Battle of the bakeries
Spoiler alert, I am afraid it’s not much of a battle as both are great in their own ways. In retrospect I should have highlighted them both sooner as I have found much joy at both Coosh and Tough Mary’s Bakehouse.
Tough Mary is the perfect leisurely stroll from mine and has now been going for over 7 years. On what is quite a lively stretch of Derby Road it stands out from pubs and Danish furniture stores with its signature streak of yellow. They have half a dozen tables if you want to enjoy one of their excellent coffees with a purchase, always sorely tempting. Pastries are where they particularly excel, the bread is also excellent however a hazelnut pain au chocolat or seasonal fruit Danish is a experience not to be forgotten and needing to be repeated. They also offer what I will call a lunchtime range frittatas, soups and sandwiches which are always creative and vibrant. Christmas might be a long way off but I’m already looking forward to their roasted miso sprout number coming back!
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Coosh is a slightly different prospect from the get-go with no tables in their slice of baking nirvana on Mapperley top. Yes, it must be good to get me to venture that far out of the city. They’re a newer concern and only 6 months ago were selling out of their kitchen before moving to premises at the end of last year. Again the bread is fantastic, there is more variation than Tough Mary with flavoured sourdough like the cheese and jalapeno that I particularly recommend! They are less a pastry house but fear not there are sweet treats galore with cookies, buns, brownies and much more. I recently popped in for a sandwich that was enough for two between their decadent foccacia!
There’s something so satisfying about great bread and a great bakery, I feel lucky to have two that I feel I can rely on. Long may the Saturday morning queues continue but I think they are many that have yet to discover their delights so give them your support!
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