Pink Lane Bakery — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

They sell bread as wholemeal sourdough when it is made with baker's yeast and has only a little wholemeal flour in the mix. And they offered us no apology, despite doing this on two occasions. The first time I even called afterwards to double check, and they insisted it was wholemeal sourdough.

Appended text following owner response: I'm amazed by your rudeness and dishonesty. My wife did read labels and ask the staff, and neither of these gave her the correct information. Regardless though of my wife's experience, which I could even doubt as I was not there, I myself phoned the store after she had brought the loaf home, because I didn't think you sold a wholemeal sourdough. The person on the line assured me that you did, and that it was the one my wife had bought. I asked very specifically and repeatedly in different ways, so as to be sure it was definitely wholemeal sourdough, because of my significant doubt (due to having looked at the website and also having enquired over a year ago) and also the importance to me that we eat only this kind of bread. Regarding the idea that there is added yeast, it came after the second occasion that my wife bought bread wrongly sold to her as wholemeal sourdough, after being told the first one was not, that after my seeing the bread she'd brought home I called again for confirmation because it didn't look like wholemeal. The person on the line told me it only had a little wholemeal flour in the dough, and that you don't sell any wheat loaf that is completely wholemeal or completely sourdough, meaning that there is yeast and white flour mixed in. If only I had taken a recording. Whatever is the truth, it is clear that your staff are not consistent on it and need retraining, and that you whoever you are need to stop being so arrogant and accept that maybe your shop is...

I'm not sure wether this has always been the case… or was the usual almond frangipani filling you’d usually expect in an almond croissant missed out by accident on one I purchased from your branch in Jesmond earlier today ? If it’s usually the case then basically it’s it’s just pastry with a few almonds scattered on top along with a dusting of icing sugar….which is not very up to standards in my opinion. Also the raspberry and custard danish… yes whilst it was ok (5/10) the raspberry sauce looked to be just a dollop of cheap raspberry jam from a jar ? Which in turn made it too sweet and sickly. A better approach would be a fresh raspberry coulis with a little icing sugar so not overly sweet, leaving it still a little tart to then contrast with the sweetness from the custard, thus making it more balanced and enjoyable.

On a plus note 👍🏻 the pancetta sausage rolls are worthy of a Michelin star in their own right, and the railway gingerbread cake is top notch also. 😋👌🏻

Review update ! 😀

Hi, so upon your reply relating to yesterdays review…. I popped in to the Newcastle shop on pink lane to collect my almond croissant which you kindly offered as a good will gesture; I informed the staff working there of yesterday’s croissant missing it’s filling and they were totally understanding and with no qualms gave me a free replacement. I didn’t quite catch their names, but both the lady and gentleman working were lovely and a credit to your establishment. 🤜🏻🤛🏻

As for the croissant it was perfect this time around and very delicious indeed 😋 definitely worthy of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kindest...

A lovely bakery! We came past Pink Lane Bakery on the off chance (we don't live in Newcastle) and I'm so pleased we did! As soon as we went past and saw the mouth watering goodies we knew we had to give it a go! A good sign was that there was a queue of about 2 in front of us and they seemed like locals. We spent the short time queuing resisting the urge to get one of everything as it all looked so good!! Everything looked so fresh and homemade. When it was our turn we explained to the lady we weren't from Newcastle and this was our first time at the bakery and in the city. We ordered the sourdough loaf, a jalapeno and cheese pretzel, pastel de natas and a berry frangipan. I struggled deciding on the frangipan or the lemon and fennel cake that was on offer but with the help of the lady decided on the former. When we got home we realised she kindly put a free lemon and fennel cake in AND what looked like another pretzel (I'm sure we only paid for one so I'm guessing the 2nd was thrown in for free). A lovely kind gesture....thank you!

The cakes and loaf were so yummy. The pastel de natas were so delicious, not like the eggy ones you usually get - very fresh and light. The pretzels were doughy and soft, with a good amount of toppings. The frangipan was really good too. And the loaf was delicious, it lasted quite a few days and it's perfect with soups or as toast.

Will be visiting here again whenever I'm back in Newcastle. Thank you for the lovely service and the...