I would avoid getting picture cakes from here! I got one for my brother's 30th Birthday and…read morealthough the cake tasted great it didn't look too good. I gave them a great picture to put on to the cake but when I went to pick it up on the day of the party the image was grainy and just looked a little botched. The girl explained to me that the person who makes the cakes printer had run out of ink - surely that's one of the fundamentals if you're in this line of work?! The cake itself tasted great but I was left a little disappointed as the whole point of the cake was the embarrassing picture. The worst of it was that we weren't offered any discount and it was too late to get another cake made on the day of the party.

The best bakery in the world. Their chicken pies are unbeatable as are their breakfasts, lunches…read moreand cakes. Formerly of Holywood and now in Perth, Australia, I visit every year for breakfast etc. How I wish I could take some of their produce back to Australia to show the Aussies what good food and cooking are.

Try the Florentines!!! Amazing! I use this and the Lisburn…read moreroad knotts! Both are great but I much prefer the Lisburn road. There is a huge selection of treats like paradise buns, raspberry tarts and lots of traybakes. They make fresh scones, sodas, breads and sausage rolls everyday along with takeaway lunches like salmon on weathen and salad. Huge slices of pavlova and cheesecakes. The carrot cake is delish!! The staff are really lovely and the manager is particularly good and quite funny! Well worth a visit!

I've been visiting Knotts Holywood branch for years but I thought it was time to put pen to paper…read moreor fingers to keys to express my affection for the place. The Knotts in Holywood is tiny in comparison to the larger Newtownards store but it still pack a punch. Each day the shop is stocked with fresh bakery items, sandwiches and salads. One piece of advice I would give is that if you are wanting to get your lunch from Knotts go as early as possible as they stock sells quickly and once it's gone it's gone. For instance on my latest visit they only had 2 salads remaining. This may be due to how cheap they are - a salad box will only set you back £3.95. The food itself is excellent - the salad boxes are filling, fresh and healthy and the buns are moreish and unhealthy which is a deadly but irresistible combination. They also make cakes to order so next time you have a celebration think of Knotts before you rush out to the supermarket. Last but not least the staff are top notch - they always greet you with a smile and talk you through the daily specials.

I've been to the recently opened shop on Botanic avenue to browse what this little place has to…read moreoffer but hadn't actually bought anything until my last trip to St George's Market. There is a lot of stiff competition among bakery and baked goods stalls in the market so most who survive really have to put themselves out there with either a catchy niche or gap in the market, or in this case produce some of the highest quality baked thingys to be had in this city. The bakery does the usual array of sweet and savoury, the sweet being the most impressive. Glazed buns, chocolate cakes, chewy American style cookies which rival Big Ted's available close by and any number of muffins, pastries and cupcakes. I tried a fresh cream donut the last time I was there. Coated in a thin layer of close to sickly sweet whit icing and bunged to the rafters with a sweet cream filling. Light, soft and chewy and heavily glazed it was brilliant if I must say. The staff who run the place are fantastic. I was enquiring about the possibility of getting a chocolate cake made to order for a family member's birthday down the line too, which they said would be grand.

I would much rather review this incarnation of the French Village brand than the newly opened cafe…read morein Botanic, where my customer service experiences left something to be desired to say the least!In St George's Market there is a wide range of options, so it takes something special for a stall to stand out, but the sheer quality of the French Village produce has allowed this stand to excel. The stand does a huge rage of all things baked including Muffins & Cupcakes, Pastries, Desserts, Gateau's & Tarts, Soft Chewy Cookies, Speciality Bread, Scones....the list goes on! And everything is crafted with immaculate care and precision. Particular favourite of mine are their scones, which are heaving with fruit, and their Danish pastries, which have just the right amount of cinnamon and beautifully light and flaky pastry. One unusual service but one I think should be highlighted is their Bun on The Run service, which is to do with the noble tradition of bringing your own cake to work on your birthday!You can order your buns and French Village will deliver them for you if you want, and best of all they will give you a free bun for your troubles!

This is a proper old school bakery and the smell that assaults you when you enter is just…read morefantastic. Up on Castle Street it just seems to be a little bit off the radar of most of the people in the town centre and I got the impression there's definitely a whole bunch of 'regulars' who go here. They've a huge selection of breads and pastries and all things sweet but I much prefer their savoury offerings like their jumbo sausage roll. They'll heat it up for you and with a dash of HP sauce definitely as close to a slice of heaven you'll get on a cold day. Next time you're after lunch, give your usual a miss and head up here. Pros: Delicious food. Cons: A bit off the beaten track.

Just tried Boyles Bakery today and have to say it was amazing taste. Had been going to a run down…read morebakery for years and then found this fantastic shop. This bakery is pure old school and is in a class of its own. Honestly next time in town hit castle street. x

A new branch of The Belfast Baking Company recently opened it's doors in Cherryvalley and I…read morecouldn't wait to get down and grab some goodies. Belfast Baking Company is located on the main Gilnahirk road, near the Maxol station and beside Corries Farm Butchers. Parking is tight in the area but it's worth taking your time and popping by if you can. There's a few tables and chairs outside the branch to site and indulge in some treats and inside you'll find all the things you'd expect from the Northern Ireland Bakery of the year, 2016. The Cherryvalley branch is stylish, well stocked and the staff were very helpful. Samples were provided too of a few items and I'll be heading back soon for some of their pecan pies as a result. I opted for some veda, baps and a few patisserie items but to be honest I couldn't bought one of everything as the presentation was stunning! Items are well packaged for travel too - top points here! If you're in the area, make sure to pop in and have look around, you won't leave empty handed.

Check Out My Buns (COMB) is an independent bakery selling goodies from a stall in St George's…read moreMarket each weekend and also through various small boutique cafes around Belfast e.g. Black Bear Cafe. COMB make the best sweet treats I have ever tasted. I love their chocolate courgette cake, coconut raspberry slices, chocolate walnut slices, salted caramel brownies, peanut butter balls and Anzac biscuits. In fact I love every single COMB item I've tried. This bakery produce items to such a high standard that I personally think no other bakery compares. What I find really mind blowing is that COMB treats are both Vegan and coeliac friendly and yet they are unbelievably luscious. Delicious, decadent, indulgent, satisfying and fantastically feel-good baked treats. I simply cannot describe how great COMB cakes are, instead I strongly recommend you try them out for yourself and the taste will say it all.

The best cupcakes in the world…read more They don't have a huge choice. They add ones here and there during the year at seasonal times. I'm not a big fan of choc cake. So I tend to avoid those cupcakes. They also do mini cupcakes. They bake to order cupcakes and cakes for all occasions. Some of my fave cupcakes are white choc and raspberry,rhubarb and custard and honey bun. The staff are super helpful and nice. If you have not tried here you have not lived !!!

I first tried J Birds little cakes of joy when a box arrived to the office as a gift from a happy…read moreclient, and the staff descended like starving scavengers, the entire box demolished to sounds of mmmmmm in mere seconds. That was a while ago, and when a friend reminded me of it the other day I was compelled to visit the actual shop under the pretence of getting the other half a treat. OK, I wanted a treat, but a good deed is still a good deed. The ladies were lovely and full of chat as I tried to decide what to go for, which considering we are just talking cupcakes not career choices, it was surprisingly difficult. I decided on 3 chocolate ones- a chocolate raspberry, a salted caramel chocolate and a raspberry chocolate. Don't ask me to choose my favourite, as they all were. Moist with a little surprising gooey centre on the caramel and raspberry ones they were flawless. The other half felt the same, leading me to believe that this is a little treat he wants me to repeat, so looks like J Bird will be getting a lot more of my pocket money in the future, not that I'm complaining...

I would give 5 stars for the cinnamon scone. But that doesn't reflect the rest of the menu…read more The food is nice enough. Though if I was in Holywood I would eat in the Yard then go to Bay Tree for a scone. Which I did today. Lol Good to see all the evening events etc. Lots of fish on the menu. Not quite to my taste buds.

Anyone who's anyone has been to The Bay Tree, so it would seem. Apart from me, that is (well, until…read moretoday). Having heard rave reviews from friends ("You should sooooo go to The Bay Tree, they do beaut cinnamon scones") and my mum ("Aww, yes, that's where Liz and I used to go for our cinnamon scones), it seemed the whole blinkin' world loved this eatery, and its infamous cinnamon scones. Not one to follow the herd (baaa), I decided to go and try The Bay Tree out for myself. I know, I know...the temptation was just too great. I popped in with my sister earlier today, at 1:30, and the place was craaaaazy busy. We almost didn't get a seat, though a kind Englishman offered us his table as he and his wife were just about to leave, but we spotted one just in the nick of time. It wasn't a great location, situated right beside the kitchen door, at the side of a busy corridor, but the place was fairly noisy anyway so I guess it didn't make too much of a difference. One glance at the menus filled me with dismay...there wasn't really that much choice. Oh deary. My sister and I eventually settled on a two variations of the same panini, which turned out to be pretty delish (the red onion was beautiful), and was devoured rather quickly, with a cute little side salad. Our order had to be double checked, as there seemed to be some confusion in the kitchen, but other than that, the dining experience went rather smoothly. The staff were very agreeable, and the prices weren't too bad - £5.50 each for the paninis. The variety of drinks and desserts / sweets was a good deal better than the lunch choice, with everything you could think of from Chinese beer to Armagh Apple Juice. Neither my sister or I were feeling particularly adventurous, so settled for tap water, and the paninis were so filling that no dessert was required. A feeling of guilt shot right through me as we left, realising that neither of us had eaten a cinnamon scone. Oh darn. And seeing as neither of us are really scone fans, this made the situation slightly awkward. A sudden thought occurred to me, and I decided that we should pop into the 'Go' part of the Bay Tree (located just across the courtyard) and buy one to take home for my mum. As the waitress opened a large drawer full of the delectable baked goods, I noticed that these beasts weren't so much scones as humongous shiny pastries. Nice. Went down a treat by the way ("You know these scones are world-famous?!"). Ok, mum, whatever you say.

Pretty hard to find place unless you know where it is, down a little sidestreet between the upper…read morenewtownards road and belmont road. They do THE NICEST cinnamon tea bread EVER!

An amazing bakery! Passing the bakery after school everyday…read moreI started to call in now and again. My first time in the owner was very pleasant and discussed with me my GCSE options. Even when I couldn't call in after school I would wave through the window. After not being in for a while, when I finally did I was made to feel very special. As he said I was a very polite, well mannered girl. The buns are most defiantly the best also at amazing prices. I would defiantly recommend this bakery to anyone!

Called in here after work one day when I was passing as I was feeling decidedly sorry for myself…read moreafter a totally crappy day. There is something very comforting about bakeries and the smell of bread and buns, it's obviously the insecure over-eater in me coming through there, but there really is. They've got lots of little cakes and buns in the window to pull you in and the usual display cases with coconut rings, éclairs and jam tarts and apple pies and so forth to choose from. I got a cream-filled coconut finger with the traditional radioactive red jam blob on the top and it was MASSIVE and it was only 60p!!! I had to stop myself from buying anything else. The girl at the till was really pleasant too and made some conversation. I would call in here again soon, but I'm really starting to worry about my 'aul figure!