This is the small cafe attached to the Lime Tree Restaurant which serves the ubiquitous light lunch fare - sandwiches, baguettes, paninis, jacket potatoes and cakes. The setting is quite eclectic. The seating area is bordered by a fake box hedge and one wall has a mural of a misty house and garden, all drooping greenery and soft focus. Access is superb, plenty of room to move and even the restaurant has a nifty little ramp.
The food is fine but nothing spectacular. I had a toasted cheese and ham baguette. This was quite a small baguette but did contain thick slices of ham and is the only establishment I have been to that serves a mature cheddar - you can clearly taste and smell the sharp tang of it, even when melted. Side salad is a reasonable portion, but is only heavily drizzled leaves and half a tomato. Drew had the jacket potato with tuna. Not the largest of potatoes - about palm-sized or a tiny bit bigger but generously filled. My latte was served in a cup and saucer clearly modelled on the Villeroy and Boch New Wave design*. The saucer had an artful uptilt and the handle of the mug a curious Mobius twist. The latte was lovely - hot, creamy and plenty of it.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
* But it isn't actually Villeroy and Boch. Yes, faithful bloggee, I turned over the saucer and looked. And everyone saw me do it. Drew is still in shock from my unspeakable bad manners.
Friday, 21 September 2012
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Yew Tree Cafe, Yew Tree Craft Centre, Wootton Wawen
This is a small place hidden away in the Craft Centre, in Wootton Wawen. Which is a nice village but one of those places which always sounds like you are mispronouncing it; like 'Wapping'. Judging by the vaulted ceiling and the plethora of wood, I would guess a converted barn, very rustic interior with wooden tables and chairs and the menu written across several blackboards near the serving counter. It is not an unpleasant place but surprisingly claustrophobic. Access is limited as there is a narrow entrance and doorway.
The menu is sandwiches, salads, paninis - all light lunch stuff, and has recently won some prestigious awards. My latte was excellent. Served in a mug, lava-hot, topped with a thick, viscous foam and ferociously strong. However, the reason for our visit was the Rachel's Cupcake concession. These are gloriously self-indulgent, icky, crumby, sugary and gooey - everything you want a cupcake to be. The real problem is deciding which one to have. First choice was a strawberry milkshake, a vanilla sponge topped with strawberry buttercream and garnished with marshmallows. Second choice, a cookies and cream one was designated 'amazeballs' by Drew. A chocolate sponge with vanilla buttercream, decorated with a tiny Oreo biscuit. It is also filled with miniature broken Oreos. I recommend divvying up the contents beforehand to avoid unseemly public squabbles. In both cases the sponge is satisfyingly dense but still crumby and the buttercream is cloying, with a gritty texture. The only quibble is that the sponge adheres very closely to the case - peel it off as carefully as you can. Otherwise you end up being told off for scraping at the wrapper with your front teeth.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
The menu is sandwiches, salads, paninis - all light lunch stuff, and has recently won some prestigious awards. My latte was excellent. Served in a mug, lava-hot, topped with a thick, viscous foam and ferociously strong. However, the reason for our visit was the Rachel's Cupcake concession. These are gloriously self-indulgent, icky, crumby, sugary and gooey - everything you want a cupcake to be. The real problem is deciding which one to have. First choice was a strawberry milkshake, a vanilla sponge topped with strawberry buttercream and garnished with marshmallows. Second choice, a cookies and cream one was designated 'amazeballs' by Drew. A chocolate sponge with vanilla buttercream, decorated with a tiny Oreo biscuit. It is also filled with miniature broken Oreos. I recommend divvying up the contents beforehand to avoid unseemly public squabbles. In both cases the sponge is satisfyingly dense but still crumby and the buttercream is cloying, with a gritty texture. The only quibble is that the sponge adheres very closely to the case - peel it off as carefully as you can. Otherwise you end up being told off for scraping at the wrapper with your front teeth.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Friday, 7 September 2012
Cottage Restaurant and Tea Garden, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon
This is the establishment opposite the Cottage in the Rose Garden and next to a stream where, on one memorable bus tour many years ago a young and carefree future blogger informed the guide that, no, that wasn't what Shakespeare had in mind as the setting for Ophelia's death scene even if a willow does grow aslant that particular brook. Ah! Youthful brio, reckless self-confidence and eternal sunshine dappling the bonny face with visible cheekbones.
Thus also, presumably, was the future Mrs Shakespeare enticed by the charms of a local glover's son. The theme surrounding the cottage is always slanted toward the love affair and a hell of a lot of effort is put into the cottage and its surroundings in creating an atmosphere conducive to the secret tryst, and as a destination for 'courting'. The Tea Gardens are no exception to this, sheltered in what looks like a large gazebo and surrounded by greenery that included a rose garden, bowers with benches and tall, overhanging trees.
The menu is small - sandwiches, toasties, cakes and pastries. I opted for a ham and cheese toasted baguette. It has to be said, it was nothing exceptional, apart from the accompanying salad which, as Drew pointed out, shows a little more imagination having not only peppers but a lemony rice making it a more substantial side dish than the usual two-leaves-and-half-a-tomato; but this is another place where the surroundings are more important that the menu. Which really does not excuse the ubiquitous B & Q white plastic garden furniture used outside, the really cheap and nasty stuff that you are always seeing people fall off on episodes of You've Been Framed.
It is best to go here in the autumn - the substantial summer crowds have died down and the full-on prettiness is mellowed a little. It is an area conducive to reflection, being quiet and, unless there is a family, the conversations are generally kept to quite a low hum. There is a superb view of the cottage and the passing tour buses. Like Mrs Shakespeare, you can think about how you now live in a nice house in the town; and wish that he were home from work.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Thus also, presumably, was the future Mrs Shakespeare enticed by the charms of a local glover's son. The theme surrounding the cottage is always slanted toward the love affair and a hell of a lot of effort is put into the cottage and its surroundings in creating an atmosphere conducive to the secret tryst, and as a destination for 'courting'. The Tea Gardens are no exception to this, sheltered in what looks like a large gazebo and surrounded by greenery that included a rose garden, bowers with benches and tall, overhanging trees.
The menu is small - sandwiches, toasties, cakes and pastries. I opted for a ham and cheese toasted baguette. It has to be said, it was nothing exceptional, apart from the accompanying salad which, as Drew pointed out, shows a little more imagination having not only peppers but a lemony rice making it a more substantial side dish than the usual two-leaves-and-half-a-tomato; but this is another place where the surroundings are more important that the menu. Which really does not excuse the ubiquitous B & Q white plastic garden furniture used outside, the really cheap and nasty stuff that you are always seeing people fall off on episodes of You've Been Framed.
It is best to go here in the autumn - the substantial summer crowds have died down and the full-on prettiness is mellowed a little. It is an area conducive to reflection, being quiet and, unless there is a family, the conversations are generally kept to quite a low hum. There is a superb view of the cottage and the passing tour buses. Like Mrs Shakespeare, you can think about how you now live in a nice house in the town; and wish that he were home from work.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Knights Fish and Chip Restaurant, Glastonbury
Bear with me, O faithful bloggee, regarding the lateness of this post. I have been up to my chins in medical matters.
This is an odd place. One of its selling points is its longevity which seems appropriate for Glastonbury. Not quite as old as the Abbey, perhaps, but one's credibility in this town does seem to be enhanced by connections with age, if not necessarily antiquity. This might explain why the interior appears to have been unchanged since the 1970s, all pine and formica with bench and booth-style seating at the front. Through a sliding door are bolted metal tables and small wooden chairs. Is it just me or do places that serve unhealthy food lay out their establishments as if the regular clientele were whip-thin?
The menu is comprehensive and, in true Glastonbury style, you can make some rather eclectic choices. Such as opting for sausage and chips followed by apple pie and ice cream with a glass of orange squash. Or smoked eel with a crisp and tasty pinot grigio and coffee ice cream. I opted for the cod and chips, pricey at £6.55, but a generous portion. The chips were thick, glutinous and salty, but not greasy and the cod portion was shaped into a flattened, rounded form coated with a dark, crunchy batter. There is no speciality coffee here, no lattes or cappucinos, so I opted for a bog-standard coke.
Access is reasonable. There is a step down into the place which might be problematic but it is waitress service which is always helpful. This being Glastonbury, every aspect is sustainable and recyclable, including the joke 'wanted' ads on the noticeboard.
Access: *****
Chips: *****
This is an odd place. One of its selling points is its longevity which seems appropriate for Glastonbury. Not quite as old as the Abbey, perhaps, but one's credibility in this town does seem to be enhanced by connections with age, if not necessarily antiquity. This might explain why the interior appears to have been unchanged since the 1970s, all pine and formica with bench and booth-style seating at the front. Through a sliding door are bolted metal tables and small wooden chairs. Is it just me or do places that serve unhealthy food lay out their establishments as if the regular clientele were whip-thin?
The menu is comprehensive and, in true Glastonbury style, you can make some rather eclectic choices. Such as opting for sausage and chips followed by apple pie and ice cream with a glass of orange squash. Or smoked eel with a crisp and tasty pinot grigio and coffee ice cream. I opted for the cod and chips, pricey at £6.55, but a generous portion. The chips were thick, glutinous and salty, but not greasy and the cod portion was shaped into a flattened, rounded form coated with a dark, crunchy batter. There is no speciality coffee here, no lattes or cappucinos, so I opted for a bog-standard coke.
Access is reasonable. There is a step down into the place which might be problematic but it is waitress service which is always helpful. This being Glastonbury, every aspect is sustainable and recyclable, including the joke 'wanted' ads on the noticeboard.
Access: *****
Chips: *****
Friday, 31 August 2012
Brethren's Kitchen, Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick
This is a perfect place for revelling in history. Properly, I mean. Not the kind of crowd-management-and-gift-shop style of tourism to which Warwickshire is prone; but where you can sit in the chapel, or the Guildhall and revel in the sheer oldness of the place. You can sit for ages and listen, to paraphrase the Welsh bloke, feeling that time passes.
Access is not too bad - mostly the usual problem with historical buildings of narrow doorways and tight corners. You can get in via the garden without visiting the Hospital but that entrance does involve steps. The cafe serves light lunches and teas, sandwiches and cakes. We had spiced ginger cake and lavender cake as we couldn't decide. The former was moist and tasty, dense and rich, not too strong an aftertaste with a gritty, sweet buttercream icing. The lavender cake was a slice of crumby cake, like a Victoria sponge, mottled with lavender seeds. Quite a subtle taste, more experienced in the aroma than in the tastebuds. Both served, noted an approving Drew, with proper cake forks. My latte was strong, not too foamy, piping hot, served in a glass mug on a saucer. Drew went for a black filter coffee which was accompanied by a generous jug of milk.
The tea rooms are not a polished-to-perfection cream tea establishment; but that doesn't matter. For a proper leaf tea and scones experience there are plenty of other places. What matters here is the location. Where else can you be in the same room where there is embroidery by Amy Robsart and the signature of the old rogue himself, Dudley? We sat outside by the colonnade overlooking the courtyard and leaned on a structure intact since the fifteenth-century with a view of the emblematic blue porcupine of Philip Sidney (steady, ladies).
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Access is not too bad - mostly the usual problem with historical buildings of narrow doorways and tight corners. You can get in via the garden without visiting the Hospital but that entrance does involve steps. The cafe serves light lunches and teas, sandwiches and cakes. We had spiced ginger cake and lavender cake as we couldn't decide. The former was moist and tasty, dense and rich, not too strong an aftertaste with a gritty, sweet buttercream icing. The lavender cake was a slice of crumby cake, like a Victoria sponge, mottled with lavender seeds. Quite a subtle taste, more experienced in the aroma than in the tastebuds. Both served, noted an approving Drew, with proper cake forks. My latte was strong, not too foamy, piping hot, served in a glass mug on a saucer. Drew went for a black filter coffee which was accompanied by a generous jug of milk.
The tea rooms are not a polished-to-perfection cream tea establishment; but that doesn't matter. For a proper leaf tea and scones experience there are plenty of other places. What matters here is the location. Where else can you be in the same room where there is embroidery by Amy Robsart and the signature of the old rogue himself, Dudley? We sat outside by the colonnade overlooking the courtyard and leaned on a structure intact since the fifteenth-century with a view of the emblematic blue porcupine of Philip Sidney (steady, ladies).
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Thursday, 30 August 2012
McDonalds, Shires Retail Park, Leamington Spa/Stratford-upon-Avon
This is the food equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey - pulpy, superficial yet unaccountably popular. Having vouchers and suffering from an attack of penury was what brought us here, but I don't avoid the place as a rule, although it certainly provokes strong feelings: Metonymic for insidious capitalism of globalization? Most ironic sponsor of sports events ever? Or the Great Leveller answering a perennial demand for cheap food?
Either way, I don't tend to go and not out of adherence to any particular ideology. It is just that the place is always too loud and too crowded; but access in both branches is fine. The thing that holds you up or makes it difficult to manoeuvre is not the seating arrangement but the number of people and the incessant meandering around looking for somewhere to sit. There is always at least one small child careering out of control and inevitably crashing into you and at least one grandad with an over-laden tray that can't properly see where he is going.
The decor in the Shires store is still bright white, while the Stratford one is greens and browns, presumably to invoke within you thoughts of earthy, organic, wholesome foodstuffs. Which it isn't. Of course it isn't. It never was and it never will be. You don't have to make a film about eating nothing but supersize portions to realize that this stuff will harm you in the long term. I had the cheeseburger, Drew had the Big Mac. The portion sizes are not large - the burger is about the size of the palm of your hand, as is the box containing six chicken McNuggets. The burger itself is served in a flat, doughy roll and the actual meat portion in both our meals was not substantial. The cheese had the consistency of melted plastic. The whole thing is drenched in tomato sauce with two gherkin slices that rendered the top bread portion rather soggy. On the second visit I went for the McNuggets, a portion of six with a nice crunchy coating. These were quite tasy, though titchy. The fries were crisp and super salty.
And I scoffed the lot. Did all the unpleasant terms associated with greed - gorged, rammed, bolted, gobbled, gorged. Partly, I suspect because there's nothing like being told something is unwholesome to make it irresistible. Partly because there is clearly some complicated biochemistry going on with whatever they do to the food that zings your taste receptors or serotonin levels. Yet it doesn't actually taste of anything. The best I can describe it is, it tastes of hungry.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Chips: *****
Either way, I don't tend to go and not out of adherence to any particular ideology. It is just that the place is always too loud and too crowded; but access in both branches is fine. The thing that holds you up or makes it difficult to manoeuvre is not the seating arrangement but the number of people and the incessant meandering around looking for somewhere to sit. There is always at least one small child careering out of control and inevitably crashing into you and at least one grandad with an over-laden tray that can't properly see where he is going.
The decor in the Shires store is still bright white, while the Stratford one is greens and browns, presumably to invoke within you thoughts of earthy, organic, wholesome foodstuffs. Which it isn't. Of course it isn't. It never was and it never will be. You don't have to make a film about eating nothing but supersize portions to realize that this stuff will harm you in the long term. I had the cheeseburger, Drew had the Big Mac. The portion sizes are not large - the burger is about the size of the palm of your hand, as is the box containing six chicken McNuggets. The burger itself is served in a flat, doughy roll and the actual meat portion in both our meals was not substantial. The cheese had the consistency of melted plastic. The whole thing is drenched in tomato sauce with two gherkin slices that rendered the top bread portion rather soggy. On the second visit I went for the McNuggets, a portion of six with a nice crunchy coating. These were quite tasy, though titchy. The fries were crisp and super salty.
And I scoffed the lot. Did all the unpleasant terms associated with greed - gorged, rammed, bolted, gobbled, gorged. Partly, I suspect because there's nothing like being told something is unwholesome to make it irresistible. Partly because there is clearly some complicated biochemistry going on with whatever they do to the food that zings your taste receptors or serotonin levels. Yet it doesn't actually taste of anything. The best I can describe it is, it tastes of hungry.
Latte: *****
Access: *****
Chips: *****
Saturday, 11 August 2012
The Blue Note Cafe, Glastonbury
Access might be problematic as the doorway is quite narrow with steps and the chairs and tables closely stacked. There isn't much room between tables so the wheelchair-tied should use the courtyard which is accessible via the entrance to the shops in the Glastonbury Experience on Market Place. On the other hand, this is Glastonbury. Good will and amiability pervade the place. You won't have to ask.
This is a vegetarian place with a decent menu of light snacky stuff to main meals - sandwiches, soups, lasagne. They also offer chips and wedges, as well as burgers with a meat substitute to appeal to a junk food clientele. I had the egg mayo sandwich at £4.25. Seriously impressive. Clearly made from scratch, thick doorstop-sliced bread, nice chunky, chopped egg in a thick glutonous mayo. I would more properly refer to it as 'chow'. Drew had optimistically provided me with a knife and fork, hinting at the more ladylike means to eat; but the portion is of such rough-cut quality the only appropriate mode is 'chomp'. The accompaniment was salad leaves with crisps that looked like Doritos. Drew opted for the jacket potato with beetroot (they had run out of coleslaw) which had the same chunky, coarse-chopped appearance. He was disappointed in one way - there were no adornments by way of stuff drizzled or glooped over the potato, no dressing on the salad and none offered. In all, the food was quite basic in the way it was served. The couple on the table next to us were feasting on a substantial repast of soup, lasagne and a beanburger; and they were quite contentedly trawling the tables for various condiments.
Since the walking would have been too much for me, Drew decide to go alone to pay his respects at the Chalice Well.
I, meanwhile, went on a pilgrimage of my own.
This is a vegetarian place with a decent menu of light snacky stuff to main meals - sandwiches, soups, lasagne. They also offer chips and wedges, as well as burgers with a meat substitute to appeal to a junk food clientele. I had the egg mayo sandwich at £4.25. Seriously impressive. Clearly made from scratch, thick doorstop-sliced bread, nice chunky, chopped egg in a thick glutonous mayo. I would more properly refer to it as 'chow'. Drew had optimistically provided me with a knife and fork, hinting at the more ladylike means to eat; but the portion is of such rough-cut quality the only appropriate mode is 'chomp'. The accompaniment was salad leaves with crisps that looked like Doritos. Drew opted for the jacket potato with beetroot (they had run out of coleslaw) which had the same chunky, coarse-chopped appearance. He was disappointed in one way - there were no adornments by way of stuff drizzled or glooped over the potato, no dressing on the salad and none offered. In all, the food was quite basic in the way it was served. The couple on the table next to us were feasting on a substantial repast of soup, lasagne and a beanburger; and they were quite contentedly trawling the tables for various condiments.
Since the walking would have been too much for me, Drew decide to go alone to pay his respects at the Chalice Well.
I, meanwhile, went on a pilgrimage of my own.
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