8D / 7N
6% OFF
A Local's Guide to Kandy's Bakery Scene
Looking for the best bakery in Kandy? Start with eight that locals actually queue for. The Bake House on Dalada Veediya, a two-minute walk from the Temple of the Tooth, is the name most people mean when they say the best bakery in Kandy, and at over fifty years old it is one of the oldest. Around it sits a whole short-eats culture: fish buns and Kandy rolls at Bakes and Cakes, fresh morning loaves at City Bakers and The Bread Shop, and proper celebration cakes at The Cake Shop. This guide ranks the eight worth your appetite, with areas, signature bakes, rough prices and opening hours so you can plan a tea-time crawl in one afternoon.
Key Takeaways
- Go to The Bake House first: it is one of Kandy’s oldest and most-reviewed bakeries, right by the Temple of the Tooth, and it delivers within the city.
- Order a Kandy roll (a crumbed pancake rolled around spiced fish, potato and egg) and a coffee sponge cake at Bakes and Cakes on Sri Dalada Veediya.
- Budget roughly LKR 100 to 300 for short eats and buns, and LKR 300 to 700 for a slice of cake.
- Most bakeries open early, from about 6 to 7 AM, so a Kandy bakery breakfast is easy before sightseeing.
- Cluster your crawl on and around Dalada Veediya: The Bake House, Devon and Bakes and Cakes are all within a few hundred metres.
Best Bakeries In Kandy At A Glance
A side-by-side of all eight, so you can match a bakery to your craving and your schedule. Prices and hours are approximate and worth a quick check on the day.
| Bakery | Best known for | Area in Kandy | Rough price | Hours (approx) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bake House | Short eats, kottu, custom cakes | Dalada Veediya, by the Temple of the Tooth | Short eats from ~LKR 150 | 7 AM to 10 PM |
| City Bakers | Fresh bread, buns, grab-and-go cakes | Central Kandy | Buns and short eats ~LKR 100 to 250 | 6:30 AM to 9 PM |
| The Bread Shop | Loaves, seeded breads, tea-time buns | Central Kandy | Loaves from ~LKR 200 | 7 AM to 8 PM |
| Devon Restaurant & Bakery | Rice box, milk tea, bakery counter | 11 Sri Dalada Veediya | Meal for two ~LKR 2,000 to 3,000 | 8 AM to 9 PM |
| Bakes and Cakes | Kandy roll, coffee sponge cake, eclairs | Sri Dalada Veediya | Pastries ~LKR 150 to 400 | 9 AM to 7:30 PM |
| Oak Ray Bakers | Everyday bread, buns, savouries | Several outlets across Kandy | Short eats from ~LKR 120 | 6 AM to 9 PM |
| The Cake Shop | Custom cakes, cupcakes, Watalappan | William Gopallawa Mawatha | Cake by the slice ~LKR 300 to 700 | 9 AM to 5 PM |
| The Soya Centre | Soy soft-serve ice cream, vegetarian soya snacks and sweets | Central Kandy | Snacks from ~LKR 120 | 8 AM to 8 PM |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Best Time
December - April
Select Package Type
Best Selling Packages
8 Best Bakeries in Kandy, Most Famous First
The eight bakeries worth your appetite, ranked from the most famous, followed by what to order, a step-by-step tasting crawl and when to go.
Explore Popular Destination In Sri Lanka
01
The Bake House
If you only have time for one bakery in Kandy, make it The Bake House. Trading since 1970, it bills itself as Sri Lanka’s oldest bakery, and it is the name Google and Tripadvisor most often tie to the phrase best bakery in Kandy, with a few hundred reviews behind it. It sits at 36 Dalada Veediya, so you can combine it with a visit to the Temple of the Tooth and the lakefront. The counter runs long: fish buns, cutlets and other short eats in the morning, kottu and fried rice through the day, and a custom-cake service that takes orders for birthdays and weddings. It also delivers within Kandy city limits, which is handy if you are based out near Peradeniya.
Related Tour Packages
-at-Sunrise_-Kandy_-Sri-Lanka.png)
❮
❯
02
City Bakers
City Bakers is the bakery Kandy searches for most, and it earns the attention with sheer turnover. This is a busy, everyday local bakery: trays of fresh bread and buns come out through the morning, the short-eats case fills up by mid-morning, and the cake counter covers the basics well. Prices are some of the friendliest in town, which is why office workers and students pile in. Come early if you want the first loaves, or mid-afternoon for cheap cake and a quick tea. It is a grab-and-go spot more than a sit-down one.
Related Tour Packages
❮
❯
03
The Bread Shop
The Bread Shop does exactly what the name promises, and does it better than most. It is the one to visit for proper loaves: white and wholemeal tins, seeded breads, dinner rolls and the soft milk buns that Sri Lankans split and fill for breakfast. The savoury short eats are strong too, so it doubles as a quick lunch stop for a sandwich or a stuffed bun. If you are self-catering or want a picnic for the train to Nuwara Eliya, this is where to stock up.
Related Tour Packages
❮
❯
04
Devon Restaurant & Bakery
Devon has been a Kandy institution for years, and the queue at lunch tells you why. The two-floor spot at 11 Sri Dalada Veediya serves traditional Sri Lankan and Chinese food alongside a bakery counter, and it gets packed enough that staff politely move you on once you have finished. Order the rice box and a proper cup of milk tea, then take a cake or short eat for the road. It is a short walk from The Bake House, so the two make an easy pair. For more Kandy food beyond bakeries, see our guide to the markets in Kandy.
05
Bakes and Cakes
Bakes and Cakes, on Sri Dalada Veediya, is where to try the one bake every visitor should eat in Kandy: the Kandy roll, a thin crumbed pancake wrapped around spiced fish, potato and egg and fried crisp. Beyond that, the case is a proper patisserie run of butter croissants, cinnamon rolls, eclairs and a coffee sponge cake that regulars rate highly. It opens around 9 AM and runs to about 7:30 PM, so it suits a mid-morning pastry or an after-sightseeing treat rather than a dawn breakfast.
06
Oak Ray Bakers
Oak Ray Bakers is the dependable all-rounder, part of the long-running Oak Ray group with several outlets around Kandy and decades of baking behind it. You come here not for a single showpiece but for consistency: fresh bread, a wide savoury range of buns, rolls and patties, and a solid line of cakes and confectionery at fair prices. The outlets open early, from around 6 AM, which makes Oak Ray a reliable first stop before a day trip to Pinnawala or the hill country. Whatever is nearest to you is usually a safe bet.
07
The Cake Shop
When the occasion matters, Kandy points you to The Cake Shop on William Gopallawa Mawatha. This is a dedicated cake studio rather than a short-eats counter, turning out custom celebration cakes, cupcakes, sugar cookies and muffins to order. The range runs from Sri Lankan Watalappan to a New York blueberry cheesecake and coconut cupcakes, and the team handles weddings, showers and corporate orders. Even if you are not buying a whole cake, a single decorated slice and a coffee here is one of the nicer sweet stops in the city.
08
The Soya Centre
The Soya Centre rounds out the list for anyone who wants a lighter or vegetarian bite. As the name suggests, the specialty is soya-based snacks and sweets, and above all its famous soy soft-serve ice cream cones and flavoured soy milk, alongside the usual short eats and buns, which is why it keeps such a loyal local following. It sits in the YMCA building in central Kandy. It is an easy central stop when the rest of the group wants a fish bun and you would rather keep it meat-free. Portions are generous and prices stay low.
What To Order At A Kandy Bakery
Sri Lankan bakeries run on short eats, the catch-all for the savoury snacks stacked in the glass case. Point and pick: fish buns, Chinese rolls (crumbed and fried), cutlets, patties and the seeded seeni sambol buns stuffed with sweet-spicy onion relish. The one Kandy signature to seek out is the Kandy roll at Bakes and Cakes. On the sweet side, try the coffee sponge cake, a slice of Watalappan (a jaggery and coconut custard), and a butter cake with milk tea. Most of this is cheap enough to order two or three of, so share and graze rather than committing to one thing. For the wider picture of the island’s food, read our Sri Lankan cuisine guide.
How To Plan A Kandy Bakery Crawl
Kandy’s central bakeries cluster tightly around Dalada Veediya, so you can taste your way through the core of them on foot in a single afternoon; the outlying spots on William Gopallawa Mawatha and out towards Peradeniya are a short tuk-tuk ride away. Here is a simple route.
- Start early on Dalada Veediya. Grab fish buns or cutlets at The Bake House when the morning batch is hot, around 7 to 8 AM.
- Walk to Bakes and Cakes on the same street once it opens near 9 AM and order a Kandy roll plus a coffee sponge cake to share.
- Stop at Devon for a mid-morning milk tea and a look at its bakery counter before the lunch crowd fills the two floors.
- Detour to City Bakers or The Bread Shop in the town centre to pick up cheap buns and a fresh loaf for later.
- Finish at The Cake Shop on William Gopallawa Mawatha for a decorated slice, or at The Soya Centre if you want a lighter vegetarian snack.
- Carry small cash in rupees. Short eats and buns are inexpensive, and the little counters are quicker with coins and notes than cards.
When To Go And What It Costs
Time your visit around the ovens. Bread and short eats are freshest first thing, roughly 6 to 8 AM, and again when the afternoon batch lands around 3 to 4 PM. Most bakeries open by 6 to 7 AM and trade into the evening, though cake-focused spots like The Cake Shop keep shorter daytime hours. On cost, a short eat or bun runs about LKR 100 to 300, a slice of cake LKR 300 to 700, and a sit-down meal at a bakery-restaurant such as Devon lands around LKR 2,000 to 3,000 for two. A whole bakery crawl rarely costs more than a cafe brunch back home. While you are planning the day, it is worth browsing the best things to do in Kandy so the eating fits neatly around the sightseeing.
Planning Your Kandy Food Trip
Kandy rewards a slow, greedy morning. Lead with The Bake House and Bakes and Cakes on Dalada Veediya, keep City Bakers and The Bread Shop in mind for cheap fresh bread, and save The Cake Shop for something special. Eat early, carry rupees, and let the short-eats counters set the pace. If a Kandy food trip is part of a bigger plan, browse our Sri Lanka tour packages to fold the hill country, the coast and Colombo into one easy itinerary.
FAQs
Bakeries In Kandy: Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers on the most famous and oldest bakeries, best cakes, prices, timings and what to order.
The Bake House on Dalada Veediya is the most famous and most-reviewed bakery in Kandy. It sits a short walk from the Temple of the Tooth and is the name most locals and visitors give when asked for the best bakery in the city. It is known for short eats, kottu, fried rice and custom cakes, and it delivers within Kandy city limits.
Kandy's oldest surviving bakery is Salgado Bakers on E. L. Senanayake Veediya, which traces back to 1886 and houses the heritage Cafe 1886. The Bake House, trading since 1970, is the city's most famous and most-reviewed bakery and bills itself as Sri Lanka's oldest, which is why it tops most best-bakery lists and keeps its short-eats counter busy from morning to night.
For celebration and custom cakes, The Cake Shop on William Gopallawa Mawatha is the pick, with everything from Watalappan to New York cheesecake and wedding tiers. For everyday pastries and a famous coffee sponge cake, Bakes and Cakes on Sri Dalada Veediya is hard to beat. Both are strong on the sweet side of Kandy's bakery scene.
Start with short eats: fish buns, Chinese rolls, cutlets and seeni sambol buns. The one local signature to seek out is the Kandy roll, a crumbed pancake rolled around spiced fish, potato and egg, best at Bakes and Cakes. On the sweet side, try a coffee sponge cake, a slice of Watalappan and a butter cake with milk tea.
Bakery food in Kandy is cheap. A short eat or bun is about LKR 100 to 300, a slice of cake runs LKR 300 to 700, and a fresh loaf starts around LKR 200. A sit-down meal at a bakery-restaurant such as Devon is roughly LKR 2,000 to 3,000 for two. Carrying small cash makes the counters quicker.
Most Kandy bakeries open early, between about 6 and 7 AM, when the first bread and short eats come out, and they trade into the evening. Cake-focused studios such as The Cake Shop keep shorter daytime hours, closer to 9 AM to 5 PM. For the freshest food, go first thing in the morning or around the mid-afternoon batch.
City Bakers is in central Kandy and is one of the most-searched bakeries in the city. It is a busy, budget-friendly local bakery known for fresh bread, buns, short eats and simple cakes. Because it is a grab-and-go spot with high turnover, going early gets you the first loaves of the day.
Yes. The Bake House offers delivery within Kandy city limits, which is useful if you are staying away from the centre or ordering a custom cake for an occasion. Lead times for custom cakes are usually a few days for standard designs and longer for weddings, so order ahead.
Dalada Veediya, the street beside the Temple of the Tooth, is the heart of Kandy's bakery scene. The Bake House, Devon Restaurant & Bakery and Bakes and Cakes are all on or just off it, within a few hundred metres of the temple, which makes a bakery breakfast or tea-time stop easy to combine with sightseeing.
Yes. The Soya Centre specialises in vegetarian soya-based snacks and sweets, and most other bakeries carry meat-free short eats such as vegetable rolls, seeni sambol buns and plenty of cakes and breads. Vegetarians and vegans will find Kandy's bakery counters easy to navigate.
