As a good middle-class mum living in BS5, I have to admit I was happy when Crafty Egg announced it would open at the old Wetherspoon pub along Church Road. The popular cafe is known for its long queues outside the Stokes Croft one and, having eaten at both of its other venues in Bristol, I agreed with them that Church Road was ready for another breakfast option.
Despite opening its doors back in October, it was only in mid-December that I finally got the chance to visit. In fact, I had tried to visit a few weeks ago shortly after its opening but gave up open seeing the long queue outside.
I popped in with a friend and our two kids on a Friday lunchtime, and found the cafe to be busy but not overly so. Words spread fast when a cafe in your area opens up and has a kids corner, so me and my friend were particularly keen to see just how kid-friendly this new Crafty Egg is. We sadly found the table by the kids toys occupied (by two adults without children, not that I am bitter) so we had to seat in a smaller table.
This being a spacious cafe, I felt comfortable having my son wandering around to play with the different toys. And, with him occupied, I was able to focus (for once) on what to order.
Following the waitress’s recommendation, I went for the salmon potato hash while my friend ordered the halloumi potato hash. We also ordered some pancakes with banana and peanut butter for our two toddlers to share.
Our hot drinks arrived quickly, and the food wasn’t long either. They both appeared to have a very similar base of roasted potatoes, a fried egg, some herbs and then some other bits including sesame seeds.
Mine came with a good portion of smoked salmon but, having paid over £10 for this, I have to admit I wasn’t blown away by the food. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad – but it just wasn’t exceptional either and it was lacking in strong flavours in my opinion.
It could be that I just ordered the wrong dish, and the toddlers were happy with their pancakes. I enjoyed the pancakes at the Fishponds venue when I visited and I also have a good memory of the egg-based dish I had at the Stokes Croft ages ago.
And, while I would not rush back to eat at this new Crafty Egg, it is certainly a great spacious place to go have a coffee with your kids.