EDitorial ± 30-Jun-2017

Light Lunches: Darsham Nurseries Cafe

Well, we've been pondering this hugely significant day for a goodly while and now it's finally here. After exactly 73 years of continuous service, the lad Andy has landed a deserved medical retirement from the GPO. No more holes and poles for the boy from Sheffield, no sirree. What's more, he's offered to buy a posh lunch for me and Kev at somewhere upmarket. We're all winners today.

Zoe takes us past Yoxford and we turn off way before and Darsham Hamper and just before Lily's Pantry into the Darsham Nurseries Cafe. Nurseries, yes, since there's plenty of fancy plants. But cafe? Like Prince Charming himself, I've been adamant for a while that this doesn't quality as a cafe. It's open for the odd evening do serving a special menu and there's zero sign of a humble bacon bap. Mind you, there's seating, they serve tea and they mostly do business during daylight hours.

Quibble aside, it's a flippin' delight if you've got the time and the money. Surrounded by some of the finest folk in these parts, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Bungay, we had:

  • to start — chickpea salad, muhammara, whipped feta and pistachio, spiced pilaf, olives, pickle
  • main — sumac-cured salmon, radishes and buttermilk
  • main — alde valley lamb stew, broad beans, mint and aioli
  • main — chicken thighs, spoon salad and labneh
  • extra — herb farinata

That's right. We were very happily chowing down on foodstuffs that we couldn't even pronounce and it was wonderful. Man, those flavours. Did we stop there? No, we did not, continuing on to:

  • sweet — lemon and bay posset, strawberries, almond biscuit
  • sweet — salted chocolate and olive oil mousse, creme fraiche, cacao
  • sweet — feta and honey cheesecake, crushed pistachio, gooseberries

Wowzers. Very decent cafetiere, too. Andy very kindly dusted off his platinum card to make that big bill go away and I didn't quite make it back for my 3pm conference call, but hey, it was so worth it. Absolute best of luck to Andy, the original Eco Warrior, and we'll all do our utmost to keep up the light lunch trips. Cheers, Andy!

If it was a car -- LaFerrari Aperta.
If they were passing by -- Richard Curtis.