Saturday 30 November 2013

Kamps bakery outlet, Dusseldorf, Germany...

Lovers of bakery outlets where you can eat in are spoilt for choice in Dusseldorf, Germany, when it comes to the Kamps brand and I'm guessing that other German towns and cities are also well-catered for by the brand.
The Kamps outlet we visited taken from the railway station taxi rank

There are plenty of Kamps outlets scattered around Dusseldorf, some offering sit-down as well as takeaway and others simply standalone kiosks.

I found myself in a sit-down outlet opposite the main entrance to Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof (the city's main station). It was a fairly pleasant sort of place with wood (or possibly laminate) flooring and, as we walked in, a large servery counter crammed to bursting with delicious-looking savoury rolls and then, further along, some amazing cakes and pastries. There were standard bread products on shelves behind the counter.

The seating was a little cramped, so much so that for me to sit down I had to push the seat behind mine right under the table. It would have been impossible for me to sit down had the table been occupied by two people (it was occupied by one person who was happy for me to push the chair opposite her under the table – all the Germans I meet, not just on this trip, are very friendly, polite and helpful).
Just some of the pastries on offer at Kamps, Dusseldorf

We ordered a couple of savoury rolls plus tea, and my colleague ordered a plastic bottle of Coke and then a tea. The savoury rolls were excellent and we followed up with one of the store's huge Danish pastries (see photos). My colleague ordered one to takeaway, but then left it in the store (he bought another one from a different Kamps outlet later).

The whole 'tea' thing abroad always leaves a lot to be desired: tea served in a glass mug is basically hot water and a teabag and there's never any milk, just portion pots of 'creamer', which are obviously more suited to coffee. I hate the way that tea plays second fiddle to coffee in the same way that, by and large, when abroad, you have to make do with some kind of 'lager' as opposed to a pint of bitter (my favourite tipple). Although I must add that British bitter is British bitter and you can't get it anywhere else other than in a British pub.

As for Kamps, we both liked it as it offered quality filled baguettes and a wide range of cakes and pastries and, of course, friendly and efficient staff.

Now that's what I call a pastry! Bumper size and ultra tasty! But notice 
also the tea in glass mugs, the teabags soaking away and the portion pot
of 'creamer'.
We haven't talked money yet. The bill for two savoury baguettes, two bumper-sized pastries, two teas and a coke was roughly EUR34.57.