Chestnut Bakery, Belgravia

"The theme at this Victoria bakery is ‘international baking’, which means you’ll find a selection of breads from around the world. Bagels, monkey bread, focaccia, ka’ak, and more, served plain and stuffed with things like halloumi or pastrami. But our go-to order is one of the excellent clay-oven flatbreads. Topped with delicious combinations like merguez and garlic aioli, or burrata and honey, these breads are what make this spot worth going out of your way for. Everything here is halal." - rianne shlebak, jake missing, heidi lauth beasley

"We have a slideshow of memories in our brain that always appear when we can’t sleep. It’s typically a medley of flashbacks of our most cringe moments over the years, to TikTok songs we’ve heard too many times, and always, without fail, the time we tripped up in our primary school assembly. But sometimes, on a good day, we see images of this mozzarella and kashkawan flatbread. To call this cheesy would be a huge understatement. It feels more like a love letter to mozzarella. Freshly baked flatbread, with chewy crusts and a literal pool of melted cheese, it’s salty, it's creamy, and it's the closest you’ll get to a fondue sandwich." - rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley, jake missing

"Chestnut Bakery is the kind of place we wouldn’t mind moving into permanently. In fact, we would happily spend eight hours working our way through the menu of clay oven-baked flatbreads while typing away in the spacious Victoria dining room, preferably on a window table or on the charming terrace. You’ll have to be strategic about the plug situation, but if you get one, you’ll want to spend your whole day here." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, daisy meager, sinead cranna

"How does a bakery find its way onto a list of the best new restaurants of 2021? By churning out excellent cheesy flatbreads, topped with all sorts of delicious things that have officially made brunch hot again, that’s how. This spacious bakery in Victoria has mastered the art of creating somewhere you’ll want to spend all your time in. With a menu of things like merguez and aioli, and burrata and burnt honey-topped flatbread, great coffee, and its neighbourhood-y energy, the only surprising thing about Chestnut Bakery being on this list is that it feels like it’s been around for a lot longer than just a year." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak

"The theme at this charming Victoria bakery is ‘international baking’, which means you’ll find a selection of bagels, monkey bread, focaccia, ka’ak, and more. The more inventive pastries, like a za’atar and gruyère croissant, can be hit or miss depending on how soon you catch them after they’re baked. Topped with delicious combinations like merguez and garlic aioli, or burrata and honey, the oven-baked flatbreads are what make Chestnut Bakery worth visiting." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna