My best friends are my girl cousins. We love to get together when we can, and since we’re now dotted around the country, it’s usually reserved for Christmas time and family events. Since we all grew up in South Shields, our usual meeting place is Minchellas by the sea front. However, this time I thought I’d shake it up and take us somewhere else.

That somewhere else was Let There Be Crumbs, the semi-new cakery and tearoom in Roker.

When we arrived, we were told that they had no spaces and had we made a reservation? (Oops!) However, they were lovely and accommodating and sat us in what I think were actually the best seats in the house! One long leather sofa and two big plump armchairs with an extra large coffee table.

It was hard trying to decide what to order, as their tempting cake counter was overflowing with sweet treats, but their savoury menu looked really good too. We had a nosey around the cake counter, and the kind waiter described all the cakes, and his personal favourite (the banoffee pie). In the end, I ordered a chocolate milkshake and slice of carrot cake, while the rest ordered everything from a strawberry and mango smoothie to an 18 hour pulled pork sandwich! (If you want to look at the menu, view it here).

The service was quite prompt, and all our drinks arrived together. The chocolate milkshake tasted fantastic, but was not as thick as I would have liked. The hot chocolate, however, was a disappointment as it came hot, but not hot enough, and wasn’t as indulgent as it could have been. However, there were no qualms with the food. It was all fantastic. Again, it all arrived together and the portion sizes were huge! The sandwiches came with a pot of french fries and a fresh side salad, while the huge slice of quiche (I think it was at least a quarter or third of a whole quiche!), came with root vegetable crisps and side salad.

We chatted and laughed, then chatted and laughed some more. We noticed that everyone else seemed to be having afternoon tea (which looked lovely), and the atmosphere was relaxed and inviting. I really liked the interior. Before we left, we had a little explore and loved the wall décor in the adjoining rooms.

As we left and went into the cold, rainy afternoon, I asked the girls if they’d come back. One replied ‘Definitely! I’ll be here next week!’ We all felt the same, so Let There Be Crumbs gets a big thumbs up from us!

Let There Be Crumbs is attached to the Best Western Roker Hotel and can be found on Roker Terrace, Sunderland.
Also, check them out on Facebook as sometimes they have deals and offers on!