Kowloon Restaurant & Bakery

What Kowloon Bakery is in Chinatown

Kowloon Bakery is a Hong Kong style bakery and Cantonese restaurant at 21-22 Gerrard Street, in Soho's Chinatown. It sits on the main pedestrian stretch of Gerrard Street, a short walk from Leicester Square. The premises are split in two: the left side is a counter bakery selling Chinese pastries, buns and cakes to take away, while the right side runs a sit-down restaurant with a Cantonese buffet. Visitors come here for fresh, inexpensive baked goods that are made to traditional Hong Kong recipes rather than reworked for a Western palate.

The Kowloon Bakery counter is the draw for most passers-by. You order at the front, point at what you want and pay in cash, which makes it a quick stop rather than a long sit-down. It is open every day from 10am to 10pm, so it suits both a mid-morning snack and a late evening bite after the surrounding restaurants and bars.

What the bakery counter sells

The counter focuses on classic Cantonese baked items. Regular choices include egg custard buns, lotus seed buns and sesame seed balls filled with red bean paste, alongside a rotating selection of sweet and savoury buns, cakes and pastries. The egg custard buns and custard tarts are among the items shoppers most often pick up. Around the Mid-Autumn Festival the bakery also stocks mooncakes, in keeping with the Chinatown calendar.

Prices are low by central London standards and the turnover is high, so stock is generally fresh through the day. Payment at the counter is cash only, which is worth knowing before you queue.

Visiting on Gerrard Street

Gerrard Street is the central, lantern-strung spine of London's Chinatown, lined with restaurants, grocers and bakeries. Kowloon has traded on this stretch for many years and is a familiar fixture for people working in and visiting the area. Because it is pedestrianised, you can browse the window displays and step inside without dealing with traffic. The nearest Underground stations are Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, both a few minutes on foot. For a self-contained visit, the bakery counter for pastries and the buffet restaurant next to it cover both a quick takeaway and a sit-down meal in the same building.