After hearing great things about Baltzersens and sampling some of their food at a recent coffee event (see my post here), I knew I had to make a visit to the cafe when I was in Harrogate on the weekend.
A Scandinavian meets Yorkshire cafe based on the foundations of Nordic values - family, food, health, simple functional design and a laid back effortless cool.
Using locally sourced Yorkshire ingredients where possible, their menu is prepared with Scandinavian influence and offered in a relaxed and unpretentious environment.
Upon entering we waited about five minutes for a table as the lunch time rush was finishing. Once seated, I went up to the counter to take our order and managed to get my mits on the LAST cinnamon bun (still feeling very jammy about this!).
A cappucino with a dusting of cinnamon and a cinnamon bun to match were brought to our table and we tucked in. A moist and delicately sweet dough, laced with a cinnamon swirl and drizzled with icing - this was a delight to eat and at a bargain of only £1.50.
After seeing the cafe menu and the food being served around me I could not hold back from trying one of their sandwiches. With hot and cold open-faced sandwiches to choose from, available in half portions too, my friend and I opted to share a half of the smoked mackerel, sliced potato, capers and fresh horseradish sandwich on dark rye, complete with Nordic inspired salads in the side.
The plate arrived and was a lot bigger than I had expected for a half portion. A generous serving of toppings to compliment the dark rye bread impressed me too.
The smoked mackerel was firm and not too flaky, it had a good smoky taste and was nice and peppery. Potato's and bread might seem a bit of an odd combination to some but with the delicate refreshing flavours of the salad and the heat of the horseradish it worked very well.
To finish we enjoyed a pot of their loose leaf Earl Grey Lady Blue tea which was a nice palate cleanser to our meal.
I highly recommend visiting Baltzersens - the atmosphere and food were so inviting and welcoming and at an extremely reasonable and affordable price.
Two drinks, a cinnamon bun and a half open-faced sandwich came to a total of just over £10. It is definitely a cafe where I feel I could frequent regularly by myself and spend two or three hours there at a time without feeling burdened to leave.
A heads up also to their new Scandinavian dining concept Nord which will be launching on the 4th April and serving on a Tuesday to Saturday night every week. It will be based inside Baltzersens and provide a new addition to the Harrogate restaurant scene.
I will be attending a preview taster session next week so watch this space!
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