Jacka Bakery

The bakery at 38 Southside Street on the Barbican is, by local telling, Britain's oldest — baking on the site is traced to the 1590s, and the lore has it supplying ship's biscuit to the Mayflower in 1620. John Jacka's name went over the door after he bought the business in the early 1930s. Nobody has independently adjudicated the superlative and the shop doesn't lean on it: it bakes sourdough, croissants, cinnamon swirls and a Jacka pasty until the counters run out, which is often by early afternoon. There is no website; the Instagram does the talking.