The Bake House — Restaurant in England

I'd seen this place advertised on Facebook and while I was off work and the weather was glorious we decided to try it out. We parked around the corner from Runcorn Hill as the road outside the restaurant was closed due to a crumbling wall. Despite being advised of a 45 minute wait for food we took an ice cold pint of shandy in the garden at the rear. However due to the hot weather the friendly staff found us a table indoors. Unfortunately they had sold out of the salmon for the Eggs Benedict so I chose to have mine with bacon. The other half chose a Turkish flatbread. Sure enough the food arrived as promised due to regular updates from the staff. Mine was very well presented, hot and delicious with poached eggs that were still runny (the way I like them), crispy bacon and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and seeds which added a nice crunch. The other half"s Turkish flatbread came with two lamb koftas that were delicious and fragrant with spices, large flatbread, a full salad including onion, lettuce, diced tomatoes, pomegranate seeds and a yoghurt and mint dressing. In hindsight we probably could have just ordered the flatbread between us it was that large! We were that full there was no room for dessert which looked amazing and is all made on site. They also offer cocktails and a tapas menu on a Friday and Saturday night and a roast dinner on Sundays. We will certainly be returning to sample these delights but we will be booking in advance

2nd visit 21/04/2023 - Afternoon tea

Returned back to The Bake House after our excellent experience last time. This time we opted for the afternoon tea menu. (The table was booked in advance and a £10 deposit was taken per head in case of a no show)

The sandwiches were brought on a board with a selection of crisps and side salad. We had chicken and bacon, ham and chutney, egg mayo and cheese and tomato. There was also warm sausage rolls.

Tea and coffee were included but the speciality teas such as the matcha latte were extra.

And then for the desserts. Presented excellently in a "half bird cage" we had Victoria sponge, chocolate brownies, carrot cake, fresh strawberries, Mars Bar slices, scones with clotted cream and jam and finally edible chocolate plant pots filled with cream and chocolate biscuit "soil" 😊

All in all an excellent experience and we will definitely...

Disappointed with the hygiene standards. The food was interesting and, if I'm honest, not really aimed at my sort of palate. That being said, I did discover something called Haloumie (I think that's how it's spelled). Very impressed with that stuff. I visited yesterday with my daughter and son in law, and we had lunch. I first noticed the cutlery - upside down in jars on the table - so the business end of the knives and forks is up in the air where it gets handled by everyone. The serviettes are wedged in the same jars, and won't dispense singularly. It's a two handed affair to grab one while you hold the others at bay by holding them and the cutlery together. With your fingers. Had to grab some from the counter, which the girls were happy to do for me. I also ordered some sugar for my drink, and was very dismayed when it arrived as sugar cubes in a narrow jar. Which meant sticking your fingers in there. Great. More fingers. What I didn't notice at the time was the serving girls wearing gloves, preparing food and taking cash with the same gloved hands. Yeugh!

These complaints may sound trivial to some people, but I think for those of us who value decent hygiene, this was totally unacceptable.

The girls who staff this place are friendly and welcoming and help to make this a nice little retreat for an intimate lunch, but I think a little retraining is required.

I hope these observations are taken on board, as the...

We booked a table for 10am with the knowledge that we would need to vacate by 11:15. Our food arrived to the table at 10:55, 45 minutes after ordering. We were approached at 11:10 to say we would possibly need to vacate our table as the next people had arrived, this person was polite about it and understood when we said that wasn't our fault. If our food had arrived on time we would have left on time. Unfortunately the attitude of another member (wearing a purple hoodie) was really poor. Huffing and puffing and blaming us to other customers and staff despite them getting the food out late. The moment the last person on our table had finished their meal and let go of the cutlery she was there to clear the table without a smile or asking how our meal was and still huffing and puffing. I thought she might 'blow the Bake House down' such was her rage at this point. Really poor attitude. The food was...