Do you ever find yourself wandering around looking for somewhere fairly decent to eat a snack and not really finding anything other than a pub, which, for me, is always the last resort these days. Who wants frozen chips and over-priced food and drink? Not me! I was driving around looking at fireplaces, and was having little joy in my quest for a decent cafe. Somehow or other I found myself in Ardingly and I was teetering on entering a pub, unwillingly. But then I was struck by a small cafe, quite simply called Ardingly Cafe, written in squiggly yellow letters over a light grey background. Thank you, Lord, I said quietly to myself as I parked up and trudged past the pub towards my destination.
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| The Ardingly Cafe in Ardingly, West Sussex, UK |
There were around four people in there, four men and a dog. We took a seat and was greeted by a very pleasant lady of South East Asian extraction, I think she said she was Malyasian, who provided us with menus to peruse. Breakfast, I noted, was served all day so there was no chance of Michael Douglas, machine gun in hand, saying, "Have you ever heard the expression 'the customer is always right?'
For a tenner you get two rashers of bacon, one sausage, hash browns, grilled tomato, mushrooms, baked beans and toast. Or there's The Big One for £12, which is the same, but you get two of everything, or The Little One, which is one of everything and will set you back £8.
Light lunches are also available including Marmite mushrooms and a poached egg on sourdough toast (£7.50) - now that sounds rather interesting. There's also avocado smash (£10) served with poached egg, pesto tomatoes and roasted pumpkin seeds, Chorizo eggs (£10) with avocado, cherry tomatoes and either a fried or poached egg. And what about a wild mushroom and spinach bruschetta with garlic oil and a poached egg, that'll set you back a tenner. There's homemade soup at £7.50 and a selection of sandwiches ranging from £4 for a straightforward cheese variety to £6.50 for either a BLT, tuna or ham and cheese with pickle or onion chutney. And let's not forget Eggs Benedict for a tenner served with poached eggs, outdoor reared ham, Hollandaise sauce, balsamic spritz and fresh rocket.
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| Inside the calming Ardingly Cafe. |
Fried egg sandwiches, bacon sarnies, sausage sarnies - great 'caff' staples, but also pancakes, porridge, toast on its own, French toast (very rare for a caff) egg or beans on toast, this was definitely a caff to be reckoned with.
I ordered a plain sausage sandwich and a mug of tea (a decent mug of tea) and I was made up. I could have eaten another one, but refrained from doing so and while I considered a cake, they simply weren't THAT inviting so I declined. I'm not saying they weren't any good, they were fine, but they didn't say 'eat me'.
The eating environment was very pleasant and relaxing. There was laminated wood flooring, mustard-coloured tablecloths and plenty of light thanks to a large front window and windows to the right hand side of the caff. Actually, that word 'caff' doesn't really do it justice, although I wouldn't call it a restaurant, so perhaps 'cafe' on this occasion. And let's not forget a brick design wallpaper, a framed city scape painting and, most importantly, a wonderful vibe of peace and tranquility that I think was all down to the laid back proprietor and her mum. I'm not sure if mum was anything to do with the running of the place, but she added a pleasantness that means one day I will return. This was an of oasis of calm, a place to step into and enjoy while the moment lasts. As Arne would say, "I'll be back!"
