It was time to meet my mate Pete for breakfast.
He’s a Police Officer working shifts so we tend to meet up when he’s on nights and have a breakfast before he sets off for work. Pete is a creature of habit so we usually use the Viaduct Cafe where he has the breakfast Omelette which is a monstrous great thing full of sausage and Bacon.
In order to get him out of his OCD mind set I suggested we met at the Frampton Deli which is called Daisy Chain.
In his panic, Pete got this completely wrong and phoned me (asking where i was) from The Gingerbread Cafe so I had to change direction and get myself up there pronto.
I’ve been a bit reluctant to visit Gingerbread Cafe as the last time I went there (just after it opened) i wasn’t very impressed with the menu. The best thing they had to offer was a jacket spud, not one of my favourite meals unless its cooked in a bonfire.
This place used to be called Truly Scrumptious and offered one of the best breakfasts in the Bristol area, though it was always known locally as “Betties” after the lady that owned it.
So when I arrived at Gingerbread I was pleasantly surprised to see they had completely modernised the place, decorated it in a very clean and modern style. Replaced all the old tables and chairs with modern comfortable ones and more importantly, installed some decent heating.
In the past there were drafts and cold spots that were very uncomfortable.
There were already several groups of people taking advantage of this new haven especially the little area with comfortable leather seats.
Pete was already sat at the table with a cup of Coffee so we grabbed a few menu’s and got down to business.
I decided to go for the large breakfast whilst Peter went for the Bacon Baguette.
It was Pete’s turn to pay so he went up to the counter and ordered, whilst he was doing that he might have let slip that I wrote a Breakfast blog.
“No pressure then”.
The Pot of Tea arrived with a fresh coffee and not long afterwards the food was served.
The Baguette was fresh and loaded with Bacon (but why was there cucumber on the plate) though it wasn’t a huge offering and I suspect Pete will be in the Canteen looking for food before his shift was finished.
The breakfast (£7.50) was a good size, well presented and nicely cooked.
Two nicely cooked fried eggs, baked beans, two Hash Browns, a good portion of fresh Mushrooms cooked just right, two sausages reasonably tasty and a grilled tomato.
My only criticism was reserved for the Bacon which I think is pre cooked and reheated. It was I’m afraid brittle rather than crisp. Far too well cooked for my taste.
I know when the Cafe first opened there were restrictions put on them about cooking food, due primarily to fumes and I think the only way around this was to pre cook some items then warm them up prior to serving. I had thought this had been overcome by now, but perhaps not?
Toast was served on a separate plate but I’m not sure if there was a choice of bread?
Service was good and the guy’s running the place were very attentive (was this because they had a potential Jay Rayner in house).
I was Pleasantly surprised at the transformation and I would gladly return for another meal though I do miss the local news papers that Betty always provided.
In search of a great Breakfast 