We tried the farm shop restaurant breakfast at Flourish near Bristol

“Put them back,” I whispered through gritted teeth to my saucer-eyed daughter. She was whizzing around the foodhall at Flourish as if appearing on Supermarket Sweep.

“Maybe we can come back after my next pay day,” I winced, carefully returning numerous items to their shelves.

I’m not saying this posh farm shop with its butcher’s counter and deli is pricey but some of the delicious items I spotted in the fridges and cabinets made nearby Keynsham Waitrose look like Bedminster Asda.

Flourish opened on Glenavon Farm in 2020 when Adam Stratton teamed up with experienced food retailers Paul Hargreaves and Paul Castle and transformed the old dairy buildings into a foodhall and restaurant.

Close to Avon Valley Adventure & Wildlife Park on the A4 between Keynsham and Saltford, this rural venue appeals across the board.

As well as a shop and restaurant, it hosts a wide range of workshops for adults and children. Forthcoming events include a daisy painting workshop and how to bundle dye a wool scarf.

The high-ceilinged restaurant is spacious, light and airy, with a woodburner in the middle and an open kitchen with a pizza oven.

Although brunch and lunch is served, we were there for breakfast (served 8am-11am Monday-Saturday and from 9am on Sundays) which is one of the main reasons people flock to Flourish. And flock they do.

When we arrived at 9.30am, most tables were occupied with a mix of half-term families and kids, retired couples enjoying a leisurely coffee and a couple of muddy booted farm workers.

The breakfast menu is extensive and includes healthy options like Greek-style yogurt topped with seasonal compote, granola and fruit (£7.95) and avocado on toast (£10).

Vegetarians are well catered for with dishes like the shakshuka (£12.50) comprising baked tomato and free-range eggs topped with Greek feta, drizzled with pesto and served with bread.

We went for the Full Flourish (£13.50) which certainly seemed to be the most popular choice, judging by the number of them being consumed around us.

Not that £13.50 is especially cheap for a full English - there are plenty of greasy spoon cafes serving great ones for half that - but it’s all about the quality of the ingredients.

The two plump, firm ‘butcher’s sausages’ were proper porkers and as good as any I’ve had for breakfast. The back bacon was thick-cut and of a high quality, too.

A couple of fried free-range eggs had yolks as golden and sunny as the yellow teapots used for the English Breakfast tea.

Rather than tinned, the tomatoes were slow-roasted baby vine tomatoes bursting with sweetness. A heap of tiny mushrooms were flecked with fresh thyme and the thick slices of sourdough toast were baked by Hobbs House in Chipping Sodbury.

In fact, only the solitary hash brown had the appearance of an item that may have possibly been anywhere near a freezer.

Not the cheapest way to start the day, perhaps, but breakfast at Flourish is still worth every penny. Not every day, of course, but definitely for an occasional treat.

The food is excellent, the staff friendly and the whole operation has a genuine ‘wow’ factor and slickness.

As we waddled out into the fresh country air, we were already planning a return visit to Flourish. After pay day, of course.

Flourish Foodhall & Kitchen, Glenavon Farm, Bath Road, Saltford, Bristol, BS31 3TJ.