Best Bakeries in New South Wales & Sydney
New South Wales is renowned across Australia for its incredible bakeries offering freshly baked bread, pastries, cakes, and savory treats.
From classic neighborhood bakeries in Sydney to award-winning patisseries, the top bakeries in New South Wales feature something for all tastes and diets.
With so many options spanning signature artisan loaves, buttery croissants, seasonal danishes, and towering layer cakes, it can be tricky to decide where to indulge first when exploring the region.
In this article, we will dive into five standout bakeries in New South Wales, highlighting their specialties and most popular menu items. We’ll also showcase the best spots for meat pies and vanilla slices – two Aussie bakery classics.
Bourke Street Bakery, Sydney
No list of the best bakeries in New South Wales is complete without the iconic Bourke Street Bakery. Since first opening in 2004 in a small space on Bourke Street in Surry Hills outside of Sydney, it quickly developed an almost cult-like following for its incredible bread, pastries, cakes, sandwiches, and sausage rolls incorporating high-quality seasonal ingredients.
The cruffins alone draw long lines every morning – a signature croissant-muffin pastry hybrid filled with rotating jam, chocolate, and custard flavors.
Their pastries shine bright, too, from buttery croissants in sweet and savory varieties to towering vanilla slices and seasonal fruit danishes.
Sourdough bread remains the foundation of Bourke Street Bakery, available in several varieties, from seeded golden loaves to traditional Parisian-style batards.
While Bourke Street Bakery has expanded to over half a dozen locations across Sydney, many fans still say the original Surry Hills location offers the quintessential experience.
The cozy space fills daily with locals and tourists alike stopping in for takeaway bread or enjoying fresh sandwiches and coffee at the few counter seats.
Bourke Street Bakery’s chicken and leek pie in their signature buttery, flaky pastry shell is the Best Meat Pie. A classic Aussie vanilla slice featuring layers of crisp, buttery puff pastry and silky smooth crème pâtissière custard.
Three Williams, Marrickville
Founded in 2019, the artisanal Three Williams bakery has quickly earned acclaim across Sydney for exceptional sourdough bread and pastries.
Childhood friends and passionate bakers Will, Bill, and Rob started Three Williams to create traditional sourdough using Australian whole grain flour stone milled fresh in-house.
Since opening their flagship Marrickville location, they’ve expanded to a second bakery in Redfern to meet demand.
The foundation of their menu remains naturally-leavened sourdough bread like the signature ‘Central Park’ – a crusty, dark peasant loaf that splits to reveal an impressively airy, open crumb inside.
Beyond the bread, Three Williams’ sweet and savory pastries shine from their custard and jam-filled danishes to spinach and feta or ham and cheese croissants.
Seasonal pastries like hot cross buns around Easter or pumpkin spice scrolls in autumn are customer favorites. While takeaway remains popular, Three Williams’ light-filled cafes allow enjoying their bread and bakery treats in-house alongside barista coffee.
Three Williams’ chunky beef and mushroom pie baked in their signature sourdough crust. Their take features a housemade vanilla custard with fresh vanilla bean specks layered between shards of crisp, flaky, all-butter pastry.
Mecca Coffee, multiple locations
Mecca wears two hats across New South Wales as both a specialty coffee roaster and bakery café chain. Since starting in 1996 as a roastery supplying beans to Sydney cafes and restaurants, Mecca has grown into an iconic Australian brand.
Today, they operate three standalone warehouses roasting premium green coffee sourced globally, as well as over 20 cafes across Sydney, Newcastle, and the Central Coast.
While Mecca built its reputation around ethically sourced, high-quality coffee, its kitchens and bakeries create equally crave-worthy menus. The vast Surry Hills warehouse location with its on-site roastery makes it an especially popular inner city bakery café destination.
Pair freshly roasted coffee with Mecca bakery favorites like their classic banana bread loaf or flourless chocolate brownies. Their sweet muffins, slices, and gluten-free creations also shine – all baked fresh in-house daily.
Around lunchtime, Mecca’s sandwiches and toasties served on bread and rolls from their ovens, are always satisfying. The ample warehouse space means you can settle in solo with your laptop or meet friends without ever feeling cramped.
Mecca offers several Aussie-style meat pie options, but regulars rave most about the chunky steak and mushroom baked fresh daily. Their version features a crisp, all-butter puff pastry exterior sandwiched around a rich crème pâtissière custard lightly flavored with vanilla beans.
Short Stop Bakehouse, Newcastle
The cozy Short Stop Bakehouse bakery and café along bustling Darby Street has quickly become a local gem in downtown Newcastle. British bakers and owners Maddie and Trent met while working under renowned artisan bread legend Dan Lepard in London before moving to Australia to open Short Stop in 2018.
Their passion shines through in Small Stop’s exceptional handcrafted breads and pastries baked fresh daily in small batches with great care and precision. While their sourdough loaves tend to sell out quickly, Short Stop’s sweet and savory pastries are equally applauded.
Flaky, golden palmiers, gooey cinnamon scrolls, pumpkin and feta friends, plus celebration cakes all dazzle. Savory-wise, don’t miss their sausage rolls, especially popular in mozzarella, pesto, sundried tomato, or classic Aussie minced meat flavors.
The welcoming café space encourages lingering solo or in groups at the communal tables. An ample bakery cabinet & commercial dough mixers up front tempts with an ever-changing selection, while the friendly counter staff helps pair the ideal coffee or tea accompaniment.
Short Stop lets their exceptional flaky puff pastry shine in their beef and burgundy pie, brimming with slow-cooked rich, gravy beef chunks. Fluted, crisp puff pastry encases layers of silky crème pâtissière custard and fresh fruit like passionfruit or mango for tropical flair.
Sixpenny, Stanmore
Tucked along quiet Whiting Street near the train tracks in Stanmore sits the acclaimed neighborhood bakery Sixpenny.
Helmed by Chef Daniel Puskas, the tiny café and restaurant has earned applause across Sydney for its spectacular bread and baked creations, reinventing classics with modern creativity and top-notch ingredients.
Sixpenny’s pies utilize complex flavors in velvety smooth fillings, all wrapped within their exceptional all-butter puff pastry. The beef and stout or slow-braised lamb offerings make for quintessential Aussie hand pies with their beautiful recipes.
Beyond savory, their cakes and pastries show creativity through items like rosewater and raspberry mousse tarts or salted dulce de leche scrolls. Fresh out of the oven, Sixpenny’s groundbreaking baked goods justify repeat visits to try the latest ingenious creations.
With only a few counter seats and some sidewalk tables, Sixpenny’s size likely contributes to its cult following atmosphere as a neighborhood gem.
Come early or expect a wait, but takeaway means enjoying their tour de force sweets and pies from the nearby park or trains back home, too. For next-level baking craft, this Stanmore bakery café delivers.
Conclusion
The top artisan bakeries of New South Wales showcase the incredible culinary talent found across the state, from metropolitan Sydney to regional areas like Newcastle.
With such diversity in offerings from breads and pastries to pies and cakes – not to mention prime people watching – visiting these quintessential bakeries promises delicious experiences worth savoring.
Next time your travels take you through New South Wales, set aside room for sampling the wares from its exceptional bakeries like Bourke Street Bakery, Three Williams, Mecca, Short Stop Bakehouse, or Sixpenny.