First, the Cafe portion closed in 2020 or so. But what has replaced it is a huge expansion of the…read morestore area now incorporating a full produce and fruit section, an expansive bakery, and an unbelievably wonderful gift and sundries area that competes with the best of Selfridge's but is all locally crafted goods. This was an incredible discovery as we originally just were planning to stop for a quick breakfast on the way to Liverpool, but instead spent a good 90 minutes just shopping here. Every nook and cranny of the store has wonderful discoveries awaiting like their trademark smoked wild honey, and a complete array of accompaniment sauces, condiments and conserves. Private parking at the access road's end is still plentiful, and they still stock and sell their trademark smoking wood for fireplace and home use. Easily one of Wilmslow's hidden treasures worth the journey just to visit here. And bring lots of shopping bags! The store staff are so courteous and enjoyable to help explore the vast array of items here. They also have gift wrapping available.

Modernity has its price. Sometimes a price we are not aware of until we see a parallel continuum…read morewhere old school has been preserved. Cheshire smokehouse is one such hidden gem. Nestled in the Cheshire countryside just south of Manchester Airport. The Ward family have been using traditional smoking methods to preserve and enhance the delicious flavour of local produce for over a century. You all know I'm a sucker for family run business and this is one such great example. (Current owner Darren Ward is the great, great grandson of JOhn William ward who established the business in 1907) Stepping inside the Cheshire smokehouse, a warm homely feel thou shall be immersed into. A soothing affair enhanced by the fresh foodie aromas of inhouse cooking. Driving through Wilmslow I have often paid a cheeky visit or two just to pick up the infamous Smoked Cashew nuts.. But there's certainly a lot more to this place then that. (There's a shop, there's a Patisserie, a wineshop and a Cafe... short and sweet) The Smokehouse shop caters for all your basic retail needs safe in the knowledge that the products are fresh and locally sourced (No horses were hurt in the making of that statement) ranging from fresh fruits, vegetables, rice and pasta. The in-house Patisserie carries a varied list of delicious artisan breads and cakes and for those looking for some strong dinner table vimtoe, the Smokehouse wine shop carries a healthy selection of over 400 carefully chosen wines and spirits. If all the excitement of so much good food gets too much for you, why not pop upstairs to the smokehouse cafe for a spot of breakfast/lunch/tea depending on your mood/time of day. You'd be pleasantly surprised by the nature of what's on offer at this modest little beauty. A quick recommendation? Try the gourmet sandwiches!!! They might be a tad expensive at around a tenner a pop, but boy was the steak gourmet sandwich I tried worth it! Glancing at the menu if that doesn't tickle your fancy there's a selection of yummy platters served with a warm basket of crustastic bread at around the same price-range and for the not so peckish belly owners may I recommend a lighter load of warm duck salad which is served with roast garlic jam (Yes you heard right) For the die hard food romantics out there the creme de la creme has to be the Ballon D'or of the North West food world, The Cheshire Smokehouse hamper!! Nothing says I love you my food loving comrade more than a voluptuous helping of the Cheshire Smokehouse hamperoffering. Served on a colorful mattress out in the Cheshire country open on a warm-sunfilled-breezy Summer afternoon, few things in this world say picnic opulent greatness better. That's not all my Yelpampered friends, there's a hamper for every occasion. Like a conveyor belt of Louis Vuitton bags the smokehouse continue to churn out new Hamperness every year. Costs range from £35-£150 depending on your disposable incomenss/ specialness of the occasioness (Yes I made up those words, but you get the picture) Par exemple The Smoke house selection hamper will set you back a modest £35 and includes: Smoked Scottish Salmon 100g / Air Dried Ham 115g / Smokehouse Smoked Chicken 150g / Smoked Duck Breast 200g / Dry Cured Sweet Black Bacon 200g / Hickory Smoked Almonds and Cashews 100g /Hickory Smoked Cashews with Black Pepper 100g / Smokehouse Lidded Box. The "Hickory" hamper on the other hand will set you back a few pennies more at £150 but it doeseth cometh with a few drops of juice amongst other treats I tell thee. Namely.... (takes a deep breath) Une bottle of Gusbourne Estate English Sparkling Wine / Brut Reserve Bottle of Niepoort Tawny Dee Port / "Burnt Sugar" Fudge / Choc Affair Fair Trade Chocolate Ba / Chocca Mocca Hot Chocolate Tin / Hickory Smoked Almonds & Cashews (200g) / Fine Cheese Company Parmesan Crackers / "My Cup of Tea" Breakfast Tea / Vallecoppa Pesto / Tracklements Salsa / Guidetti Pasta / Peters Yard Mini Crispbreads / Tracklements Onion Marmalade / Nudo Olive Oil / Thursday Cottage Jam or Curd ....AND.... a Large Lidded Basket!! Thats plenty of decent and indulging oomphh for your buck! To get to the Smokehouse it helps if you have une voiture as it is kinda...no wait... It -IS- in the middle of nowhere... however I'm sure you clever folk can work your way around that right? (Give that internal combustion engine endowed friend a nudge and come along) Please note that the cafe is closed Monday/Sunday, so if you fancy planting yourself there to sample a gourmet sandwich avoid these two UNsmokeHOuseLY days. Cheshire smokehouse is frequented mainly by the not so financially challenged local folk and Foodies from all over the Northwest of England. However the delights of such a magnificent place are there for all to enjoy, so tootle along and try something new. Perhaps even Yelp about something I haven't tried. Who knows...I might let thee tag along on my next voyage .. I'm all Car'd up! Allez

A lovely family run deli just near my office, this means I am very lazy at making packed lunches as…read morethe selection of dishes is excellent. They do a wide range of hot and cold sandwiches along with main dishes but my favourite is the salad bowls. They have around 7/8 options that change each say and you choose a size of bowl then the salads you want. Its not just your basic salad options either, they do imaginative dishes. My favourite salad is the sausage pasta with tomato sauce. There is additional seating towards the back so don't worry if it looks full just walk past the counter and check. The owners are so friendly, they always recognise me and ask how I am. The cook a lot of family recipes and tell me the history of the dishes while I wait. There is also a great selection of biscuits, jams and breads in the deli section at the front. They also sell my favourite drink - orange San Pellegrino.

Freshly prepared deli boasting great food, great coffee (Illy), friendly atmosphere and a sublime…read moreApple & Almond Tart that keeps me going back time after time. Pesto Deli have also done corporate event catering for BlueCoffee Ltd, which is normally easy to fault and lacking in variety, freshness and quality; all of which Pesto Deli excel at.

Easy decision to eat here in terminal one. Coffee and hot chocolate and sandwiches…read more All good and delish

Pret A Manger has two locations at Manchester Airport's Terminal 1, I visited the location after…read moresecurity on this occasion. After having a coffee from Starbucks elsewhere in the Terminal, I came here to grab some food to take on my flight, unfortunately, they don't have soup at this location which is one of my favourite things from Pret, after speaking to a barista, I was advised that the gluten-free options gave me a choice between crisps, fruit or a salad with no hot gluten-free food available. The selection of food was a little depleted, but they still had some sandwiches and salads left, just after the lunch rush. I originally was going to go for the chicken salad, but the lid was left open, so I didn't trust it, and went for the tuna nicoise salad instead. The quality of the ingredients inside the salad was good, especially the tuna and the dressing, I also liked the eggs, onions and tomatoes. I would have much preferred some proper iceberg lettuce for a more juicy crunch, compared to the salad leaves they'd used, which just tasted bland and unpleasant. The prices are a tad higher here compared to a regular Pret, as expected from an Airport location although you can still use your Pret subscription here, where you can get up to 5 barista-made drinks a day (at regular intervals) for £30 per month, which also includes a discount on food. I ended up talking to an Airport employee, who noticed my paper bag and mentioned how he likes to make use of this offer and that the good part about it is you can use it at Pret throughout the UK too outside of the airport. 3* - Limited selection of gluten-free food, but the salad was reasonable quality, some good offers too if you're willing to visit Pret often enough to make them worthwhile. Overall, a nice addition to the airport and the plentiful choice for coffee and more at Terminal 1.

TL;DR - Continental vibe, good food, good prices…read more We stopped off here on a hot sunny day before embarking on a walk around the Edge and Hare Hill. Alderley Edge high street has plenty of places to eat and drink, but many aren't suitable for a light bite (e.g. The Grill on the Edge, Gusto) and others are chains (Costa, Nero). The Village Cafe strikes a nice balance of offering sandwiches and cakes whilst not being a chain. On the hot day we visited there was definitely a continental vibe - their windows across the front of the cafe pull back so that the indoor and outdoor dining merges seamlessly. Their menu covers lots of variations on sandwiches and burgers with most things price between £4 and £7. We each got a baguette (mine with grilled chicken, Sparky's with lamb meatballs) and each came with a salad and fries. Mark had tea and I had a truly delicious mango and strawberry smoothie. Staff were polite, friendly, attentive and quick to serve us. Skip Costa and Nero - come here instead.

Coffee bun and lemon tarts will always be my favorite thing to buy at this shop…read more The ladies are really nice and the price of the food is reasonable, unfortunately there are only few sits located outside, so if you wanna get something at this shop you definitely have to take it home. The pie has a buttery flaky crust and complements the meaty filling.

Well..... you can always spot a proper bakers shop. Usually by the NAMB sticker in the window, but…read moreif not by the selection of quality produce on show. This wonderful shop is set in a shopping precinct on a main road, but it has a car park! You can't miss it since its logo is bright pink and black. As soon as me and my papa walked in we were super lovely greeted by big smiles from the staff. The selection of cakes is fab, but they specialise in celebration cakes including big extravaganzabonanza wedding cakes (visit the shop in Wilmslow for the best display). The cakes we so tempting I just asked the lady to put me a box together of her favourites and I couldn't wait to get home and open it to see what I had been given. Turns out it was a florentine (my all time fav, and my oh my it was good!), a custard filled lemon bun (wow), a caramel shortcake and a chocolate muffin with chocolate frosting and marshmallows! All were super tasty and I feel really pleased with the lady's choice. We didn't buy any bread from here today but the owner kindly let us sample the hot cross buns which the bakery boasts are the best in the area. I don't think she's got a challenge on her hands (unless she crosses the ringroad) they were really really good and soft and fresh and amazing. A great real bakery, where FRESH goodies are available at great prices with great service!

Brilliant little Turkish run cafe in the heart of Handforth…read more Extensive menu of breakfasts, light lunches and main meals. Great coffee. I use this as a base as work in sales in the area. Always greeted warmly and looked after by the staff.