Hyped bakery Forno is opening two new venues in an east London museum

Forno is on the path to total east London focaccia domination. 

The Italian bakery – which is from the same legends that run much-loved riverside restaurant Ombra – opened its first spot in Hackney in 2023, following it earlier this year with a second outpost in Leytonstone. 

In October Forno goes again, with a double-pronged opening at the Ragged School Museum in Mile End. Following in the footsteps of V&A East Storehouse, which recently welcomed E5 Bakehouse as its in-house lunch spot, Forno will take over the museum’s cafe, serving up brunch, bakery goods, coffee and pastries all day from October 9.

There will also be a takeaway space in the museum’s former conference room, which will open a little earlier, on October 1. This is situated on the Regent’s Canal, and you’ll be able to grab a drink, bakes and deli goods on the go. Expect cornetti – aka the Italian croissant – as well as sweet Italian patisserie and cakes, such as torta caprese and maritozzi cream buns. 

The Ragged School was founded in 1877 by Dr Barnardo, and was one of London’s largest free schools. It opened as a museum in 1990, and lets visitors tour the school’s canalside warehouses and see what Victorian classrooms were really like.

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