As soon as I ordered one thing I understood why it was rated so highly.
The Great British Food Awards has recently revealed the six finest bakeries across the UK, with Manchester’s The Pollen Bakery making the cut. This isn’t the bakery’s first accolade, having previously been featured in the Financial Times’ top 20 UK bakeries not long ago.
I made the trip to the bakery to discover what sets it apart and it certainly lived up to expectations. Operating from two Manchester sites, one in Ancoats and another in the Kampus district, I chose to visit the former, which sits alongside the canal, offering spectacular views.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t secure an outdoor table during my visit, as the outdoor seating area was packed despite it being a Thursday morning.
Pollen Bakery is notorious for its popularity, frequently seeing queues stretching beyond the entrance. So I ventured inside and joined the line of customers waiting to place their orders.
Due to the crowds, I anticipated a lengthy wait, but the staff member at the till worked efficiently and I was ordering and seated surprisingly quickly.
Once settled, my food arrived promptly. Whilst the brunch menu isn’t extensive, it caters to all tastes, offering meat-based, vegetarian and vegan options.
I opted for the hash brown bun, featuring Pollen’s homemade confit potato hash brown, roasted tomatoes, caramelised onion, watercress and smoked onion mayonnaise, all nestled within a vegan brioche bun. To accompany this, I selected a straightforward vanilla latte.
The total bill came to £16.60, suggesting that whilst Pollen may rank amongst the UK’s finest bakeries, it certainly doesn’t come cheap. The vanilla latte (£4.60) met expectations, whilst the hash brown bun (£12) was pleasant, though nothing particularly remarkable.
That said, on my way out I noticed another customer had ordered the bun with a fried egg added, which struck me as a glaring oversight on my part and something I’ll definitely try on my next visit.
It wasn’t until I returned to order dessert that I truly understood why Pollen has earned its reputation as one of the nation’s premier bakeries. Rejoining the queue, which moved surprisingly briskly once more, I decided to sample the croissant butter blondie (£4.75).
The croissant butter was recognised by the Great British Food Awards as one of the bakery’s signature products, and from the first mouthful of the blondie, it was immediately apparent why. It was perhaps the finest blondie I’ve ever tasted – genuinely exquisite, and I’ll certainly be making a return trip to the bakery for another in future.
The bakery has certainly earned its praise, proving a hit with customers settling in for a leisurely brunch as well as those nipping in during their lunch hour to grab a loaf, sarnie, or pastry to enjoy at home or back at work.
