Friday 30 December 2016

Yurt

Great cafe in a yurt in a field - Wild Strawberry Cafe at Peterley Manor Farm, Great Missenden, Bucks
Cakes and cozy atmosphere
Busy even on a rainy mid-week lunchtime
Wood burning stove and pre-booked afternoon tea
@WildStrawb_Cafe

Thursday 29 December 2016

Bunty's Blend

Bravo to Bunty's Tea Room in Lincoln who have their own blend of loose leaf tea which trumpets their brand and does away with the ubiquitous 'breakfast tea'.

Wednesday 28 December 2016

A Good Drink

 ChariTea (and its sister drink LemonAid) is a socially responsible and high quality cold drink.
They also have some ways of reusing the bottles into shakers and liquid dispensers @ChariTeaUK

Monday 26 December 2016

Hand Operated

Great to see the hand-operated espresso machines out and about at the smallest village gatherings.  Espresso martinis are another big-time trend for 2017.
Monkey Puzzle Coffee on an outing at Cookham @Monkeypuzzleco.

Friday 23 December 2016

Seasonal Cheer

 Wasabi's festive sushi boxes
 Leon's Christmas Wrap.  Great Cafes awards its prize for seasonal cheer to Pret and its practical campaign to help the homeless help themselves - watch their great video Opening Doors

Thursday 22 December 2016

Joining the Action

As Allegra report that coffee shops will outnumber pubs by 2030, WHSmith joins the own brand coffeeshop action with Coffee House.
pictured here at Stansted



Wednesday 21 December 2016

Snow Time

Christmas Tree, Reindeer and Snowman Biscuits at Carluccios
 Chocolate Pudding Cookies and Snow Mountain S'Mores Brownies at Starbucks


Tuesday 20 December 2016

Rush to Rutland

 Hambleton Bakery is well worth a visit plus they have five shops in the Rutland area
 Check out the wood-fired oven, sourdough bread and delicious pastries
and their chunky chocolate brownie @HambletonBakery


Monday 19 December 2016

Festive Favourites

 Pigs in Blankets (bacon wrapped mini-sausages) at EAT served in a pot
 plus other clever ideas

Friday 16 December 2016

The Bread Selection Breakfast

Hambleton Hall has its own superb and separate bakery - more details in next week's blog - and it lifts the hotel breakfast to new heights of quality
The hotel also offers a take-it-away basket of their bread for £25.

Thursday 15 December 2016

Attention to Detail

 Hambleton Hall in Rutland is a Relais & Chateaux hotel (and not cheap) but gets attention to detail with fresh flowers, daily weather forecast,
 radio in the bathroom,
Garden plant of the week that shows off their beautiful gardens,
and a personalised menu when they know you are celebrating something special (Mrs Brown is very special!)


Wednesday 14 December 2016

Cafe of the Year 2016

We gave our Cafe of the Year last year to a social enterprise in Norwich.  This year it is Lincoln's Rising Cafe run by charity BetelUK that gets our vote.
 See http://www.risingcafe.co.uk/ for more about how they help those with addictions
 The charity BetelUK deserve a huge vote of thanks for their work and the quality of the cafe
  Afternoon teas are their speciality with Classic, American Alliance, Over the Border, Cream and Kids
Simple items done well - hot dogs, sandwiches, light bites and salads



Tuesday 13 December 2016

100% to Charity

 Fabulous Rising Cafe in Lincoln operated by Christian charity Betel UK who help folk with drug and alcohol addiction.  See http://www.risingcafe.co.uk/ for more information on their cafes in Lincoln and Coventry.
 This shows how social enterprises can make a difference and run a highly successful cafe
 Retro cost effective design and featuring those who the charity has helped