A Nice Bakery Across the Flower Park

Hello, fellow Ibarakians!
Last week, I talked about a tasty ramen shop up the street from Ibaraki Flower Park. Today, I’ll be talking about a bakery across the street from the park. I’ve been buying bread from this place for many years now. I usually see the bakery at events like Village Market Tsukuba, Ibafornia, Aozora Craft Market, and more. I had always wanted to visit the actual bakery, so after enjoying some delicious ramen up the road, I decided to stop by. Today, I’ll be talking about Ishioka’s very own Pétrin.

Pétrin

Pétrin is located in the Shimoaoyagi area of Ishioka City. As I mentioned before, the bakery is right across from Ibaraki Flower Park. You can drive or bike to Pétrin, and there are also buses that go to the flower park. If you decide to drive, there is a parking area above the bakery. Just drive up the small hill next to the bakery, and you can park there. You can also use this parking area if you plan to visit the flower park.
After enjoying some ramen, I parked my car and headed downhill to Pétrin. The bakery is only open two days a week and is usually open on Saturdays. Since the flower park was holding an event, the bakery happened to be open that day, so I got lucky. It is usually closed on Sundays, but not that Sunday. The bakery is quite popular, so I had to wait outside in line before I could get in.

Inside

The interior of Pétrin was nice and quaint. When I walked in, all the bread and baked goods were displayed on my right, while local vegetables and Ibaraki products such as jams, juices, and sauces were arranged on my left. The bakery also has a small eat-in area toward the back. It is a cute little room with a few tables and chairs, and it can probably accommodate up to six customers at a time.
The café serves coffee, juice, and tea, along with a small food menu that I believe changes regularly. When I visited Pétrin, the featured café item was a veggie sandwich. I would have liked to try the café, but I needed to head back to Tsuchiura, so I decided to take some bread home instead.
Pétrin had a wide variety of bread and baked goods on display, including English muffins, bagels, scones, raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, carrot cake, baguettes, and many other kinds of bread. I ended up buying a few items to take home with me.
After purchasing the bread, I thanked the staff and headed back to Tsuchiura. The next morning, I decided to have some of the bread for breakfast, and I was not disappointed with my choice.

English Muffin

The next morning, I made an omelet using eggs from Hadashi Farm. I folded the omelet, cut the English muffin in half, and then placed the omelet between the two halves to make a breakfast sandwich.
Some of you may be looking at the picture and wondering, “Is that really an English muffin?” The answer is yes and no. It has the same flavor and texture as a traditional English muffin, but Pétrin’s version is much fluffier,way fluffier. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though. The English muffin held the omelet together very well and tasted fantastic. It was also surprisingly filling, which made for a great start to my morning.
The combination of Hadashi Farm’s eggs and Pétrin’s English muffin made for an amazing breakfast and a wonderful way to start the day.

Plain Bagel

The next morning, I used two plain bagels from Pétrin along with some pre-sliced salmon, cream cheese, and negi to make breakfast sandwiches. I did not have any chives on hand, so negi had to do instead. After slicing and toasting the bagels, I added the ingredients, and my wife and I sat down to enjoy our breakfast.
I did enjoy Pétrin’s bagels overall. They held the ingredients together very well, and the inside of the bagel tasted fresh and satisfying. That being said, the exterior had a rather tough texture that made biting into it feel like a bit of a workout for my jaw. It also had a slightly rubbery texture, which I was not particularly fond of. Once I got past that, though, the rest of the bagel was enjoyable.
My wife agreed with my assessment, although she still happily finished her breakfast bagel sandwich before we both headed off to work.

Cheese bread and Biscottis

On the third morning of our “Pétrin breakfast week,” I made a couple of café lattes in the kitchen, brought out the Pétrin biscotti, and toasted some of Pétrin’s cheese bread. My wife and I sat down for breakfast and decided to try the cheese bread first.
After tasting it, I realized that toasting the bread was absolutely the right choice. I do not think it would have tasted nearly as good untoasted. The bread had a light cheese flavor and a wonderfully fluffy, fresh texture. In hindsight, I should have spread some of the curry bread spread I bought from Kaldi Coffee Farm onto the bread before toasting it. The combination of curry and cheese would have been fantastic. I will definitely save that idea for next time.
What truly surprised both of us that morning, however, was the biscotti from Pétrin. I did not have particularly high expectations for them, but they turned out to be excellent. The biscotti had raisins baked into them and were perfectly crisp, with that satisfying crunch that good biscotti should have.
Dipping the biscotti into my café latte made them even better. I loved how they soaked up the coffee, making each bite richer and more enjoyable. My wife loved them as well, and she quickly informed me that we would definitely be buying them again the next time we visited Pétrin, whether at the bakery itself or at a local event.

I am glad I was finally able to visit Pétrin’s bakery. I am always happy to see them at the events I attend on the weekends, but visiting the actual bakery itself was a fun and enjoyable experience. The cozy atmosphere, the variety of baked goods, and the small café space all made it feel warm and welcoming.
I hope that the next time I visit, I will have enough time to sit down and enjoy their little eat-in area. Hopefully, Mrs. Ibaraki Eats can join me as well, although with her schedule and the bakery's schedule, that may end up being impossible. Still, I hope to go back soon.

So if you are around Ibaraki Flower Park and would like to try some tasty bread and baked goods, why not give Pétrin a chance? Who knows? You might see me there, buying some more English muffins and enjoying the small eat-in area.
Enjoy!

For more information on Pétrin, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/_petrin/

For the older blog posts, check out the WIX Ibaraki Eats.

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