The Dovecote Buttery - Lunch and Stawberry Picking

Today I took a trip to The Dovecote Buttery - a restaurant and shop based at Dovecote Farm near Kettering in the Northamptonshire area. I've driven by the place countless times and today was the day I finally got to go in and experience everything it had to offer. 

In 1985 Dovecote farm began a pick your own fruit service, which over the years has expanded and now includes some veg too. In 2004 they opened "The Buttery" tea room, which has since expanded into a bigger restaurant area. The interior of the place is absolutely beautiful. It's very light and airy and is decorated in a New England kind of style with lots of shabby chic trinkets scattered all over the place. All of which are available to purchase as the place also doubles as a unique gift shop, full of candles, ornaments and various other things.

Just as you step inside the Buttery room you're met with the sight of fresh local produce, various jars of preserves, pies, cheese, pork products etc all of which are available for visitors to purchase.

We arrived at about 1pm and were seated instantly, which was a pleasant surprise as I had heard that they're often really busy and therefore being seated can take a while, however we were incredibly fortunate! The staff were very friendly and were quick to take our drink orders and give us the menus. After perusing the menu for a while I decided to get one of their delicious sandwiches served on doorstop bread. I went with the Tuna Mayo sandwich on granary bread which came with a side of crisps, salad and a helping of coleslaw. I've only ever tried tuna once before and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, however this was delicious and I can now confidently say I'm a fan of tuna! The menu had a great selection of items to choose from, ranging from jacket potatoes, soups, sandwiches etc. All of which are moderately priced. As for the drinks selection, they had a good choice of fresh juices, fizzy drinks, teas, cocktails, champagne and of course pimms! 

As you can expect from a tea room they have a wonderful selection of fresh cakes and scones on offer. Judging by this photo, the Baileys Gateux seemed to go down well with most people! 

After lunch we went out and picked some strawberries on site. Dovecote farm have a variety of soft fruit available for visitors to pick and even have a calender on their website so you can see when's the best time to go down and pick your fruit or veg. You simply pick the size of the container you'd like to fill and a member of staff will inform you which rows to go to in order for you to pick your selected fruit. Your containers are then weighed and priced at the farm shop. I've never been strawberry picking before and it was such a fun and enjoyable activity to do - especially when you have lovely weather like we did today. I've now got my strawberries chilling in the fridge and plan on having them with some fresh whipped cream later on this evening. Yummy!

All in all if you're ever in the area I highly recommend you stop by and check it out. It's a great place for all the family to visit. There's lots to do and the food is brilliant! A fantastic hidden gem - I can't believe it's taken me so long to visit! 

White Rabbit Teahouse

As many of my long term readers will already know I've been living in Nottingham the last two years. Having originally lived in a town and then moving to a city it's been really nice having so many cute cafes and restaurants to explore and visit. Not just well established branches, but unique independent places too.Today I'll be showing you the White Rabbit Teahouse - one of my favourite places to stop and get a bite to eat if I'm out in town. If you're ever in the mood to visit a cute traditional English teahouse then I highly recommend stopping by here - you certainly won't regret it! 

There are currently two teahouses based in Nottingham, one on Houndsgate and the other tucked away in a little alley down Bridlesmith Walk. Keep an eye out for the sign as it can be a little tricky to find first time round! The photographs I've included with my post were all taken in the cafe located on Bridlesmith walk. Upon entering the cafe you'll note that it is very small yet very cute with a few tables inside and two outside. On every table is a small pot of flowers and an adorable pair of rabbit shaped salt and pepper shakers. The walls are covered in a variety of frames and mirrors which helps add to the quaintness of the place. 

The menu has a fantastic variety of freshly made cakes, sandwiches, paninis, salads etc to choose from. They also serve a really good breakfast range up until 12pm so if you're in town early in the morning then I'd recommend popping in and giving it a go! They also offer an afternoon tea service from £25 which from what I've seen in photos looks absolutely amazing. As you would expect from a English teahouse, there's a massive selection of teas to choose from, with soya milk and decaffeinated teas available for those who wish. They also have have coffee's, fruit juices and chilled drinks to choose from as well. All food and drink are served on beautiful vintage style crockery and there's even the option to donate old crockery to the cafe so they can re-use it. I've visited here and had lunch a few times now and my personal favourite has to be their delicious Chicken Salad sandwich which comes with a vibrant salad garnish topped with a really tasty homemade dressing and a small handful of crisps. You also get the option of whether it's on fresh white bread or granary, on this particular occasion I went for the white although I've had both and they're both delicious.

The atmosphere is lovely and the staff are so friendly and attentive. It's the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a relaxing catch up with a friend. The only thing I will warn you about is that it can be really busy on the weekend so it's best to try and stop by during the week. Also they only take cash so if you're anything like me and literally never have any cash with you, stop at an ATM first! It's a really lovely, unique little teahouse and I whole heartedly recommend stopping by if you're ever in Nottingham.