HAVN Bakery — Restaurant in Great Britain

Actual San Franciscan from California here! My MIL lives in Bridge of Allan, so we come back every so often. I was excited to be told there was a sourdough bakery in town, so of course we gave it a go. Not only am I used to some of the best sourdough in the world, but I am a sourdough baker myself. This bread is excellent. Absolutely superb. I wouldn’t be able to differentiate this from my favorite bakery in San Jose CA (Manresa). Great crust with enough crunch and chew to savor and enjoy without being overbearing. The center is springy to touch and deliciously soft. Their pastries aren’t too sweet, there’s a great selection and some fun variations I have not seen before (think lime keffir and coconut flavors). The croissants are massive: well-layered, buttery, some crunch to the flaky outside - really well done. Definitely a take-out spot, since there isn’t room to sit, but I suggest buying a variety and sharing family-style to really get a feel for the talent and taste of...

Just had a brownie from there and needed to share the experience because I’m fairly certain what they’re doing is pushing against the laws of matter. The brownie - which I think was possibly almond and raspberry? allegedly? - tasted somehow of everything anyone could want a dessert to taste like, and yet was still balanced, and not too sweet. There were hints of amaretto, seasalt, chambord… chocolate, obviously. But the flavour is honestly of secondary importance to the texture. I do not understand what I just ate. Somehow, it was lightly crispy on the outside, but a state akin to but still not quite liquid on the inside. What is this not quite solid composition? How was this achieved? I don’t know if eating this was more a biological act or the collapsing of an unstable wave function. I’ve had lots of tasty baked goods in my life but very few have left me wondering about the nature of the universe itself.

In summary, quite a...

Tasty sourdough (£4.50). Good crust but let down by big air pockets. Would love to have tried a pastry but no vegan labelling/list of ingredients available. I asked and was shown a few that I was told were vegan but as they were puff pastry and there was no labelling I suspect they were made with butter. I wanted to love this little artisan bakery, especially as there's hardly anywhere else selling sourdough around Stirling but with them not responding to website messaging and not reading their reviews I can't give them...