Bloomers & Danish - Norwich

2 Distillery Square

Norwich

Norfolk

NR2 4BH

Opening hours

Monday to Saturday

8.00am till 2.30pm

Facebook page

Bloomers & Danish has been in Distillery Square in Norwich for as long as I can remember.

They sell a range of breads, cakes and savouries, all reasonably priced.

 

This isn't your standard bakery though as there's a seating area inside and outside.

They also serve hot food including breakfasts which are available until they close.

 

Sauces are basic and tea costs 75p a mug.

 

It may not have been the tidiest looking breakfast but considering the price tag of just £4.90 it offered a few pleasant surprises making it excellent value for money.

 

The sausages are superb and from P.B George butchers.

 

P.B George also supply the bacon.

 

And the black pudding.

 

The fried bread and toast is cut from a decent loaf made on the premises.

 

Eggs with crispy edges but intact yolks.

 

You get the option of beans or tinned tomatoes, I requested both. I love tinned tomatoes but if you prefer fresh tomatoes then they're available too.

 

My wife opted for beans, mushrooms and tomatoes on toast. She enjoyed it and it cost approximately £2 which was a bit of a bargain.

I can remember passing Bloomers & Danish back in 2010 and thinking how it had been there for as long as I can remember. I also noticed back then that they served a full English breakfast so added it to my list of places to visit. That visit never seemed to happen though as I feared a breakfast costing so little money would have cheap economy meats served on it. I put that idea to bed though as I passed it again late last year and noticed the meats used on the breakfast were from the legendary P.B George butchers on the opposite side of the square. It was definitely time to check out this breakfast so on a drizzly Saturday lunchtime my wife and I headed to Distillery Square for a spot of lunch...

Upon entering - Bloomers & Danish is a bakery with a seating area to one side and a counter to the other side, there's also further seating to be found outside. As well as a selection of bread and cakes they offer a breakfast menu which is available until they close. The interior felt quite dark and old school greasy spoon with chequered table cloths and cheap sauces in squeezy bottles. A menu behind the counter offers a selection of breakfast options, all at incredibly reasonable prices. Place your order and pay at the counter and everything is brought over to you when it's ready. It seemed like a reasonable enough place to sit inside but a tad tired looking, I imagine it's far nicer to sit outside in the warmer weather. 5/10

Service - We only encountered one person working here who I assume was the owner. A very friendly and likable chap who was happy for us to order whatever we liked. I ordered the large breakfast with beans as an extra and my wife ordered beans on toast with mushrooms and tinned tomatoes. We were given the option of tinned or fresh tomatoes and the food arrived in good time. We were asked if everything was ok and bid goodbye as we left. As service goes it was excellent here! 9/10

Contents - The extra large full English consisted of 2 sausages, 2 bacon, black pudding, 2 fried eggs, 1 hash brown, fried bread, mushrooms, a slice of toast and tomatoes or beans. I would have liked to have seen tomatoes and beans served with this breakfast with it being called extra large. You can just ask for both though and pay extra as I did. 8/10

Presentation - Everything arrived served on a large white plate with the toast and fried bread on the edge. Presentation was average at best, on a positive note the egg yolks and tinned tomatoes were intact and the toast was clearly cut from a quality loaf. The bottom of the eggs were quite crispy though and there was a lot of bean juice spreading out over the plate. 5/10

The food - I love P.B George sausages and the black pudding was excellent too. The bacon had great flavour but was a tad tough as it had been cooked slightly longer than I'd liked. The eggs were crispy on the bottom but did have intact yolks and tasted great. The fried bread was surprisingly good, a bit overdone in places but an excellent base for the fried eggs. The toast here was really nice and cut from a fresh loaf made on the premises. The hash brown could have been crispier and the beans served in far less juice, the fried mushrooms were rather nice though and it was a real pleasure to eat the tinned tomatoes. Everything was piping hot when it arrived and I certainly enjoyed eating this breakfast, butchers meats certainly make a big difference. 7/10

Value for money - What really impressed me about this place was the prices! I ordered an extra large full English breakfast with beans added and a mug of tea, my wife ordered beans, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast. The total price for everything was just £7.85, quite remarkable considering butchers meats are used on this breakfast. 9/10

Veggie option - There wasn't a veggie full English option but there is a veggie menu or you could as my wife did just order the items you want with some toast.

Overall - We weren't overly keen on the seating area inside but it was perfectly adequate and the outside seating area looked far more appealing during the warmer weather. The service and value for money here was excellent though and the food tasted good. You nearly always find economy meats on breakfasts costing less than £5. Thankfully though Bloomers and Danish insist on serving quality meats from the butchers opposite which is a great thing. 7/10