Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills ★ 4.6
Sydney's most-imitated bakery on Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Open daily from 7am; the bacon-and-egg ciabatta roll is the menu signature, retail till 4pm.
Worth the queue: Pork and fennel sausage roll
Bakery counters in Sydney worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Where to queue for bread and pastry
Iggy's Bread of the World ★ 4.7
Igor Ivanovic's wholesale-and-retail bakery on Macpherson Street, Bronte, Sydney. Open Tue-Sat 7am-2pm; stone-milled sourdough loaves daily.
Worth the queue: Iggy's sourdough loaf
Brickfields ★ 4.5
European bakery and cafe on Cleveland Street, Chippendale, Sydney. Sourdough loaves at the counter, strong pastry program, weekend queues from open.
Worth the queue: Bacon, manchego and pickle ciabatta toastie
Lune Croissanterie ★ 4.7
Kate and Cam Reid's croissant counter on Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney. Open daily 7:30am-2pm; the twice-baked almond croissant is the menu signature daily.
Worth the queue: Twice-baked almond croissant
Flour and Stone ★ 4.7
Nadine Ingram's pastry bench on Riley Street, Woolloomooloo, Sydney. The morning load of panforte slices, lamingtons and brown-butter cakes is gone by 1pm.
Worth the queue: Panforte slice
Lode Pies and Pastries ★ 4.5
Pie shop and pastry counter on Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, Sydney from Eight by Andrew McConnell alumni. Strong pastry program, weekend queues from open.
Worth the queue: Curry beef hand-pie
Black Star Pastry ★ 4.5
Black Star Pastry's Newtown original on Australia Street, Sydney since 2008. Strawberry watermelon cake, strong pastry program, weekend queues from open.
Worth the queue: Strawberry watermelon cake
Infinity Sourdough Bakery ★ 4.4
Long-running sourdough bakery on Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney. Loaves go to the city's top restaurants; the retail door is open daily for hot bread.
Worth the queue: Light rye sourdough
Tarts Anon ★ 4.6
Pastry chef Gareth Whitton's tart-only counter on Botany Road, Alexandria, Sydney. Open Thu-Sun 9am-3pm; brown sugar tart often sold out by 2pm.
Worth the queue: Brown sugar tart
KEPOS Bakery ★ 4.3
Middle Eastern pastry counter on Kepos Street, Redfern, Sydney. Baklava cigars, semolina cakes and rosewater-scented sweets next door to Kepos Street Kitchen.
Worth the queue: Baklava cigar
Humble Bakery ★ 4.4
Italian-leaning bakery on Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, Sydney. Sister to Porteño and Bastardo; panettone, sfogliatelle and cornetti from the morning batch.
Worth the queue: Panettone slice
Berkelo ★ 4.5
Heritage-grain bakery on William Street, Brookvale, Sydney. Stone-milled sourdough, croissants and seeded loaves; northern beaches and CBD wholesale.
Worth the queue: Heritage wheat sourdough
Baker Bleu ★ 4.6
Melbourne import Baker Bleu on Bay Street, Double Bay, Sydney. The Friday challah braid is the standout; pretzel buns and pain de mie round out the rest.
Worth the queue: Friday challah
KK Bakery ★ 4.5
Cabramatta banh mi and Vietnamese sweets shop on John Street, Sydney. The marinated chicken Maryland roll with pickles and mayo is the menu's signature.
Worth the queue: Marinated chicken Maryland roll
Phu Cuong ★ 4.5
John Street's no-frills banh mi shop, Cabramatta, Sydney. Heavy hand with Maggi seasoning, $7.50 rolls and the city's most consistent crackle in a baguette.
Worth the queue: Pork-and-pate banh mi
Sonoma Bakery Cafe ★ 4.4
Sonoma's flagship Alexandria cafe and bakery: wood-fired miche, sourdough crumpets and seeded loaves that go to the city's brunch counters citywide.
Worth the queue: Sonoma miche