Despite the weather not being the best (think battling the ghastly winds and erratic rain), we reached our next destination for the weekend - Forge Bakehouse.
Forge Bakehouse is located along what is known as the Antiques Quarter - a row of antique and vintage shops scattered along Abbeydale Road. The seating area was relatively small, seating a maximum of 5 tables. The cafe was pretty full by the time we managed to grab a seat, so I'd suggest going early on the weekends.
The menu is simple, with not much variety but a good selection - one of the things I look out for at cafes. From past experience, the more complicated the menu, the poorer the quality of the food served. That's because places that serve a variety of foods would mean they have much to handle on their plate, and unless they have sufficient staff and work space... That spells lacklustre food.
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| Gibassier, flavoured with Orange Blossom and Aniseed (£2), Flat White (£2.50) |
Foodie friend and I were joking that the heavily dusted power atop the bread could possibly be salt. Apart from the fact that the bread felt more like a doughnut due to the powdered sugar, I enjoyed how flavoursome the bread was. Tangy and airy, it would be something I'd enjoy having toasted with a slab of butter and jam/marmalade instead of powdered sugar. The flat white was rather very strong, which foodie friend later realised it was cos they added 2 shots inside. I opted for the soy flat white, which was much milder and milkier than the former.
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| French Toast Top -French Banana with Raspberry Compote, Peanut Brittle, Valrhona Chocolate Sauce and PB Mascarpone (£6.50) Bottom - Spiced Poached Apple with Toasted Pecans, Oat Crumble, Cinnamon Mascarpone and Maple Syrup (£6.50) |
I was contemplating between the huevos rancheros and the french toast, but decided that life was too short to just have something I've never had before (yup) and instead, opted for something I've had a thousand times over as a kid - French Toast. As a kid I remember making french toast almost every weekend and being glued to the TV and immersing myself in Cartoon Network.
If I had a chance to choose which to order again, I'd choose the french banana with raspberry compote. I picked the spice poached apple as the latter sounded a little too decadent, what with the PB and all. The maple syrup on the side was a little diluted (later saw that they used Clark's maple syrup and not pure Canadian maple syrup :( this has since been clarified that yes!, they do indeed use pure Canadian maple syrup instead of Clark's for their french toast), and the bread very slightly dry in some areas. However the oat crumble and spiced poached apples were nicely done - not overly sweet and the components complemented themselves really well. Foodie friend's option was much better though, drizzled with compote and chocolate, really... How wrong can it go? I really enjoyed the raspberry compote, and the PB mascarpone was pretty damn awesome.
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Overall, I enjoyed my time at Forge Bakehouse. Service was friendly and the food was served within 15 mins - a perk at smaller cafes! The counter was also perpetually packed with people, even though seats were fully taken up. They also sell homemade bread by the loaves, which I'll make sure to take one home in the future.
Forge Bakehouse
302 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield S7 1FL
Opening Hours
Sun 10:00 - 15:00
Tue - Sat 9:00 - 18:00
I was not paid nor sponsored for this review. The review was written entirely in my opinion.
