True Love for True Food

My favourite cafe, by a country mile is nestled unassumingly just outside Bangor town centre, off the Donaghadee Road at Thornleigh. You have to know to go looking for it, but when you do, oh boy, you are in for a treat! ‘True Food’ is a family run business, and from the moment you enter you can ease into the knowledge that once you decide what you are going to have, it will be amazing as everything is baked fresh, on site each day.  So pull up a seat, listen to the soft music of a French Cafe and relax for a moment.

Just look at these goodies is your mouth not already watering?

I usually try to go on a Friday, because they do a special bake on Fri/Sat called (wonderful, wonderful) Copenhagen’s which really are just amazing. Rather than using pastry, these are made from a spelt sourdough, studded with sultanas, lightly spiced and topped with a little icing and flaked almonds. The smell of their sweet yeasty goodness just instantly takes me to a happy place. The sourdough is important, because it balances the sweetness of the topping, a sweet bread dough would be too much, but when you have had one, unfortunately that will be you lost for ever!

Copenhagen’s – Look at this, don’t you just want to bite into one?

In the interest of providing a wider review my friend and I decided to try a selection of goodies – our waistline’s sacrificed for the blog, but you could hardly call it suffering for art?

Bakewell Slice and Victoria Sponge

I’m finding my mouth is watering looking at these photos, because I know what they taste like. That’s home made raspberry jam and proper home made buttercream sandwiched between the layers of the Victoria Sponge. People it is mega! A slice of this and you just won’t want another slice of plastic supermarket cake ever again. This, this right here is the real deal. We had our cake and ate it.

I’m kicking myself that I didn’t take a shot of my coffee, not that you can tell how good it was from a picture (it was lush, and velvety) but you could have seen the rustic pottery cups that give you a proper generous portion, plus a refill if you like. I should also have taken a shot of their chocolataire designed to serve hot chocolate at the proper temperature. It will come as no surprise that their hot chocolate is totally authentic and made with actual chocolate, not powder or syrup. I guess I will just have to go back and get more shots at a later date.

The observant amongst you will have noticed another ‘bun’ in the photo. We ordered this without knowing what it was, so the conversation went a bit like this.

Friend: Oh wow! mmmm that is gorgeous too! What is it?

Me:       “mmmpph nom nom nom, erm, not sure, think it might be a Bakewell Slice”?

Friend, chewing with a ‘happy face’: “I don’t like Bakewell Slices”

Me, looking for crumbs: “Well, it has a pastry base, raspberry jam, frangipani, and icing topped with almonds, I think this is a Bakewell Slice”

Friend – looking confused: “No, I mean I really don’t like Bakewell Slices, but this is lovely!”

 

But this is the thing, the stuff we buy in the shops with preservatives, and artificial flavours, are so far removed from the real deal that when you taste it the way it’s supposed to be made, it’s like a revelation.

I can’t praise the quality of this cafe high enough, I’ve always found the food to be amazing, and the staff couldn’t be any more accommodating. If I had a criticism, it would only be that the premises are a tiny bit tight, if you had mobility issues, it would be worth ringing ahead, so that they could reserve you an accessible table. but that’s the only thing I can think of, everything else gives me a dreamy faraway look as I think about another Copenhagen with coffee and a bigger pair of jeans.

You will find True Food in Thornleigh – Just off the Donaghadee Road