Haxby Bakehouse named as one of Best Bakeries in Britain

Haxby Bakehouse and Delicatessen, in Haxby and Clifton Moor, has been recognised for the second year in a row by the independent guide, which named it in the 50 Best Bakeries in Britain this month.

The guide is a go-to for trusted recommendations and celebrates independent bakeries that rival the country’s best restaurants.

It seeks to rank the nation’s best venues using public feedback and anonymous expert inspectors stationed across the UK.

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The bakery described the recognition as a “huge honour”.

Owner Phil Clayton said: “There are so many great bakeries in the Good Food Guide’s 50 that inspire me.

“It’s a huge honour to be listed with them and also great to see so many listed from the north and Scotland – places that sometimes get overlooked.”

The business, owned by Phil and his wife Tina, has been serving customers since 2008.

Phil is behind the baking, which the bakery’s website insists is done the traditional way, using slow fermentation and no artificial flour improvers, preservatives or emulsifiers to make its award-winning artisan bread, sourdoughs and pastries.

In 2025, the Good Food Guide said of him: “Phil Clayton, a largely self-taught baker, credits his flavoursome loaves with the flour grown and milled in small batches by Yorkshire Organic Millers – you can taste the splendid results by purchasing his crusty sourdough classics and slow-fermented yeast breads.

“The Haxby shop, where it all began, has a counter stacked with pastries, tarts, cooked meats and store-cupboard ingredients as well as the venerated ‘pain au levain’.”

Originally aiming to sell the bread at a local farmers’ market, Phil and Tina struck gold after finding a site in Ryedale Court, Haxby – a former health food shop equipped with working ovens.

In the 18 years that followed, the bakery has gone from strength to strength, expanding in 2020 to its unit in Clifton Moor – which allows Phil more space for baking to meet rising demand.

The time, effort and expertise used to make each individual loaf has also been noticed by the likes of Michelin-star chef Tommy Banks, The Guardian and The Press, which named the company a finalist in the 2025 Best Bakery in York awards.

Phil said: “We’re very lucky to have such great teams at the bakery unit in Clifton Moor and at the deli in Haxby.”

“It’s always nice when it’s not something we had to enter – just that what we do has been appreciated.”