LBP...

My friend Tommy first told me about the Little Bread Pedlar. Leila's, who never used to sell croissants for lack of decent ones in London, discovered and started selling theirs. With the Tommy/Leila stamp of approval and a bite of one of their croissants I was intrigued to know more.

They have a unit at the Spa Terminus part of Maltby Street and recently opened a shop/cafe in Abbey Street around the corner. It's not too far from where I live, has two resident cats and has the best croissants I've eaten in London, delivered by bicycle from their nearby bakery. (They make all their deliveries by bike - hence the name pedlar.) They also have various other handmade baked goods: brownies made with Valrhona chocolate, Parma roses, good bread. I always used to do the old St. John custard doughnut pilgrimage, but this has surpassed that lately as a Saturday morning habit, prior to the Maltby and Bermondsey Street mooch.

{Little Bread Pedlar, 105 Abbey Street, SE1. Tweet @LBPedlar for current opening times.}