Happy Sky Japanese Bakery
Motoko Hida has baked shokupan on Askew Road since 2007, and the Tokyo milk loaf that comes out of that shop is what The Times picked up when it put Happy Sky at No. 30 in its 2023 rundown of Britain's best bakeries (The Resident).
Why go
Hida describes the method as French technique run through Japanese habits: By blending French techniques with a Japanese sense of craftsmanship, we continue to bake flavours that feel honest, comforting, and meant to be enjoyed every day
(Happy Sky). In practice that means the enriched, tight-crumbed milk loaf sits next to laminated work, so a matcha pistachio croissant and a yuzu custard tart share a counter with teriyaki chicken buns, melon pan and adzuki bean rolls (London on the Inside). The honey toast is that same milk loaf cut thick and glazed. Hida opened a second shop at 40 Hanway Street off Oxford Street in December 2024 (Hot Dinners), which is the site to use when the west London original takes its summer break.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Tokyo milk loaf, whole. Then the Tokyo honey toast, the matcha pistachio croissant and the yuzu custard tart; the chicken katsu sando is the savory pick.
- Avoid: Askew Road between 27 July and 3 September 2026, when the shop is closed for its summer break (Happy Sky). Go to Hanway Street instead.
What locals & experts say
- The Times, Britain's best bakeries (2023): ranked No. 30, a
Japanese artisanal bakery
ofsweet and savoury treats.
3 - The Times, quoted by the bakery:
The Tokyo milk loaf is superb.
1 - Motoko Hida, founder (Instagram, 2025):
For 18 years, I've dedicated myself to the craft of baking, pouring my heart into every loaf.
4
Good to know
- Timing: the Hanway Street shop runs seven days, Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm. Askew Road reopens in September.
- Booking: walk-in.
- Dietary: nothing published. No allergen, vegan or gluten-free statement exists on the bakery's own channels.
- Location: 94 Askew Road W12, a bus ride north of Shepherd's Bush. The second shop is 40 Hanway Street W1T, behind Tottenham Court Road station.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "UK top 50 bakery." REAL. The placement on record is The Times, 2023, at No. 30.
Verdict
could-visit — A Japanese baker who has held the same Askew Road shop since 2007 and built it on shokupan, with a Times top-30 placement in 2023 and a West End second site since December 2024. The milk loaf is the reason to go and it is genuinely well made, but the evidence base is one list and the venue's own account, and the shop closes for a chunk of the summer. Worth the stop if you are in W12 or passing Hanway Street; not a trek.