The Willy Wonka of 'baked goods' opens in Southampton

E Bakehouse is shaking up the city’s coffee and bakery scene after only three weeks in business.

The artisan bakery in the High Street has nine bakers in-house who craft a variety of cakes and sweet treats, along with fresh bread.

Rob Franks, store manager, said it was inspired a similar offering in Berlin, which has not been seen in Southampton until now.

Rob Franks, centre right, with the E Bakehouse team (Image: Newsquest)

“Living in the city, we saw this location as a potential spot for a patisserie and from there, the turnaround from a hair salon to E Bakehouse was insane,” Rob said.

The independent bakery opened around three weeks ago and has since been inundated with customers.

Many have been eyeing up the bakery’s pistachio ‘bow tie’ pastry.

Rob said: “So far, our bow ties are our most popular items. We do them in strawberry, chocolate, and pistachio.

“People need to snap them up first thing in the morning otherwise they will sell out.

“It feels like we are the Willy Wonka of baked goods at the moment.”

READ MORE: Bakery reopens after temporary closure to 'conduct complete refresh'

He said the bakers are a “global team” formed of people of various nationalities.

Rob said: “All our bakers bring their own spin to the products so there is always a range of products people can try, and different skills we are putting into practice.

“They experiment with several new flavours downstairs.

“We launched a vegan sandwich for the first time and we are moving into offering vegan and gluten free options down the line.”

E Bakehouse, Southampton (Image: Newsquest)

Rob said the bakery has a unique selling point compared to other places in Southampton.

“There are few bakeries like this here,” he said, and added: “We all love a traditional English bakery that sells doughnuts and bread, so we do not need to be doing that.”

Rob and the team are keen to showcase a “premium” offering in the city.

He said: “The coffee shop market is quite saturated these days, but we have found our niche which so far, seems to be doing well.”

E Bakehouse at 154 High Street is open from 8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 3pm on Sundays.