Smithdown Road café is Britain’s best in record-breaking year

The café has achieved national acclaim two years running

A Liverpool baker has received the gold stamp of approval from Britain’s top critics. Sebastian Zimmer-Lachman works as the head of bread and pastry at South Liverpool café and bakehouse Bean There, and one of his breads is officially the best in the land.

The independent specialty coffee shop was established on the corner of Smithdown Road and Penny Lane in 2017, serving artisan sourdough, breads, viennoiserie and pastries.

Family owned and operated, the business was opened by husband and wife team Candice and Andrew Mulligan. Running the business around family life, the couple are also parents to four boys.

In 2024, Bean There was heavily involved in the city’s incredible fundraising efforts to help save Zoe’s Place, with a competition for customers to win a year of free coffees if they donated to the charity.

At this year’s Britain’s Best Loaf awards, an annual gathering celebrating “excellence, skill and innovation across the UK’s professional bread‑making community”, Sebastian found himself among the champions.

The competition featured live judging by an expert panel including Harry Peak, lead product developer at Marks & Spencer, John Lamper, a bakery specialist at Tesco, and other industry experts coming together to see which venues had the best loaves across several categories.

Sebastian’s white sourdough claimed a gold medal in the plain sourdough category, fending off competition from a “record number of entrants” this year. Only two other bakeries in Britain, located in Cardiff and London, achieved the same award.

Thrilled with the accomplishment, Bean There said: “We are so unbelievably proud of our bakers winning a gold medal in the Britain’s Best Loaf 2026 competition for our plain sourdough!

“They have worked so hard to create an incredible tasting loaf and we are delighted their efforts have been recognised with this amazing award. So head on down to buy some of the best sourdough in Britain!”

All of the shop’s sourdough toasties are made using the sourdough made daily in the bakery. You can also pick up one of the loaves in both the Rose Lane bakery and shop on Penny Lane.

This isn’t Sebastian’s first time in the spotlight. Last year, the baker took home the bronze medal for his black sourdough loaf in the seeded loaf category.

The distinctive-looking loaf is a white sourdough which appears black in colour because of the sesame seeds used to create the unique product.

Speaking previously to the ECHO, Sebastian said: “It’s nice to be recognised – I do put a lot of work into my bread. The job itself is quite satisfying in that you can see the progress and the results. It takes three days from start to finish to make this loaf, so it’s satisfying.”