Birch Bakery and Roastery is coming to Portree on Skye, marking the third Birch café in Scotland.
Niall Munro, café owner and founder, also runs Birch Cafe in Portree’s Bayfield Road, and a café of the same name on Inverness High Street.
The new café will serve almond croissants, pain au chocolats and pastel de nata, savoury Danish pastries, focaccia and more.
“It always felt like the one notch that was missing from our belt,” he says.
“We’ve always had amazing bakes – some from my mum – but it felt like there was a slight gap in the market in the patisserie side.”
Niall says the new café will be “a space for coffee lovers” and will offer customers a behind-the-scenes look at the roastery.
There will be sit-in capacity with a handful of tables, but it will mainly offer takeaway.
“We want to open the space up to the public, because it’s a beautiful space,” he adds.
“The cafes can get very busy in Skye and Inverness in the summertime,”
“So it’s going to be nice to have a space where we can chat to people more about what we’re doing.”
Birch cafe, Skye, started from a ‘wee coffee van’
The new micro-bakery and viennoiserie will be led by Parisian pastry chef, Tessa Biriotti.
Niall, 34, adds: “I think it’s always great when you have a team of people and they’re all just super passionate and excited about something.
“When that’s at the forefront, it always makes for a good, fun venture.
“Opening the bakery has allowed us to employ a further two members of staff, taking our total employees across Birch up to 14 – something I wouldn’t have envisaged when I started Birch from a wee coffee van less than five years ago.
“I’m really excited about this one, and can’t wait to open the Birch Bakery & Roastery doors to show everyone what we’ve been up to.”
Niall will spend his time overseeing this new café, the other Birch cafés in Portree and Inverness.
The café has a minimalist, Scandi-style design, and will allow customers to get a sense of the roasting process themselves.
Roasting their own coffee beans for the cafes is important to Niall.
“It’s a way to put our own stamp on something,” he adds.
“And to create a flavour profile that we like and enjoy, and have a product that we’re proud of.
“Aside from the taste, it’s the whole cultural element. It creates a congregation spot where people can share stories.
“For me, that’s what I love about coffee.”
New Birch café on Skye will include foraged flavours
Niall will be foraging for some of the ingredients used at the new Skye Birch cafe.
“At this time in the season, we’ll be getting a lot of wild garlic,” he tells me.
“And in a few weeks, we’ll be able to get rhubarb.
“In the summertime, there are lots of berries that grow locally. And elderflower and meadowsweet.”
Niall’s brother, Calum, is also a keen forager, and utilised foraged ingredients in the BBC Great British Menu this year.
The new café will be opening on Thursday March 6, and will be open Thursday-Saturday 9am-3pm.
Address: Birch Bakery & Roastery, 4 Broom Place, Portree, Isle of Skye, IV51 9HL
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