Review: Magee Street Bakery, Northampton

Published on March 4, 2015

By Great Food Club member, Carole Thomas

What can I say? As a coffee lover (almost a ‘bunny boiler’ obsessive), I was thrilled to discover, via Facebook, a new and exciting venue in Northampton called Magee Street Bakery.

It had received good recommendations and I couldn’t wait to visit. Opening hours are somewhat limited, but if you are a privately owned and managed place, why not? Open when it suits you and when you’re open, offer the best you can. And that’s exactly what they do.

This bakery/coffee house is very small – it’s a front room of an old end-terrace house. Inside is a counter, a bench seat/grazing table, a small bench and a bread rack. I bought a sourdough loaf for around £2.80 and it is fantastic bread. Magee Street Bakery is so tiny that on our visit, five people were waiting in line and the sixth was outside.

We ordered two flat whites and found seats – it’s all very communal and you sit where you can. You can choose between three types of coffee bean – a house blend, a special and a decaf. An appealing selection of sweet treats, brownies, cakes, tarts and savouries – all made in-house – are available. I chose a bacon and cheese croissant and hubby went for a halloumi, tomato nd basil pastry. Both were seriously good. Our flat whites were almost the best we’ve had too – the perfect size and the perfect temperature.

This is a venue we will visit often. Already we could tell that a steady stream of regulars were coming and going, which for a place open only a month or so was great to see.

We wish Magee Street Bakery all the luck in the world – it’s a tough gig, there’s lots of competition from the big boys and others, but these guys seem to know their stuff. The coffee blend, the milk, the size, the temperature, everything is top notch. And the food…. well, try it for yourselves!

Visiting here is like going home and finding your slippers. It may be my new favourite place.