If you’ve been to Stretford Mall (it will always the Precinct to me) recently, well done. I mean, it’s a bit of a challenge right now given the works both on the Mall, on the road and junction near the Mall, and to make things more fun, the works on Chester Road. I should know, I live across the road.
And given where I live, it’s no surprise that for a belated birthday dinner, we ended up on the Stretford Strip – the name given to the venues on the Chester Road side of the Mall, encompassing Souljuice, Head, Stretford Canteen, and Bakehouse 32 following it’s move from the old site across the junction.
Bakehouse 32 is an old favourite, and we’ve been keen to visit following it’s relocation to the former Foodhall site at the Mall (the old site is now home to a cocktail bar, Colby’s which I will be visiting soon). Promising the same New York pizzas, and burnt basque cheesecakes they’re known for, to a larger community focused location. Not only offering classes and events, like regular yoga sessions, but also opening during the day (Wednesday to Sunday), still offering takeaway, and expanding their offering to coffee, breakfast, and pastries. This makes it a great spot for a coffee and a catch up, or for those of us laptop carrying hybrid workers who might need time away from the desk in their living room.
The site still bears hints of it’s previous incarnation, but Bakehouse have made it into a an airy space, with open kitchen and bar, so you can people watch if you and your date run out of things to say (or if you’re me, people watch anyway because you’re nosey). The menu is still relatively small, but well formed. Garlic bread or olives to start (with the occasional special like their charcuterie platter), a plethora of pizza, and ice cream or cheesecake for dessert, all served alongside cocktails, beer, wine and softs. Perhaps the best bit for me, as this was a brief break in my sober status (before I start training again) is the no and low options, meaning if I’m not drinking I don’t have to stick to the usual suspects. There are plenty of more grown up options.
For this visit, we opted for the nocellara olives, with a pint of beer for him, and a cherry negroni for me. The negroni was rich and well balanced – exactly what I wanted. Similarly with the husband, his Sonoma (from Track Brewing) was all he’d expected, something with lots of citrussy hop notes to get his mouth watering ahead of the main event.
And what a main event it was. I opted to make one of their veggie pizzas something more meaty, by adding pancetta to the artichoke and pepper pizza, whilst the husband dove into the Spicy Napoli – tomato base topped with mozzarella, anchovy, green olives and chilli flakes.
We were not disappointed. A thin and crispy base, that just edges into soft at the centre, the crusts thicker and doughy, whilst offering plenty of flavour. The Napoli offered salty umami and spice, whilst my bastardised artichoke and pepper offered fresh sweetness from the peppers, balanced out by the crispy pancetta and earthy artichoke.
Tummies full, but always keen for dessert, it had to be the cheesecake. Soft, rich and buttery, there’s just something about the combination of creamy inside and burnt skin on the cheesecake that keeps your fork coming back for more.
Verdict? We’ll definitely be back. The new site is bright and light, and I adore the colour scheme, and breakfast is a bonus. I can’t wait to see how the space changes and grows with time.