Rough Hand Made is a family-owned artisan bakery and café located at Unit 2A in the Britannia Pavilion at the Royal Albert Dock. Founded by Carlos and Sharon Goldman, the bakery prepares all its breads, pastries and filled pitta breads from scratch each morning in full view of customers.
What Rough Hand Made does
The bakery operates an open-theatre kitchen concept inside a restored Grade I listed dock warehouse. Rather than hiding baking behind closed partition doors, the entire preparation area is visible from the counter. Customers watch bakers hand-knead dough, roll laminated pastries, fill warm loaves, and pull hot metal trays from the stone-deck baking ovens throughout the morning.
The name "Rough Hand Made" reflects the owners' philosophy: because every pastry and loaf is shaped entirely by human hands without uniform factory moulds, each piece has an irregular, artisanal appearance. The kitchen bakes strictly for the day ahead, with zero stock carried over to the next morning. On busy weekend afternoons, popular lines frequently sell out before the scheduled 4:00pm closing time.
Breads, pastries and sweet bakes
Baking begins before sunrise, producing sweet and savoury bakes influenced by South American and Mediterranean traditions:
- Pastries and Swirls: The bakery’s signature dulce de leche pastries, flaky chocolate twists, cinnamon walnut brioche buns, and white chocolate croissants.
- Artisan Breads: Traditional sourdough boules, rustic white baguettes, seeded rye breads, and golden braided Jewish challah baked every Friday and weekend.
- Velvet Hot Chocolate: A house speciality made by melting solid dark chocolate sticks directly into steamed whole or oat milk.
Savoury kitchen: Stuffed pittas and quiches
Lunch trade centres around thick, pillowy pitta breads, mixed and baked on-site so they remain soft and warm. Fillings include house-made falafel with creamy tahini and salad, roasted Mediterranean vegetables with hummus, grilled halloumi, and herb-roasted chicken.
Beside the pittas, the counter displays deep-dish quiches with crisp pastry crusts, flaky cheese bourekas, sausage rolls, and plant-based deli sandwiches made on fresh sourdough slices.
The story behind the Albert Dock bakery
Carlos and Sharon Goldman launched Rough Hand Made in 2014 from a small shop unit on Penny Lane in South Liverpool. Their fresh baking and warm customer service quickly attracted neighbourhood queues that stretched down the pavement on weekend mornings.
Needing greater oven capacity to meet demand, the couple took the bold decision in 2018 to move their entire operation to the Royal Albert Dock, taking over a spacious brick-vaulted unit in the Britannia Pavilion. The move made Rough Hand Made one of the standout independent food anchors within Liverpool’s historic maritime waterfront.
Prices and visiting tips
Given its prominent waterfront position, pricing remains accessible (checked September 2026):
- Fresh pastries and sweet buns: £2.80 to £3.80
- Sourdough and speciality bread loaves: £3.50 to £4.80
- Warm stuffed pitta sandwiches: £6.50 to £8.50
- Slices of savoury quiche or bourekas: £4.00 to £5.20
- Espresso, flat whites and coffees: £3.00 to £3.90
- Signature melted velvet hot chocolate: £3.80 to £4.50
Seating inside sits beneath exposed brick arches with views across the historic dock water basin. Outdoor wrought-iron tables line the covered colonnade, offering shelter for warm-weather coffee drinking. The shop operates walk-in service and accepts contactless cards and mobile pay.
Around the Royal Albert Dock
The bakery is situated in the Britannia Pavilion on the western colonnade of the Royal Albert Dock, near Tate Liverpool and the Merseyside Maritime Museum. It provides a relaxed independent alternative to commercial waterfront chains.
To explore more of the area, read our Waterfront and Royal Albert Dock guide and our guide to where to eat in Liverpool by area.
