Mrs B's Kitchen Review

The other day, me and my mum found enough time to pop into Newbury to go and seek out a café my mum had found out about through a networking event. All we had heard was that it was healthy and all homemade, with vegetarian and vegan options. This is pretty hard to come by near us, so we were eager to see if the food was worth coming for. It was pretty hard to find, I have to say, in a business estate off Newbury’s busiest of roads. It is definitely a spot you would specifically have heard about to go to, rather than stumbling across. Also, as it is in a business park, the exterior doesn’t stand out as such but the inside is rather refreshing. A sort of chic café look, but with an industrial edge to it. It is nice and big, with lots of tables and the sun comes through the open entrance, which is nice. There is even a little pop-up zero waste store attached to it as well as a local cheesemonger, which is charming!

The menu wasn’t abundant, with one healthy meat option, one vegetarian option and lots of tarts, pastries, cakes and a few salads (both vegan and vegetarian). I was rather excited by the vegan tarts and sausage rolls, so we got the crushed pea and Provençal tarts to sample, as well as a vegan sausage roll. Our favourite of the lot was the sausage roll, as their ‘sausage’ mixture was very unique and packed with textures and flavours. It had dried fruits, and chickpeas as a base. Not very meaty, but still delicious and moist, covered with a lovely light flaky pastry. The tarts were also delightful. The crushed pea one was my favourite, as it even had the addition of vegan feta (my favourite kind of vegan cheese)! The salads were good, but nothing too special. There was a variety of bases (greens, lentils, rice, vegetables) which was nice, but simple flavours. The cakes did look yummy too. It would be a lovely spot for tea or coffee and cake, for a midweek catch up. Will be back.