Café of the Year: Great Food Club Awards 2020

October 31st, 2019

Winner

The Larder, Oakham, Rutland

Finalists

Lambert’s, Stamford, Lincolnshire
The Harley Café, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire
All Mine Cakes (By The Lake), Southwell, Nottinghamshire

The winner is The Larder in Oakham. Its wall-mounted roll of brown paper showcasing the regularly-changing menu features lots of interesting and tempting options. Soups and bowls include the likes of smoked mackerel chowder with sourdough garlic dippers; and herbed chicken, peach and feta with quinoa, leaves, lime and mustard dressing. The sandwiches come with five bread options, all from Hambleton Bakery, and the breakfasts are a delight.

Menu at The Larder

The ‘Rainbow Club’ sandwich (on Hambleton Seven Cereal bread) that we ordered during our visit was packed with fresh, tasty ingredients and came with a fresh, well-dressed salad. Faultless.

The Larder’s ‘Rainbow Club’ sandwich

Local sourcing is at the heart of The Larder’s ethos, and the blackboard showing off its suppliers features Northfield Farm in Cold Overton, Leeson’s Butchers of Oakham, The Melton Cheeseboard of Melton Mowbray, Feast & The Furious, also of Melton, and Vivia Crump’s Chutney of Oakham.

The Larder is a worthy winner due to this local-sourcing policy and its outstandingly varied and interesting menu.

The other Finalists…

The Café Category was tough to judge, with all four Finalists showing why so many people voted for them. We recommend them all.

Lambert’s of Stamford

There exterior of Cafe Category Finalist Lambert’s of Stamford – this is a brilliant café that was pipped at the post by The Larder
Ham & cheese sandwich we enjoyed in Lambert’s

The Harley Café, Welbeck

Our trip to The Harley Café – another excellent venue – was made all the better thanks to this superb cheese sandwich and awesome salad
Cake counter at The Harley Café

All Mine Cakes (By The Lake), Southwell

All Mine Cakes (By The Lake) is in a stunning location next to a lake near Southwell
All Mine Cakes has a stunning selection of cakes and a warm, welcoming and modern feel
The author:

Matt lives in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. He is passionate about the independent food & drink sector and founded Great Food Club in 2010 after being inspired by local producers near his home town.