A local’s guide to the best spots for unique desserts in London; from ice cream in the summer to pastries in Chinatown, find here instagrammable specialties!
Expect something from London, and the city will simply give you more.
Whether we’re talking secret spots to visit far from the crowds, cheap eats or incredibly unique desserts, London has it all.
This endless thread of possibilities might be one of the reasons I fell in love with London in the first place, and why I ended up moving there, only a few years after my first visit.
London’s 11 Most Unique Desserts For Sweet Toothed Peeps
Outside of the usual chains and tourist spots, there are independent bakeries and cafes offering sweet things you probably won’t see anywhere else.
From classic British desserts like crumble to ube ice cream and mille crepes cakes, and a few desserts you might not have heard of before, there’s always something new to find.
In this guide, I will highlight some of the most unique desserts across the city; no huge chains, no restaurants, just independent spots doing something really different.
Unique Desserts in London: Humble Crumble, Old Spitalfields Market and Borough Market
With branches around Borough Market and Old Spitalfields Market, Humble Crumble is one of the hottest food spots in London when it comes to sweet stuff.
Humble Crumble is all about fresh British crumble, made to order with whatever fruit’s in season; apple, berry, or even rhubarb.
Classic British desserts are usually difficult to come across in London, and in the UK in general, since they’re traditionally made at home.
At Humble Crumble, you pick your base, add custard or cream, and you can add extra toppings like marshmallow… and there are always vegan or gluten-free choices if you need them.
Address: Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield St, London E1 6AA and Borough Market, 8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL
Unique Desserts in London: Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream, Kentish Town and Chinatown
Mamasons is where you go for Filipino ice cream you won’t find anywhere else in London; the branches in Kentish Town and Chinatown are definitely highlights of these areas.
Ube (that bright purple yam) is the star, and one of my personal favorites, but you’ll also spot black buko, Milo, and sometimes calamansi on the menu.
If you’re up for something different, try their “bilog” ice cream sandwich with sweet, warm bread. It’s not overly sweet, and the flavors are simply unique.
Address: 91 Kentish Town Road, London NW1 8NY; 32 Newport Court, Chinatown, London WC2H 7PQ
Unique Desserts in London: Chin Chin Ice Cream, Camden, Soho and Spitalfields
Chin Chin has blown up quite fast over the past few years, and how could it not?
This place is known for freezing your ice cream with liquid nitrogen, with ever-changing flavors that range from burnt butter caramel to mango lass, and there’s usually a good vegan peanut butter option as well.
The toppings are fun too; honeycomb, gooey marshmallow – all sorts of goodness that deserve a trip across London just to try a new one.
If you find yourself in Camden Town, Spitalfields or Soho, make sure you try Chin Chin: it’s definitely one of the best places for desserts in London, and so inclusive that vegans can enjoy plenty of flavors, too!
Address: 49-50 Camden Lock Pl, London NW1 8AF; 54 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 3DS; 20 Brushfield St, Spitalfields, London E1 6AN
Unique Desserts in London: Sakurado, Shaftesbury Avenue
I didn’t know what to expect the first time I tried the Japanese pastries at Sakurado on Shaftesbury Avenue, just minutes from Piccadilly Circus, Soho and Chinatown.
Sakurado does Japanese mille crepe cakes, and honestly, there’s nothing else quite like them in London.
Every slice is built from super thin crepes, layered up with pastry cream in flavors like matcha, vanilla, chocolate, or sometimes strawberry.
The texture is lighter than most cakes: creamy, definitely not too sweet, and just different from the usual.
Find here my complete review of Sakurado on Shaftesbury Avenue to discover the beauty of the pastry shop, the decor, and understand my thoughts about the service and the food.
Address: 66 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LX
Unique Desserts in London: Wheelcake Island, Old Spitalfields Market and Bethnal Green Road
Wheelcake Island is where you’ll find Taiwanese wheelcakes; basically little pancakes stuffed with warm custard, red bean, or matcha cream.
They cook them fresh at the stall, so you always get yours hot and super fluffy.
Wheelcake Island is lesser-known than places likes Takiyakiya in Chinatown or Chin Chin, and their desserts are amazing as a snack if you’re just wandering around East London.
Address: Old Spitalfields Market, 16 Horner Square, London E1 6EW; Boxpark Shoreditch, 2-10 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6GY
Unique Desserts in London: Takiyakiya Taiyaki, Chinatown
The first time I came across taiyaki; really cute fish-shaped cakes, was at Chinatown Bakery, which I’ve told you about several times before.
However, if you want the it-spot for proper taiyaki, check out Takiyakiya, located just seconds away; there, you will find these Japanese cakes filled with everything from red bean to custard and chocolate.
Each is made fresh, so you really get a crispy outside, and a gooey middle every time.
The portions are pretty generous, although this quite unique dessert is a little pricey, but it’s honestly one of the things to try absolutely when in London.
You can’t eat in, which is pretty great as you can just get your taiyaki to go and wander around Covent Garden or the nearby Leicester Square sculpture trail with its Mary Poppins and Charlie Chaplin sculptures.
Address: 14 Little Newport St, London WC2H 7JJ
Unique Desserts in London: Chinatown Bakery, Central London
I’ve definitely lost track of how many times I’ve reviewed and/or mentioned Chinatown Bakery here, but this magical, bustling bakery does a bit of everything; sweet, savory, and everything in between.
It’s the peanut cakes and coconut cream cakes that keep me coming back.
The peanut ones are soft and filled right through the middle, and the coconut cakes are light, fluffy, and never too sweet.
If you like simple desserts that don’t cost a fortune, this place is worth a stop: Chinatown Bakery indeed offers some of my favorite cheap eats in the city.
Find here my complete review of Chinatown Bakery in Central London to discover my thoughts about the place, the service, and the quality of the food.
Address: 7-9 Newport Place, Chinatown, London WC2H 7JR
Unique Desserts in London: Bread Ahead Bakery (Various Locations)
Bread Ahead is famous for their doughnuts: big, pillowy, and filled right to the edge.
You’ll usually find classics like vanilla custard, chocolate, or raspberry jam, plus some seasonal flavors like honeycomb.
The dough’s rich, and everything’s made fresh alongside their sourdough, baguettes, cinnamon buns and other pastries.
What makes these doughnuts worth it is how much filling you get and how soft they are: never greasy, never dry.
Find here my complete review of Bread Ahead in Borough Market, and Bread Ahead in Wembley if you’re looking for more of a proper coffee shop.
Address: Borough Market, Cathedral St, London SE1 9DE; 249 Pavilion Rd, Chelsea, London SW1X 0BP; Jubilee Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NY
Unique Desserts in London: Floozie Cookies, Covent Garden and Farringdon
Floozie does stuffed cookies that just happen to be vegan, but you wouldn’t know it from the taste.
Flavors like cinnamon crunch, chocolate chunk, and peanut butter and jam are always on the menu, and each cookie is thick, gooey, and packed with filling without being overbearing.
Everything’s plant-based, but you still get all the flavor and texture, with no weird aftertaste or dry bites.
Get yours to enjoy while walking around Covent Garden’s pretty streets, but if you visit the Farringdon branch, you’ll also be able to discover wonderful historical sites in the surroundings.
Address: 7 Russell St, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5HP; 20 Cowcross St, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DS
Unique Desserts in London: Greedy Goat, Borough Market
The first time I visited Greedy Goat was literally years ago, while I was looking for something new to eat at Borough Market.
Greedy Goat does ice cream with a twist: it’s all made from British goat’s milk, so it’s naturally lower in lactose and a little tangier than what we’re used to.
Flavors change all the time, but you’ll usually find things like Madagascan vanilla, Belgian chocolate, honeycomb, or salted caramel, with quirky black and multicolor cones.
For vegans, Greedy Goat also offers dairy-free sorbet, and you can even taste a couple of samples before ordering your favorite.
Address: Borough Market, 8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL
Unique Desserts in London: Bubblewrap, Chinatown
Bubblewrap is all about Hong Kong-style bubble waffles: hot, crispy on the outside, and chewy inside, then rolled up like a cone and filled with ice cream and whatever toppings you want.
In terms of unique desserts, it really is it, and you can go classic with chocolate or fruit, or mix it up with sauces and crunchy bits.
Just know there’s always a crowd at Bubblewrap, but once you try your own, you’ll quickly understand why – the waffles are filling, fun to eat, and perfect for sharing if you’re on a budget or not too hungry.
Address: 24 Wardour St, Chinatown, London W1D 6QJ
London’s 11 Most Unique Desserts For Sweet Toothed Peeps
You’ll hopefully have found in this guide a few places you’d really want to try when you visit London next!
One of my ultimate favorite dessert spots is undeniably Mamasons, which I discovered in Kentish Town, North London, years and years ago.
The ube ice cream and lattes are my favorites, and when you try, you’ll see why I keep insisting on that particular one.
Chinatown Bakery, Bread Ahead,… All these are spots I simply cannot recommend enough…
And I hope you’ll love them as much as I do!
If you’re down to discover London with fresh new eyes, do check out these guides for hidden gems and other interesting stuff to do in the city:
- Free Rooftops in London: 30+ Famous and Secret Viewpoints
- London at Night: 18 Cool Things to Do in the Evening
- Where to Buy Jellycat in London: 11 Best Independent Shops
- London’s 28 Most Secret Cafes with Seriously Cute Vibes
In addition, I’m sharing below some of my favorite places to hang out when I live in London; spots you may very well fall in love with too: