Nancy’s Tea Room opened in August, after teasing us with its makeover for quite some time (previously there were some public loos there!). It’s a quaint looking bright white, timber building near the river, Tonbridge Park and the High Street. The signage is traditional and the overall effect is one of nostalgia for tea rooms of my childhood, before the arrival of the coffee chains. Katie, the owner – the tea room is named after her daughter – offers a simple menu of jacket potatoes, sandwiches, paninis and the like, and of course, home made cakes. My friends and I sat upstairs, which is larger than it looks, and ordered sandwiches and a cream tea. Cheese and pickle The service was very prompt and attentive and the sandwiches didn’t take long at all to arrive. I ordered one of my childhood faves of cheese and pickle and I was not disappointed. The sandwiches were very generously filled (my friend’s tuna mayo sandwich was too) and really tasty. I appreciate it’s hard to go wrong with a cheese and pickle sandwich but some places do, providing limp, sparsely filled offerings where the cheese is sliced and not grated…little things like that matter. The cream tea came with plenty of cream and jam; I had recently tasted a bad scone (overwhelming margarine taste) so my taste buds were piqued with anticipation but there was nothing to worry about, this one was fine. Always forget to take the pics! Red velvet, chocolate fudge, orange and lemon cakes were on offer and I plumped for a slice of lemon and a slice of orange to takeaway (to share with my children I hasten to add). The cakes were moist, although I think the orange and lemon flavours could have been a little stronger so that you really experience a citrus hit. They were perfectly decorated with just the right amount of icing, adorned with a candied orange/lemon slice. We thoroughly enjoyed them! Nancy’s has found a niche in Tonbridge I think and has differentiated itself from some of the other cafes gracing the High Street with its simplicity and nod to a bygone era – these qualities make it feel easy, welcoming and homely. I will definitely return.
Tag: good coffee
Beyond the Grounds – a Kent Life & Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards winner?
As you know, this blog was borne out of the fact that Tonbridge has been regaining its mojo thanks to the plethora of new eating places we have now. Just in case featuring on my blog isn’t recognition enough (ahem), over the coming weeks I am going to be highlighting places that you might like to nominate for categories in the Kent Life & Kent on Sunday’s prestigious Food & Drink Awards 2016. Wouldn’t it be GREAT to have some Tonbridge winners? One of the categories is Café of the Year and several have sprouted on or around Tonbridge High Street this year alone. I visited Beyond the Grounds this week to meet the founder Jennie Kenny and, of course, to sample the food. A full review to come soon but here’s a taster to kick start the nomination suggestions… I received a warm welcome as I entered Beyond the Grounds, just next to HSBC bank. The founder Jennie, wants the café to be hospitable and homely, and the ambience certainly is that, the staff helpful and smiling. The children had the tomato & roasted pepper soup which was delicious and perfect for their palates. The waiting staff was considerate, thinking ahead and bringing the little diners teaspoons, rather than large soup spoons. My friend and I both had burgers – the BTG Bistro special is steak burger this week and the Slow Roasted Meat Bap is pork, both of which were accompanied by garlic potato wedges and a green salad. They were both really tasty and the portions were perfect, not overwhelming as sometimes burgers and their sides can be. We had shortbread for pudding (excellent – apparently it’s a secret recipe!), and finished off our coffees. Our every need had been met in here, teaspoons for children, soya milk for my friend and an accommodating atmosphere for three noisy children! Positioned conveniently betwixt park and high street, Beyond the Grounds is a community orientated café that is well worth a visit. I asked Jennie what it would mean to her and the team if they won Café of the Year. “The Kent Life awards are prestigious! It would be amazing to win, to think that people actually connect with it, like what we’re doing & love it for what it is. I would think I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve.” Hopefully that has started your brain ticking about where you like to go for a coffee and a piece of cake; perhaps it’s Beyond the Grounds, perhaps it’s somewhere else. But if it’s in Kent, nominate it! http://kentfda.co.uk/nominate/ It is easy to nominate! I did it within five minutes, on my mobile, on a dog walk! And in that time, I added the all-important comment that could help to add my favourite foodie haunt to the short list. Will yours be on it? Closing Date – 7 August 2016
Cafe 1809, Hildenborough Jan 2016
So this café actually has a proper name and isn’t just called the ‘Kelly café’! There is definitely a ‘fitness’ theme throughout the café as you’d expect with Dame Kelly Holmes at the helm but it’s not over bearing & the display of mouth-watering cakes nicely balances it out! I certainly felt as though if I came in sweating after a run, I would be welcomed. But walking in with two boys I felt welcomed too! All of the menus are aiming to be healthy which is no great shock given the exercise apparatus dotted around the place. There was a delicious looking butternut squash and halloumi salad (called ‘Starter’s Orders’, apparently DK’s fave), plus other salads which could be accompanied by hunks of bread or generous helpings of quiche; I went for the soup which was sweet potato, chickpea and carrot. It was very tasty but if I’m honest, perhaps a little over salted. It was presented on a mini breadboard, in a miniature pan with a lid. Well, it impressed me…. The children’s menu has pasta + different types of sauce, boiled egg with ‘running soldiers’, different types of sandwiches (marmite, cheese, banana and honey). The boiled egg’s soldiers were butterly tempting and the egg was boiled to perfection, the golden yolk dripping down the sides with my son frantically trying to mop it up. Junior #2 had pesto pasta as that’s his favourite meal in the world and he wasn’t disappointed! I didn’t manage to ask whether the pesto was home made but the bonus was that they provided me with a ‘doggy bag’ to take home the remainder! And this seemed like a perfectly normal request, not a lash batted. Onto the juice: I had a super green juice which they stated wasn’t for the faint hearted but it was amazing! Who knew kale could taste so delicious?! My son tried a berry mix juice and loved that so I felt like a good mummy that at least one child had consumed some of his 5-a-day (make sure you ask for the smaller juice for a child as they’re very large – they only let me know about the smaller glasses when I suggested it at the end which was rather frustrating). The array of cakes was very tempting including some gluten free treats, but I was surprised & disappointed that there weren’t any dairy or sugar free options (especially as there was an advertisement for a course about going sugar free!). I would return and recently did, slurping a juice post work-out, of course…. Experience Ingredients: In the group: 1 ad + 2 children Consumption & cost: soup, children’s boiled eggs & toast, children’s pesto pasta, children’s hot choc, large oaty cookie, Americano coffee, fresh juice x 2, carton juice x 1 – £22