Robin Birley, owner and founder of private members’ clubs 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s, opens Birley Bakery in London’s Chelsea Green.
The bakery is the latest venture from Robin Birley and is the culmination of a long-held dream to share the high-quality baked goods that have become a hallmark of his establishments.
Located on bustling Chelsea Green — already home to several of London’s finest gourmet food stores — Birley Bakery serves a range of breads, pastries, cakes, chocolates, ice creams and spreads, as well as take-away coffee, in a contemporary expression of a traditional French boulangerie pâtisserie. The bakery is a a partnership between Robin and Executive Pastry Chef Vincent Zanardi, who has worked closely with Robin since 2012. Vincent draws on an illustrious career, which includes launching Covent Garden’s L’Atelier de Robuchon with Joël Robuchon in 2006. He works with Head Baker Eshak Belabed, who joined the Birley family in 2017 after honing his craft in kitchens in France, Austria and the Middle East.
A selection of classic French treats, such as croissants, madeleines and sablé biscuits, are baked on-site throughout the day, alongside some of Vincent and Eshak’s original creations — many of which have taken almost half a decade to perfect. Bread is central to the bakery’s offering, with many products familiar to guests of 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s, including fresh sourdough loaves, seeded baguettes, olive bread, rye bread and tapenade rolls. Specialist breads are also available, including the rich-fibre loaf, created with unsifted wholemeal flour and made using time-honoured techniques.
Among the pâtisseries are a Paris-Brest; a delicate, fragrant Tarte Tropézienne; a New York- style cheesecake with a mango glaze and Vincent’s own interpretation of a banoffee pie, made with compote-soaked banana bread, vanilla salted caramel and a mascarpone Chantilly. Savouries include hot dog cravates and a vegan confit, onion quiche.
As well as baked goods, a signature of the bakery is its range of fine chocolates. These include almond and popcorn dragées, fragrant orangettes and a beautiful selection of chocolates made with homemade pralines, with such original flavours as matcha lemon, dark chocolate peanut and blonde chocolate dulce.
Customers with dietary requirements will find a range of products that fit seamlessly into the bakery’s wider menu, including an innovative eggless flan, reduced-sugar lemon meringue tartlets and vegan chocolate-chip cookies.
At the heart of Birley’s creations are the ingredients, which have been sourced with the utmost care from Vincent’s longstanding suppliers around the world: finest Swiss chocolate; vanilla from Tahiti; Piedmontese hazelnuts and Valencian almonds, sea salt from Brittany, honey from Bermondsey and wheat flour from an artisanal producer in Burgundy, for whom Vincent is the sole customer in the UK.
Courtesy of Notting Hill-based JR Design, the shop’s interior is inspired by the elegant, gilded motifs of 19th-century Japonisme — a design echoed in the chocolate gift boxes — with murals hand-painted by artist Lizzi Porter. Beautiful, azure-and-crimson striped boxes by Fitzrovia designer Michael Nash Associates are used to package baked goods, while striped paper bags and coffee cups pay homage to the iconic rattan seats of Parisian brasseries.
Vincent said: “I’m hoping to create a warm and welcoming environment, inspired by the classic boulangeries pâtisseries I used to visit with my mother growing up in France. We’re creating a place that elevates traditional methods with new techniques and carefully sourced ingredients to create delicious breads, pastries, cakes and chocolates that will be available to everyone.”Robin said: “Twelve years ago, I met and began working with Vincent and in 2017, Eshak joined the team. Together, we have spent years looking for the perfect location to open our own bakery and are thrilled to have successfully found a site in Chelsea Green. We very much look forward to showcasing our truly exceptional products in a beautiful new space.”
Birley Bakery is located on 28-30 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU.
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 7am-7pm
Sunday: 8am-6pm