Bakery & cakesWest Drive

Open Bakery

Kemptown institution for Brighton's best baguette

6.8/10

Local score

No. 36 of 141 cafés on r/brighton, from 21 locals across 16 threads.

93% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.

Widely rated as making the best baguette in Brighton, alongside praised pumpkin pie and pastries, this Kemptown bakery sits next to the Kemptown Bookshop and does outdoor seating. Not everyone's a fan though — one reviewer found the cakes sickly sweet and the bread only average.

Go for
Artisan baguettes and Kemptown pastries
Heads up
Some find the cakes overly sweet, bread average

What locals say

City Books is pretty much the best bookshop in Brighton & Hove (what with it being in Hove) but the Kemptown Bookshop is pretty good. Has the benefit of being opposite the Open Bakery too so you can browse and then go and grab a pretty awesome treat.
u/InfiniteBaker6972, 20238 upvotes“Cool Bookshops in Brighton”
For pubs The Black Dove, Hand in Hand and Brighton Rocks are my faves. All really nice. The Open Bakery is great. I feel like we don't have as many great restaurants as we should, but the Peruvian place (Kusikuy or similar) is good if that's still open.
u/TeamPangloss, 20267 upvotes“The best of Kemptown - your favourite shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants?”
I like Open Bakery in Kemp Town, any of the Real Patisseries or Hellenic Bakery at Seven Dials. Those are just some of the ones I've visited but I've always liked them. I don't actually live in Brighton so someone might have some better suggestions.
u/jmcocker, 20204 upvotes“Best bakery around Brighton?”
I do not understand the fascination with Open Bakery. All their cakes are "meh" and so sugary there is no real taste left. The bread is hmm - slightly above average.
u/kaz911-uk, 20225 upvotes“Best bakery in town?”

Ranked from 21,200 r/brighton comments. Summaries are written by AI from what locals said; quotes are word for word. Not affiliated with Reddit. Back to the guide