REVIEW: The hidden waterside café on popular nature reserve
The Hide Coffee House is nestled along the waterside of Pennington Flash nature reserve is one of my favourites in the area and it's not difficult to see why.
The Hide Coffee House opened in 2023 (Image: Leah Collins) The coffee house, which is a council-run venture, opened in 2023 as part of a £2.7 million makeover of facilities at the nature reserve, with accessible toilets installed along with upgrades to parking, including electric vehicle charging points.
It's also dog-friendly, making it perfect for those out walking their pooch to pop in for a sit-down.
As someone who lives for a sweet treat, The Hide Coffee House is a haven of delicious choices.
The wildlife-themed venture combines a menu using local suppliers, which imbues it with an authentic feel.
This is one of my favourite places to visit and I often opt to read a book by the water, with a sweet coffee in hand.
The Hide Coffee House is surrounded by beautiful views of Pennington Flash. (Image: Leah Collins) The extensive food menu includes a range of breakfast barms, which include vegan options, a soup of the day, bagels, sourdough toast, pastries, pancakes, waffles and paninis.
The coffee house is popular, especially with the weather warming up. (Image: Leah Collins) There's also Cheshire Farm ice cream, which is particularly popular in the warmer months.
On my latest visit I was delighted at the options for cakes, cookies, brownies and pies.
From a quick glance at the front counter, these included Victoria cronuts, rocky road, berry and yoghurt flapjacks, double chocolate fudge cake, apple and blackcurrant crumble jack and my own personal favourite, Biscoff millionaire slices.
There were lots of options for sweet lovers. (Image: Leah Collins)READ MORE:
Drinks-wise, there are numerous hot and cold options that cater to all age groups. The Mini Egg Easter hot chocolate did stand out to me, as well as the Baileys hot chocolate.
There was an array of freshly made smoothies, milkshakes and of course, iced coffee flavours.
The cafe offered seemingly endless sweat treats! (Image: Leah Collins) In the end, I opted for a lotus millionaire slice and a green smoothie in a bid to remain somewhat healthy.
I was not disappointed, although I will say that the Biscoff slice was one for the ultra-sweet-tooths, so those who don't like too much sugar might be more suited to some of the other (endless!) options.
The lotus millionaire slice was delightful. (Image: Leah Collins) As the weather is warming up, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Flash if you haven't already.
It makes for a lovely family day out, a popular hangout with friends or even if you just want to amble there alone to relax, as I do.
With Pennington Flash formally declared a National Nature Reserve in October 2022, James Winterbottom said that this has been a "key catalyst" for the council to push ahead with developments that will attract people to the Flash while preserving its natural beauty.
The Hide Coffee House is open 9am to 4pm from November to March, and 9am to 7pm from April to October.
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