Riverlife Cafe — Restaurant in England

Some of the best food I’ve had in a long time! I went for lunch with my auntie. I was early so I popped in to get a drink and when I came outside, all the tables had been taken. Fortunately, there was one table left inside. It was a little cramped and warm indoors, but it wasn’t too bad. I’m gluten free and I ordered the bacon, Brie and cranberry gluten free sandwich. My auntie got the goats cheese, Mediterranean veg and pesto sandwich. I checked when I arrived that they had gluten free bread (my back up was a jacket potato), however when I ordered, the server returned and said they didn’t have any and asked if a GF wrap would be okay. I said this was fine, and when it came, it was a sandwich. The server offered my sandwich to my auntie, claiming it was the goat’s cheese sandwich, despite the visible cranberry sauce. I said I thought they were the other way round, as the other sandwich had visible pesto. At this point, I asked (to confirm) if mine was on gluten free bread, and the server wasn’t sure and had to return to the kitchen to check. Other than this slight hiccough, the food and drink were lovely and it was a pleasant visit. I would recommend this cafe, but I’m not so sure about it for anyone with serious allergies and there was...

Arrived at 3:20pm - there was no-one inside and just two people on a table outside. Perhaps not too surprising as it closes at 4pm. Service was a bit slow - I stood waiting at the desk for about 2 minutes before someone showed up. A service bell would be a good idea.

I ordered a Cornish pasty (£4.50), lemon & raspberry cake (£3), latte (£3) and canoli (£1). Pasty was good; beef was tender and not chewy. I may have preferred it cold as I had it warmed up which was done in the microwave, softening the pastry quite a bit. Cake was OK, not outstanding. Would prefer it more moist and with more flavour of lemon and raspberry.

However, I mainly came for the latte, which I asked to be very hot, and it was! Good flavour, medium-to-large size mug. Overall a reasonable meal - perhaps if I came earlier and tried a special dish like their quiche, I would have awarded 5 stars.

The free Wi-Fi is also a bonus, and there are some sockets on walls for laptop charging. Decent parking area outside with a wide entrance. The exterior is welcoming and the interior is quite spacious too, so it shouldn't feel cramped even...

From first impressions, we expected this to be a fairly standard indie cafe and indeed the usual range of coffees are teas are on offer, plus a short but tasty sounding menu. The daytime range of breakfasts, jacket potatoes, burgers and so on didn't immediately grab our attention -- but when the food arrived we had a real WOW moment. Excellent presentation, creative ingredients and absolutely delicious flavours. My choice was the 'toastie', and rarely has such an excellent meal been so under-sold! Sliced toasted walnut bread, interwoven with peppers and wild mushrooms, with a scrummy mustard seed cream sauce. Perhaps the world's most superior toastie! Well worth the wait for it to be freshly prepared in the kitchen. Love the sign which explains that don't even possess a microwave: that's the spirit! Good value, too. A quick lunch for two was £16. We'll be going...