Review: Black Wheat Club

The hype around one of York's newest eateries is well-founded. Brunch has never tasted so good.

Last week, a sun-drenched city centre jaunt led me to Black Wheat Club, a bakery-cum-brunch-spot that has, in little over a week, become York’s most exciting recent opening. Nestled on Fossgate, the city’s former merchant district and current home of several outstanding eateries, BWC stands out from the crowd with well-considered, chic, yet comforting menu of cakes, pastries, and substantial mains.

Attempting to control myself and not order the entire menu, I opted on my visit for the mushroom morning bun, a fungus-feisty breakfast sandwich with bold flavours and solid local ingredients. A pile of shrooms, scented with the savoury, celery-like inflections of lovage, stood at the heart of the sarnie, alongside a delightful, slightly peppery kohlrabi slaw, and the pinnacle of every good brunch spot, a perfectly executed runny egg. All that is not to mention the light, fluffy milk bread, made in-house no less, that wedged all this goodness together.

As full as I was after the morning bun, I couldn’t contemplate leaving without partaking in a pastry from the counter. The Scandophile that I am, I jumped on the chance of a cardamom bun, having revelled in their exotic perfume many times before. This example of a Nordic classic was utter perfection; a slightly crisp, knotty exterior, covered in a sweet, sticky glaze, gave way to a rich yet light dough within that pulled no punches with its forward cardamom fug. Not a bad way to start the day, especially with a great coffee.

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FOODIE QUOTE OF THE DAY:

‘‘ Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’’

- Lewis Carroll