For as long as I can remember Easter and chocolate have been pretty synonymous. So when I saw that the Beehive Coffee House in Downend was doing special Easter freakshakes that included an entire chocolate egg on top, I knew I had to give it a try.
Unless you know about it the café on Badminton Road could be easily overlooked, it sits between a motor parts store and an estate agent. The quaint venue only has about a dozen or so tables inside, there is some outdoor seating as well, but I have to say it is one of my favourite lunch spots in all of Bristol.
It does what I call simple, nostalgic café food - jacket potatoes, paninis with chips, there’s a full breakfast menu and sandwiches. It’s the kind of food that reminds me of the places my Gran used to take me for lunch when I was a kid. But the Beehive’s crowning glory is its spectacular looking ‘freakshakes'.
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The decadent treat is a thick milkshake, topped with a doughnut, whipped cream, pretzels, a wafer and other sweet treats depending on which flavour you have gone for. The café has a set menu, but it also has weekly specials as well as themed freakshakes for Halloween, Christmas and Easter.
The Beehive team are brilliantly creative - especially with their themed shakes - but at Easter as well as the doughnut, wafers, sweets, cream and pretzels sitting atop your milkshake, you also get a whole Easter Egg.
I’d already spotted pictures of the Easter creations on The Beehive’s Facebook page - so knew what to expect. I went with the Chocolate Buttons Shake, which is chocolate flavoured milkshake topped with a doughnut, whipped cream, and Easter egg filled with chocolate buttons, a Crème Egg, a chocolate bunny, pretzels and a sweet straw. The saucer around the glass was then filled with marshmallows and mini-eggs.
I’ll tell you now, I did not eat it all and had to take a treat box home that was filled with the doughnut, the Easter egg and the Crème eggs, but my very chocolaty Easter treat did not disappoint.
The milkshake was thick and creamy and tasted delicious, and the rim of the glass was dipped in Nutella with chocolate bits stuck to it. It was fun getting to dip pretzels and chocolate buttons into the whipped cream, and thankfully the waitress brought over a spoon with the drink.
If I’m being honest I don’t think I could drink one every week, maybe not even every month. But the freakshakes are perfect for a bit of a treat, and if you have kids, don’t worry they do a mini version. Although that still includes the doughnut, Easter egg and the sweet treats. And it was just fun to watch everyone’s amazed face as the drink was brought out.
This year the cafe’s Easter specials also include a Mini Egg and KitKat freakshakes, as well as a Mini Egg hot chocolate if you were hoping for something warm.
You can find The Beehive on Downend highstreet, at 14 Badminton Road, Downend. The café doesn't take bookings but you can keep up to date by following their Instagram or Facebook.
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