We were in Blackburn town centre for a street festival of food. We had an enjoyable bit of lunch, then spotted flags outside of a shop declaring it was Mad Hatters Cupcakes and Tea Room, which had me floating over like a moth to a flame for a little dessert!
It has a nice big window allowing the tearoom to be well lit, and seen clearly from the outside, making it all the more inviting.
The first thing you see as you walk in is the fantastic blackboard wall full of hand drawn chalk images of quirky scenes from Alice in Wonderland, and various picture frames containing images of cupcakes, signs saying "eat me" and the such. A really nice touch. It's nice that despite being Mad Hatter/Alice in Wonderland themed, they haven't gone absolutely crazy with colour and made it gaudy and horrid, but have gone for some vintage touches, and soft varying pastel colours and bunting, to take the Mad Hatter and soften him a little into a vintage English tearoom.
As expected, the space is light, bright and relaxed as various mirrors bounce light around the room. Large and impressive cakes sit on cake stands and bell jars dotted around the space, and on the counter sits a display stand of delicious cupcake varieties. Staff are friendly and welcoming, and happy to reel off the various tea flavours when I asked what was available.
The menu has both hot and cold drinks, and offers breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and light lunches, as well as a full afternoon tea.
In this instance, we can't stop looking at a large salted caramel cake which seems to be giving us the eye from a stand on one side of the room, and decide to have a slice each, and share a pot of tea.
The cake was delicious, and we were offered cream with them too should we want it. It was marvellously sweet and tasty without veering off into "sickly" territory, and naturally it went perfectly with a big pot of tea, which was served with traditional vintage china.
Staff were friendly and social, and informed us that they have only been open for around 5 weeks, so everything was still settling, but from what I can see, they're doing very well, and should hopefully continue to do so!
Although this was only a fleeting and unplanned visit, we enjoyed it, and agreed that we will definitely pop back in whenever we are next in Blackburn, especially as I had my eye on a strawberries and cream cake that was flirting with me from a cake stand on the opposite side of the room, in all its lovely pink splendidness... I shall be trying that one next time!
Well done, Mad Hatters! I wish you luck in your new business! :)
Mad Hatters Cupcakes & Tea Room
15 Town Hall Street
Blackburn
BB2 1AG
07380 942 382
The Strawberry... sorry... Strawbury Duck really is in the middle of nowhere! You have to drive up a single-berth road to get up to it, and then its just suddenly there. It's full of age and character, big chunky wooden beams, flagstone floors, rooms jutting off into different directions headed with various names in Olde English lettering, and comfortable tables and chairs scattered throughout and in cosy corners.
It's also nice to see that the pub is dog friendly, and various happy and well behaved dogs can be found lounging around in front of open fireplaces, curled up under tables, or hoping their respective owners might drop a bit of sausage. What's really nice is that there is even a small section on the menu offering various doggy treats, so your canine companions don't feel left out! That's a lovely touch.
As we walked in, we noticed most of the currently empty candlelit tables had 'reserved' signs on, showing the popularity and notoriety of the Strawbury Duck, and necessity of booking in advance. We were pointed to our tables, and given a couple of menus including the specials menu. A large chalk board on one wall proclaimed that the pie of the week was lamb and mint. Meanwhile another table next to us arrived, and their adorable greymuzzled dog curled up and relaxed on the floor. The decor is cosy, traditional, and a little rough and ready in parts. The bowls crammed full of plastic sachets of sauces and condiments on the tables I feel let the style down a little bit, reminding me a bit of a greasy spoon cafe, but with how popular they are, I assume this is a necessity.
From the menu we opted to try the starters of garlic butter mushrooms, and the rare breed chipolata sausages. I would describe service as friendly but basic, seeming to comprise of a no nonsense barman (owner?) and two young waitresses dashing about. As I say, service was friendly, but we were never given any names, nor did we feel anyone particularly went out of their way to look after us, but they did their job well, and with a smile.
The starters arrived. The mushrooms were cream and delicious, served with a wedge of bread, and the chipolatas were full of flavour, and came with a mild mustard mayonnaise which was a very tasty coupling.
After enjoying our starters, and chatting to the table next to us for a while, our mains arrived. We ordered the pie of the week, and the Strawbury Duck pan fried Goosnargh duck breast. Both were well presented, looking very appetising against the candlelight as the darkness drew in outside, and candled dotted around the pub flickered cheerfully.
The pie was the definition of a proper home-made pie, in a tin, with a good pastry lid. The filling was hot, perfectly seasoned, tender, and comforting. It came with fantastic big chunky chips which were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and a side of buttered peas. Very tasty indeed.
The duck breast was really excellent, full of great flavour and a glaze/jus that would make anyone's eyes sparkle! The dauphinois potatoes and vegetables served with it were the perfect accompaniment.
The food in general really was superb. It was nice to read on the menu that they are dedicated to locally sourced produce, and even list their local suppliers.
For once, we decided that as the food was so good, even though we were pretty full, we were going to take a breather and go for a dessert! We ordered a chocolate fudge brownie and a sticky toffee pudding respectively. Both arrived in good time, were deliciously presented, and were a pleasing size each, not being a disappointing mini-dessert as so many places seem to offer now when offering hot puddings.
The sticky toffee pudding was rich, sweet and comforting, and the chocolate brownie was delicious and had just the right amount of chewiness to it. Both were really good.
The bill wasn't the cheapest we've had, but the quality of food really merited it, and they do have various special offers on through the week where you can get things like two for one on fish and chips, and two for one on a steak and grill night too. I think if they just added a little polish to certain aspects, such as service, and things like those plastic sachets of sauces on the tables, they could really add another layer of quality and service on top of their already popular and pleasant offerings.
What's certain though is that we will be back! If I didn't take my mum for sunday dinner at this place I think she'd disown me!
The Strawbury Duck
Overshores Road
Turton
Bolton
BL7 0LU
(01204) 852 013
www.thestrawburyduck.co.uk
The interesting thing about Ciao Napoli is that even though I'd seen it in the Top 10 restaurants within Bolton on TripAdvisor, I'd never really heard anyone talk about it, and couldn't really place in my head whereabouts it was in Bolton Town Centre. Upon seeking it out, it seems that it's because it's pretty much tucked away down a back street near St Andrew's Court, and is pretty unremarkable on the outside, but the outside isn't why you come to a restaurant is it?
So once you find the place and go inside, it's actually quite pleasant. It's a simple modern restaurant in one large dining room with floor to ceiling mirrors on one side to reflect the light from the windows and increase the illusion of more space, and it works well.
Staff are friendly and welcoming, and seat us straight away, informing us of the specials, and giving us the lunch and main menus, which are extensive and very reasonably priced.
As we're only popping in for lunch, we decide on a couple of Italian staples, the spaghetti carbonara and the lasagna al forno, but as we ordered, the waiter asked if we'd like a garlic bread to start... and we can't turn down garlic bread very easily!
The restaurant was quiet as we waited for our food, but before long a business group turned up for lunch too, so even though it's out of the way, it's still certainly popular and well known, but I'd love to encourage more of the general public to give it a try, because I'm sure a lot of them don't know it's there! I didn't!
The garlic bread arrived, and was on a perfect dough base, and although it wasn't strong, the garlic flavour was very pleasant. Not long after, our mains arrived.
The lasagna was still bubbling away cheerfully, having just come straight out of the oven, and the spaghetti looked wonderfully fresh, and not just a plate of goop as so many Italian restaurants seem to go for.
The lasagna was delicious and full of flavour, as well as rich and comforting. The spaghetti was perfectly cooked, and wasn't just a bowl full of cream, which can taste quite claggy in the mouth, but instead the spaghetti was the feature, not the cream. It was very tasty, the bacon too was good, and the cream although not overpowering was excellent. The touch of optional parmesan and black pepper on top worked well, the black pepper almost seeming to make the dish a bit fruity. Superb.
Also despite the appearance, the spaghetti was extremely filling, meaning I had no room for a dessert, but my partner fancied trying the custard pastry dessert called mille foglie, and would seem to be the same as the French word mille-feuille, meaning "thousand leaves" referring to the pastry layers. It was served with cream and a surprisingly high quality toffee or caramel sauce, and was served chilled. It was thoroughly delicious!
So yeah, it may be tucked away, and it may not be expensive or extensively themed, but that is of no bearing to the quality and value of this superb hidden gem of an Italian restaurant, and I can understand completely why it's ranked so high in its reviews, and why it's so praised by those who know it. However, I feel more people should know about it, it's great! Ciao, Napoli! Buonissimo!
Ciao Napoli
11 Mawdsley Street
Bolton
BL1 1NJ
(01204) 399 291
www.ciao-napoli.co.uk
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