I remember visiting Spring Cottage during Christmas last year to check out a market event they had on. Although I didn't get into the cafe as it was busy, I found the location and the spirit of the place to be really wonderful, with a great atmosphere, and so I promised myself I'd come back sometime to try the cafe itself. So I did.
I went along on a quiet Thursday morning just as they were opening. I pulled into the car park, loomed over by the lush woodland setting, and walked up to the gates, where I heard a rooster crowing. Lovely.
As I entered the cafe, I was the first customer, and was welcomed warmly by two friendly members of staff who were setting up, and who took my drinks order and left me with the breakfast menu board. The menu board is only small, so I ordered a croissant, and was asked if I wanted it with chocolate or apricot, so I said apricot, thinking it would simply be a jam on the side, or possibly spread for me. More on that shortly...
My Earl Grey arrived in a pretty glass teapot, and so I relaxed, listening to the music, and taking in the cafe. The cafe is really lovely, it's unique in that it's basically a rustic bohemian woodland cafe. Furniture is eclectic, and varies from barstools and regular tables and chairs, to comfortable armchairs and a Central Perk-esque couch. Tables are adorned with fresh flowers and books, and there are posters and books on display as well as to buy. It has a lovely atmosphere.
Now remember the croissant I ordered? The board just said "croissant" so I was just expecting a warmed up croissant with a pot of jam, but what came was a FRESHLY BAKED croissant, with the apricot jam BAKED INTO IT! It was fresh and warm, dusted with icing sugar and served with fruit, and was absolutely sublime! It wasn't just a "croissant", but I suppose that little menu board couldn't go into full details, but what a treat! It makes me ponder the other items on that board too, given that they may be just as surpassing of their simple descriptions!
As I was enjoying this wonderful breakfast, I watched fresh cakes continue to be brought out onto the main counter where the owner hand finished them with a little fruit here, a sprinkle of sugar there, with real care and love. I then saw the scones, and despite not planning to have anything else, I had to order one! It came waaaaaaaaarm and with cream, a lovely quality strawberry jam, and fruit.
Upon chatting with the staff, I found that their daily food menu frequently changes. Although a few well loved stalwarts remain, the daily food offerings are fabulously written on a big piece of baking paper, and displayed for the customers to see. This is a lovely idea... freshly made food, and variation meaning that you can visit repeatedly, still get some of your favourites, but have something new and exciting to try every time you visit!
The cafe also displays above its main bar, a blackboard detailing events going on through the year, such as their current Caribbean festivities, the upcoming Sausage and Ale event, and of course Christmas (for which they have some marvellous sounding plans!).
I had a really lovely time. I can't remember when I've enjoyed breakfast quite so much. The atmosphere is friendly, welcoming, and peaceful, the staff are friendly, warm and welcoming, the food is absolutely wonderful, and I got to give a good morning ear-rub to the café's two lovely dogs, Jean and Patrick, who were outside enjoying the morning sunshine... what more could you want?
I'm most definitely going back!
The Café at Spring Cottage
Rivington Lane
Rivington Village
Bolton
BL6 7SB
(01204) 772 920
www.springcottage.org
I'd heard of Bakers, but I wasn't quite sure what exactly it was. I saw it named as Bakers Tea Room (which appeals to me!), but the internet also lists it as a coffee shop, an ice cream parlour, a gift shop, and other signs list it as a bar and kitchen.
So I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the great thing is that it's actually a mix of all of these things! No wonder they don't have a single label!
This eclectic approach also extends to the décor, which is not akin to anything I've really seen before. It's not a traditional English tea room, nor a coffee shop in terms of design, but more like a themed design, but I don't know what the design is. I'd call it perhaps rustic? Either way, I really like it, it's solid and uses lots of wood, chrome ducting and faux exposed brickwork, and fun decorative elements as well as some bits which are just a bit odd (buckets mounted on the wall anyone?), but I like it. It's unique.
It's split into two areas, a lower area which is more aimed at the coffee shop element, and a rear upper area which has comfy bench seating and larger tables for diners. We initially sat in the lower area as it was quite busy, but after the upper area emptied a little, we retreated up there for a little quiet from a few mums with their little ones (who sounded like they needed a nap!).
The menu is simple but has some good choices, and regularly changes, so there's not an online menu. This is good though, it means you get something new fairly frequently.
We ordered a pot of tea. The Kilner jars stocked behind the bar show a great variety of teas for us tea lovers out there! Good tea too!
From the main menu we ordered a toasted chicken and stuffing sandwich, and the Bakers Burger, both of which sounded great, and I liked the sound of the burger... I wasn't expecting burgers at what was potentially a tea room!
The staff are friendly and helpful, making recommendations, and going out of their way to make customers comfortable and welcome.
The food came in good time, and was presented well. To be honest it looked great!
The burger was juicy and satisfying, and dripping onto the wooden board a bit, not due to fat, but sheer juiciness! The chips that came with it were crisp and delicious. The chicken toasted sandwich was full of flavour and really nice quality. It also came with what looked like a bucket full of fresh salad (!) but we found it to have a cleverly concealed ramekin within the bucket allowing for a normal sized portion. The salad by the way was fresh and very tasty.
As we only popped in to investigate, we thought we might get a scone and a pot of tea or a slice of cake, but ended up getting a big lunch each, meaning we filled ourselves up to the degree of having no room for dessert... rookie mistake! The cakes and ice creams looked great, and now that I know the sort of food and quality to expect from Bakers, I'll definitely be back to give them a try... and some more of the rest of the menu... but... but... try not to overfill myself first... gah, maybe I'll make several visits instead!
There is free parking at the venue, but it's to the left of the shop and not in the small road to the right of it where I accidentally parked, requiring a 17 point turn to get out again. Whoops!
Go along, give them a try, they're good, and showing that local independent places can cut it with the big boys!
Bakers
247 Blackburn Road
Egerton
Bolton
BL7 9SN
(01204) 306 266
We spent a couple of days in Brontë Country, and on looking online, one of the most popular and highly rated places to eat in the area is The Grouse Inn. I mention this because it's quite an achievement to earn that, as so many of the places to eat in and around Keighley and Haworth offer wonderful food.
The most striking thing about The Grouse as you enter the car park is the breathtaking views it has across the moors! A good 180 degree view of pure natural beauty, with a classic British food pub in the centre. Marvellous.
The place itself as you walk in has that fantastic feel and decoration of the classic Northern English pub, with warm colours, a slate floored bar, a classic busy pub carpet, and dark wood furniture. Also good nods to the countryside element with taxidermy deer heads (and duck heads!), foxes, and artwork of the moors. It feels warm, friendly, and welcoming.
As we're seated, again we are treated to that amazing view from any window you look out of. Truly the most amazing view I've had with my dinner in this country!
The service is welcoming and friendly, menus are handed out with smiles and genuine interest in the customer. The menu itself is modern in design, but boasts some truly wonderful classic British foods, from liver and onions and fish and chips to sausage and mash and cottage pie, as well as other staple choices like pizza, pasta, steak, and salads.
We decided not to have a starter... we've learned the hard way before that if we have a starter in this sort of place we won't have room for pudding... not this time!
So for our mains, I ordered the trio of classic home-made sausages with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas, and my partner ordered from the specials board, and went for the steak wellington with Stilton and pate.
Here is where I gush. The food was absolutely phenomenal! Delicious home-made food, fresh, rich, and bursting with flavours. The sausages were rich and juicy, the mashed potatoes was creamy and so very comforting, the steak wellington was an explosion of flavours, and we both agreed the gravy was the real deal, and absolutely sublime.
We had room for dessert. The dessert menu (given to us as the "pudding menu" as it should be!), was extremely tempting, and after a while deliberating over what to have, and changing our minds four or five times, we opted for that British pub classic... sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and ice cream.
THIS is what should win The Grouse awards. My partner, Phil orders sticky toffee pudding whenever the opportunity arises, but actually stated that this is one of the best sticky toffee puddings he's ever had in his life; hot, rich, gooey and comforting. On the way home the following day, he was genuinely mulling over the idea of popping back into The Grouse JUST for that sticky toffee pudding on the way home!
The service was great, the views and decor were wonderful, and the food was absolutely fantastic. We will most definitely be returning to The Grouse, even if we're not in the area... it's only 57 minutes away... we checked!
Well done, The Grouse! See you again soon! :)
The Grouse Inn
Harehills Lane
Oldfield
Keighley
West Yorkshire
BD22 0RX
(01535) 643 073
www.thegrouse.co.uk
Tapaz is a relatively new player on the Bolton food scene, but is truly storming the review sites. People speak incredibly highly of it, and it's currently in the top #5 in Bolton on TripAdvisor. I've been meaning to try it for a fair while, and finally got chance recently.
The building itself is one of Bolton's grand older buildings with high ceilings and arched windows, but when you step inside it's somewhat surprising. I think part of me expected a tapas bar to be more Spanish "themed"like other tapas venues I've visited, but the decor is a combination of bright simple modernity, and... budoir? Elegant rustic iron sconces and lamp shades give that touch of Spain, but the crushed purple velvet benches and snow leopard print chairs seem a bit of an odd choice! However, it's clean, functional, and welcoming.
We are seated and given the menus by a friendly member of staff. We are happy to see that there is an "all you can eat" tapas option, which is always nice, so we opt for that! The menu is left with us so that we can choose from up to any 3 dishes at a time, but reorder as many times as we'd like.
Instead of listing each of the tapas we ordered, I'll simply share the photos. The tapas came in good time, and every one of them was hot, fresh, and delicious. Special props go to some specific things we commented on, including the fantastic citrus taste that came with the Bacalao Frito (breaded white fish with tartare), the sheer tenderness of the Costillas de Cerdo (BBQ ribs), and the incredibly rich flavours of the Chorizo al Vino (Spanish spicy sausage in red onions and red wine). It also allowed us to try "Chicken Bastilla" for a first time, which is shredded chicken in a crispy pastry, but then topped with cinnamon and sugar! It's apparently a Moroccan staple, but this was our first time trying it, and although it was a very strange idea to get used to, it worked surprisingly well! Like a cross between the end of your dinner and the start of your dessert!
The service is friendly and efficient without being intrusive, and the value is superb. Even if we didn't go for the 'all you can eat' option, the prices were great, with lunch specials also available.
As we paid I managed to embarrass myself by messing up with the card payment machine and accidentally giving a 10p tip, making me look like the stingiest tipper on the face of the planet, but despite this, the staff member who took our payment didn't let any sort of reaction show on his face. Truly professional! I noticed this on the bill as I was walking out the door, and so turned and left a bit of a better tip in change at the bar.
The one thing I will say is that I will be giving a much bigger and more deserved tip next time I visit, as I will most definitely be returning, and hopefully will have enough room to try a dessert! We can very much see how Tapaz has earned its praise! Muy bien! :)
Tapaz Ristorante
33 Bradshawgate
Bolton
BL1 1EL
(01204) 395 505
www.tapaz.co.uk
Lincoln's American Bar & Grill is the new kid on the block in Bolton Town Centre. It's literally only just opened (as of August 2017), and promises a classic American style menu with gourmet burgers. How could anyone resist that? It seems rare that Bolton town centre gets any new restaurants these days, and so when a new one opens up, it's exciting!
Lincoln's is downstairs in St Andrew's Court, and only upon writing this review did I actually remember that it's downstairs, in a basement space. It's decorated with great lighting and décor that I forgot about the lack of windows. The décor is modern and simple, with music inspired touches, LP sleeves and guitars on shelves, and some truly excellent music playing.
I was seated by a friendly member of staff, and given the relevant menu information, as well as my drinks order being taken. The menu is true to the claim of American in style, starting with "appetizers" and including steaks, gourmet burgers, speciality pasta etc, as well as milkshakes and desserts, and daily special offers, as well as Chef's Specials. The only thing that stopped it fully pulling away from its location and immersing in American style is that they offer a full English Sunday roast dinner too!
I ordered an appetizer of panko crumbed chicken fingers, and a main of the Texan burger, taking advantage of one of their special offers where two courses were a set price. As I was dining alone, I was helpfully asked whether I'd like my starter and main at the same time, to which I said yes.
The food arrived in good time, and although the burger was presented on a chopping board as is the fashion these days, the food looked very good!
The panko chicken was perfectly crunchy and juicy, and I really enjoyed it. The burger looked good, but for reasons unknown I think I was expecting it to be a dry "generic" burger, but it was juicy and pink in the middle as a good burger should be! Perfect! Do you know how hard it is to find a good burger done properly in Bolton?! Well it's hard let me assure you! Well done, Lincoln's!
At this point I started to get quite full, realising that I perhaps shouldn't have had both starter and main course at the same time, and had the heartbreaking realisation that... I WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE A DESSERT! Even worse... upon curiously reading the dessert menu as I left, I realised the two courses for one price offer included some of the desserts... noooooo!! Next time that key lime pie WILL BE MINE!! (Also I unashamedly took some of the chicken panko fingers home in a doggy bag!)
So in conclusion, the food was excellent, the service was friendly, professional and attentive, which I really appreciated, and the value was superb, and would be great value even without the special offers.
I had sceptical expectations, but was left thoroughly impressed and happy, and will most definitely be back! Go and give them a try!
Lincoln's American Bar & Grill
18 St Andrew's Court
Mawdsley Street
Bolton
BL1 1LD
(01204) 774 321
www.lincolnsbarandgrill.com
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