Gorse Bakery

Sourdough first, with the bake in view

Gorse began as a wholesale sourdough bakery, then opened a weekly counter so the public could buy directly, and in 2023 moved into a larger Newquay space with a café and an open bakery. That sequence explains the priorities: bread came first and still anchors everything, with the loaves the reason the rest of the counter exists.

The case runs wider than bread now. Sourdough loaves and baguettes sit alongside croissants, Danish pastries, pastel de nata, doughnuts and cinnamon buns, plus creative savoury baking that keeps the range from settling into the usual bakery shortlist. Sourcing is local, and the through-line is consistency: sourdough, laminated dough, custard tarts and filled bakes produced steadily enough to supply a retail counter and a café at once.

A compact room with the ovens on show

The bake being visible is the defining part of a visit. The 2023 move put production in view rather than behind a wall, so the counter, the bakers and the trays coming out of the oven all belong to the same room. It gives the café a workshop character without turning it into a restaurant.

The room itself is small, informal and dog friendly, with counter seating inside and tables outside. When it is busy the closeness means sharing space, which suits the format rather than working against it: buy bread, choose a pastry, sit briefly or take it away. Recognition has followed the breadth as much as the bread, with a Local Gem listing in The Good Food Guide and a place among British Baker's Britain's Best Artisan Bakeries for 2026.

Take a loaf, then choose one thing from the case

Buy a sourdough loaf first. It is where the bakery came from and where the standard was set, and a baguette is the other straightforward bread order if the loaves have gone. Bread is the part of the visit that keeps working the next morning, so it is worth deciding on before the pastries distract from it.

Then take one thing from the case for now. A croissant or a Danish pastry gives the measure of the lamination, while a cinnamon bun or a doughnut points to the sweeter end. Pastel de nata is worth singling out because it shows the range beyond loaves and croissants, and the savoury bakes are the other reason not to treat Gorse as a bread stop with pastries attached.