Joe's Bakery sits proudly on Gloucester Road, attracting regular locals and those coming from a little further away who want to enjoy fresh bakes and some Bristol history. The bakery has a history dating back to the 1800s, and claims to be the oldest in Bristol.
It has been owned and run by Martin and Jane Hunt since 1990, and they have taken pride in ensuring it has the same community presence at the heart of Gloucester Road. And this is done by not only serving Bristol delicious baked goods, but by using locals suppliers as much as possible.
Joe's Bakery serve up the type of goods you would expect; with shelves stocked with pastries, sweet treats and pizzas - whilst behind the tills is home to a host of fresh bread. I visited before the lunch time rush, hoping to get my hands on the best products before they disappeared.
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And on arrival and I can only say I was spoilt for choice. I took a minute to mill around, taking in everything on offer.
I'm used to my local Greggs, which takes pride in having gaps in the shelves where unavailable produce once was. But this wasn't the case at Joe's.
Each section was fully stocked, making my decision harder. At first, I was going to opt for a veggie samosa but on hearing another customer order a pizza slice - I changed my mind.
Of course, I couldn't help but be tempted by the sweet treats; and so ordered a few with the good intention to share with my eager colleagues at the office.
I ordered a ring donut, a cream donut and a cookie along with my pizza slice and was absolutely shocked when the cashier asked me for £4.65.
I left delighted with my bag of bargains and equally as delighted to try the goods. Honestly, I'm not sure how I managed to wait until lunch.
I had to reheat the pizza and so was concerned some of the flavour would be lost in the microwave but my fears weren't necessary. It was packed full of flavour and identifiably fresh.
The same went for the cream donut, which was soft and sweet and dangerously more-ish. It had a touch of jam that added to the taste but was careful to not make the treat too sickly.
The rest of my purchases went home with me and were left until the next day and yet - like my pizza, retained their freshnessness perfectly. On eating the cookie, the only ill-feeling I had was towards myself for only buying one.
I prefer my cookies to be soft with a crisp edge and this was exactly that. The chocolate chips brought a delicious sweetness that was complimented well with an almost salted taste from the biscuit.
The staff at Joes have clearly done well to keep the quality and care that goes into their produce over the years and it seems that somehow, they have even managed to keep the low prices too!
I envy anyone that lives close enough to Joe's to call it their local! At least on my next visit, I'll know better than to only opt for one cookie.
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