The Kitschen Café

1 Feathers Lane

Basingstoke

LOCATED in the Top of the Town, in Feathers Lane off Wote Street, is this charming café.

I have always seen pictures of its mouthwatering offerings online on its Facebook page and thought that I should pop in for breakfast, lunch or a cuppa, but I hadn’t actually managed it until last week.

And, judging by the food and service I experienced during that visit, this is a venue that is really worth the effort of seeking out.

For a start, there was a genuine smile - a less frequent sight than it should be - with the friendly welcome extended to me by one of the women in the café.

I was waiting for a friend, who hadn’t yet arrived, and this lady offered help and assistance before welcoming me to make myself comfortable on the sofa.

From there, I was able to admire the décor and wonder at this venue’s transformation from its former life as an antiques store.

The Kitschen café is not cluttered, but has a few quirky bits of kitchenalia dotted here and there which are sure to attract both attention and admiration – the large clock made from china teacups on one wall is incredible.

When my companion turned up, we settled ourselves at a table that was already well equipped with cutlery, sugar and a sparkly little tinsel Christmas tree.

We passed over the tempting sandwich menu – which includes standard fare in addition to more quirky offerings such as peanut butter and jelly, or, on this particular day, fish fingers - and the soups of the day, such as leek and potato and spicy parsnip.

Instead, we both opted for the special of broccoli and goat’s cheese quiche. I noted with delight that it was served with fried potato chunks, a stalwart of Northern Irish menus, plus a serving of red cabbage and red onion coleslaw.

It didn’t take long for our food to arrive and while we waited, we tucked into tea for two from a lovely china teapot.

When our plates were presented, I was hugely impressed. This was a terrifically hearty plate of food for just £4.55.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Even better, the quiche was delicious, packed with broccoli and not overpowered at all by the goat’s cheese. And even better again, we were offered a refill of our teapot.

Given that the sweet treats in the café are baked on site, I couldn’t resist sampling the Victoria sponge.

I almost baulked at the challenge when I saw the size of the slice that £2.50 had bought me, but I, of course, managed to wolf it all. It was light and lovely, just the way this classic should be.

My friend was too full to eat anything else after her main, but we purchased a hearty triangle caramel slice for her to take home. This was packed up for us without any ado.

The bill came to £16.90, great value for such a lovely lunch in a local, independent business, one I have no hesitation heartily recommending.

*The featured restaurant had no knowledge of The Gazette’s visit.