Brighton has had such a ressurgance of quality baked goods that would make Atkins roll over in his grave. Carbaholics like me are positively rejoicing though!

Flour Pot Bakery has been supplying local stores and restaurants with their breads for a while but they now have their own café and bread shop in the North Laine. And a beautiful store it is too. The interior is everything a contemporary bakery should be, with gorgeous industrial copper lighting, cool marble worktops and a unique point of sale unit for the breads. It's predominantly black and white and just the right side of the artisan hipster design trend.

There are just a few seats inside and personally I would have reduced the imposing bar to accommodate more tables, especially in the winter months where their outside seating will be impractical. But for now, it's a good place to perch for morning pastries or a quick lunch although the narrow pavement is entertaining when the delivery lorries pass.

They also don't seem to have a complete website which in this day and age (and the fact they have such a solid brand and beautiful fit out) is nothing short of insanity. Even a single page with opening times and address would do them good, for flapjacks sake. Their Facebook page is better if you can be bothered to navigate through posts to find opening times; 8am until 7pm (9am - 6pm on Sundays, you're welcome.

But hey, if you manage to negotiate the opening times and grab a prized seat then it's well worth a visit. From the small selection of daily treats, I tasted quite possibly the lightest polenta cake on the planet. I thought the one I make was pretty darn good but this was, as it pains me to say, better. Laden with finely ground almonds and drenched in citrus sugar syrup, it was topped with the most beautiful emerald pistachios. You can wash down your cakes and pastries with (obligatory for Brighton) Small Batch coffee.






For lunch there could be more of an offering of sandwiches with just a couple to choose from, but they obviously use their own bread and rolls which is a bonus. The flatbreads didn't really appeal as there is something very off-putting about dried melted cheese. The chunky sausage rolls looked impressive and my dining partner liked his lamb Moroccan inspired version although I didn't get a chance to try it.



I also swung by a week or so later after work to pick up a couple of their loaves; a classic ciabatta and a rustic. Although service was shaky, the bread was decent. The ciabatta had that slightly plastic texture to the dough you'd expect and was fully aerated. The crust was absolutely delicious too. I gifted the rustic to my parents and they said it was excellent, and they are even fussier about real bread than I am. At around £1.80-£3.00 depending on the size of loaf, it isn't too bad a cost to pay for the real deal.



I'm really pleased that Flour Pot Bakery has taken the leap to their own cafe and shop, although the service could do with sharpening up, on three visits there was some sort of niggle or issue but their product is great, which is the main thing.

Flour Pot Bakery
40 Sydney Street
Brighton
BN1 4EP