UPDATE: Apparently this has now moved to a shop opposite Woolworths. Not sure where that is!…read more Update on the update: Turns out the 'move' was actually another pasty chain opening... Cornish Bakehouse is still in the same place. This is a tiny little shop with barely room for four or five customers to stand inside. And in fact there's often a queue right out the door. The reason is the delicious pasties, which really are the best I've ever tasted. Historically Cornish pasties were made with a thick crust along one edge: miners, covered in toxic dirt in the tin mines, held their dinner by the crust and then threw it away, and so avoided touching what they ate and poisoning themselves. Though we think of them with a stuffing of meat and vegetables, they could actually have contained many different fillings, savoury and sweet. Anyway, there's no need to throw away the crust on these: even the pastry is delicious. There's an excellent range, including the conventional and a fair few vegetarian options. I never seem to be able to resist the spicy chicken: big hunks of real chicken breast (no reconstituting or water padding here), potatoes and a lovely sweet and mildly spicy sauce. Or you could have lamb and mint, beef and stilton, pork and apple, spicy vegetable, cheese and onion or more. I hear they have branches in London too now will have to check them out!

I adore cornish pasties at its a delight to be able to enjoy them in Swindon of all places! Lamb…read moreand mint, apple and pork, or just the original and best!

I had some clue that this Waitrose existed, thanks to Mr. Snarky, however, I had never been to it…read more One night we drove by it and I saw one of the buses that stops just outside. So after wandering about one day, waiting for Mr. Snarky to finish at work so we could head back to Bolton, I decided to take the bus out to Waitrose after looking up that they had a cafe that I could perch in. My experiences with Waitrose haven't been very many as I have often been in towns that don't have a Waitrose. However, this one is impressive and makes me wish this was down the street from the apartment. Firstly, this one is on the canal with seating outside. It was a gorgeous day and a really good move on Waitrose's part as those walking along the canal may stop in for coffee and cake. There is a juice/smoothie bar at the front of the store as you enter while there is a bakery with coffee shop at the back of the store. There is a little bar area where you can sit and enjoy or just take a break from shopping. The shop offers a nice variety of items, but yes, some of it is a bit pricier than the discount stores. However, you are probably more likely to find those specialty items you need to make that recipe you saw on t.v. here than in one of those discount stores... so pros and cons. There is a small toiletry area, but no housewares, etc. As I was walking through the beverage and alcohol aisle, I did notice a small "bar" where it looks like there might be wine tasting??? It was hard to see as there were a number of men in suits crowded around, but I swear they were having a late afternoon drink. There are self checkout kiosks if you prefer those, but it seemed like the majority of Waitrose customers prefer the staffed tills. Free loos through the seating area of the cafe. The cafe does offer different desserts than the bakery at the back of the store and they also offer hot food. You can sit inside... or you can sit outside, overlooking the canal. The set up is really quite nice. I took my tea outside to one of the picnic tables along the canal and admired the plants and gardening items they had on sale outside. Love this store and wish it was my regular store!

It's a great store. Very polite & helpful staff, lovely new store with a good selection of…read moreproducts. I like the juice bar & coffee bar by the bakery. Whilst Waitrose food isn't the cheapest in my experience it is very good quality with good ideas for meals too. I would say it's possible to get reasonably priced products there & some of their offers are easily as good as the other major supermarkets. It is definitely worth a try.

Best wrap in town centre! Grilled veg and hallaumi wrap is outstanding! Value for money!read more

Great food and freshly cooked. Probably the best Piri Piri chicken in town. Chicken is juicy and…read morefull of flavour. Excellent service and friendly staff.

Quite possibly the best deli in Swindon. Great staff, luxurious range of products from all over the…read moreworld. Try the Napoli sandwich and an Illy coffee.

The first couple of times I stopped in, it was just to have a peek at the merchandise. lots of…read morejams, sauces, meats... specialty items that you wouldn't find at your regular grocery store. The front area never seems to be that busy, but the cafe at the back always seems to be buzzing. On one occasion I stopped in to grab an Americano on the way back to the hotel. It seemed a bit manic as it seemed as though the three ladies behind the counter were new or maybe not as well acquainted with the appliances and till. As I was ordering my Americano, I spotted some lovely looking sweet treats and decided to get some brownies. It took a bit long to get the Americano, but it did allow me time to nose about and take a look at the sandwich board. As I was waiting, a fourth lady appeared with a delicious looking cake! It looked freshly baked and decorated. Not sure what kind of cake it was, but I may have been drooling. I bought two (yup, one for me and one for Mr. Snarky). I thought that the white bits inside the brownie were nuts, but to our, pleasant, surprise, they were actually chunks of white chocolate. Mr. Snarky and I agreed that it really enhanced the brownie. The brownie itself wasn't too sweet, so when you bit into a piece of the white chocolate, it was really quite lovely. The brownie was also a great balance between fudgy and cakey... not always an easy feat to achieve. It is definitely one of our favourite brownies now. On my second visit, it was a bit quieter... still busy, but the three staff behind the counter this time seemed to have everything under control. I decided to have a cream tea. The selection of tea is quite nice, but a bit overwhelming as you are staring at the glass jars on the wall. The lady said she would bring my order to me when it was ready. While it looks like there is outdoor seating, I chose to sit inside, at a table along the wall facing the counter where the sandwiches are made. As I waited, I watched one of the staff lovingly putting together a sandwich. She was quick, but graceful. Not sure that I have seen a sandwich put together so lovingly! On one of the sandwiches, she carefully made sure that the meat (not sure what it was... maybe tuna, maybe pieces of chicken?) was in every bite, rather than clumped in the middle. On another sandwich, after putting the greens and other piece of bread, she carefully tucked in some of the greens that were sticking out. It really was lovely process to watch. I posted a picture of my cream tea... The scones are huge! And they are lovely as well. Having tasted the strawberry jam, I am tempted to buy a jar from the deli area as I really enjoyed it. As I was finishing my scone, I noticed a man and another woman walked in, they walked behind the counter and began asking how things were going. Presumably the owner??? Immediately they began helping out, tidying things up and the man stopped at my table and asked how my scone was. Really friendly service and they really take pride in the quality of the food they serve.

This is one of a few stores that Swindon has in Swindon…read more This one is in the Bridgemead area, which is in West Swindon. It is on the same site as Homebase and there is good free car parking that they share. There is also a petrol station on site. They sell a good range of clothes and food and some other stuff such as DVDs and small electrical items, as well as magazines, newspapers and cards There is a coffee shop on site and customers toilets. The quality of the goods that they sell is good, as you would normally expect from Sainsburys

As co-op stores go, this one is a very big one. It is situated in the Old Town area of Swindon. It…read morehas a large car park at the rear. It is spacious to walk round and they do quite a lot of non-food stuff as well as the usual range of foods, including fresh fruit and veg and meats. They have quite a good range of special offers and quite a good selection of wines and spirits. I like the bread rolls that they do.

Friendly service and good food. Music and ambiance were pleasant as well. Nice large patio will be…read morenice when the weather permits.

We popped in here for a cuppa on the way back from the Swindon Mela. It's a clean friendly little…read moreplace with a good choice of drinks: teas, chocolates, coffees, frappes.

its only a small supermarket so it doesnt carry much more than the basics, but the staff are ever…read moreso friendly!

You know that feeling when you feel that you have stumbled onto a place that you want to come back…read moreto over and over??? I had that when I stumbled (yes, literally... not figuratively, I stumbled inside) into Baila. The smell of coffee hits you first, then the tunes, and then you see the simple, but cozy decor. Besides coffees and sweets, Baila also deals in vinyl records... buying and selling. What is really lovely is that I overheard the owner giving some advice to a customer who was just starting to collect... while making coffee. He did mention that he was into more Motown and Hip Hop styles and that is reflected in the music played. It may not be for everyone, but I certainly loved the choice of music. They have menus on each of the tables, but really what you want to do is have a gander at the counter where many of the cakes, biscuits, etc. are sitting out enticing you to choose one... or a few! On this particular day, they had cupcakes (lemon meringue, Snickers, and Jaffa Cake flavors), Macarons (which I was highly impressed by), flapjacks, and a couple of other items. However, I was very intrigued by the ice cream sandwiches. So I chose the Deep Funk Ice Cream Sandwich: Chocolate Chip Cookie with Double Chocolate Chip Ice Cream... and a Soy Chai Latte to warm me up after the ice cream treat. A couple minutes after my Soy Chai Latte arrived, a wood board of freshly baked brownies was placed on the counter next to the other items. The smell was intoxicating and I had almost justified buying some... you know to share with Mr. Snarky... although part of me knew that they wouldn't make it out the door! I chose a seat on the bench against the chalk board near the counter and began to do a bit more observation until my Soy Chai arrived. There is a play area for children upstairs, so it is very friendly for parents that are carting the children around for the day. The ice cream sandwich was lovely... and I might be planning to try another this week ;). The Soy Chai Latte was also lovely. It was spicy and not overly sweet. Besides the great choice of afternoon treats and music, I found the staff to be really lovely and they really seem to be very passionate about what they are doing. A customer walked in, like me a newbie to the shop, and had requested a type of coffee that the owner was unsure of. The customer described how the other cafes make it, the owner was happy to comply and the customer seemed pleased with the outcome as well. The atmosphere of the place was so relaxed and welcoming that I did perch in the corner with my book for a couple hours. One of the staff members came round and asked if he could bring me anything... instead of a cheeky brownie, I did have another chai and a glass of water. I highly recommend this place and think everyone will enjoy the ice cream sandwiches!