Staple Stores — Restaurant in Thanet

It's been here for a while, but I had not realised until recently and so made a point out of visiting. This is in fact a very hip and modern feeling outfit for such a traditional mainly residential street in St Peter's (Broadstairs). Its setting adds to the atmosphere and experience of visiting. Regrettably, for a baking-shop I was informed they sell put of loaves quite early every day, so late morning there was not a loaf in sight to take home. What is on offer at these relaxed hours is an array of pastries and cakes along with well-made coffee. In fact, I would go as far as saying that some of the pastries we tried were among the most refined we've enjoyed in 11 years of settling in Britain and lamenting it's acute shortage of both artisanal bakeries (somewhat of a resurgence of this in recent years though) and patisseries. (I'm excepting fine dinging restaurants in my current consideration given it's not on a par with a café.) What a delight it must be for the locals, and wouldn't it be wonderful if more of this type of shop could become the standard in more neighbourhoods? We certainly enjoyed it, even if not all bakes were equally convincing. The peach bavarois took the price of the day, while the coffee and cream was oddly lacking in flavour and texture. The fact I still have criticisms goes to the strength of my rating though. The quality Staple aims for simply contrasts strongly to other bakeries (writ large). I hope these guys keep honing their craft in years to come. Furthermore, to my exacting standards the coffee here was very good too, which is essential for the complete experience of sitting down with a pastry. If you've not been, I'd suggest taking some leisure time to pay...

I've been going to Staple since they opened in Reading Street as we live very nearby, however, because it's so close to us, I've never sat inside before. On this occasion I was meeting friends for coffee and snacks and we sat in. It was raining hard outside but we were able to get a large table to accommodate our group. As always, service was incredibly friendly, warm and helpful. I do think this is one of the friendliest cafes locally. Staple, in my opinion, do the best cruffins in Thanet, and there are usually two or three options. I had a salted caramel brownie cruffin whilst I was there, with a hot chocolate, and my friend bought me an apple crumble cruffin to take away (it was my birthday!) Both cruffins were DELICIOUS, as always, don't go to Staple without ordering yourself a cruffin (their other treats are also very tasty though!) We ended up chatting well beyond the advertised closing time, by accident, without realizing, and weren't made to feel uncomfortable at all (that's how we didn't realise!) I feel bad now that we kept the staff at work longer than they probably wanted on a Sunday afternoon! The atmosphere inside is somewhat lacking, it isn't really a top choice for eating in as the seats aren't especially comfortable and there is absolutely no cosiness whatsoever. Everything is very minimalist and functional - which is fine, but it isn't somewhere to go if you want to sink into a comfy chair with a book. Everything is a bit echoey and it doesn't really have any 'vibe' as such - it's just a white room and the tables do feel like something of an after thought. This isn't a big deal for me though because I would ordinarily get a takeaway anyway, and the cruffins are...

Incredible place, fantastic service, beautiful breads, amazing sweets and if you haven’t had a “cruffin” (a croissant baked in a muffin tin, filled with creme pate), go treat yourself! Best thing since Staples sourdough (also incredible). The locals have discovered this place and are already big fans, in my the brief visit to St Peters a small village near Broadstairs, it was clear to see that this special little place is already a firm favourite with the local community. All of the breads, cakes and sweets are made on site and Steve the baker and owner found time to say hello to us. I took my mother (local-ish), and partner. We had the cheese and chutney sandwich x2 (homemade onion chutney was superb), BLT, then cruffin, lemon drizzle (fantastic) and a custard tart. My mother who claims to be an expert in custard tarts said this is the best custard tart she’s ever eaten! My partner who has a sweet tooth said the cruffin is a revelation (new favourite) and I know my way around a slice of bread and have to say the sourdough is fantastic! The coffee is also very good! I can’t give more than 5 stars but if I could I would! What a find, this place is a gem, a must visit for locals...