HAVING heard from a friend how lovely The Cakehole is, I decided to go and check it out for myself - and I was not disappointed.
As far as I’m concerned, the deli in Barrowby ticks all the boxes.
The atmosphere is relaxed and cosy, the food delicious and the service friendly.
All these thoughts were echoed by my mum, who pointed out what a lovely feeling the quaint cafe has.
When we walked through the door we spotted a homely cupcake sign asking us to take our seats for our order to be taken.
We seated ourselves in front of the large window and took in our surroundings.
Expecting The Cakehole to be just a cafe, I was surprised to find the shelves adorned with Cakehole-branded beauty and bath products, trinkets for the home and plenty for the kitchen store cupboards, from flour to salad dressings.
Lots of lovely little touches dotted about had a big impact, in particular the cute little toadstool salt and pepper shakers.
Although the menu does not offer a huge range of dishes to choose from, there was plenty and it was great to see so many ingredients are sourced from local producers.
Keen to leave room for cake, my mum and I decided to share a sandwich and each ordered a piece of pork pie.
We ordered a sandwich filled with home-baked ham, Lincolnshire poacher cheese and mustard mayo - and it was divine! To be given a choice of bread was a nice touch. We both said how lovely the sandwich was, which came with dressed green leaves.
I always eat the garnish that inevitably comes with a dish so that I feel less guilty about the calories and can tell myself I’ve had one of my five-a-day.
I don’t usually think much of it, but the dressing on these leaves made all the difference. So impressed was I that I asked the waitress what the dressing was, to be told it was fig-flavoured balsamic vinegar which is also on sale.
Although the pork pie was nice, I did think it would have been better had a pot of chutney come with it.
One criticism I do have about The Cakehole is the selection of cakes.
I had expected to be spoilt for choice standing in front of a huge selection of creamy, mouth-watering creations. Instead, the cakes were mostly sponges and they didn’t really grab my attention.
In the end, I chose what I thought was a strawberry sponge with icing. I have to admit, what it actually was I have no idea as we’d ordered the cakes to take-away and it turns out it wasn’t strawberry flavoured. But whatever it was, it was really nice.
I did have a taste of the carrot cake chosen by my mum, which was delicious and she was very impressed with it, too.
The Cakehole is a fantastic gem and we shall definitely be returning. It’s not very often you walk away from an eaterie raving about it for half-an-hour afterwards. The Cakehole is fully deserving of its stars.
HHHH½
By Marie Baker