Surface patterning has been used to enhance the fracture toughness of adhesive joints. In this study, the effect of the variable bondline thickness introduced by the patterns and the effect of pattern geometry on the fracture behaviour of adhesive joints were analysed. Surface patterns including longitudinal grooves, transverse grooves, dimples and grids were fabricated by means of laser texturing. The patterned surfaces were bonded using a tough structural adhesive and the mode I fracture toughness was measured using the J-integral method. The toughness of the patterned joints was compared with the results from bonding with control surfaces and with grit blasted in combination with chromic acid etched (GB-CAE) surfaces. It was shown that both longitudinal and transverse grooves led to the highest value of toughness. Grids patterns yielded a toughness close to the GB-CAE treatment, both of which were higher than the dimple patterns. It was also shown that the variable bondline thickness due to the existence of surface patterns, which influences the size of the plastic zone, reduced rather than increased the fracture toughness.