St. John Bakery

Got the vanilla custard and bayleaf doughnut from Malty Market. Very good. You know you’re getting quality here and even with doughnuts it doesn’t waiver.

i traveled well out of my way to try these donuts that had been so raved about. i was expecting a long cronut type line but was pleased to find that there weren’t many people waiting at all. i decided to go with the traditional vanilla crème filled donut and made my way to a secluded table to experience the wonders that i imagined this donut was going to bring. the donut was good and i most certainly ate the whole thing, however i was a bit disappointed after all the hype. it was definitely tasty but nothing life changing, i still think a krispy kreme classic HOT NOW donut takes the cake for being the tastiest donut around.

Items Selected:
Eccles Cake
Brownie
Custard Doughnut
Cranberry Doughnut
Discarding more than half of the underwhelming leftovers from Comptoir Gourmand as I progressed down Druid Street it would not be long before I arrived at Archway 72 and with smiling faces behind piles of bread ready in wait my first of two experiences with the team of St. John would prove well deserving of accolades long received. Far more focused in scope than several of the Druid Street stalls with no more than a half dozen sweets plus a well culled collection of breads it was entirely with focus on the former that my order arose and with 9£ exchanged for four items weighing what seemed like literally 4lbs I made my way to a small park to enjoy — a wise choice considering the delicious mess soon made. Beginning first with something of a signature before trending to things more familiar it was the flaky golden shell of an Eccles Cake that first met my tooth and breaking through to a dense pocket of currants and spice I couldn’t help but smile, the flavor unlike anything found stateside though somewhat reminiscent of a fruitbread that would pair well with coffee or good cheese. Moving next to a more ‘American’ pastry offered only on Saturdays and equally well praised it was in a duo of doughnuts that I indulged and with crunchy sugar crystals overlying fluffy pockets of custard and jam I couldn’t help but reminisce of the paczki enjoyed on Fat Tuesdays past, each bite extruding filling onto my hand and the bench beneath. At this point taking a break given the day’s already substantial eating plus that yet to come it was not until a few hours later that I finally finished my sampling and although dubbed a «brownie» by the St. John team the item I actually encountered was something far more — a sort of fudge or ganache infused into a nearly-​flourless chocolate base that slowly melted on the tongue.

Everyone has been raving about the doughnuts here, so I had been looking for an excuse to drop by. This happened today, when I walked from the City over to their shop near Tower Bridge. It was different to what I had expected: literally some tables set up in one of the arches under the rail bridge with the baked treats being prepared out the back.
I came here for the doughnuts and I spotted them immediately. Vanilla custard and lemon curd. Waiting for me to purchase a couple and consume them. I did show some discipline though — I took them all the way home and shared them with my wife. I was impressed with the filling, more than I had expected. My wife commented on the freshness of the doughnut and how it wasn’t oily (which we have noticed with other doughnuts before).
I was disappointed with the interaction I had in the shop. The man behind the counter left me waiting and he seemed distracted the whole time. It seemed like he didn’t want to be there. But the doughnuts are that good — this is why I have gone with the 4-​star rating.

Last night, I dreamt of doughnuts. Sweet, custardy doughnuts dancing in fields beneath light fluffy doughnut clouds. I not sure that this a sign of too many or too little doughnuts from St. John Bakery. I expect that it is the latter as I can see how an absence of doughnuts from this bakery could provoke withdrawal symptoms and disturbed dreams — they are that good.

Mmmm, sweet doughnuts.
St John’s custard doughnuts in particular really are the best ever — they’re so light and fluffy and melt in your mouth that it’s hard to believe they’ve got any calories in them at all. And after one bite, you really don’t care anyhow.
It’s a bit of a trek around the back of London Bridge station to the industrial style bakery housed under an arch, and it’s sufficiently hard to find that a visit seems to take on the attributes of a proper quest. But it’s soooo worth it.
The bread is also excellent, but it’s all about the doughnuts. Don’t stint yourself — you’ll want more than one.

When I take people down here*, they get REAL suspicious… They have a point, there is only one true** reason to venture down under the railway arches. Trust me.
The best fucking doughnut ever.
Vanilla bean infused cream bursting open and ejaculating in your mouth, this is a good time. A damn good time.
‘Fuck Tim Horton’s’ exclaimed my Canadian companion. I wouldn’t though, his doughnuts just aren’t that good. Not like St John’s.
Oh St. John’s, I waited 11 months to have your sweet, creamy goodness in my mouth again and it was worth the wait. I’d do it again. And again.
*You can also get these in the Neal’s Yard Dairy in Borough Market but they are 75 pence more expensive.
** Kiss my ass, Monmouth. Your queues are too long and your patrons too yuppy.

I don’t know SE1 very well (nor any of London, I’m a newbie!)…so when the lovely Linzi M. led me down 15 minutes of sketchy side roads enroute to «the best doughnut in London», I have to admit I was skeptical. «Can you actually get a decent doughnut in England?!», wondered the Tim Hortons’ loving Canadian soul inside me.
But onwards we went, to a place you’d only know about if you were IN the know. «We’re gonna find it… here?» Away from the hustle, bustle and thousands of tourists I usually associate with SE1 (I think, like a newbie would, just about London Bridge, & Borough Market & the crazy immediate surroundings)…we finally came across St John Bakery. It wasn’t anything impressive to look at. A simple pop-​up in kind of an unsightly warehouse. However, Linzi’s encouragement, combined with a massively long queue (a good sign), kept me waiting nearly 10 minutes for one.
Verdict:
Yep, the best goddamn doughnut I’ve had in London. Or possibly… ever.
Really.
But shhhhhhh.
Don’t go telling everyone.

This is the bakery for the St John Bread and Wine restaurant chain and produces their wheety loveliness exclusively for their restaurants. Well, almost. On Saturday it is open to the general public and you can nip in and buy some loaftastic sandwich wrappings, then pick up your veggies from another railway arch a few yards away

The place where you can get the best doughnut in London.
I’m being purposefully ambiguous.
This is because I really don’t want you all to go here.