I'D read rumblings online about people expressing a view for or against the recent makeover of the Hawarden Estate Farm Shop that gave the impression that it was now more a cafe than a shop.

It had been a good while since my last visit, when I remembered counters for meat, cheese, and deli items, within the spacious store.

To find out for myself, and as part of my quest to find the best cooked breakfast in Flintshire, I took a friend there for breakfast on Sunday.

(Image: Matt Warner) The rumours were confirmed, it is now very much a cafe rather than a farm shop although some elements of the shop remain.

That said, it is a very, very good cafe.

(Image: Matt Warner) We arrived five minutes after opening and, to our surprise, were asked if we had a booking.

Only one or two tables were occupied, and we were found a table for two.

The reason for the booking question became apparent as, over the course of half an hour or so, a steady stream of people came in to take their tables.

Others who hadn't booked were offered seating outside where a few people were toasting marshmallows around a large fire pit.

(Image: Matt Warner) On a warmer, dryer day, we probably would have elected to sit outside.

The building is light and airy, with a large, intriguing cabinet containing stone urns and a stature of a hound.

We commented that it would make a brilliant vivarium, but despite several glances inside there was not a snake to be seen.

I ordered the Estate Breakfast while my friend, a vegetarian, opted for one of the meat-free dishes.

(Image: Matt Warner)On first reading, wild mushroom and borlotti bean ragu with roasted chickpeas, salsa verde, and toasted sourdough did not seem quintessentially breakfast.

But on tasting, he found it hearty, warming and authentically autumnal, venturing to say it was one of the best breakfasts he had eaten.

One of the friendly staff members told us that dishes like this are rotated depending on what's available seasonally, and it was easy to imagine the ingredients for this dish being foraged in the nearby woodland that morning.

Meanwhile, the estate breakfast was excellent. Every item seemed elevated and packed with freshness and flavour.

(Image: Matt Warner) The mushroom was delicious, and the bacon and sausage of a quality you only get from produce straight from the farm or a traditional butcher.

The black pudding, served as a wedge, delivered crumbly mouthfuls of umami joy.

In place of a hashbrown, there was a potato rosti that was a crispy, delicious revelation.

However, I must qualify that by adding that at £14 the breakfast here costs double that of an equivalent sized breakfast at the likes of a Wetherspoon.

Is it twice as good? Undoubtedly - and more so.

And for me, and I imagine many others, a breakfast like that served at the Hawarden Estate Farm Shop Kitchen is only sustainable as an occasional treat.

(Image: Matt Warner) However, it might just be the best cooked breakfast available in Flintshire, but I must caveat that by saying I have yet to complete my reviews of title contenders Champs Cafe on the Deeside Industrial Estate and The Old Bank in Queensferry.

As we left, we saw the display of gigantic croissants and other pastries. 

However, well satisfied by our respective breakfasts, we were not tempted. This time.