This week our cafe reviewer Angela Cunningham visits Pickles in Baildon

With its imposing centre-of-the-village position, Baildon Liberal Club was a thriving hub of village social life 100 years ago. Today, skilfully transformed into Pickles Deli and Tearooms it is again exactly that – a thriving hub of village social life.

We arrive in Baildon on farmers’ market day and the village is buzzing. We chat to the Pickles market stall staff and their array of goodies tempts us to venture into this wondrous emporium of foodie delights. The deli counter offers a generous range of local and Mediterranean produce sharing shelf space with… “Goodness, is that really roasted seaweed?” remarks the Dizzy Goddaughter. Then the penny drops as a customer points out the proprietor Louise Pickles, who is half Japanese and, though she is Yorkshire born and bred, loves to inject some of her oriental heritage into her offering.

But our agenda is tea first, shop later, so, as all the ground floor tables are taken, we climb the stairs to the upper floor where we are immediately posed with a quandary.

Should we take a sofa beside the fire or enjoy the view from a window seat? We choose the latter and weave our way through tables, occupied by chatting diners to a corner window table clad in its signature spotty cloth.

We are rewarded with a birds-eye view of the bustling village centre below, with colourful billowing market stalls and constant jolly trading. We browse the menu as smart black-clad staff clear tables and deliver delicious-looking goodies to fellow customers.

Sunlight dances round the room as it reflects from exuberant chandeliers above their heads.

“This soup is lovely,” remarks a gentleman beside us, spotting our indecision, “and the scones too, particularly the savoury ones.

“Ask if they have any olive and sundried tomato or parmesan and rosemary today.”

Decision made for me then –I’m definitely going for a savoury scone. DG settles for a chunk of carrot and walnut cake with a Malteser slice on the side. Sound choices. The scone is deep and full of flavour with lashings of butter and the cakes are pronounced “yummy”. The pot of tea is generous and my coffee the perfect reviver on a chilly day, each presented with the bonus of a chocolate in the saucer.

Around us folk are tucking in to scrummy-looking, well-garnished sandwiches and salads and the Welsh rarebit looks equally as special as that my granny used to make me for Sunday tea.

There’s a delicious-looking selection of imaginative hot dishes for those who need more substantial fare and a traditional afternoon tea for mid-afternoon snacking. A queue is building up for tables so we take our leave, but not before popping to the deli counter again where I stuff my shopping bag with a selection of Yorkshire goodies – bread, cheeses, meats and chutneys and a hunk of Lottie Shaw’s Yorkshire parkin. “That’s supper sorted then,” says the assistant as I heft my bag onto my shoulder and we turn to leave. “Maybe we’ll tempt you to the seaweed and wasabi on your next visit?”

“I’ll certainly be back again for another scone,” I reply weakly, “so you never know…”

DETAILS

Address/contact: Pickles Deli and Tearooms, Towngate Rooms, Baildon BD17 6JX, (01274) 587204, picklesdelicatessen.co.uk

Opening Times: Monday: 10am-4pm; Tuesday to Friday 9.30am- 5pm; Saturday 9.30am-4.30pm

Prices: Coffee £1.90, sandwich £5.95, scone £1.95