17 Desserts in London Worth Breaking Your Diet For
London has quietly become one of the world's great dessert cities.
You can start your morning with a Swedish cinnamon bun, spend the afternoon hunting down the city's most famous doughnut, and somehow end the day eating Italian gelato, Portuguese custard tarts and a slice of Basque cheesecake without ever leaving Zone 1.
And honestly?
That's the danger.
Because London is full of desserts that make every "I'll just have one bite" promise completely impossible to keep.
Some desserts become famous because they're photogenic.
Others become famous because influencers post them everywhere.
But the desserts on this list have earned their reputation because people genuinely travel across London to eat them.
So if you're willing to ignore calories for a day, here are 17 London desserts that are absolutely worth it.
1. Vanilla Custard Doughnut at Bread Ahead
If there is one dessert that has become synonymous with Borough Market, it's the famous vanilla custard doughnut from Bread Ahead.
Freshly filled throughout the day, each doughnut combines:
soft brioche dough
silky vanilla custard
light sugar coating
The result is deceptively simple but incredibly satisfying.
People regularly queue for them.
After one bite, you'll understand why.
📍 Borough Market & multiple London locations
2. Milk Chocolate Cookie at Crème
London has no shortage of cookie shops.
Crème remains one of the most talked-about.
Inspired by New York's Levain Bakery style, their cookies are:
thick
gooey
buttery
packed with chocolate
Served warm, they feel more like a dessert than a biscuit.
One is usually enough for two people.
Usually.
📍 Soho
3. Buontalenti Gelato at Badiani
Originally created in Florence, the legendary Buontalenti flavour has become one of London's most sought-after gelatos.
Unlike heavily flavoured ice creams, this one focuses on simplicity.
Think:
rich cream
delicate sweetness
velvety texture
It sounds basic.
Then you taste it.
📍 Covent Garden, Notting Hill and other locations
4. Pastel de Nata at Santa Nata
The Portuguese custard tart has become one of London's favourite sweet treats.
Santa Nata consistently produces some of the city's best.
Expect:
crisp pastry
creamy custard
caramelised top
warm cinnamon notes
Fresh from the oven, they're impossible to resist.
📍 Covent Garden
5. Matcha Mille Crêpe Cake at Kova Patisserie
Kova helped introduce many Londoners to Japanese-style pâtisserie.
Its signature Matcha Mille Crêpe Cake layers delicate crêpes with lightly flavoured cream to create something surprisingly elegant.
It's:
light
balanced
not overly sweet
beautifully presented
Perfect for people who usually avoid heavy desserts.
📍 Soho
6. Hot Chocolate at Dark Sugars
Technically a drink.
Realistically a dessert.
Dark Sugars became famous for dramatic hot chocolates covered in hand-shaved chocolate curls.
Rich, intense and unapologetically indulgent, it's one of London's most memorable sweet experiences.
Especially during winter.
📍 Shoreditch
7. Burnt Basque Cheesecake at Basuku Cheesecake
London's Basque cheesecake obsession isn't slowing down.
Basuku specialises in the classic San Sebastián-style cheesecake:
caramelised exterior
creamy centre
rich texture
delicate sweetness
It's one of the city's most talked-about cheesecakes for good reason.
📍 Multiple pop-ups and stockists across London
8. Raspberry & Vanilla Cupcake at Peggy Porschen
Peggy Porschen's pink Belgravia bakery has become one of London's most photographed dessert destinations.
Thankfully, the cakes are genuinely good too.
The Raspberry & Vanilla Cupcake remains one of the bakery's signature creations and perfectly captures what made the brand famous.
📍 Belgravia
9. Pistachio Gelato at Gelupo
Ask serious gelato fans where to go in London and Gelupo appears in almost every conversation.
Its pistachio flavour is particularly famous.
Made with carefully sourced nuts and traditional techniques, it's a reminder that exceptional ingredients often create the best desserts.
📍 Soho
10. Triple Chocolate Cookie at Ben's Cookies
Some London institutions never go out of style.
Ben's Cookies remains one of them.
The Triple Chocolate Cookie delivers:
crisp edges
soft centre
enormous chocolate chunks
Best eaten warm.
Preferably immediately.
📍 Multiple London locations
11. Cinnamon Bun at Fabrique
A Swedish bakery favourite that developed an almost cult following in London.
Fabrique's cinnamon buns combine:
soft dough
cardamom
cinnamon
pearl sugar
The balance is what makes them special.
Sweet but never overwhelming.
📍 Covent Garden, Soho and more
12. Salted Caramel Brownie at Cutter & Squidge
Cutter & Squidge has built a loyal following through creative baking and rich flavours.
Its Salted Caramel Brownie remains one of the standout menu items.
Dense, fudgy and intensely chocolatey, it's designed for serious dessert lovers.
📍 Soho
13. Strawberry Tart at Maison Bertaux
Established in 1871, Maison Bertaux is London's oldest French pâtisserie.
The Strawberry Tart perfectly showcases why it remains beloved more than 150 years later.
Fresh fruit.
Beautiful pastry.
Classic French technique.
No gimmicks required.
📍 Soho
14. Chocolate & Hazelnut Soft Serve at Chin Chin
Chin Chin transformed London's ice cream scene with liquid nitrogen techniques and inventive flavours.
Its Chocolate & Hazelnut creations have become modern London dessert classics.
Rich, creamy and deeply indulgent.
📍 Camden & Soho
15. Afternoon Tea Pastries at The Ritz
Some desserts are as much about the experience as the food itself.
The Ritz's famous afternoon tea includes beautifully crafted pastries and cakes served in one of London's most elegant dining rooms.
It's expensive.
It's traditional.
And it remains one of London's iconic sweet experiences.
📍 Piccadilly
16. Sticky Toffee Pudding at Rules
Rules is London's oldest restaurant, founded in 1798.
Its Sticky Toffee Pudding represents classic British comfort food at its finest.
Expect:
warm sponge
rich toffee sauce
vanilla ice cream
Simple.
Traditional.
Perfect.
📍 Covent Garden
17. Pierre Hermé Ispahan Macaron at Selfridges
Few desserts are as internationally celebrated as Pierre Hermé's Ispahan.
Combining:
rose
raspberry
lychee
it has become one of the most famous macarons in the world.
Thankfully, Londoners don't need a trip to Paris to try one.
📍 Selfridges Foodhall
Why London's Dessert Scene Is Better Than Ever
What makes London special isn't that it has one famous dessert.
It's that it has every dessert.
Within a single afternoon you can enjoy:
French pâtisserie
Italian gelato
Portuguese custard tarts
Japanese cakes
Swedish pastries
British puddings
American cookies
often within walking distance of one another.
Few cities can offer that variety.
Best London Neighbourhoods for Dessert Hunting
Soho
Crème
Gelupo
Maison Bertaux
Cutter & Squidge
Kova
Covent Garden
Santa Nata
Badiani
Fabrique nearby
Borough Market
Bread Ahead
artisan bakeries
seasonal sweet stalls
Shoreditch
Dark Sugars
independent bakeries
dessert cafés
Final Thoughts
The best desserts aren't necessarily the most expensive.
They're the ones that make you stop talking after the first bite.
Sometimes that's a warm custard-filled doughnut in Borough Market.
Sometimes it's pistachio gelato in Soho.
Sometimes it's sticky toffee pudding in one of London's oldest restaurants.
But every dessert on this list has something in common:
People don't just eat them.
They recommend them.
They travel for them.
And occasionally, they completely forget about their diet for them.