Bond Street Cafe - Norwich (with update)

Bond Street

Norwich

Norfolk

NR2 3TS

Limited parking spaces outside

The cafe is on the corner of Bond Street and Bowthorpe Road.

There are plenty of menus inside to help you choose

There are 3 fry-ups on offer and they are great value for money

Fried breakfast themed artwork adorns the walls

Condiments are nestled neatly on the table waiting patiently to be used

The bumper breakfast was huge and it included toast & marmalade and a mug of tea or coffee

A good strong mug of tea

The toast was nice and hot when it arrived and was ready buttered and supplied with marmalade

Everything was cooked nicely, tasted delicious and was presented really well.

Everyone seemed to be really enjoying their food, me included!

Let me get this out of my system first then I can concentrate on the review. The Bond Street Cafe in Norwich is bloody amazing, so do yourself a favour, go there and try it for yourself, you will not be disappointed!

Upon entering - The counter is located at the rear of the cafe. By the time you arrive at the counter you most likely would have decided what to order due to the clear menus displayed on the walls alongside some kitsch but strangely appealing breakfast artwork . The place has a good feel to it. I was on my own but felt quite comfortable being there secretly taking my photos whenever nobody was looking! There are plenty of tables, many are by the windows so you can watch the world go by as you eat. 9/10

Service - You are greeted by a smile and served by people who genuinely seem to enjoy their job. You grab some cutlery take your tea to the table and before long the toast arrives followed by the fry-up. 9/10

Contents - 1 jumbo sausage, 2 bacon, black pudding, 2 fried eggs, fried potatoes, 1 hash brown, fried bread, beans, grilled tomato, mushrooms, bread & butter, buttered toast & marmalade and a mug of tea or coffee. 9/10

Presentation - Served by somebody who takes pride in their work. 9/10

The food - The sausage was quite standard but tasted nice and went well with everything on the plate, good tasty bacon, delicious black pudding, perfectly cooked fried eggs, crispy fried potatoes, nice crunchy hash brown and perfect fried bread. The beans had been cooking for a while which I really like, the tomato actually tasted of tomato which is a rare find these days and the mushrooms were well nice. The toast was ready buttered and hot when it arrived, I did my usual and made a bacon toasty. The tea was good, nice and strong how it should be and piping hot. Everything went together really well and I managed to finish everything apart from the marmalade. 9/10

Value for money - A lot of good food for your money and a number of cheaper options if you are feeling a bit skint. It was quite a rarity to have bread & butter, toast & fried bread. 9/10

Veggie option - For every meat option on the menu there was a veggie alternative.

Overall - I had heard good things about this place and my only regret is that I didn't visit sooner! Friendly staff, good service and great affordable food ensure you won't be disappointed! 9/10

*******Update*******

I returned again today (25th March 2011) and was again well impressed. Really friendly staff still serving a great fry up with loads of items on the plate. £5.20 is still a fantastic price for such a huge amount of delicious food and a hot drink.

***Special Feature***

A look at breakfast @ Hotel Aqua Promenade - Pineda De Mar, Spain

Every June thousands of Psychobilly's descend on Pineda De Mar (near Barcelona) in Spain for the annual Psychobilly meeting, 7 days of bands, beer & hangovers in the sun! Unlike other festivals the only tent you will see is the venue, a massive tent on the beach where the main part of the festival takes place. Im not sure if it is getting older that makes me cringe at the thought of sleeping in a tent but the thought of no space, bugger all security and sleepless night does not appeal to me at all. This festival is all about staying in a hotel and that is most likely why I have returned seven years in a row and will keep returning. As well as the luxury of a spacious air conditioned room with balcony overlooking the sea there is the added bonus of trying to kill the hangover with the hotel breakfast.

The Aqua Promanade provides a breakfast, a very varied breakfast... to be honest the breakfast is a tad strange!

I never particularly enjoy it but felt the need to get up and try it again the next day in the hope I can create the perfect mix of foods on offer. I have never managed this yet but still live in the hope that one day I will! Some bits of it are nice but one bite into something a bit grim can ruin the whole dish. I am not going to review this breakfast, this is just a look at what was on offer at the Aqua Promanade.

Very dry sponge cake with sugary fruit on top, a boiled egg and a choritzo sausage. Make a salami, cheese & tomato roll, wrap it up and pop it in your bag for lunch.

It is best to have a glass of chocolate milk ready before you took a bite of the dry sponge cake.

Biscuits and an oat cake type muffin

A good selection of breads

Plenty of rolls if you wanted them

Ella prepares a salami roll

The salami was quite nice

The flavored milks were not so nice but chocolate and strawberry were ok, just avoid the tutti fruity!

There was a hot selection on offer each day that varied slightly each day

On the first morning I ruined my breakfast by putting cod flavoured potato balls on it, they did not taste nice and the flavour stayed in my mouth for a long time. I did scrape some pate on the side of my plate which for some reason seemed to work a treat, pate was added to my breakfast each morning after that.

Ella went for the healthier option which is possibly the direction I should have taken

This was a better selection, this mornings special was chicken nuggets

Good hash browns that only ever appeared on one morning. What was I thinking by putting cod balls on my plate again? Probably still drunk!

Not cod balls this time but tiny fried potato balls, the grey sausages were a bit odd though.

Deep fried piped mashed potato and raw black pudding

Wetherspoons - The Windmill @ Stansted airport

Departure lounge

Stansted Airport

Opening Hours (for breakfast)

Monday - Sunday 7.00am - 12.00pm

It is easy to spot and has a large seating area.

The menu is a bit more expensive than most Weatherspoons as it is in an airport

I went for the traditional breakfast with black pudding side order for £7.25

It has become a tradition whenever I fly abroad now that when I arrive at the airport I have a coffee and cigarette outside the terminal, check in and head straight to the nearest Wetherspoons. I love eating abroad and trying out new things but its always nice to have one last full english before boarding the plane.

Upon entering - Although always busy there is a large seating area and this has recently been extended. The menu's on each table show you clearly what your options are. Grab a table and remember the table number as you will need to tell them this when ordering food at the bar. The queues at the bar can seem to take forever sometimes but when you eventually make it to the front just tell them what you want and pay, remember to grab some tiny cutlery and condiments before you sit down again. 7/10

Service - The staff taking your order seem friendly enough and usually within 10 minutes your food arrives. 7/10

Contents - Sausage, bacon, black pudding, scrambled eggs, 2 hash browns, beans, mushroom, grilled tomato, toast & butter. 8/10

Presentation - Everything sits nicely on the plate. 7/10

The food - A herby but economy sausage, average bacon, standard but quite nice black pudding, average scrambled egg, average hash browns, nice but very wet mushroom, average beans, tasteless tomato and quite nice toast & butter. 6/10

Value for money - Airports are always expensive and Wetherspoons are always cheap so the price seems quite fair. 7/10

Veggie option - Veggie sausage, scrambled egg, beans, hash browns, mushroom, tomato, toast & butter for £4.99

Overall - Nothing outstanding but does the trick before you board the plane. The place is busy, the food is average but quite acceptable for the money. It serves its purpose quite nicely and I keep returning. 7/10