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The Bread Guys Bakery at 16 Thistle Street in Aberdeen: a granite corner with a purple sign over the open door and a board outside for coffee.
Aberdeen

The Bread Guy

The city-centre shop of an Aberdeen bakery crowned Scottish Baker of the Year in 2024, on Thistle Street, for butteries, pies baked every day, slow-fermented bread and cakes.

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Welcome

Few things taste more of Aberdeen than a warm buttery, and The Bread Guy bakes some of the best in the city.

Gary McAllister trained as a baker at Kelly of Cults, started the business with his sister Donna in 2019 with a second-hand oven in Inverurie, and now bakes in Torry, in the old Aitken's bakery. In 2024 it was crowned Scottish Baker of the Year. This shop is on Thistle Street in the west end, a granite corner with a purple sign over the door. Come in the morning for a coffee and rowies, or the cream and jam butteries it's known for. The pies are made in-house every day, from macaroni, steak, Scotch and chicken curry to a breakfast pie and a pie of the week. Alongside them are slow-fermented loaves made with British flour and cakes from empire biscuits to loaf sponges. It opens Monday to Saturday from early morning, and there are more shops in Torry, on Great Northern Road and in Ballater.

Round the cornerBandit BakeryA plant-based bakery on Rose Street in Aberdeen, with sourdough, focaccia, cinnamon buns and a small coffee shop, named among the Good Food Guide's 50 best bakeries for 2026.Under a mileSee itRound sourdough loaves and floured tin loaves on dark wooden shelves against a white wall at Bandit Bakery on Rose Street.
Before you go

The shop opens Monday to Saturday from early morning, for coffee, butteries and the hot pie counter.

Opening times can be shorter in the school holidays.

Where
16 Thistle Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1XZ.
Open
Monday to Friday 7am to 4pm, Saturday 8am to 3pm. Closed on Sunday.
Other shops
51 Victoria Road, Torry; 80 Great Northern Road; and 8 Golf Road, Ballater.
Delivery
Bread, butteries, pies and cakes to order through its own site, and on Deliveroo.
Access
A wheelchair-accessible entrance.
Phone
01224 478590

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
7am–4pm
Tuesday
7am–4pm
Wednesday
7am–4pm
Thursday
7am–4pm
Friday
7am–4pm
Saturday
8am–3pm
Sunday
Closed

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Where it is

On Thistle Street in the west end of Aberdeen, a street north of Union Street, AB10 1XZ.

Close byThistle Street and the west end.
  1. FoodstoryFoodstoryA warm, homely vegetarian and vegan cafe on Thistle Street in Aberdeen, with its own sourdough and baking, speciality coffee and an open mic every Wednesday.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. Ross of Chapel Street, the Chapel Bakery, on Chapel Street in Aberdeen: a red sign reading Craft Bakers, Est 1954, over the shop window and an open door.Ross BakeryA family bakery on Chapel Street in Aberdeen since 1954, known for its pies and savouries, which opens again late on Friday and Saturday nights.Under a mile as the crow flies
  3. Grilled salmon sushi roll topped with chives on a rectangular white plateYorokobi by CJA Korean and Japanese restaurant on Huntly Street in Aberdeen, the city's first, open since 2005 and recommended by the Michelin Guide, for sushi and Korean dishes.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Wooden bar with hanging wine glasses, bottles and a lit fireplaceCafé BohemeAn intimate, candlelit French restaurant on cobbled Windmill Brae in Aberdeen, cooking French classics with Scottish produce, listed in the Michelin Guide.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Pedestrian crosses between First and Stagecoach buses under festive light decorationsUnion StreetAberdeen's grand main street, a mile of granite from the Castlegate to Holburn Junction, carried over the Denburn valley on a single great arch.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Granite steps lead up to a statue and His Majesty's Theatre in AberdeenUnion Terrace GardensA Victorian garden in a green valley in the centre of Aberdeen, opened in 1878 and reopened after its restoration, with lawns, a footbridge and pavilions.Under a mile 2 min by road
  7. Aberdeen Art GalleryAberdeen Art GalleryAberdeen's great art gallery on Schoolhill, free to visit, with 700 years of art from Monet and the Scottish Colourists to Joan Eardley and Barbara Hepworth.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
The bar room at Grape & Grain, under a ceiling hung with flowers and copper lamps, with high stools, velvet tub chairs and a large clock on the far wall.BarsGrape & GrainA step away
RestaurantsMediterraneanA step away
Light of Bengal's front on Rose Street at night, its name lit above a window into the dining room and an open door.RestaurantsLight of BengalA step away
Round sourdough loaves and floured tin loaves on dark wooden shelves against a white wall at Bandit Bakery on Rose Street.CafeBandit BakeryA step away
Inside Cafe Moyo on Thistle Street: a counter of pastries and buns, an olive tree, and a dog bed and water bowl by the wall.CafeCafe MoyoA step away
The front of Mara on Thistle Street at night, its dark shopfront lit and signed Italian Wine, Bottle Shop, Small Plates, with tables and wine shelves seen through the windows.RestaurantsMaraA step away
Coloured parasols hang above a green-walled restaurant with gold plates and framed artworkRestaurantsMadame Mew'sA step away
Teal shopfront of Six by Nico, with sandstone buildings reflected in its windowsRestaurantsSix by Nico0.2 miles
Sauce drizzled over prawns and mussels with breadcrumbs on a white plateRestaurantsCafe Harmony0.2 miles

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