Cockpit Farm Tearooms - Otley

Cockpit Farm Tearooms

Weston Lane

Weston

Nr Otley 

Leeds

LS21 2HS

Date Visited : 1 November 2014

Price: £6.50 or £12.00 for 2

There are a lot of great little teashops in Otley but if you fancy a nice stroll this one is about a mile or so walk from the river.  We usually park up on the Chevin and walk down.  It’s quite a trek but you can park in Otley town centre and walk from there instead – or if you’d prefer to scrap the walk altogether and just head for the cakes, then there is plenty of parking at the tearoom.

The gardens outside the cafe

From the town centre the walk is rather pleasant – it’s mostly flat so you can actually enjoy it rather than battling to breathe while climbing mountainous hills. So if you do opt for the scenic route, just head over the bridge by the river (with Wharfemeadows Park on your right) and follow the path which veers off to the left towards some houses and follow it to the main road. From here turn left and keep walking until you reach an iron gate which leads into a field with some sheep. Head right to the top and take a left after you’ve gone through the gate. About 100m from here you’ll find yourself in the small village of Weston and the tearoom is just off the first road on your right hand side.

Inside the tearoom is quite small so you may have to wait for a table on busier days, but when the weather is warmer (it happens occasionally) there are some tables and benches on the grass outside which make the perfect picnicking spot.  Of course, if you dine indoors you can enjoy the tearooms’ quaint little oddities.  Masses of handmade gifts, including cards, mugs, jewellery, bags, books and all sorts of unusual gifts adorn the walls here – clearly an overspill from the tiny gift shop by the till.

The menu mainly consists of light bites, ranging from toasted teacakes and hot and cold sandwiches, to light salads and homemade soups.  And afternoon tea, of course.  Everything is very reasonably priced with the afternoon tea being the dearest thing on the menu.

The afternoon tea comes with just the one selection of sandwich filling from a choice of cheese and pickle, houmous and salad, tuna and mayonnaise, ham, or smoked salmon and cream cheese.  Being as adventurous as ever, I opted for plain old ham.

Ham Sandwiches

My daughter had the tuna mayo Panini and my husband chose the gluten free cheese and pickle sandwich with salad.  There isn’t a huge choice of gluten free food but they do serve sandwiches and in the winter they have homemade gluten free soup and a roll.  Unfortunately there weren’t any gluten free cakes which was a bit disappointing. The pudding is the best bit of the meal, right?!

Tuna Mayo Panini

Gluten Free Cheese and Pickle Sandwich

The afternoon tea came with the classic fruit scone served with strawberry jam and clotted cream – but sadly no additional cakes – and my daughter chose a slice of lemon drizzle from the cake selection on the counter.

All in all this is a really nice café with good food, very friendly staff and it’s a lovely place to sit out in the garden, especially if you have pets with you.  Plus it’s great for days out as it is only a stone’s throw away from Otley, so it’s ideal if you fancy a nice walk.

Ratings:                        Gluten Free:

Tea: 8/10                             

Sandwiches:  7/10                Sandwiches:  7/10

Cakes: 7/10

Scones: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 7/10

Would I return?   Yes we’ve been several times 

The Lytham Kitchen - Lytham St. Annes

The Lytham Kitchen

9 Market Square

Lytham St. Annes

FY8 5LW

LANCASHIRE

Date Visited:  12 October 2014

Price: £7.45 Afternoon Tea

Price:  £9.45 Indulgent Afternoon Tea

We were in Blackpool for a family weekend for my mother-in-laws 80^th birthday and she assured us that Lytham was just a stroll away from the Grand Hotel at St. Annes where we were staying .  It was a beautiful sunny day for October so we set off on a nice stroll up the coast.  The walk was quite a bit further than we anticipated but it meant we were all ready for something to eat by the time we got there. The Lytham Kitchen was the first place we came to. As we were a large party of ten we nearly decided to look elsewhere as the cafe was so busy, but a lady on her way out assured us it was well worth waiting a few minutes and we weren’t disappointed. 

Lytham St. Annes

We only had to wait a few minutes and before we were seated – six of us squeezed into a booth while the rest sat on a breakfast bar area by the glass window over-looking the street.  The cafe’s interior was very light and modern looking with wooden tables and booths, white walls cladded with colourful patterned pictures and a large glass cabinet by the till filled with a selection of enticing looking cakes and pastries. 

All of the food here is locally sourced and home cooked and the menu is very extensive, so if you can’t find anything you like (and I’m fussy!) then you won’t find it anywhere! 

I had already decided to have my favourite – afternoon tea (surprise, surprise).  There were three options available, namely the normal cream tea at £3.45 which included a scone and pot of tea, the afternoon tea priced at £7.45, or the indulgent afternoon tea which was virtually the same but with an extra large chunk of cake at £9.45. Guess which one I chose?  No it wasn’t the biggest – I decided not to be (too) greedy so I opted for the normal afternoon tea.

For the sandwiches there was a choice of bread ranging from white, wholemeal sliced, thick cut white or granary bloomer or freshly baked baguette. The filling selection was even more extensive, ranging from thick cut home roast ham and Dijon mayonnaise, thick cut ham with cheddar cheese, cheese and Branston pickle, cheddar cheese and spring onion and mayo, egg mayonnaise, egg mayonnaise and crispy bacon, roast chicken and mayo, bacon, lettuce and tomato, roast beef, red onion and horseradish, tuna and mayonnaise, prawns and Marie-Rose sauce, freshly poached salmon and cucumber, and crayfish and cirtrus mayo. Phew!  That’s a lot of choice. Unfortunately the sandwich fairy only grants you the option of one delightful filling, rather than a more indulgent varied selection of choices. So after much umming and ahhing, I finally settled on egg mayonnaise and crispy bacon [a choice one of my fellow diners also went for] as I can’t say I’ve ever had that before. What can I say, I’m branching out.

The drinks menu was equally impressive with a large selection of teas to choose from, from the English breakfast, fruit infusions and herbal teas, to coffee, hot chocolate, cold juice drinks, milkshakes and bottled beers.  They even had vanilla, hazelnut and caramel flavoured syrups to spice up your drinks with.

As for the gluten free food, they provide an impressive range and the owner of the café – who happened to be our server – was very knowledgeable about all of the gluten free options.  The menu included bread, tea cakes, crumpets, biscuits and cakes, as well as gluten free pasta and gram flour to make batter. 

The Gluten Free Option

With all this choice I couldn’t believe it when my husband chose a baked potato with cheese, coleslaw and salad.  Clearly we aren’t very adventurous when it comes to food in our family.  Others opted for ham and cheese toasties and prawn sandwiches with Marie-Rose sauce. 

Ham and Cheese Toastie

Although the cafe was really busy we didn’t have to wait very long to be served and all of the food was beautifully presented.  The afternoon tea was served on a two tier silver plated stand and looked delicious.  There were four large quarter sandwiches on the bottom tier garnished with salad and tomatoes, and a large fruit scone on the top tier with a bowl of raspberry jam and clotted cream, along with a few large chunks of pineapple and grapes at the side.  There is a choice of six different flavours of preserve with the scones here rather than just the usual strawberry or raspberry, which I thought was a nice little addition.

Indulgent Afternoon Tea

Rocky Road Yum!

I have to say the sandwiches were delicious and very filling, so much so that it kept spilling over the sides of the bread causing me to make a bit of a mess.  I have since tried to make these sandwiches at home but they never tasted quite the same.  They never do, do they?  The pots of tea were refilled several times and we were never rushed to leave even though they were very busy and waiting for available seats.

This is a great cafe to visit if you are in Lytham St. Annes and although it is very busy, it is definitely well worth waiting for.  I can’t wait to visit again just to try something else on the menu.

Ratings:                                  Gluten Free:

Tea: 8/10

Sandwiches:  9/10                            Baked Potato 10/10

Cakes: 8/10

Scones: 9/10              

Service: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

Would I return?   Yes, I need to try something else on the menu!