Rye Bakery

Not far from Catherine Hill, but hidden far out of sight of Frome’s often-bustling high street is Rye Bakery. The café finds its home in an old chapel, which has been playfully spruced.

An imposing church organ looks down across the dining space from on high, and although the café floor is mostly open plan, an orb-like, willow structure weaves between cast iron columns, cocooning a separate, cosy seating area. A children’s playspace fills one wall of the chapel, complete with covered passageway and slide. It doesn’t dominate the room at all, but it advertises the child-friendly nature of the space.

The coffee bar is part old church pew, part modern white tile, with a white EK-43 and a La Marzocco Linea peaking over the top, showing they take coffee seriously. Meanwhile, stacks of flour and and grain piled high in the middle of the room, and shelves stacked with loaves remind that this is a bakery first. The pastries, breads and cakes are indeed excellent, but so is the café’s seasonal and sustainable food offering of deliciously simple dishes and sourdough pizzas. And the exacting preparation of the Roundhill Roastery coffee makes the trip worthwhile all on its own.