Having never frequented The Bakers Vault prior to its refurbishment i cant comment on the old pub, but all i can say is i do like the new one.
Although Robinsons Brewery owned, the Management team are the talented gents that have breathed new life into Manchesters Castle Hotel and Gullivers, Salfords The Eagle and Chorltons Parlour. I have no doubt they'll make a roaring success of the Bakers Vault too.
Located on the market place in stockport its a busy hub during the week and when the Market is on, so ideally positioned. With its positioning and being clean, tidy and welcoming from the outside, its surely going to pick up a lot of passing trade.
Inside has been completely refurbished including moving the bar (which once divided the pub in to 2 separate rooms and made it feel quite dark), it now sits quietly towards the back of the room facing everyone that walks through the door and creating a much more open and airy feel.
We arrived on a busy sunday lunch time and so there was a short wait at the bar, but this didn't matter as the staff members serving were acknowledging of the clients waiting and served them in order (a basic bar skill that is so often overlooked).
I cant really comment on the beers as i'm not an ale drinker myself. so i'll move straight on to the food.
Their menu is based entirely around hot dogs, a hipster fad which is currently sweeping Manchester's northern quarter and street food traders, so i was a little unsure how this would go down in Stockport. But i was pleased to see that they'd kept the food a little more traditional serving good hearty sausages rather than frankfurters and keeping the hipster crazy ass toppings to a minimum. All in all its a good meaty sausage dog and chips. There is also a choice of chip flavourings, the spicy ones being my favourite.
The menu also allows you to order half sizes (called puppys). To be honest the puppy is plenty big enough for me, but i couldnt decide which toppings to have so i chose the 2 puppy menu option. Which meant i got to choose 2 of the half portion hot dogs for £9.50. delicious and very filling.
There was a little wait on the food, but again the staff came over and made us aware of this and apologised instead of ignoring the fact and waiting for us to chase the food up. Well trained, well mannered and attentive staff make all the difference in any pub and restaurant.
I have scored the pub 4 stars instead of 5 on this occasion only because i'd like to see how it grows and changes over the coming months. I'm intrigued to see if they change the menu at some point as my pub choice is often driven by food and so the menu of just hot dogs may not win through on every occasion, but i do love what they have done and hope it helps brings new customers to a well deserving Stockport.
Well done for being brave and stepping outside of Manchester. Stockport has many great pubs and restaurants it just needs to show Manchester what it has to offer and i think Bakers Vault and the team behind it will help do that. read more