I tried the butty shop everyone in Preston raves about - here's what I thought

And you can guarantee that hoardes of people in the comments will say Upper Crust Craft Bakery in Penwortham.

The bakery has operated out of a small shop in Liverpool Road for as long as I can remember, with loaves of fresh bread always in the window, and very often queues coming out of the door.

I have been before, but not for a long time, so while I was passing yesterday, thought I’d go and see what all the fuss was about.

To set the scene, this is a very old school kind of place. Wooden windows and doors, menu printed on pieces of A4 stuck to a tiled wall, and all the old-fashioned bakery treats you can imagine - bread rolls, sausage rolls, pies, and a delectable range of fresh-looking cakes and shortbreads. None of which had obvious labels, so I ended up asking for a ‘cherry thing’, but more of that later.

When I walked in, just after midday, the small shop was already filled with customers, and it wasn’t until a good five minutes later that I saw a member of staff. You see, what happens, is that if you order a sandwich, they go off into a side room to prepare it for you, and it comes back wrapped in a paper bag.

Very soon the queue was out of the door, and you could tell people were regulars, with passing ‘hellos’ to members of staff as they darted in and out of the shopfloor.

When it was my turn, I opted for a chicken, lettuce and mayo baton (about six inches long), and the ‘cherry thing’, which turned out to be shortbread. The baton was listed as being £4.73, but in total it came to £5.16. Surely the shortbread must have been more than 43p?

Anyway, it was £5.16 for a sandwich and a shortbread. Which is more than a meal deal from nearby Tescos, but was it preferreable? Yes.

I walked my two paper bags back to the car and opened them when I got home. The one with the chicken baton was heavy, and when I opened it, I realised why. It was absolutely jammed with filling, so much so, that chicken was spilling out onto the plate. The white bread was soft, fresh and doughy, just as I like it. The lettuce was...lettuce...but important to note that it was chopped finely, and nice and green. The chicken pieces were plain - could perhaps have benefitted from some seasoning - but again fresh, very plentiful, and smothered in mayo. A proper butty, even if it looked a bit anaemic. In terms of value, and filling you up, this was perfect. No complaints.

Then onto pudding. The shortbread wasn’t massive, but it didn’t need to be after the sandwich. It looked homemade - like something your Nana would make, and it transported me back to those days. The glace cherries that ran through it were sticky and sweet, the granules of sugar on top were gritty, and the shortbread itself wasn’t half as crumbly as I expected. It kind of squished together in a lovely pink layered way when cut/bitten into. I did intially cut it in two, but gave in and ended up scoffing the lot.

So, I’m pleased to report that this traditional bakery is indeed fab. Go and get in the queue - it’s worth the wait.

5/5.