Blakeys Bus Cafe,
Mulbarton,
Opening times Mon-Fri 09:30-16:00
Sat 09:30-15:30
Recommended
After the Easter storm, when Chris (Mrs Crusader) asked not to be given any chocolate eggs then ate all mine instead, it was good that things had calmed down enough for us to go on a cafe cycle ride today.
The word out on the cafe street was that a new venture had recently opened in the nearby village of Mulbarton and, more interestingly, it was bus based. I therefore felt this would make an ideal venue for a 30 mile ride today.
Once kitted up and out on our bikes we found that we had to work pretty hard as despite the course being a loop we seemed to be cycling into the wind most of the time. With the cafe stop coming towards the end of the loop we were both pretty tired and in need of refreshments as we pulled into Mulbarton and found Blakeys Cafe Bus parked up near the common.
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| Arriving at Blakeys Cafe Bus |
As you can see the cafe is actually a Bus. It is permanently parked there so sadly not available to be taken on a Cliff Richard style summer holiday (ask your parents). As we arrived my cafe skills came to the fore as I heard a party of mothers and young daughters heading across the car park towards us. I knew we had to beat them inside so as to get our order in first or potential have a long wait. Without a moment to be lost we quickly dumped our bikes in the pleasant looking outdoor seating area and headed in to secure our seat on board as the bus cafe was clearly busy today.
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| Outdoor seating area where we dumped our bikes |
We were greeted by a waitress/conductor next to the downstairs kitchen and shown upstairs were all the indoor seating is. On the way up the stairs we went past a good looking cake selection with some special Easter based cakes leading me to award a good effective cake selection (ECS) mark.
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| Cake selection fridge on the bus stairs |
Having never been in a bus based cafe before it was hard to know what sort of atmosphere and ambiance (AAA) score to give. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and there were good views over the common, but buses are not that big so it felt a little cramped however the longer I was there the more I warmed to it so eventually gave a good AAA score.
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| Upstairs on the bus overlooking the common |
On the drinks front my Hot Chocolate and Chris's Mocha were both nice but could have both been a bit stronger for top marks.
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| Todays drinks |
To make sure I did get to eat something Easter based this year I opted for chocolate Easter cake while Chris went for Coffee and Walnut. When they arrived I made sure I ate all the chocolate decorations on my cake before Chris had a chance to spot any and make me hand them over. Both our cakes were good and I especially liked the fresh fruit garnish and choice of cream (pouring, clotted, whipped) that came with it.
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| Cakes with nice fruit garnish |
Blakeys bus cafe is certainly a welcome addition to the local cafe scene and it was great to see it so busy. I certainly recommend a visit if you want something a bit different from your standard cafe venue.
Once home I finished my letter to the Easter Bunny to make sure he ignores any 'No Easter Eggs for me' nonsense from Mrs Crusader next year.
Scores based on last 3 visits (last one 11/03/22)
Hot
Choc Quality
|
Guest
Hot Drink Quality
|
Effective
Cake Selection
|
Cake
Quality
|
Ambiance
and Atmosphere
|
Café
Rating
|
6.00
|
7.1
|
7.15
|
7.40
|
7.10
|
6.95
|
Today's route
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