For delicious home cooked food with an atmosphere to match, Wendy’s is the ‘Place’ to be in Sunderland

The cafe on Fawcett Street is owned by Wendy Mulvaney and offers customers an array of mouth watering home cooked dishes which are freshly prepared to order.

A first glance at the menu is enough to get the taste buds salivating with the roast lamb and mint hot wrap, slice of steak pie and ‘Wendy’s Big Burger Deal’ catching the eye of this particularly hungry reporter.

The menu also offers an extensive range of desserts, afternoon tea for two, including a glass of wine, while for those looking for a healthier option there is a choice of ham, chicken, cheese, tuna, prawn and crab salads.

Wendy, 53, said: “The idea of Wendy’s place is to provide people with a home from home dining experience in which they can get traditional home cooked food at a reasonable price.

"All our food is freshly cooked to order. We don’t hot hold any pre-prepared food to keep it warm. Our most popular dishes are our traditional breakfasts, pies and home cooked quiches.

"Our ham broth with dumplings is particularly popular with our older customers.”

While the cafe’s food is always served piping hot, the welcome is very much warm.

Wendy added: “We take pride in the friendly atmosphere at the cafe and how we meet, greet and look after our customers. We have a lot of regular customers who come into the cafe each week and for me it’s not just about providing good food, but also about meeting people and providing a setting for them to socialise.”

Both the food and the ambience certainly seem to hit the spot with diners at the cafe.

Margaret Hicks, 92, who was enjoying a cup of coffee with husband Jack, 87, said: “We always come here every week. They make a lovely cup of coffee and the food is always piping hot.

"I like all the food on the menu and we always leave with empty plates.

Jack added: “I had a brunch today, but all the food is good.”

Susan Weatherstone was enjoying a “delicious” lunch with daughter Kelly Hardy.

Susan, 66, said: “We come to this cafe every time we are in town as it’s the best place to eat. It’s immaculately clean and they always do beautiful food. I love the home made quiche and the breakfasts are to die for.”

Kelly, 46, added: “The atmosphere here is so nice and the staff are always friendly. My lasagne was beautiful and the apple pie and trifles are delicious.”

Wendy’s previous career was in the prison service but after time spent running cafes in Doxford Park, Church Street and even across the North Sea in Amsterdam, she eventually saw her “dream come true” in February 2018 when she opened Wendy’s Place.

She said: “Cooking is something I’ve always been passionate about and it has always been my dream to one day own my own cafe. A year after opening we faced the challenges of the Covid pandemic and we are currently dealing with rising costs, but we always try to absorb some of this ourselves as it is important to keep prices affordable for our customers.

"It’s great to see the football team doing so well as we are always at our busiest on match days, both with home and away fans.”

Wendy’s Place is open Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 4.30pm and deals and special offers can be found on their website.

A takeaway option is also available with Wendy looking to expand the eatery’s service.

She said: “We are very much open for business and I’m looking at expanding our opening hours to include evenings and Sundays.”

Other dishes available on the extensive menu include paninis, battered cod and chips, wholesome soups and jacket potatoes with a range of fillings including beef chilli and chicken curry.

:: The Sunderland Echo recently carried a feature online which claimed Wendy's Place Café Bistro (Licensed Premises) was for sale.

This was incorrect and the business was not for sale. We apologise wholeheartedly for the error and any inconvenience caused.