Birley Bakery opens in Chelsea Green offering traditional sourdough

Birley Bakery opened to the public on January 13, bringing a French boulangerie-style shop and on-site sourdough production to Chelsea Green. The new address at 28-30 Cale Street, London SW3 promises a steady local source for traditionally made loaves alongside pastries and ready-to-eat lunches.

The bakery’s core repertoire includes sourdough loaves, seeded baguettes, olive bread, rye bread and specialty wholemeal loaves produced on-site. In addition to breads, the counter features pastries, chocolates and grab-and-go lunch options aimed at shoppers and workers in the area. The setup reads like a neighbourhood boulangerie: fresh-baked bread for breakfast and lunch crowd, plus small-format goods for coffee breaks and office orders.

The venture comes from Robin Birley and is led in the kitchen by Executive Pastry Chef Vincent Zanardi and Head Baker Eshak Belabed. That combination of pastry and baking leadership points to a menu focused on both technical pastry work and consistent daily bread production, a useful mix for anyone who values both laminated viennoiserie and well-fermented loaves.

For local bakers and sourdough fans this matters in a few practical ways. First, having a nearby source of traditionally made sourdough removes the need to rely on supermarket loaves for everyday use; the on-site production means fresher crumb and crust on purchase day. Second, seeded baguettes, olive and speciality wholemeal loaves expand options for sandwich building, toasting and tasting — handy when testing your own formulas or planning community bake swaps. Finally, pastries and chocolates alongside bread make it easier to sample fermentation-driven flavour alongside laminated and chocolate techniques without travelling across town.

If you’re used to timing your runs to capture the best loaves, factor the Chelsea location into your morning route; neighbourhood boulangeries tend to sell key items early. Bring a reusable bag and, if you bake regularly, bring a small loaf-saver box for fragile bâtards and baguettes to protect the crumb on the journey home.

Birley Bakery’s arrival adds another active node to London’s artisanal bread scene, particularly for Chelsea residents and visitors who want dependable, traditionally made loaves without a long trip. Expect to see the shop settle into a rhythm over the coming weeks as team and neighborhood find their pace; for now it’s a new place to check crumb, crust and flavour in person and to pick up fresh material for breakfasts, lunches and weekend tastings.