I love me a garden centre! I don’t get to them nearly enough but I rarely have a bad experience. They are often expensive but you almost always get a good quality meal for the price.
Twenty Pence Garden Centre has often been a favourite of mine. I have been coming for years, mostly due to geographical reasons but also because it has a nice little cafe inside called Applejacks. It’s fairly standard for a cafe, offering cooked breakfasts, paninis, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, and roast dinners but does everything to a great standard and does so consistently.
We decided to go for a brie & cranberry panini and a ham & cheese sandwich. Both served with crisps, coleslaw, and a salad.
Both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our meals. They used a mix of cheddar and red Leicester cheese in my sandwich, along with very thick slices of ham. The red onion chutney really brought this to life and gave the sandwich a real zing which is not something I expect from such a common sandwich. Everything was excellent and was a classic example of simple everyday food done to an exceptional quality.
There was also a children’s menu called ‘Little Gardeners’ which offers similar dishes but smaller (and therefore, cheaper) portions, so don’t forget to bring the family down.
I also noticed ‘afternoon tea for two’ for a mere £30. Careful though, as this needs to be booked in advance. We decided to give it a go on a whim and they were unable to cater for us. £30 for two people is pretty impressive though, if you are looking for a valid afternoon tea experience.
They offer a good selection of hot drinks themed around the season called ‘winter warmers’. This included a gingerbread latte, which I decided to try. They also had a ‘warm spiced latte’ and a ‘hazelnut hot chocolate’. These were reasonably priced at £3.95 for a large.
I was only discussing with my wife the other day about how disappointed I am with the quality of Costa Coffee and Starbucks, which somehow has managed to go backwards from its already dull standard. The coffee here was lovely and it was nice to have something spiced during a cold and windy day. We even got a nice little gingerbread man along with it to raise my spirit. For £3.95, I thought this was an absolute steal.
You always know what you are getting with a garden centre. You won’t find anything too adventurous here but you will get classic food which is always done to a great standard. You may even get a pleasant surprise, with todays being the red onion chutney and the delightful gingerbread latte.
During my visit, I also noticed that Twenty Pence Garden Centre has a pizzaria. It looks like I may have to pop back and investigate!
Thanks for reading!
The Cambridge Foodies 