Sydney’s Best Hot Cross Buns And Where To Find Them 2026
Eloise Luke
Contributor | Urban List
There was a time when hot cross buns appeared strictly in the lead-up to Easter. That time has passed.
Now, the second Christmas decorations come down, the buns go up—and Sydney doesn’t seem remotely mad about it. Stretching across late summer and into autumn, the HCB is evidence that we’re drawn to familiar formats; but we expect better execution. Real spice, proper fruit distribution, careful fermentation, and flavour spins that still manage to surprise us every year, are all must-haves in the Sydney scene.
From traditional spiced classics to dark chocolate riffs that push the brief just enough, these are Urban List’s picks for the best hot cross buns in Sydney right now — however early you think is “too early.”
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The Best Hot Cross Buns In Sydney
Poles Patisserie
Shop FC005 Woodriff Street, Penrith
Image credit: Poles Patisserie | Instagram
Poles Patisserie is doubling down on indulgence this Easter with its Filled Hot Cross Buns — a brioche-style take on the classic, packed with custard-heavy fillings. Sold in four-packs, each bun is loaded to the point of spillover, landing firmly in dessert territory.
Flavours run from classic vanilla custard through to Nutella, Biscoff and Kinder Bueno, with a new pistachio custard joining the line-up this year. It’s a more maximalist approach to the seasonal staple, built for sharing (or not).
Good Ways Deli
1/20 Cooper Street, Redfern and 81 Buckland Street, Alexandria
Image credit: Good Ways Deli | Instagram
With a nostalgic palette of Aussie Colourbond green and a neat menu filled with top-tier sangas and CWA-style bakery treats, Good Ways Deli is the sort of sunny corner spot you dream of stumbling across while roaming around on the weekend. It's all very low-key for a joint that really does do the simple stuff, extraordinarily well, and their hot cross buns are no exception.
In the weeks leading up to Easter, their buns earn an entire tray on the bun pan rack dedicated to these glossy morsels. Their fruit is soaked in lemon Myrtle, with all the classic spices added, and they're rolled and criss-crossed everyday—also the perfect midpoint for those who love an equally dense yet fluffy Easter treat to sink their teeth in. Our personal rec is to ask the staff to toast up your order and whack a slab of butter on—and trust us, they nail the toasting-time, every time. The result? A perfectly packaged hot cross bun housed in a paper bag, repping caramelised edges and an almost lacquered coating on the outside, with a delicious butter pool to carry the spices.
Khanom House
15 Meagher Street, Chippendale
Image credit: Khanom House | Instagram
Personally, by the end of hot cross bun season, we've had enough sultanas to last a lifetime. Khanom House is a striking turquoise corner bakery in Chippendale specialising in Asian-influenced cakes and pastries.
The cabinet shifts between seven-layer honey cake, pandan or crème brûlée–filled doughnuts, chiffon cakes, matcha or Thai milk tea Basque cheesecakes, strawberry shortcake and coconut mango Swiss rolls—but their pandan take on the classic hot cross bun is a breath of fresh air. Soft, fluffy milk buns are filled with a rich pandan custard—and finished with a bright green pandan cross, of course.
Humble Bakery
2/50 Holt Street, Surry Hills
Image credit: Supplied | Caroline McCredie
Humble Bakery believes the perfect, classic hot cross bun comes down to a few simple things: a soft, fluffy bun, the right amount of fruit and a glossy spiced glaze.
"A really great hot cross bun is about nailing each element... soft fluffy bun, the right amount and type of fruit, the perfect glaze," Ben Milgate, co-owner of Humble tells Urban List.
"But the secret to the taste is freshly ground spices and a slab of butter just ticks every box. We bake them right before we open, so when people arrive they’re literally hot cross buns."
Humble’s baked beauties are flavoured with freshly ground cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, giving them their depth of flavour. The spice mix is blended through the dough with raisins, sultanas, apricots and cranberries along with orange peel, then baked fresh daily and finished with a spiced glaze. A no-brainer as to why they're considered one of Sydney's best bakeries.
You’ll find them from 7am weekdays and 8am weekends at Humble Surry Hills, 8am at the Kent Street store and 10am at Circular Quay, until they sell out. The Surry Hills store will be open all Easter long weekend from 8am to 1pm.
Brooklyn Boy Bagels
19 Carrington Road, Marrickville or Shop 1/74-80 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Image credit: Supplied | Trent Van Der Jagt
Brooklyn Boy Bagels is dialling up the sweet side of your Sunday spread with a line-up that leans nostalgic but isn’t afraid to play. The classic hot cross bun is exactly what you want it to be—soft, fragrant with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and packed with sultanas, cranberries and candied orange, all finished with a glossy orange-maple glaze.
Founder Michael Shafran puts it simply: “For me, it comes down to treating the bread with a bit of love… when you do this, the hot cross bun already has depth of flavour before you even add sugar.”
If you’re keen to switch it up, the hot cross bagel delivers that signature chew with a spiced, slightly sweet finish and a vanilla-glaze cross. And for something more playful, the red velvet version folds cocoa into the mix—best slathered with cream cheese for a proper Brooklyn-style Easter bite.
Tokyo Lamington
277 Australia Street, Newtown
Image credit: Tokyo Lamington | Instagram
Tokyo Lamington is giving hot cross season a grown-up twist with a limited Easter collaboration with Scotch whisky brand Benriach. The drop blends classic bakery formats with whisky-infused elements, landing somewhere between dessert and nightcap.
The Scotch Cross Bun leads the line-up—a spiced, fruit-filled bun infused and finished with a whisky glaze. Alongside it are more playful hybrids, including a Lamington Hot Cross Bun and a Scotch Caramel Easter Lamington, a chocolate sponge built around a whisky caramel centre and coated in a crisp chocolate shell.
Watsons Bay Hotel
10 Marine Parade, Watsons Bay
Image credit: Watsons Bay Hotel | Supplied
Watsons Bay Hotel is giving the Easter staple a dessert-leaning twist with its limited-edition Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream Sando. A warm, toasted bun is split and filled with a generous scoop of ice cream—enough said.
It’s available across the Easter long weekend, alongside the venue’s usual run of seafood, roasts and harbour-side sessions.
Martha’s
312 Great North Road, Wareemba
Image credit: Martha's | Supplied
Martha’s, our fave Wareemba bakery, is releasing a new hot cross bun flavour each week throughout March, turning the Easter staple into a rotating line-up rather than a single offering.
It starts with a Classic Hot Cross Bun packed with sultanas, currants and citrus peel, served with whipped butter and pink salt. Next comes a Dulce de Leche version—a chocolate bun filled with dulce de leche crème mousseline— followed by the more playful PBJ bun, built on ruby chocolate dough with strawberry compote, whipped peanut butter cream and sumac strawberry sugar.
"Well hydrated dough makes a moist hot cross bun, what you do with the filling is where the personality comes in," is what Paris Nassif, Martha's Owner, told us when we asked her what actually makes a good hot cross bun.
"This year we wanted to be brave and create something unexpected.”
All three buns will stay on the menu through the Easter long weekend, with pre-order packs of nine opening in late March.
Flour And Stone
43 Riley Street, Woolloomooloo
Image credit: Flour and Stone | Instagram
Flour and Stone’s Easter buns take a slightly more aromatic route. The dough is a cardamom-infused brioche, packed with sherry-soaked currants and a subtle hint of rosemary, then finished with a fragrant sugar dusting of orange, rosemary and cinnamon.
Available daily from 8:30am throughout the season, they’re a softer, more gently spiced take on the classic—built on the bakery’s signature brioche style.
Flour
277 Willarong Road, Caringbah South
Image credit: Flour | Instagram
Flour has officially kicked off hot cross bun season. The Shire bakery is pumping out batches daily, encouraging a steady rotation of “quality control” across the five weeks leading up to Easter.
Expect soft, well-spiced buns with a glossy finish, made fresh each day and designed to be eaten exactly how the team suggests: frequently.
Normas Deli
74-78 The Corso, Manly
Image credit: Norma's Deli | Instagram
Norma’s Deli is approaching hot cross season at scale with The Original HXB Wheel — 30 buns baked together into one pull-apart round, made fresh daily in-house. Designed for sharing, it’s structured for tearing apart at the table and pairing with coffee.
Both classic spiced and chocolate versions will be available, with pre-orders opening soon via the catering site. The wheels will be landing on the bakery bench from end of February, so it's a great time to get your orders in before Easter—they'll help take the edge of the April countdown.
Baker Bleu
2 Guilfoyle Avenue, Double Bay
Image credit: Baker Bleu | Instagram
Too early for hot cross buns? Not at Baker Bleu. The team is kicking off bun season properly, with both their traditional HXB and a sour cherry dark chocolate version available across all locations right now.
The classic leans into balanced spice and soft crumb, while the sour cherry dark chocolate brings a richer, slightly sharper edge without overpowering the dough. Whether you’re a purist or here for a twist, this is your cue to start your bun consumption early — and carry it all the way through to Easter.
Madam And Yves
343-345 Clovelly Road, Clovelly
Image credit: Madame & Yves | Supplied
Madame & Yves treats hot cross season as a space to experiment, and this year’s lineup leans confidently into that brief. Alongside their classic and choc cross buns (enriched with French butter, pain d’épices spice and finished with an espresso glaze) the bakery is pushing the format firmly into dessert territory.
The cult-favourite Hot Cross Brûlée Bun returns, finished with a crackable caramelised top and a creamy spiced centre. New this year is a tiramisu-inspired version filled with mascarpone and espresso-soaked richness, plus a weekend-only caramel miso chocolate bun that balances sweet and savoury. For anyone ready to fully commit, there’s also the Hot X Gelato Sandwich—a toasted bun hugging a scoop of house-made gelato.
The Bread And Butter Project
Various Locations
Image credit: The Bread And Butter Project | Supplied
The Bread and Butter Project is dishing up hot cross buns for a cause this easter, with every bun handmade by refugee trainees learning artisan baking skills. By teaching them how to bake, the project is encouraging employment pathways and building new futures.
Each bun is made using traditional techniques and premium ingredients—layered with fruit, lightly spiced and soft enough to melt in your mouth. And while their taste and texture is a no brainer either way (and has gained them a cult following), 100% of the profits from sales are reinvested back into the training program—a guilt free purchase, to say the least.
You can find them at Leichardt and Bondi Junction Harris Farms, as well as a range of hospitality and corporate providers.
Bec Bakes
27 Cawarra Road, Caringbah
Image credit: Bec Bakes | Instagram
Bec Bakes is bringing back her viral Hot X Cookie, a mash-up that blew up last year. The stuffed bun starts with a chocolate hot cross bun, filled and topped with the bakery’s signature cookie for a layered, dessert-style take on our fave Easter staple. The hybrid treat is returning in limited batches, landing in-store for a short run this week.
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Lox In A Box
Various Locations
Image credit: Lox In A Box | Instagram
Lox In A Box is putting a traditional Jewish spin on this Easter with their Hot Cross Babka. The loaf takes the familiar spice blend of a classic hot cross bun and folds it through soft, twisted babka layers, creating a richer, more sliceable version of the seasonal staple.
The result lands somewhere between a bun and a dessert loaf—a neat way to approach hot cross season if you’re after something slightly different.
Pantry Story
336 Parramatta Road, Stanmore
Image credit: Pantry Story | Instagram
Pantry Story has taken hot cross bun season quite literally to the couch. Their Hot Cross Sofa Croissant is exactly that—a couch-shaped pastry made for Easter snacking.
Inside, you'll find chocolate brownie, hazelnut ganache and chocolate ganache layered through the pastry. Available until mid-April, this one's worth definitely worth leaving the house for.
Baker Bleu
2 Guilfoyle Avenue, Double Bay
Image credit: Baker Bleu | Instagram
Baker Bleu is taking hot cross bun season beyond the pastry case with its Iced Hot Cross Bun Latte. The drink starts with Market Lane cold brew, topped with a whipped mascarpone cream infused with warm spices and finished with a chai-spice cross. It’s essentially the flavour profile of a hot cross bun translated into a chilled coffee.
Main image credit: Black Star Pastry | Instagram
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