Pricey but thoroughly delicious
(Image: Bristol Live)
Another expensive café is probably not high on the priority list for residents of Southville and Bedminster at the moment. They are more likely to be preoccupied with the dubious honour of being selected as the location of the next Bristol City Council Liveable Neighbourhood fever dream.
The Park Bakery, which opened on North Street on October 30, is so good it’s hard to get too up in arms about yet more gentrification in South Bristol. Also, that ship sailed on North Street a long time ago, so if citizens of the increasingly yuppifiied parts of BS3 want to spend a nonsensical amount of money on coffee and cakes, why shouldn’t they?
Given the stiff competition when it comes to fancy cafés in Bedminster and Southville – think Bristol Loaf, Sweven and Pinkman’s, to name a few – the onus is on the Park to deliver the goods.
I went down on during a recent lunchtime to treat myself to a coffee, sandwich and cake.
The new Park Bakery on North Street(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The Park had been offering £2 coffees to celebrate their first week of opening, but they were back to full price by the time I managed to visit.
My flat white (£3.20) was absolutely spot on. The flavour of the coffee, made with beans from Hengrove Way roasters Oddkin, was perfect, with a strong taste but no hint of bitterness.
The sandwiches and cakes are all made either onsite or in the Park’s mothership venue, on nearby St John’s Lane just off Victoria Park.
I opted for a turkey salad sandwich (£6.20), which included cheese and mayo. Although I nearly ended up staring at the back of my head when I was told Park was famous for its four different types of sourdough, the bread which lovingly enwrapped my sandwich ingredients was deliciously fresh and fluffy.
My sandwich was a very satisfying experience, with a great balance between all the ingredients, albeit slightly small for the price tag.
The main event, however, was the pistachio and cardamom bun (£3) which I turned my attention to after I had wolfed down my sandwich.
My word. There are plenty of places in Bristol which claim to offer the best bun in the city/South West/UK/world, but I have not had a better one in recent times than the Park’s.
The bun almost melted in my mouth, while its toppings and fillings were full of flavour without being sickly sweet.
My final bill came to £12.40. Not exactly value for money, you might say, but also sadly no longer an outlier when it comes to café prices in Bristol.
With the rising cost of everything from staffing to ingredients to rent, who knows where the concept of value for money exists when eating out nowadays. One thing I do know is that I’d eat at the Park every day if I could, wallet and waistline be damned.