Big queues and sell-outs at Cardiff's first Danish bakery

CARDIFF’S first Danish bakery, Brod, has opened its doors.

Betina Skovbro, owner of the Pontcanna based bakery on Wyndham Crescent, has run out of stock every day since opening last week

By three in the afternoon last Friday the only items left on the menu were a couple of breakfast rolls.

Mrs Skovbro, a 41- year- old mother of two, said: “It’s beyond anything we can imagine. We are very pleased. On the first day we opened without telling anyone.

“On Sunday we managed to make just the right amount to last the day. We are getting better at guessing how much to make. We are still learning. We are working as fast as we can.”

The bakery sells a wide range of Danish pastries and breads that remind Mrs Skovbro of her childhood in Denmark.

She said: “Danish pastries are meant to taste as good here as they do in Denmark. When the pastries go in you can smell the cinnamon and the custard around the room.

“My granddad was a baker himself. We always used to bake a lot as a child. My mum and granddad always baked with me.”

Mrs Skovbro, a part-time photographer, has lived in Wales for 17 years and has always wanted to open a bakery.

She said: “This building was a wine merchants. I took over in July. It’s been a long process but I am relieved it has finally opened.”

Former journalist and customer, Nicholas Whitehead, said: “It’s great to see Betina continuing her Danish family tradition in Cardiff. The bread and buns are good, of course, but the main thing is that she’s created something smart, stylish and cool on the fringes of Pontcanna.”

Customer, Christian Amodeo, the founder of I Loves the Diff website, said: “I used to consider this area to be the start of Canton but with an offy being replaced by a Danish bakery and Bully’s and Betti Biggs over the road it’s very much Pontcanna.

“Unlike many things in life, the queues which we experienced on its first Saturday since opening were entirely justified. We were lucky to grab two of the last few items- a beautiful Danish crown, cooked to perfection, and a cinnamon bun thing was delicious.

“The coffee was good too, though the decaf not so great. The staff were really friendly too, which is a basic requirement but hey, they were under pressure and this is Pontcanna. We drove from Roath Park to check it out and I’m afraid to say, it may be a regular journey now.”