.uk

Lyle’s

Shoreditch restaurant Lyle’s currently boasts a spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list – but it still has time for a cuppa and a hot cross bun this time of year. Available at its coffee bar, the Lyle’s buns are filled with raisins, currants and candied peel and flavoured with spices including cinnamon and mace. If you’re keen on the baked treats at Lyle's, keep an eye out for their new restaurant-bakery Flor in Borough, due to open in June.

Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ, lyleslondon.com

Mac & Wild

For Mac & Wild’s Easter offering, the Scottish restaurant has created the world’s first “Scotch Cross Bun”. A collaboration with chef Rory Macdonald of New York’s Patisserie Chanson and whisky producers Whyte & Mackay, the bun is covered in a glaze infused with Dalmore 12 whisky. Precise cooking methods mean that the alcohol is not burnt off in cooking – prepare for a boozy bite.

Balthazar

This Covent Garden brasserie is an all-day affair, from petit dejeuner to “petit brunch”, all the way through to post-theatre dinners. It’s even got teatime treats well and truly covered with the help of the Balthazar Boulangerie next door. Here you can pick up raisin-filled, spiced hot cross buns – but beware, you’ll need to order in advance.

4-6 Russell Street, WC2B 5HZ, balthazarlondon.com

Riding House Cafe

This hot cross bun is not just one staple Easter food, but two. In a curious fusion, Riding House Cafe is celebrating the holiday with London’s first “hot cross bunidict”, which sees a hot cross bun stuffed with a poached egg, swiss chard and hollandaise. The bunidict will also be available at sibling restaurants Rail House Cafe in Victoria and Village East in Bermondsey.

W1, SE1, SW1, house.cafe

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Cronut king Dominique Ansel is keeping things relatively simple with his hot cross bun offering, but there are little twists on the traditional recipe to be found. The buns at the Belgravia cafe are stuffed with the likes of cherries, cranberries and candied orange peel, and covered in a spiced cinnamon and star anise glaze.

17-21 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9RP, dominiqueansellondon.com

Ham

Mornings at West Hampstead spot Ham are devoted to doughnuts, so, instead of a hot cross bun, the neighbourhood restaurant is serving up hot cross bun flavoured doughnuts. The spiced pastries – which are filled with a cinnamon custard – will be baked freshly in-house every morning.

238 West End Lane, NW6 1LG, hamwesthampstead.com

Petersham Nurseries Covent Garden

Petersham Nurseries really comes into bloom in spring, both at its original Richmond spot and in Covent Garden. While you’re soaking up the flowery surroundings of the West End location (aptly found on Floral Street), you can tuck into a home made hot cross bun in the deli.

2 Floral Street, WC2E 9FB, petershamnurseries.com

Gelupo

With warm weather predicted for the Easter weekend, this could be the year you stop toasting your hot cross buns and start icing them. Gelupo’s hot cross bun offering isn’t actually a bun at all – it’s gelato, flavoured with sweet sultanas, citrus and cinnamon. The ice cream pitstop will also be serving up gelatos with flavours inspired by Italian Easter treats Colomba cake and Pasticciotti pastries.

7 Archer Street, W1D 7AU, gelupo.com

Where to eat in London on Easter Sunday

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